Hello everyone,
Someone asked me earlier what I thought of this whole thing. "Did they eat to much Swiss cheese?" They asked. I sat there and just looked at them, shaking my head. I have to draw the line. Thousands of people dying is not something to laugh at. I've done much the past few days. I've actually been meaning to send out an email of this subject months ago, but never found the time or energy to write it. I realize now time is short. We are not promised tomorrow. Thousands of people were going about their normal day. They were businessmen going to work, passengers on jets going home or leaving on vacation. Some had just dropped children off at school. Others were making plans for the weekend. Maybe some were even thinking, "Why do I put myself through this stuff everyday? What is the use of this job? Oh well, I need to pay my bills."
Even before I went to Pennsylvania this summer, I had thought about that. But while I was there, I feel that I made a commitment about my life. I committed that my life would not be a life of self-satisfaction. I would not try to further my own career, but I honestly have a burden on my heart to help out others instead, to put others above myself.
One day, I was in the bathroom getting ready for work. I thought to myself, "I was a pretty popular guy in high school, but what lasting effect has it made on my life? I was the president of the key club, secretary of the student council and editor of the school newspaper (or what we had of it anyway). I was on the yearbook staff and in the choir. I played football and baseball. I was pretty involved. But what good has it been? Key Club and student council are in different hands now and make their own decision and their own policies, whether or not I agree with them. New people move into the choir and yearbook, and it still works like clockwork. While I was playing football, I was considered one of the better players on the team, yet after I leave the team wins its first championship." Did this thought depress me? No. It did, however, make me realize that not only is man not immortal, but neither are his works. They will all eventually be forgotten. It lead me to the same thoughts that Solomon, historically one of the richest, wisest, and most powerful men in the world, made in the book of Ecclesiastes. "There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of the things that are to come by those who come after." (Eccl. 1:11). He went on to say several verses later, "I have attained greatness, and have gained more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has understood great wisdom and knowledge. I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind." I wish I had the time to go into all that Solomon said in this book, but you people would be here forever and I don't think you want that to happen. It is a very good book to study, and I would recommend it to any and all interested. He did, however, conclude in the last chapter of the book that one should seek God early in life. I think that in the light of what has happened in the past few days, everyone should put serious thought to this.
This, then, raises the question of what god is the true God. Many people are quick to say that all sorts of religions are out there that offer the same thing. Live a moral life and you will live forever in paradise. Live an immoral life and you will be forever tormented. That is the basic idea, isn't it? I would have to go out on a limb and say this is not the scenario true Christianity offers. I know this may offend or shock some people, but please bare with me. Before I go farther, though, I would like to offer several reasons why I believe Christianity. I would also like to thank Josh McDowell for helping with his book, More Than A Carpenter.
First of all, Jesus Christ is a historic figure. Many people want to say, "Can you scientifically prove it?" No, I cannot. Can you scientifically prove Napoleon or Abraham Lincoln existed? No, it is not a scientific fact, but an historic fact. Sit in on a History 101 class in most universities and you will hear about him. Knowing that he existed, the question is raised, "Who is he then?" It is simple. He is either a liar, a lunatic, or the very One he said he was. Many want to say that he was a good, moral teacher or that he was a prophet. Think about it though, why would he say he is God? If he was a good, moral teacher, who told those listening to him not to lie, why would he himself lie and say he was God, when he knew he wasn't? That would then, make him a liar bent on human deception, a very despicable person. By no means was he a "good, moral teacher." Another who has lied, and caused others to die for his cause is Osama bin Laden. But, the claim to be God would also make Jesus very foolish, since it was this claim of being God that ultimately lead to his untimely and cruel death - crucifixion. When was the last time bin Laden sacrificed his life, rather than the life of his followers, for a cause. In fact, bin Laden and others like him are far from even being considered "good, moral teachers." Historian Philip Schaff, however , in his book History of Christianity, offers proof that Jesus was not a liar when he says, “This testimony, if not true, must be downright blasphemy or madness . . . How in the name of logic, common sense, and experience, could an impostor - that is a deceitful, selfish, depraved man - have invented, and constantly maintained from the beginning to end, the purest and noblest character known in history with the most perfect air of truth and reality? How could he have conceived and successfully carried out a plan of unparalleled beneficence, moral magnitude, and sublimate, and sacrificed his own life for it, in the face of the strongest prejudices of his people and age." Josh McDowell states, "Someone who lived as Jesus lived, taught as Jesus taught, and died as Jesus died could not have been a liar."
That then would lead to the presumption, maybe he thought he was God but was wrong. That would make him a lunatic. I cannot make an argument better than Josh McDowell made:
"If it is inconceivable for Jesus to be a liar, then couldn't he actually have thought himself to be God, but been mistaken? After all, it's possible to be both sincere and wrong. But we must remember that for someone to think himself God, especially in a fiercely monotheistic culture, and then to tell others that their eternal destiny depended on believing in him, is no slight flight of fantasy but the thoughts of a lunatic in the fullest sense. Was Jesus Christ such a person?
"Someone who believes he is God sounds like someone today believing himself Napoleon. He would be deluded and self-deceived, and probably he would be locked up so he wouldn't hurt himself or anyone else. Yet in Jesus, we don't observe the abnormalities and imbalance that usually go along with being deranged. His poise and composure would certain be amazing if he were insane.
"Noyes and Kolb, in a medical text (Modern Clinical Psychiatry (Philadelphia: Saunders. 1958). 5th edition), describe the schizophrenic as a person who is more autistic than realistic. The schizophrenic desires to escape from the world of reality. Let's face it; claiming to be God would certainly be a retreat from reality.
"In light of the other things we know about Jesus, it's hard to imagine that he was mentally disturbed. Here is a man who spoke some of the most profound sayings ever recorded. His instructions have liberated many individuals in mental bondage. Clark H. Pinnock asks; 'Was he deluded about his greatness, a paranoid, an unintentional deceiver, a schizophrenic? Again, the skill and depth of his teachings support the case only for his total mental soundness. If only we were as sane as he!' (Set Forth Your Case (New Jersey: The Craig Press, 1967), p. 62) A student at a California university told me that his psychology professor has said in class that 'all he has to do is pick up a Bible and read portions of Christ's teaching to many of his patients. That's all the counseling they need.'
“Psychiatrist J.T. Fisher states [in the book A Few Buttons Missing]: 'If you were to take the sum total of all authoritative articles ever written by the most qualified of psychologists and psychiatrists on the subject of mental hygiene - if you were to combine them and refine them and cleave out the excess verbiage - if you were t take the whole of the meat and none of the parsley, and if you were to have these unadulterated bits of pure scientific knowledge concisely expressed by the most capable of living poets, you would have an awkward and incomplete summation of the Sermon on the Mount [Matt. 5-7]. And it would suffer immeasurably through comparison. For nearly two thousand years the Christian world has been holding in its hands the complete answer to its restless and fruitless yearnings. Here . . . rests the blueprint for successful human life with optimism, mental health, and contentment.'"
McDowell goes on to give other quotes, but I think everyone gets the picture by now.
The third option would be that Jesus is who he claimed to be. John 8:23 - And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."
That is why I believe in Christianity.
I now want to go back to my point that Christianity does not say you must be moral to get to Heaven. When I say moral, I mean that no one can "earn their way" into Heaven.
Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death . . ."
What is sin though? I think one of the best examples would be the ten commandments: No other god's before Me, no idols, don't take God's name in vain, remember the Sabbath - keep it Holy, honor your father and mother, don't murder, don't commit adultery (lust, pornography, premarital sex, etc.), don't steal, don't bear false witness, don't covet. None of us are perfect, not a single one. But, no one likes to be told they are doing wrong. I think if we are all truly honest though, we would all have to admit that we have sinned.
Romans 6:23: " . . . but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
God will forgive us if we turn to Him. John 3:16, 17 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." Romans also says that it is not the "law" that saves us, but God's grace. We cannot earn our way into Heaven. We have to believe and confess Jesus is Lord, and we can only get to Heaven through His grace and mercy.
John 14: 6: "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."
This grace, however, should not be used as a credit card. We should honestly try our best to fulfill God's commandments. God sees your heart and your true intentions. One can be the most upright person around, yet still not truly love God. But the sinner, who is humble and tries to change will be saved.
I do want to emphasis, however, that once one admits his sins, and confesses Jesus as Lord, there needs to be a change in lifestyle. We cannot use God's grace as a credit card. God did not intend for us to say "Yes, I believe in Jesus so I'll get to Heaven now" just to turn around and continue living the way we were before. But the new way of life is not a way of restrictions, but of God's love. God did not put laws over us to "take away our fun," but to protect us. It is like a mother warning her child not to touch the stove because it's hot. Just think if everyone went around breaking the commandment, "Thou shall not murder." All the commandments are like that.
Paul says in Titus 1:16, "They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work." And then in 2 Timothy 2:13, "If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us."
That is what I believe. I did not write this in an attempt to offend anyone and am sorry if that happened. I just want everyone to think about what they believe and why they believe it. If you don't know what you believe, I challenge you to do research and decide. I've told you what I believe and why I believe it. Please decide for yourself what you will believe before it is too late.
Matt. 28:19&20 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
The terrorists were not ashamed or afraid to die for their cause. They willingly sacrificed their lives for pure insanity. What would you die for?