DOES TRUTH MATTER?

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Jesus was the only figure in history who claimed to be “The Truth.”

Today “truth” is tossed around as: “whatever is true for you is true for you and whatever is true for me is true for me.” But how can this statement be valid??? There can only be one truth . . . something is either true or it’s not. How has our culture transformed to such a relativistic society so rapidly? The answer might surprise you.

The reason is this: The church as a whole fails to give answers to people’s questions. This is caused by lack of discernment and Biblical illiteracy. The Bible is the #1 best-seller in history with millions and millions of copies sold. But it is probably also the #1 book that collects the most dust on our bookshelves, especially those who profess to be “Christians”.

Thus let’s fearlessly answer some tough questions/objections!

Question #1. Why am I here?

  1. YOU HAVE A SPECIFIC PURPOSE:

Psalm 139:13-16

New International Version (NIV)

13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

Don’t ever believe the worlds lie that says you are an accident. YOU are special. YOU are beautiful.YOU are unique! God says you are wonderfully made!

Question #2. I don’t need Jesus; I’m a good person therefore I can get into heaven by doing a bunch of good things, right?

a. How much good is enough? How good do you have to be before the scales tip in your favor?

Jesus solved all of the questions about “How can I know for sure…” by paying for our sins on the cross- this is not just a get out of hell free card; it’s a start of a relationship with our Creator now and for eternity. We are all born with sin. The best example to explain this notion is via the following: Ever notice that you never have to teach a child how to disobey; but you DO have to teach them how to listen and obey? See, we all come this way; we ALL have this problem . . . that is called sin. We all have a natural tendency to want to be the captain of our own ships, the boss of our own lives; instead of listening to God who is the Creator of all. The Potter knows exactly what to do with clay right? It doesn’t make any sense for the clay to tell the potter what to do (assuming clay could talk)!

The Good News is this:

Admit that you have sinned. “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Romans 3:23 NIV)

Believe that Jesus Christ can save you. “Yet to all who receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave them the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12 NIV)

Confess that Christ is Lord of your life. “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus Christ is Lord’…” (Romans 10:9-10 NIV)

You must mean it with all of your heart. You can’t have one foot in and one foot out. This is not a magic formula. There is nothing mystical about it. Here is just an example of how to pray to accept Jesus Christ:

Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner. I believe You died for my sins and arose from the grave. I now turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I receive You as my personal Savior and follow You as my Lord.

Does this mean you will be perfect from now on? NO. You still have a human nature. What it means is that you are now saved from your sins because of what JESUS (not you) did on the cross. Your life WILL change because you will want to follow God because you LOVE Him and He loves you; it is not out of force or following “rules”. This is just the beginning; now the relationship with Jesus begins for now and eternity!

Question #3. How do we know Jesus was God?

a. LISTEN CLOSELY: It is inconceivable to think that someone would die for what they knew to be a lie. Wait a second, you say, people die all the time for what they think or believe is true. BUT, no one has been willing to die for what they KNEW to be a lie. If Jesus was playing a trick on humanity and was a lunatic and NOT God, that means He willingly allowed Himself to go through the following events:

1. Brutally beaten beyond recognition for nothing.

2. Mocked, spit on, given a crown of thorns for nothing.

3. Willingly nailed to a cross for nothing.

4. Willingly humiliated in front of his own people for nothing.

5. Did not defend himself whatsoever for nothing.

6. Forgave those that crucified him while he was hanging on the cross . . . unthinkable . . .

Question #4. What kind of witnesses can back up that Jesus was God? Prove it! The Bible is well over 2,000 years old! A book that old isn’t even relevant anymore, right?!

a. Eye witnesses of the risen Christ- proving He was God.

In a court of law, it takes 1, maybe a few viable eye witnesses to convince a jury and prosecute someone of a crime. Well Jesus was seen resurrected after He rose from the dead by over 500 real eye witnesses.

Acts 2:32-33 prompted 3,000 to be saved at once because they realized this Jesus they crucified was indeed God!! He appeared to them all

b. Biblical prophesies fulfilled:

1. Mathematically it is impossible that Jesus WASN’T the Messiah.

2. To say that 1 man could fulfill all of the Old Testament Messianic prophecies (there are over 400 of them) the odds would be 1 out of 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (that’s 1 followed by 25 zero’s).

3. The alpha dog prophesy: Exactly describing Jesus’ crucifixion hundreds of years before he was even born.

— ISAIAH 53:5-8, listen to this exact detail . . .

New International Version (NIV)

But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.

c. The amazing spread of Christianity

1. John 20:19- When Jesus appeared to the terrified disciples in resurrected form, these scared disciples turned into a machine, which spread Christianity across the known world and they all were willing to die for what they KNEW to be true.

Question #5. How can anyone trust a God you can’t see?

John Wesley sums it up best in his classic sermon: “On the Omnipresence of God.”

This question, our blessed Lord dealt with long ago: “Can you see the wind?” You cannot. But do you therefore deny its existence, or its presence? You say, “No; for I can perceive it by my other senses.” But by which of your senses do you perceive your soul? Surely you do not deny either the existence or the presence of this! And yet it is not the object of your sight, or of any of your other senses. Suffice it then to consider that God is a Spirit, as is our soul also. Consequently, “him no man hath seen, or can see,” with eyes of flesh and blood.

So, does truth matter? The answer is a RESOUNDING YES!

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