REASONS TO NOT BELIEVE - NYOBS 76.31

REASONS TO NOT BELIEVE

The Bible is foolishness to the unbeliever, but to the seeker it’s a road map to life.

First Word

·          “Come let us reason together”. Isaiah 1:18 - NYOBS 29.02- CASE FOR CHRISTIANITY

Religion can be quite simple if you have no facts to bother you. C.S. Lewis

• Because you are reading this, the Holy Spirit has already planted a seed of faith in your spirit and you were drawn to this study. -  You are incapable on your own to seek out things of God. – The Holy Spirit plants the seed, it is watered throughout your life by Believers and life situations, and then finally God reaps the harvest. – This study only waters the seed that the Holy Spirit has already planted in your heart; God has a call on your life which you have the FREE WILL to reject. – NYOBS 29.28 - PREDESTINATION REVISITED
• Atheist – A meaning “No” and Theos meaning “God”; believing there is no god therefore miracles are not possible, there is no supernatural and we all live in a closed system.
• Agnostic – A meaning “No” and gnosis meaning “Knowledge”; they are NOT SURE if there is a God, they have no knowledge one way or the other.
• Relativism – There are no absolute truths, only truths that are relevant to each individual. Therefore if Truth is relative, then no one is ever wrong. – NYOBS 65.02 - CASE FOR GOD

·         Ten reasons to NOT believe in God and Jesus His Son.

1.   There is just no evidence that there is a God; it’s just plain bias, opinions and tradition.

2.   My parents did not believe in God therefore we never went to Church or Sunday School.

3.   God is an invention of the political wealthy elite to suppress the lower working class.

4.   The only reason people go to church, is to rub shoulders so they can make business contacts.

5.   Religion is just a hustle to separate you from your money.

6.   My college professor taught that NATURE accounts for everything in life.

7.   I can’t believe that a cosmic Deity created me just for the purpose of worshipping Him.

8.   Religion is just something that keeps me in a box and makes me feel guilty about my lifestyle

9.   I have a good mind that directs my life; religion just restricts my full potential.

10. If God really existed, we would not see so much PAIN, SUFFERING and EVIL in this world.

• The Bible is an instruction manual written for Believers, those that have been drawn by the Holy Spirit. - For the unbeliever, the written laws of God are just foolishness.
• The Bible is “Partial” and does not contain everything there is to know; there are some things that are for God only to know; however the Bible is a COMPLETE REVELATION of what man needs to know in order to know God and to inherit eternal life.
• God gave us the laws of scripture to guide us; to make us aware of our need for a savior. Keeping the Ten Commandments and the other laws cannot save man.  – Man can do nothing to remove his own sin. - If the law could save, then Jesus would have died for nothing.
• Because of our sins, all our good works were counted as nothing but filthy rags; making us the object of God’s wrath. – But the blood of Jesus Christ on the Cross, His sacrificial offering made us the object of his grace and Love. – It’s in the Book – Stay tuned -  

1 Corinthians 2:14 – The Bible is foolishness to the perishing

14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

NIV

Galatians 2:21 – If the law saves – Jesus died for nothing

21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" 

NIV

Ephesians 2:3 – Once we were objects of God’s wrath.

3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

NIV

Isaiah 64:6 – All our good works are like filthy rags.

6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. NIV

The “G” Factor

·         As a Christian, I want to prove that there is a God by using the Bible, but to the Atheist the Bible is not proof, it’s only a religious book of what someone else believes to be true.

·         Belief in a God must come from rational REASONING that results in absolutes. – We cannot say that God wrote the Bible and the Bible says that there is a God; that’s just circular reasoning. – That is as meaningless as a square circle or a married bachelor.

·         There are three reasons something exist; it was of a physical necessity or it happened by chance or it was the result of design. – A GOOD ARGUMENT for design is to note the fact that the Universe is very fine-tuned and is kept meticulously in balance and running.

·         I have noticed when Scientist and thinkers of physics come up with an equation on how things work, they are always “fine tuning” the equations with something they call the “G” factor to take care of the “variations” we have in life. – Without it, life would be rendered impossible.  I call their “G” factor; GOD.

Inerrant

• Inerrant is a big 50 cent word meaning the Bible is without error.  This statement of course applies to the “original manuscripts” that all the other HAND copies were made.
• The Bible itself claims that “All Scripture is God Breathed.” – The Bible is the breath of God. – That further means that all scriptures carry the same weight of importance.
• God wrote with His own finger the Ten Commandments and told Moses what was to be in “The book of the Law”; the Torah. - He spoke or commanded Moses some 235+ times.
• Moses spent 40 years in Egypt; raised in higher education and then spent 40 years in Midian which is enough time to write the book of Genesis even without a scribe to help him, which most likely he did employ later on.
• Over the centuries God has worked through a mysterious process of producing divinely and authoritative, errorless writings through men with various styles and in different settings. – Men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
• It is impossible for God to lie – God’s words are flawless, they are truth and eternal. - Not the smallest punctuation will pass away from the Bible scriptures until the end of time comes.
• In these last days God has spoken to us directly through His Son Jesus the Christ and it is through His life on this earth that we can answer the questions that so many have proposed.
• When Jesus came on the scene, everything changed; even our calendar, if you judge the size of a rock by the ripples it makes when thrown into the water, then Jesus Christ the Son of God is without comparison. – Let’s begin to logically unpack the Reasons to Reject.

2 Timothy 3:16 - All Scripture is God-breathed

16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

NIV

Deuteronomy 9:10 – Written by the finger of God

10 The LORD gave me two stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God. On them were all the commandments the LORD proclaimed to you on the mountain out of the fire, on the day of the assembly.

NIV

Leviticus 1:1 – God called to Moses and spoke to him

1 The LORD called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting.

Deuteronomy 31:24-26 – Moses wrote down what God told him

24 After Moses finished writing in a book the words of this law from beginning to end, he gave this command to the Levites

26 "Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God. There it will remain as a witness

NIV

Hebrews 1:1 – God spoke through the prophets in various ways

1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, NIV

2 Peter 1:21 - Men spoke from God through the Holy Spirit

21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

NIV

Hebrews 6:18 – It is impossible for God to lie

18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. NIV

Psalm 119:160 – His righteous Laws are eternal

160 All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal. NIV

Proverbs 30:5 – Every word of God is flawless

5 "Every word of God is flawless;NIV

Matthew 5:18 – Not a jot or a tittle will pass away of the Word

18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

NIV

Hebrews 1:2 – In these last days He has spoken through His Son

2 but in these last days He has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.

Ockham's Razor

·         Ockham's razor is a principle from philosophy that shaves off excessive hairs or more to the point, excessive scenarios. - Suppose there exist two explanations for an occurrence. - In most cases the simpler one is usually better. Another way of saying it, is that the more assumptions you have to make, the more unlikely the explanation is.

·         This means that if there are several possible ways that something might have happened, the way that uses the fewest guesses is probably the right one.

REASONS TO REJECT THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST

Q Sincere Belief

·         Question; What does it matter what you believe as long as you are sincere?

·         This is the belief that assumes that any faith will work for you to get you to Heaven as long as you are sincere about it. – This is what super star Oprah Winfrey’s church espouses and this belief is fatal; this is the blind leading the blind, they will all fall into the ditch.

·         It is possible to be sincerely wrong; – I sincerely believed I was putting tooth paste on my tooth brush, but it turned out to be Preparation-H for hemorrhoids. - If your car was out of gas and you sincerely believed the gas tank was full, the car still wouldn’t run. - Think about the Muslims who kill themselves and others in the belief that this somehow glorifies their god.

·         America is a nation of pluralism; it is a melting pot of every conceivable ethnic and religious groups and is a nation of equal religious tolerance, therefore it is “Narrow Minded” to restrict the redemption of mankind to one Messiah and one Faith. – Note: religious toleration does not mean equal truth, all religions do not teach the same thing,

·          The Book says that what you believe leads to how you behave; Belief equals Behavior. – Muslims drop to their knees five times a day to pray to Allah, but without Jesus they are just lost.  Jehovah Witnesses and Mormons believe that they can earn salvation through their missionary works of going from door to door to enlarge their church roles, but the book says that salvation is a gift and does not come from works. – NYOBS 74.15 -JEHOVAH WITNESS CULT -- NYOBS 74.29 – LDS MORMON CULT -- NYOBS 75.02 - JOSEPH SMITH FAKE LDS PROPHET

·         The Book says that people will get to the point that they will just do what’s right in their own eyes. - NYOBS 65.02 – CASE FOR GOD  -- NYOBS 29.02 – CASE FOR CHRISTIANITY

·         The only way to embrace equal validly of religions is to ignore their doctrinal differences. It is these differences that lead to powerful and passionate disputes, violent forms of persecution and even war. – The FALSE PROPHETS of the Bible, in an effort to avoid conflict and be Politically Correct and Inclusive, cried out “peace, peace” when there was no peace.

·         This is going to be hard to say and to accept, but God is “Narrow Minded”, He Himself said that the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction and those who enter by it are many. -  Believers must enter by the narrow gate which the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. – As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.

Proverbs 23:7 - As he thinks in his heart, so is he
⁷ For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. "Eat and drink!" he says to you, But his heart is not with you. (NKJV)

Acts 4:12 – Salvation is in no other name but Jesus
¹² There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” (NLT)

Ephesians 2:8-9 – Salvation is a gift; not because of works
⁸ God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.
⁹ Salvation is NOT a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. (NLT)

Jeremiah 8:11 – False prophets Peace; when there is no peace
¹¹ They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. “Peace, peace,” they say, when there is no peace. (NIV2011)

Matthew 7:13-14 – The Gate is NARROR and the way hard
¹³ Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
¹⁴ For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. (ESV)

Judges 21:25 – People did what was right in their own eyes
²⁵ In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes. (NLT)

Matthew 15:13-14 – Blind leading the Blind – All fall into ditch
¹³ Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted,
¹⁴  so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.” (NLT)

Q Blind Faith

·         Question: Why does Christianity require blind faith?

·         The claim for people to follow Christianity in “Blind Faith” is simply not true. - Faith is not wishful thinking, it is evidence and logic. -  No place in the scriptures are we told, Believe, “just because.” -  Belief is better described as “trust” which is never presented as belief without evidence. – We are to test everything we hear and search the scriptures to prove what is true.

·         We actually exercise “Blind Faith” when we eat food prepared by someone else; we Trust and Believe it will be good for us. – We take medicine trusting it will be good for us.  We travel in boats, planes and cars trusting and believing that they are safe.  Our trust is based on evidence of what others have said or have experienced.

·         As Believers our trust points to historical events as the basis for our faith; our trust. -  We believe because of the miraculous signs and wonders performed by Moses. - We Believe because of the evidence of the miracles of Jesus Christ. – We Trust and Believer what God has written in His Word; the Bible. – We believe because of the testimonies of others. -

1 John 4:1 – TEST EVERYTHING YOU HEAR
¹ Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. (NLT)

Acts 17:11 – SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES for truth
¹¹ And the people of Berea were more OPEN-MINDED than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message.

They searched the Scriptures day after day to see

if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. (NLT)

Numbers 14:11 – Believe because of the MIRACULOUS SIGNS
¹¹ And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? Will they never believe me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them? (NLT)

John 14:11 – Believe because of the EVIDENCE OF HIS WORK
¹¹ Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do. (NLT)

John 5:30-47 – Believe because of others TESTIMONIES
³⁰ I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will.
³¹ If I were to testify on my own behalf, my testimony would not be valid.
³² But someone else is also testifying about me, and I assure you that everything he says about me is true.
³³ In fact, you sent investigators to listen to John the Baptist, and his testimony about me was true. .
³⁵ John was like a burning and shining lamp, and you were excited for a while about his message.
³⁶ But I have a greater witness than John—my teachings and my miracles. The Father gave me these works to accomplish, and they prove that he sent me.
³⁷ And the Father who sent me has testified about me himself. You have never heard his voice or seen him face to face,
³⁸ and you do not have his message in your hearts, because you do not believe me—the one he sent to you.
³⁹ You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me!
⁴⁰ Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life.
⁴¹ Your approval means nothing to me,
⁴² because I know you don’t have God’s love within you.
⁴⁴ No wonder you can’t believe! For you gladly honor each other, but you don’t care about the honor that comes from the one who alone is God.
⁴⁵ Yet it isn’t I who will accuse you before the Father. Moses will accuse you! Yes, Moses, in whom you put your hopes.
⁴⁶ If you really believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me.
⁴⁷ But since you don’t believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?” (NLT)

2 Peter 1:16 – We are not making up clever stories
¹⁶ For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw his majestic splendor with our own eyes (NLT)

1 Corinthians 15:13-14 – Believe - Resurrection OBSERVATION
¹³ For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either.
¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. (NLT)

Luke 1:1-4 – Believe because of WRITTEN REPORTS
¹ Many people have set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us.
² They used the eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples.
³ Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write a careful account for you, most honorable Theophilus,
⁴ so YOU CAN BE CERTAIN OF THE TRUTH of everything you were taught. (NLT)

Q Evil in the World

·         Question: If there is a loving God, why is there so much evil & suffering in the world?

• Christianity believes the world was created good and then it went wrong. – Did God create Evil as well as Good? – God created man with FREE WILL; a mind that can think, reason and plan. - If a man is truly free to do good, he is also truly free to do evil; it is God’s will that man does GOOD, but man is FREE to choose. – Life is choice driven. - When God gave man free will, He MADE IT POSSIBLE for Evil to exist.
• An Angel is more powerful than a man and his Free Will can do the MOST GOOD as well as the WORST EVIL. – That’s what we have with Lucifer; the earth had been given to him by God.  He was created with “Free Will” and REASONED he could do what he wanted; and did.
• Lucifer REASONED “Five” I WILLS: "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.  I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High”. - NYOBS 07.18 - ESCHATOLOGY.
• We have evil in the world BECAUSE that is what man “chooses”. – It’s in the Book -

Isa 14:13-14 – Satan reasoned Evil with the five “I Wills”

13 You said …, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.   I will ascend above the

14 tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High."

NIV

Ez 28:14-15 – You were GOOD till YOU decided to do EVIL

14 You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you.

15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. NIV  

Q One way to God.

·         Question: How can there be only ONE way to God?

·         Anybody can tell you that there are many ways to get to your destination, you just have to think outside of the box.  If there is only one road, you can take a train, an airplane, a helicopter, a boat or even a sub-marine.

• Logic would tell you that there must be many paths and many ways to God, just with different names. - All the spokes in a wheel lead to the same hub. - NYOBS 14.02 – ANOTHER GOSPEL
• The Bible says there is only One Way. - Jesus is The Way, The Truth and The Life and no one comes to “God the Father” except through Him. - Jesus went to cross and bore our sins that we might be redeemed from destruction.
• There is no other name under heaven upon which man can be saved. – Jesus is the only name. - No one can come to God on his own; the Holy Spirit must draw him.  It’s in the Book

John 6:65 – The Holy Spirit must enable you to come

65 He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him." NIV

Acts 4:12 – There is no other name by which we can be saved

12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." NIV

John 14:6 – Jesus is the only way

6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. NIV

John 14:6 – The Way, The Truth, The Life

6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

NIV     

1 Peter 2:24 – He bore our sins that we might die to sin

24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.

Q Son of God

·         Question: How do we know that Jesus was really the Son of God?

• As a youth, I would walk past Sue Epps’s house singing “The Indian Love Call”.  I thought if I loved her hard enough, she would love me back; but it didn’t work – Just because I believe strongly in something does not make it happen or true.  It’s not how much faith I have, but rather WHO is the object of my faith.
• Scriptures document that Jesus went around healing people and performed signs and wonders.  Scriptures further reports that the Church leaders considered His actions blasphemy and had Him crucified. - Three days later He BODILY rose from the dead. – For forty days after His resurrection, He was seen BODILY by over 500 people at one time as well as appearing to his Disciples – The Disciples preached His BODILY resurrection at the threat of death.  They all DIED and never recanted.
• What GROUP OF MEN who knew something was a lie would die for that lie? – No one has ever produced a body to refute their claims. - The origin of Christianity hinges on the belief that GOD raised Jesus from the DEAD. - He either rose from the dead or He didn’t - What is the most LOGICAL PROBABILITY? 
• At first Jesus was considered just a great moral teacher, maybe even a prophet, but He went on to claim that He was the Son of God and could forgive sin. - The man was either a lunatic or something worse; UNLESS He is who He says He is. 
• Although I have never seen George Washington in person, nor was I alive when he was in office, I believe he was the first President of the United States.  I believe it because I TRUST the information that was given to me. – A witness must be deemed “trustworthy”.
• It’s only right that I should REASON that Jesus is either the Son of God or He is not. The door is open for only these Two Options. – An Angel recognized that He was the Son of God as well as Demons and His disciples witnessed His translation from earth into Heaven. - The empty tomb is my “TRUSTWORTHY WITNESS”; Death defeated.  NYOBS 18.31 - WAY OF THE CROSS
• Thousands of people line up every year to see an EMPTY TOMB.  – WHY IS THAT?
• Logical probability is the sole ground on which any man can make a deductive decision.  Was Jesus of Nazareth the Son of God? -  What is the MOST LOGICAL PROBABILITY?

Luke 1:35 – The Angels said He was the Son of God

35 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.

NIV

Mark 3:11 – The Demon affirmed Jesus as the Son of God

11 Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the Son of God. "NIV

Luke 22:70 – Jesus said He was the Son of God

70 They all asked, "Are you then the Son of God?"  He replied, "You are right in saying I am." NIV

John 19:7 – The Jews heard Jesus say He was the Son of God

7 The Jews insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God."  NIV

1 Corinthian’s 15:6-8 – Appeared to 500; His half-brother & Paul

6 He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.

7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,

8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

NIV  

Acts 1:9-11 – Disciples watched as Jesus translated into Heaven

9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

11 "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven. NIV

Q Virgin Birth

·         Question: How can there be a virgin birth? – Common logic would tell you this cannot happen. – This is nothing but Blind Faith.

·         Those who reject God make every effort to remove the supernatural from the Bible because the Christian faith rest on the supernatural; the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

• In the very first book of the Bible we see PROPHECY from God Himself that there would be conflict between the seed of the Serpent and the seed of the woman; the Messiah.  NOTE:  Women do not have seed, only the man. – This reference is to the supernatural.
• Because of a visit from an Angel in a dream, Mary’s espoused husband Joseph had full knowledge of what was to take place and had no sexual relations with Mary until after the birth of Jesus. - NOTE: In OT times when you became engaged you were considered married although the covenant had not been finalized which usually took about a year.
• The prophets foretold that through a MIRACLE, a Virgin would SUPERNATURALLY give birth to a son and He would be called Immanuel which means “GOD WITH US” – Think about that – God living among us.

Gen 3:15 - God will put enmity between Satan and Jesus

15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel."

NIV

Isa 7:14 – God will give a sign – God with Us

14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. NIV

Matt 1:18-23 – How the Birth came about

18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.

19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:

23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"- which means, "God with us."  NIV

Q Contradictions

·         Question:  What about all the contradictions in the Bible?

·         The Law of Contradiction: Two propositions cannot both be true and false at the same time when dealing with the same context. A thing cannot be and not be simultaneously. - All logic depends on this simple principle.

·         I can count about a hundred discrepancies in parallel passages of the Bible.  Most deal with numbers, dates and names.  They are certainly there as recorded through the different author’s perspective, but most discrepancies tend to complement each other; they add to what has already been partially said.

·         There were early attempts to harmonize the Gospels, particularly Matthew, Mark and Luke who provided biographical sketches of Jesus and His Ministry. – Admittedly the authors had different thoughts on the number of Angels present at the tomb of Jesus and what was written on the sign above the cross, the day of the week of the Passover in the upper room and so forth.  I would call these small discrepancies not contradictions, the main theme of the stories remained the same.

·         Example; One author says Judas hanged himself and another author says he fell down and his intestines spilled out. – While this looks like a discrepancy it could have been that Judas hanged himself and the tree limb broke and he fell down and spilled out his intestines; instead of saying this is contradictory and one observation is wrong, both could be correct.

·         Example: One author reports one Angel spoke at the tomb of Jesus, another author says there were two Angels. – Perhaps there were two and only one spoke; either way the story line is not affected. – None of these violate the Law of Contradiction,

Matthew 27:5 – Judas went out and hanged himself
⁵ Then Judas threw the silver coins down in the Temple and went out and hanged himself.

(NLT)

Acts 1:18 – Judas fell headfirst and his intestines spilled out
¹⁸ Judas had bought a field with the money he received for his treachery. Falling headfirst there, his body split open, spilling out all his intestines.

(NLT)

Mark 16:5-6 – One Angel at the tomb of Jesus
⁵ When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked,
⁶ but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body.

(NLT)

John 20:12 – Two Angels at the tomb of Jesus
¹²  And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. (ESV)

Q Never Heard

·         Question: What about those who have never heard about Jesus?

·         The Book says that we are still accountable to God even though no one has told us about Him; scripture says that by just looking at the earth and sky, through everything that God has made, that man can clearly see God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and His divine nature. - The truth about God is known instinctively and naturally so they have no excuse for not knowing God.

·         The Book says no one seeks God on his own, therefore God has planted eternity; a seed of Faith in in the human heart through the Holy Spirit.  If you seek God with all your heart you will find Him. – It’s in the Book -  

·         The Book says men knew God, but they wouldn’t worship Him as God or even give Him thanks, but began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. - As a result, their minds became dark and confused. - Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools, and instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people, birds, animals and reptiles.

·         The Book says that they traded the truth about God for a lie. - Men did shameful things with other men, their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They became backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invented new ways of sinning, and refused to understand; they broke their promises, became heartless with no mercy and encouraged others to do the same thing.

·         Just to get you further upset; everyone that died and believed in God before Jesus was born went to a place called “Paradise” and it was there that Jesus preached for three days after His death and they accepted Him as the Messiah and He took ALL of them and the place called “Paradise” to Heaven where it is now. – NYOBS 68.29 – THE THREE DAYS

·         What you have just heard is that we are judged at death and are awaiting the announcement of awards of eternal life with God, or judgment of eternal damnation in total darkness, out of the presence of God. -  God is fair and just and we will be judged by what’s in our heart.

·         Example; A gentile named Cornelius, had a heart for God, but had never heard of Jesus; God sent Peter to him to tell him about the Good News of Jesus Christ and Cornelius accepted it. – God is just and fair and no one with God in their heart will miss out on hearing the Gospel. – Understand that demons and fallen angels believe in God and have heard the Gospel message, but they have rejected it. – Hearing the Gospel Message does not save; Believing, Accepting and Repenting saves.

Romans 1:20 - They have no excuse for not knowing God
²⁰ For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature.

So they have no excuse for not knowing God. (NLT)

Ecclesiastes 3:11 – Eternity has been planted in our heart
¹¹ Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. (NLT)

Romans 1:21-23 – Men knew God; wouldn’t worship Him as God
²¹ Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.
²² Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.
²³ And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. (NLT)

Romans 1:24-32 – God abandoned them to their lust
²⁴ So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies.
²⁵ They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.
²⁶ That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other.
²⁷ And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.
²⁸ Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done.
²⁹ Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip.
³⁰ They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents.
³¹ They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy.
³² They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things DESERVE TO DIE, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too. (NLT)

Romans 3:11 – No one seeks God on his own
¹¹ No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. (NLT)

Deuteronomy 4:29 – If you search for God, you will find Him
²⁹ But from there you will search again for the LORD your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him.

Matthew 28:19-20 – Go and preach the Gospel to all nations
¹⁹ Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
²⁰ Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (NLT)

Acts 1:8 – The Gospel will be preached to the ends of the earth
⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (NLT)

Matthew 12:40 – Three days in Hell

40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

NIV

1 Peter 3:18-19 – He preached in Hell – In Abraham’s Bosom

18 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,

19 through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison

NIV

Ephesians 4:8 – He took all those in Abrahams Bosom to heaven

8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Holy Spirit day of Pentecost)

KJV

Genesis 18:25-26 – God is fair and just
²⁵ Surely you wouldn’t do such a thing, destroying the righteous along with the wicked. Why, you would be treating the righteous and the wicked exactly the same! Surely you wouldn’t do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”
²⁶ And the LORD replied, “If I find fifty righteous people in Sodom, I will spare the entire city for their sake.”

(NLT)

Acts 10:1-2 – Cornelius believed in God – never heard of Jesus
¹ In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian Regiment.
² He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was everyone in his household. He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God.

(NLT)

Acts 10:34-35 – God sends Peter to Cornelius – He accepts
³⁴ Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism.
³⁵ In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right. (NLT)

Q No Witnesses

·         Question:  How can I believe in Jesus when there is no witnesses to testify?

·         There are witnesses of scripture as well as in our own spirit.

• The testimony of undisputed historic writing, 4,000 years old passed down within the Torah
• The testimony of prophecy fulfilled – Not just some… But ALL of it.
• The testimony of His Virgin Birth – Mary, a virgin, conceived Jesus through the Holy Spirit.
• The testimony of the Empty Tomb; Confucius, Buddha & Mohammed’s tombs are ALL occupied
• The testimony of the Disciples who gave their life for the Gospel and never recanted.
• The testimony of generations considering the facts and passing their Faith down to us
• The testimony of my own spirit; this world is not home; I feel there is something greater. 

John 20:29 – Blessed are those who believe and have not seen
²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (ESV)

Q Psychological Crutch

·         Question: Why does Christianity seem like a psychological crutch?

·         Psychological means “existing in the mind” or “reality as it is perceived. -  You have to leave your brain at the door to be a Christian. – God is just Wish Fulfillment for the end product.

·         Ted Turner founder of CNN; Cable News Network, said Christianity is a religion for losers.

·         Larry Flynt publisher of the pornographic Hustler magazine said, “There is nothing good I can say about it (religion), people use it as a crutch”.

·         Sigmund Freud, the renowned Austrian Psychiatrist said, “religious beliefs are illusions, fulfilments of the oldest, strongest, and most urgent wishes of mankind... The terrifying impression of helplessness in childhood aroused the need for protection through love which was provided by the father” -- It seems Christianity is just a crutch for the unintelligent, pathetic and weak people who don’t have enough fortitude to cope with the future and take responsibility for their own life.

·         If Christianity is a psychological crutch why would anyone choose to follow a God that makes things harder for you; gives you rules to live by; that redirects your thinking; that holds you accountable for your behavior and desires, that says deny yourself and follow me and then counts your good works as nothing but filthy rags.

·         The Book is being very proper and nice when using the words “filthy rags”; in today’s vernacular it means a woman’s USED sanitary napkin, that is just how disgusting our works in our sinful nature are in comparison to the work of Jesus Christ. – Why would we not choose to adhere to something that just says “do whatever seems right to you”.

·         Why would anyone chose a religion that you could be killed for just for believing; Andrew Crucified -- Bartholomew – Beheaded -- Mark Burned alive -- Matthew Speared to death -- Thomas Murdered – James Beheaded -- Philip crucified -- Simon Peter – Crucified -- Does this sound like the earliest followers of Christianity had  a psychological crutch?

·         C.S. Lewis said, “Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists”. - If a “God of love” does exist, the rational thing to do is accept that love.

·         Christianity is not a crutch, it’s a cure, it’s a cross and it suits man’s fancy to dismiss the cross so that in his mind he does not have to answer to God; the irony is that what he believes does not change the love nor the judgment of God. – Your belief and Faith is only as good as the object in which it is placed. – Unbelievers who place their faith in their own abilities and self-sufficiency don’t even realize that they are actually wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked – It’s in the Book -

Judges 21:25 – People did what was right in their own eyes
²⁵ In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes. (NLT)

Revelation 3:17 – Un-Believers don’t realize they are blind
¹⁷ You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. (NLT)

Isaiah 64:6 – Our works are nothing but filthy rags
⁶ We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind. (NLT)

Luke 9:23 – Deny yourself daily and follow me
²³ And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. (ESV)

The God Idea

• There is a difference between; Belief in no God (There is no God) and No belief in God - (There is a God, but no belief) - NYOBS 48.02 – THE GOD IDEA

·         For one to believe in the existence of a God, one must be confident that such a belief is capable of being verified by either reasoned argument or direct experience.

·         If we start out neutral with respect to God and try to reason our way to His existence without some kind of a spiritual interaction, then we just aren't going to come to a positive conclusion, thus a belief in God becomes a form of unreason.

·         Does the Universe, Earth, Wind, Fire, Water, the Eye, the Human Brain, DNA and Laws of Nature, all point to happenstance and Evolution or to Creative Design; The God Idea?  

Pascal’s Wager

·         Name of the Game   Does God Exist - a wager – for ETERNITY

·         The Prize – Obtain an infinitely happy life for eternity. 

·         The Stakes – YOUR LIFE.

·         The Odds – 50/50 chance of winning or losing. – Equal chance of gain or loss.

·         Participants -The game is a necessary pragmatic decision for every living person which is "Impossible to Avoid". – EVERYONE MUST WAGER; it’s not optional.

·         RULES – There is INFINITE BLISS or INFINITE LOSS attached to the wager which we are compelled to make.

·         You must choose which God you are entering into a wager with. – Jehovah, Allah, Buddha, Hindu, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Baltic, Celtic, Irish, Finnic, Germanic, Greek pantheon, Hungarian, Roman, Aztec, Maya, Polynesian, etc. - (What if you choose the wrong God?)

·         You must believe with certainty that the God you choose will honor His side of the Bet.

·         THE WAGER - A decision of whether or not to believe in the existence of God must be made by "CONSIDERING THE CONSEQUENCES OF EACH POSSIBILITY".–

1.     If you bet that God DOES exists, then; if you win, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing, meaning one can gain eternal life if God exists, but if not, one will be no worse off in death than if one had not believed.

2.     If you bet God DOES NOT exist, win or lose, you either gain nothing or lose everything. You are either unavoidably annihilated or just lose the opportunity of eternal happiness.

·         SUMMATION - Betting that God DOES exist… if you win, you win it all. - If you lose, you lose nothing.

·         If the Wager is valid; the inability to believe is not rational, and therefore must be caused by feelings: - This inability, therefore, can be overcome by learning from those who were bound just like you. -  Follow the way by which they began; by acting as they believed, attending Church Services, Repentance before God, following in Baptized, etc. - This will naturally bring your spirit alive, enlarge your FAITH and cause you to believe.

·         C.S. Lewis speaking about God’s presence said, “We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade, the presence of God. The world is crowded with Him.”

Isaiah 1:18 – Let’s reason together
¹⁸ Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD:

(KJV)

Mark 9:24 - Lord I believe; Help me in my Unbelief
²⁴ Immediately the father of the child cried out and said,

“I BELIEVE; HELP MY UNBELIEF!” (ESV)

Last Thoughts

·         I have touched on just a few of the exhausted reasons to not believe in Jesus Christ and you have continued to read because of the seed of faith that has been planted in your heart by the Holy Spirit. – Understand that if it was not for Christianity, an Atheist would not even have a reason to exist. 

·         Since you are here, I encourage you to use what I call “Fence Post Theology”.  Everything you read plants a fence post in your mind and spirit. - Pretty soon you will see the Fence Post all lining up.  When you read or hear something that does not line up, either your thinking is wrong or what you heard is wrong.

• Here’s where we are; The Bible says that we are all sinners and because of sin, we are separated from God.  This makes us the object of God’s wrath - The penalty for this sin is death – We are doomed to be out of the presence of God and into everlasting destruction.
• The only way to escape the wrath of God is to embrace Christ and His work on the cross. Jesus bore our sins in His righteous body so that our body would “die to sin”.
• No one seeks God on their own, they are drawn by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel; the good news of Jesus Christ. – This Gospel went first to the Jews and then after that it went to all that would listen. – It simply says we have all sinned and with all of our good works we still fall short of God’s standard. – If you say you do not sin, the Book says you are calling God a liar; He says we all sin.
• Wanting no one to be destroyed, God is giving some time for many to have an opportunity to hear this good news and make a Free Will decision. – It was through one man Adam’ sin that we became the object of God’s wrath and it was through one man Jesus’ death that we have been redeemed from the curse of the law and made right with God.
• Jesus was tested and temped in all ways that are common to man and yet did not sin, but was made to be sin and was sacrificed on the cross to redeem from the curse all those who would believe. – Jesus did not die for everyone, if He did, He was a failure.  Jesus died for those who would Believe and Trust, not with Blind Faith, but logically seeking and searching for Truth.
• Because every person is born in sin, they are from birth separated from God and on the path to destruction; Hell. - God in his love, not wanting any to perish, sent His only begotten Son to mortal man to provide a path back to Him. – His final sacrifice removed His wrath and the separation – This redemption is a free gift and we have ALL been given FREE WILL to accept it or reject it.
• Jesus said in the simplest of terms, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. - No one can come to the Father except through me

The decisions you make on this side of life have eternal consequences. 

Life is Choice Driven

-      It’s in the Book  -

Romans 3:23 – We have all sinned

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

NIV

Isiah 59:2 – Sin separates us from God

2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

NIV 

Ephesians 2:3 – We are objects of Gods wrath

3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

NIV

Romans 6:23 – The wages of sin is death

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. NIV

2 Thessalonians 1:9 – Everlasting destruction out God’s of presence

9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power

NIV

Rom 3:10-11 – No one seeks God on his own

10 As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one;

11 there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.

NIV

Isaiah 64:6 – Our good works are just like filthy rags
⁶ We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind. (NLT)

1 Peter 2:24 – Jesus bore our sins on the cross

24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.

 NIV

Romans 1:16 – The Gospel is for the Jew and everybody else
¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.

(NLT)

Romans 3:23 – We all have sinned and fall short of the standard
²³ For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. (NLT)

1 John 1:10 – If you say sin does not exist – call God a liar
¹⁰ If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

(NLT)

2 Peter 3:9 – God giving time wanting no one to be destroyed
⁹  The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.

(NLT)

Romans 5:16 – Adam Condemned Lost – Jesus Redemption Saved
¹⁶ And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. (NLT)

Hebrews 4:15 – Jesus faced everything we did and did not sin
¹⁵ This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.

(NLT)

John 3:16-17 – God sacrificed His Son to save many
¹⁶ For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
¹⁷ God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

(NLT)

2 Corinthians 5:21 – Jesus with no sin; made to be a sin offering
²¹  For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

(NLT)

John 14:6 – Faith in Jesus is the only way to God
⁶ Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

(NLT)

Rom 10:9-10 Confess with your mouth and Believe in your heart

9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

NIV

1 Corinthians 2:14 – Jesus is FOOLISHNESS to the perishing
¹⁴ But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are FOOLISHNESS unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (KJV)

In the multitude of counselors,

there is wisdom.

Proverbs 11:14

I am grateful to those that went before me providing concepts, ideas, historical

information, and scripture verses.  Because of them I can stand on their shoulders

and see further that I otherwise ever could have.

                                                                                                                                     

A Commentary; Critical, Experimental and Practical - Eerdmans

All the Women of the Bible – Edith Deen

Antiquity of the Jews – Flavius Josephus Matthias

Apocrypha – Goodspeed

Baker Commentary on the Bible – Elwell

Bible Almanac; The – Packer-Tenney-White

Bible Commentary – F.B. Meyer

Bible Dictionary – Harper and Row

Bible Dictionary – Nelson’s

Bible Hub.com

Book of Mormon; The – Latter Day Saints LDS

Dake’s Annotated Bible – Dake

English Standard Version Bible – ESV

Expositor’s Bible Commentary – Frank E. Gaebelein

Forgotten Books of Eden; The – World

Illustrated Bible Dictionary; The – Tyndale

Interlinear Greek-English New Testament - Baker

King James Version Bible – KJV

Lost Books of the Bible; The - World

Lost Books of the Bible; The - Bell

Matthew Henry’s Commentary - Zondervan

Missing Books of the Bible; The – Halo Press

Mormon Mirage; The – Latayne Colvett Scott

Mysteries of the Bible – Readers Digest

Nag Hammadi Library; The – James M. Robinson

Nave’s Topical Bible - Zondervan

New International Dictionary of the Bible; The – Douglas - Tenney

New International Version Bible (2011) – NIV

NOTE: The “new” NIV has been corrupted & made gender neutral.  AVOID IT.

Secrets of the Dead Sea Scrolls – Hugh J. Schonfield

Thru the Bible – J. Vernon McGee

Vincent’s Word Studies of the New Testament – Mac Donald

Who’s Who in the Bible – Paul D. Gardner

Wycliffe Bible Commentary; The – Pfeiffer & Harrison

Wikipedia –

Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible; The – Tenney