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Apologetics, How can I defend
my faith? Who is Jesus and why does it matter?
Why
is it that we can talk about a euphoric ideology about God all day and no one
gets upset but as soon as you bring up the name of Jesus people get upset?
It is because of who Jesus is...the claims He made, the power that He
demonstrated, mostly because of the sin that He dealt with on the cross. .. and
the fact that He was a holy God in human flesh The Sin Issue
People
do not like Jesus because He dealt with the sin issue and they do not want to
deal with sin. Lost people enjoy their sin while the pleasure lasts and do not
want to give it up. However Jesus calls us to give our all to Him and follow
Him. People get all mad about sin because they are embarrassed and ashamed and
though they have heard it all their life they need to know in a real and
personal way that Jesus really does love and care for them. He wants to remove
the sin issue with the power of His grace. Sin separates us from God,
forgiveness, mercy and grace draws us near. The Bible says His kindness leads us
to repentance. Gods’ love draws us to Him and by our love the lost will know
we are real. Not by our religion, gossip or slander but by true genuine agape
(God love, read 1 Cor 13 on your own time see if you line up with true love). Why Evangelize? Luke
14:23; Matthew 24:14; 28:19; Romans 10:17
To some people you will be the only bible
they will read and the only Jesus they will ever know. You are His ambassadors,
choose your steps wisely, People are watching you. What to Do When Evangelizing
a false Religion Explain
why your God and their God are not the same person,
even when dealing with so called Christians cults, ie. JWs, Mormons, Moonies,
Hare Krishnas, Muslims etc... Explain
that Jesus is not just another good prophet; He is
God in the flesh, the savior of the world, who died for our sins. He is not one
of many great men He is the God/Man. He is fully God and fully man. On His dads
side He is fully God on His moms side He is human. There
are two roads one paved with good intentions that
says there are many roads to God however Jesus said "I am the way the truth
and the life no one can come to God except through me," John 14:6. The
Bible also says that there are two roads in life one leading to death that's
broad and easy and one leading to life that's narrow and hard. Your doctrine on
Christ is essential, if you do not have a proper biblical view of Jesus you do
not have a proper view of God at all, 1 John 2:22-23. There is only one true
God, Duet 6:4; 2 John 1:9; 1 John 5:20 Always
direct the conversation to Jesus Explain
how Jesus is God in the flesh and why He is so different
from other religious figures, ie. no other prophet died and rose again, no other
prophet claimed to be God in flesh. All the other prophets claim to be one of
many. Jesus said "I am the only way." Read (John 1:12: Gal 3:20;
Isaiah 43:10-11) Essentials
You Must Know When Witnessing to a lost person... 1)
Your must know what you believe and why you believe. In whom and in what do you believe?
a.
How does this affect our life?
b. How should it affect others?
c. Do actions speak louder than words?
d. Were do you find proof?
e. How do you back it up when called on to
give a response? Be Ready at all times
to give a defense! 2
Timothy 4:2 Stick to the bible, 1
Timothy 3:16 2)
Your must know your bible, Memorize scripture, Learn how to
properly study the bible understanding the: 1.
Passage,
Context and content of the book 2.
Person,
who authored the book 3.
Purpose,
Intent of the author, 4.
People,
Authors audience - who was it written to 5.
Using
Proper, Bible study aides, Strongs, Vines, Lexicons etc... 3)
Don't be religious be friendly and persuasive, show love and empathy a.
Be
real b.
Be
you c.
Be
Friendly - give real life personal stories d.
Be
Excited e.
Spend
quality time with them in a non-religious setting f.
Get
to know them - what’s their dogs name, how many brothers and sisters do they
have, what sports are they involved in, what do they do for fun, etc... take
them out to the movies or dinner sometime. g.
When
problems come up offer to pray for them h.
Pray
for them continually during your daily prayer and bible study times i.
Invite them to church j.
Share your testimony with them k.
Share
the Good News of Jesus with them 4)
Continually pray in the spirit and speak what the Holy Spirit is telling you 5)
Use the natural to lead into the spiritual - John
4:6-30 (know that’s citywide evangelism and that’s why its important to
listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying to you!) How do we know the bible is a
real, historical and accurate book? It
is inspired by God, 2 Pet 1:19-21. It carries congruent Themes even though it is
written by 44 authors; from kings to peasants, lawyers to holy men, young and
old over a period of 1,500 years wrote the bible. Yet all these people said the
same thing, it is not possible that it could be a man made farce. Fulfilled
prophecy and the historical accuracy also confirm the testimony of scripture. 6)
Know the background of Christianity - Gods word, History, Science etc... Gods word has been fulfilled; many prophetic words have come to pass, Jesus has fulfilled over 120 prophecies in the OT the chance of one prophecy being fulfilled by chance are 1 in 1017 the chances of 48 prophecies being fulfilled is 1 in 10157th power. It is impossible that so many prophetic words are not fulfilled by chance. If you were to doodle on your paper the chances of you accidentally write the word R E P U B L I C A N is a 1 in 3,628,000 chance. The chance of you accidentally doodling the alphabet is a 1 in 403 to the 24th chance. History
itself backs up the word of God. The Jewish Historian Josephus spoke of
Jesus. Agustus wrote of how Christianity had infected the entire known world.
Biblical sites have been found and authenticated ie. Jericho’s walls have been
found, the ark has been found. Many Egyptians writings speak of the same people
living in the same locations in the Middle East doing the same things the bible
says. All scientist accept the bible as a Historical book most do not want to
acknowledge the truth of its claims as more than a myth however they can not
deny the Historicity of the bible. Science itself proves God. Simple logic
- I see a watch I know there is a watch maker, I see a house I know there is a
house builder thus I see plants and animals complex living things living in
bio-systems in homeostasis. I know that a very intelligent being created all we
see. Newton’s Law of Inertia says that if an object is in motion it will
continue in the same direction that it is going without change in direction or
velocity unless acted upon by some outside force. This very Law negates the big
bang THEORY, which is still a theory. A molten mass of rocks could not have come
into existence without an initiator/creator and they could not have moved
without a motivator. Evolution and the big bang THEORY go against logic and
scientific procedures neither have a shred of empirical data nor have they ever
been proven as fact. Science says to base any new Natural Laws there must be
Empirical data/proof of an initial or ongoing process ... as to this date there
have been no skeletons found that have changed/evolved from one animal to
another. The only living examples they have are cross breeds however this is an
induced action that does not create a continual response i.e. Horses and Donkey
creates a Mule that cannot reproduce. You can breed different kinds of Dogs
together and they do not create a new bred they are still dogs they do not
become fish or birds. What about Dinosaurs? The bible speaks of dinosaurs large
animals with tales the size of and oak and feet the size of a tree stump,
Behemoth and Leviathan Job 40:15-19; 41 7)
Then and only then study what false religions believe. Get
grounded in the word and in true doctrine before you go wrestling giants. The Teaching on Christ is
central and essential! Gal
1:8-9 Who is God? A.
He is the God of the Bible - Ex 3:14; Duet
6:4 Echad, one plural meaning united B.
He is neither Polysheistic nor Modalistic - He is Monotheistic and Triune.He is one in substance triune in nature. The One
True God has manifested Himself eternally in the three Persons of the Trinity
(meaning Three in Unity) as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Gen 1:26; 3:22;
11:6-8: Isaiah 6:8; Rev 1:7-8/Zech 12:7,10; Isaiah 9:6/10:20-21; Matt 28:19;
3:16-17; Isaiah 44:6; Gen 18:1-3/19:24/Amos 4:10-11. United not divided as to
substance (Deity/Divinity), nor confounded as to Persons. There is a threefold
manifestation of God throughout scripture as Father God in Heaven, The Son of
God in Flesh and the Spirit of God. C.
God is Spirit - John 4:24 D.
God is Eternal, He Just is, He was and Is and Is
to come - to have a beginning there had to be a initiator and that initiator
just had to be pre-existant and eternal. This is to big for our temporal minds
to comprehend and must accept it by faith - (Read Heb 11:3,6)
E.
God cannot lie, He is Holy, Just, Loving,
Merciful, Sovereign, Mighty, etc. F.
God manifested Himself in the flesh through Jesus
Christ. G.
God Created ALL THINGS, (Gen 1:1; John 1:1; Col 1:16;
Isaiah 44:24) H. Jesus is God
Who is Jesus? Was
He a real Person? - Yes. Jesus ia a historical
figure like Shakespeare, Aristotle, Plato, Julius Ceaser, Etc... He lived on
this earth and people who walked with Him wrote about His life. There are many
eye witness testimony Josephus the Jewish Historian, The apostles, the 500 and
many others. Why
is Jesus so different? ·
He claimed to be God ·
He claimed to be more than a prophet or
just a teacher ·
He said He was the only way to God ·
He claimed to be the messiah ·
He forgave win which only God can do ·
He did miracles ·
He claimed to be the savior of the
world Jesus was either a Liar, a
Lunatic or Lord
A) Christianity is the largest world
religion
B) The bible is the most popular most read
book
C) Christianity has had more impact on the
world than any other religion
D) He fulfilled His promises
E) He rose from the dead
F) He still changes hearts today Who
do men say that Jesus is?
Paul
- wouldn't just call anyone God because of His Extensive Rabbinical training. He
would have know better than to throw around the title of God flippantly - Acts
20:28; Titus 2:13
Peter-
confessed that Jesus was the Messiah the Son of the Living God, Matt 16:16; 2
Peter 1:1,11
Martha
- called Him Son of God, John 11:27
Stephen
- Prayed to Jesus, Acts 7:59
John
the Baptist - announced that the Son of God was coming, Luke 3:22
Doubting
Thomas - The one who wouldn't believe unless He saw and touched Jesus with
His hands called Jesus Ho Theos and Ho Kurious, "The
Lord of Me and The God of Me and Jesus did not rebuke him" Instead
He blessed Him - John 20:28-31
The
Jews - wanted to kill Jesus because He claimed to be God, John 10:31-
33,38
Father
God - called Jesus God and Lord, Hebrews 1:6,8,10 What
did His name mean? Jesus Christ is actually a name
and a title. Jesus means Jehovah’s Saves. The title Christ means, The Anointed
one, The deliverer. The name Christ involves the offices of priest, prophet and
king. In the OT they would anoint the Kings, Prophets and Priest with oil as a
symbol of Gods calling and equipping into ministry for the Lord in and by the
power of the spirit of God. What
to do when you are sharing Jesus with a
person with another faith? ·
Do not argue ·
Share your convictions ·
Do not make it personal, keep the words
"YOU, ALWAYS AND NEVER," out of the discussion ·
Keep the topic on Christ and Issues not
religion and hypocrites remember many will say to Jesus on that day, "we
did this and that for you, Oh Lord" and Jesus will say "Get away from
me I never knew you, you worker of lawlessness." Religion kills more people
than the devil does. Religion is the devils number one weapon if He can not stop
you He will push you. ·
Keep all the discussions around
scripture ·
Make sure the scriptures used are in
context and congruent with the themes of the whole bible ·
Do not hope from scripture to scripture
unless the person is open and you are using them in context ·
When dealing with cultist ie. JW's, do
not allow them to dominate the conversation. Read a passage of scripture and ask
questions on the content and do not allow them to hope around using scripture
out of context. ·
Study up on what they believe before
you talk to them so that they do not totally dominate the conversation and
tongue twist you ·
Keep the conversation of Jesus and the
love and acceptance of God not condemnation and guilt. Let your light shine
don't bludgeon them with your lamp. ·
Share what Jesus has done for you, how
He has changed you and how His power is real today ·
Be kind, quiet and patient - allow them
to ramble, do not cut them off. If you cut them off you will offend them and
turn them off. Listen, do not think about your response when it is your turn
deal with their objections in context ·
Don't be afraid to admit you do not
have an answer simple say I do not know and I will study up on that so I can
answer you next time. Do not allow them to pressure you into a decision of the
spot that is a cults manipulative tactic to make you feel like you are wrong and
under judgment and if you do not respond your damned - baloney. ·
Ask them if you can pray for the before
your finish you discussion with them. |
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