WHO WAS JESUS?

By RALPH WOERNER
Dedicated to my wife Barbara who has been a  tremendous help for over fifty years.

GOD REVEALS HIMSELF 

Anyone who has done his homework knows that people in  general hold a lot of different views when it comes to God, Christ,  sin, salvation and eternity.  

Darwinists 

Even though there’s almost no scientific evidence to support  their claims, Darwinists believe that we were created by some kind  of naturalistic process—by matter and motion bumping together.  They believe God is only a figment of our imagination and that  death will be the termination of our existence.  

Hindus 

Hindus believe that after death we will be reincarnated into  some other person or creature (anything from a slug to a princess)  depending on how well we lived. They believe this cycle of birth,  death and rebirth will repeat itself over and over until some sort of  mystical union with Brahman is achieved, which is defined as a  state of “dreamless sleep.”  

God Reveals Himself in Various Ways 

Christians 

We Christians believe that we were created by God—who  reveals himself to us in the Old and New Testament scriptures— and that after death we’ll either go to a place called Heaven or to  a place called Hell, depending on what our relationship with Jesus  Christ has been.  

Even though each of us feel that we have solid reasons  for believing as we do, one thing is certain—we cannot all be  right. Somebody has to be wrong. According to the law of  noncontradiction, if death is the termination of our existence (as  Darwinists claim) then we’re certainly not going to be reincarnated  in some other form when death takes us away; nor are we going  to go to a place called Heaven or to a place called Hell. There’s  simply no way a person can cease to exist and continue to exist  at the same time. If one is true the other is false. With so many  opposing views floating around, how can we tell what is right or  wrong —what is true and what is false?  

To start with, the first thing we need to understand is that just  because we believe something is true doesn’t make it so. Nor  does our refusal to believe that something is true make it false.  Truth stands on its own. A thing is true because it is true or false  because it is false. What a person believes or doesn’t believe has  nothing to do with it.  

Distinguishing truth from error, as we all know, can be a  frustrating task. It’s critical, therefore, that we get it right. If we  fail we could wake up in eternity, only to discover that we leaned  our ladder against the wrong wall and put our trust in a false or  imaginary savior. Nothing could be worse than to discover, after  death, that the savior you trusted is false and cannot deliver. This  applies to everyone—Darwinists, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians,  Mohammedans, and New Agers alike.  

Sometimes I wish I were infallible. Then, I’d know  instinctively whether or not a thing is true. Sadly, it doesn’t work  that way. The only way to discover truth is by diligently searching  for it—or carefully ferreting it out. 

God has endowed us with minds that are capable of  comprehending what we need to know about him and the  salvation he has provided. He expects us to weigh, consider and  compare the information that is available and to base our faith on  the strongest kind of evidence. Faith isn’t believing something  that doesn’t make sense. Faith is believing something for which  we have very strong evidence.  

It’s foolish for a person to place faith in something for which  he doesn’t have clear and convincing evidence. This is especially  true when it comes to matters concerning God, Christ, life,  death, sin, salvation and eternity. I wish science could help us  out here, but it cannot. Some things are beyond science’s ability  to investigate. Science cannot squeeze God into a test tube to  weigh, measure or examine him. It can’t even prove or disprove  his existence.  

Just because some things are beyond science’s ability to  investigate doesn’t mean truth is relative or that absolute truth does  not exist. Absolute truth most certainly does exist.  

The earth is round; that is an absolute truth. A supernatural  intelligence created the world in which we live, or the world  created itself. One of those two things is an absolute truth. Life  continues beyond the grave, or it doesn’t. One of those two things  is an absolute truth. If you’re a woman, you’re either pregnant or  you aren’t. One of those two things is an absolute truth. Two plus  two equals four—not five, not six, not any other sum. I see with  my eyes, think with my mind and hear with my ears. To say that all  truth is relative, or that absolute truth doesn’t exist, is absurd!  

Some things are true because they are true. Other things  are false because they are false. What one chooses to believe or  disbelieve has nothing to do with it. This is not only true in the  physical realm; it is also true in the spiritual. Either life continues  beyond the grave, or it doesn’t. Either God created us, or he didn’t.  Either we are accountable to him, or we’re not. We may have  difficulty knowing what the truth is regarding these matters, but  absolute truth does exist. And God expects us to find it.  

The first thing that needs to be settled when it comes to spiritual  matters is God’s existence. Does God exist, or is he only a figment  of our imagination? What’s the truth regarding this?  

I’ll let those who say God is merely a figment of our imagination  present the evidence they have for this themselves. Apart from  certain philosophical assumptions, I honestly don’t think they have any evidence; but that’s their problem. What I want to do  is present the evidence that we as Christians have to support our  belief in God’s existence….