…a series on Jesus – with excerpts from each article [expanded and republished from March 7, 2017]
What will you do with Jesus?
…Jesus the Messiah sent by God
As creations by God on earth, it behooves us to read, hear, and heed what God Himself has revealed to us as His will. How can we expect this God of the Universe to accept us into His holy Kingdom, if we do not read, hear, and heed His expressed desire for us? Have you read the Bible lately?
Jesus was a man who really did walk the earth, from the years 0-33 AD. There is no doubt whatsoever that he really existed, because the historical evidences are overwhelming – proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was born of Mary and Joseph, in Bethlehem.
This man claimed to be the Messiah, God-in-the-flesh, sent by God the Father to pay the penalty for the sins of mankind.
Jesus – more than a mere man …commentary on John 8 and Jesus’ claims to be God
Jesus was not just a mere man. He did amazing miracles no man has ever done, and He came back to life after being put to death by Roman soldiers. He came back alive – something no man has ever done. What kind of normal person could have done what Jesus accomplished? Not possible.
So what is your response to this fact? We believe and act on many things with much less historical evidences to back them up! Why reject Jesus?
God as man – the short version
…the chronology of God the Son: promised Messiah, God’s Son (One of the three-in-one Trinity) was sent to earth by God the Father; Father God gave His Holy Holy Holy Son to be sacrificed; Jesus was born as a baby boy into our world through Joseph and Mary; crucified at the age of 33 on our behalf. He allowed them to! Even predicted it; But He did not end “dead”. He resurrected Himself from the dead (which He predicted); went back to His Throne in Heaven – promising eternal life to any who humble themselves enough to repent and acknowledge Him as God, and follow Him.
Most people believe there is a God. What about you?
Who is your god? Is He truly the God of the Universe? Or, have you just sort of ended-up with this made-up creation of yours that you call “my God”? Or maybe you’ve allowed some other people to sort of lure you into their version of god?
“What a fool I would be,
to merely make my earth days my focus,
when my eternity is so much longer.
Why waste my eternity
by living my earth days in sin,
unforgiven,
not ready for heaven!”
– Source: The Life of Keith
John 8: Jesus Himself Declared He Is God
“…Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. 36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word [j]has no place in you. 38 I speak the things which I have seen [k]with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.”
The entrance of Jesus Christ onto the stage of history changed everything. Have you realized that? He Himself claimed to be God. He was not some kook who fooled everyone into believing Him. He actually furnished proof of His deity…
It behooves us all to examine closely the claims of Jesus. If you are a skeptic, you really have to get over it… all this jabberwocky demanding proof of Christ’s deity. God gave that proof already! Deal with it! It’s up to you now – to accept Him or reject Him.
“…13 But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. 14 I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them [d]from [e]the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.…
It is interesting when we look at the life of Jesus. We learn several things about Him:
-
- He was God. Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1; Revelation 1:8; 22:13, 16; John 8:58.
- He was the Creator of the Universe. John 1:3, 10; Colossians 1:16; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Hebrews 1:2.
- He became a man. John 1:14….
*Source: Life Isn’t Fair? by Dennis Swick
It was utterly astounding – the biggest event in the history of the universe: Creator God Himself came down to earth as a human being. Because He loved us so much, He wanted to free us from His eternal punishment. So He came down, became a man, “God in the flesh”. His name was Jesus.
In the blink of an eye, the new believer is transformed inside and passes
from death —- to life,
from condemnation —- to no condemnation,
from a destiny in hell —- to a destiny in heaven,
from mere humanness —- to a child of God.
Jesus Predicted His Death and Resurrection
…33 and after they have scourged Him, they will kill Him; and the third day He will rise again.”
The following excerpt is from an article by William Lane Craig, Should We Think of Christ’s Death in Juridical Terms? – on the atonement of Christ’s death on the cross (*Romans 3:25, 4:25, and 5:18). Read the full article here: http://www.reasonablefaith.org/should-we-think-of-christs-death-in-juridical-terms#ixzz4RVGxCPqU.
1. Was there really a man called Jesus who lived in Judea and was crucified by the Roman Empire?
2. Jesus lived and died on the cross, but how can I believe that he rose from the dead?
What are you going to do with the resurrection?
Jesus: God or Just a Good Man? …Analyzing our 3 options to explain His identity: a liar, a lunatic, or Lord? -by Josh McDowell
Analyzing Jesus’ Claim to Be God…
Would Jesus have suffered and died on a cross – if He did not love us, His created ones? Through His life and death Jesus taught us so much. -Brendon Powell: Which Jesus do you serve?
Is Jesus God?
If it is true, don’t you want to know that, and follow Him? The best way to know if it’s true — is to examine His claim, right? Or do you want something false?
I was designed by God before birth.
…I was designed distinctly as “Keith” way before, waaay back before the creation of the world. I did not come from some slime pit, evolving to eventually be birthed by Mom. (Godless evolution is a stupididiotic concoction.)
I am a design in progress! I was designed and formed to become who I am becoming. (God is not finished with me yet!) Read: Ephesians 1:4
If I were a Jew, I’d really want to investigate the claims of Jesus!
*He claimed to be….
You can’t just sit and waddle in your own cultural pool – if you want to understand Jesus, because hey – Jesus was a Torah-fulfilling Jew, not you! Read the Bible from the perspective of the writers, from the context of that day – not now! Read to understand it – as it was written.
Jesus was… a Jew in Roman days, a Torah-fulfilling Jew (see 4th paragraph here at str.org) He was not an American, or an Aussie or a Brit, not an aborigine, African, Russian nor Japanese, Chinese, Philipino, Navajo, Ubangi nor a valley boy. Jesus words came from a Jewish context, from back in that day.
So we have to get over it – and really see Jesus as He was, and not read-into His words with our words.
Where Did Jesus Claim to Be God? – Melinda Penner; www.str.org/blog
Where did Jesus claim to be God? Jesus made this claim a number of times, and it was very clear to those He was talking to. Jesus didn’t utter the three words, I am God. But He said it very explicitly in the context of His religion and culture. You can see it in the reaction of His enemies.
I want to know what Jesus thinks. Father God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, the great God three-in-one! God is in charge. He created all. Why would one not want to know what Jesus thinks!
Jesus Only Always For All Times
Jesus Christ is the only reason any of us, throughout all of history (past, present, or future), are able to be saved. It was God´s plan ¨since the foundation of the world¨.
Throughout all the very specific phases God has taken and/or will take mankind through, His ¨dispensations¨… all required the death of the perfect lamb of God (eventual death or past death… depending on when in history one finds himself in).
Any who were saved by God, during any of the various ¨dispensational¨periods – were only saved because they looked forward, or looked back – to the provision of Christ´s sufficient substitutionary sacrifice on our behalf.
More About Jesus …Other sites to learn more about Jesus and following Creator God
Sites to learn more about Jesus and following Creator God…
The Wonder of the Birth of God
No it wasn’t a stork! Jesus, the Son of God, became a human, born as a man, in the womb of a normal woman – come to earth from His heavenly kingdom to fulfill legal requirements for the salvation of sinful mankind.
Wow! Can you believe that!? I do. There are just too many evidences that demand my belief.
Mary, Jesus’ mother – by
The English name “Mary” comes from the Greek Μαρία, which is a shortened form of Μαριάμ. The New Testament name was based on her original Hebrew name מִרְיָם or Miryam. Both Μαρία and Μαριάμ appear in the New Testament. (1) The meaning of the name “Mary” is “bitter or bitterness”. (2)
Are you able to be a “peacemaker”? What’s your life like? Do you have what it takes – for peace to happen through you?
According to Jesus in Matthew 5:9 – we need to “express His character“. God is peace. And we should be characterized by that same peace. That is what we children of God produce through the way we live and act and have our being (Acts 17:28a).
Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” [John 3:3 and John 3:7]. He was saying that all babies are naturally birthed into flesh, but to be birthed by the Spirit of God – we have to be born again, into a “new creature”. [See: 2 Corinthians 5:17]
In God’s legal system, all of mankind is condemned to hell because we are naturally unable to be holy [“holy” = without sin]. He cannot have sin in His Kingdom. Makes sense: He is holy! His choice – because of His nature. However, He loved us so much that He provided legal forgiveness for any who choose to follow Him. Quite simple, actually. But you have to personally make that choice. Quite momentous – that choice. It affects you for eternity.
This is how LEGAL FORGIVENESS was worked-out by God, as I see it in the Bible:…
The following Bible verses share the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ…
Are you walking dead, deep in sin, too far gone for God to care? How sinful can one be – and yet be forgiven by God?
Jesus Paid It All …a simple explanation of the Christian Faith
Before time, God was, and He was all there was. Then God created Man. God´s nature is perfect, inviolate, greater than any other. He was (and is) Justice, and His system was (and is) unchangeable.
Then Man sinned, violating God´s system of justice. God demands justice. There was no way to avoid His justice. And now Man was under condemnation. His legal nature demanded the penalty of death for disobediance.
So Jesus legally paid the just penalty for that sin…
Legally Damned – Legally Forgiven
Hebrews 9 explains the heavenly legal arrangement for us to be forgiven. Forgiveness had to be declared – legally – by God through His justice system, or God would not have been just – and we would never have had a chance to be saved.
God, being holy, cannot accept sinfulness into His Kingdom, so all mankind was condemned forever. We are not born-killers (!) but we are born-sinners. And once born, then we live a little and prove that we truly cannot – not sin!
Are you in, or, are you out? Are you on the inside, or outside? It’s a choice. Go one way or go another.
You are either in, or you are out. Scripture puts it this way: you are either of “those who are perishing”, or you are one of those “who are being saved”. You are either in a condition of “perishing”, or you are in a state of “being saved”.
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