What Do Christians Believe

What I believe

Today’s message is going to be a little bit different

from the way i normally preach

a few weeks ago

we talked about building on the right foundation

Jesus tells a story

about two people

who both hear His Words

but they respond differently

The wise builder builds his house

on solid rock

a firm foundation

When the storms come

when the floods, and the high winds come

the house stands firm because its foundation is strong

The foolish builder

also hears what Jesus teaches

he hears the same message

but doesn’t do what he is taught

He builds his house on the sand

and when the same storms come

the same trials in life

his house collapses

because it has no solid foundation

The point Jesus is giving

is that building you life on His teaching

is like building a house on solid foundation

it is not enough to just listen to what Jesus teaches

what matters

is living out what we learn

obedience is what gives our faith

stability when life gets hard

storms are going to come in life

but the foundation we build on

is our choice

what we hear

brings knowledge

but what we obey

brings stability

today

i want to talk to you

about a couple crucial foundations

in what we believe as christians

i’ve titled this message

“what I believe”

because

as christians

as followers of Jesus

we need to know what we believe

and why we believe it

the thing is

is that there are a lot of different religions

and a lot of people claiming those different religions to be true

and who is to say Christianity is the right one?

when you get challenged in your faith

because you will

i want you to be able to stand firm

and know why you believe what you believe

a couple questions we are going to go over today

are there multiple religions that lead to God?

2. How can we trust the Bible is accurate if it was written so long ago?

3. where does the bible come from?

4. If God is good, why is there suffering?

and if God is Good, who does He send people to Hell?

5. Did Jesus really rise from the dead?

6. is religion made up for people to have something to hope in?

these are really important questions

and the answers to these questions

will help establish why you believe what you believe

1 Peter 3:15 “if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.”

that doesn’t mean i expect you to remember

everything we are going to talk about today

but i do expect you

as christians

to be able to talk abd exaplain why you believe

i want you to be able to be challenged in your faith

without wavering in what you believe

i want to start with the Bible

How can we trust the Bible is accurate if it was written so long ago

and on top of that

we don’t have any original documents

we have copies

of copies of copies

so how can we reliably say we have the correct bible?

and then to make things even more muddy

it wasn’t even written in our own language

so how can we trust the translation into english

to actually be accurate?

because it was originally written in Hebrew

Aramaic and Greek

so how can we trust the Bible to be accurate?

and where did the Bible come from?

lets get into it

The Bible was written by humans

inspired by God

2 Timothy 3:16–17 “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true…”

2 Peter 1:20–21 “no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.”

so God didn’t drop a book out of Heaven

He worked through real people

in real situations

using their personality

and language

but the message came from God

the Bible is written by humans inspired by God or directed by the Holy Spirit

The bible is not mans attempt to reach God

The Bible is God decision to reach humanity

God used human hands to write divine truth

The Bible says God moved on people as they wrote inspired Words

The Bible was written by about 40 different authors

over about 1,5000

across three continents (Asia, Africa, and Europe

yet the Bible unfolds one unified story

Creation - the fall of man - redemption - restoration

all pointing to jesus

the fact that the whole Bible doesn’t contradict itself one time

points to a divine influence

God did not dictate every word like a robot

He inspired the writes while allowing them to write

but now watch this

that’s what the Bible says

and if we are questioning the validity of the Bible

we probably don’t want to use the Bible itself

as a reliable source

so track with me for a second

we go to school and we trust history right?

we learn about Socrates and Plato

The Olympic games

Greek democracy

Alexander the Great’s conquests

but none of us were there

we rely on Historical writing

copied manuscripts

that tell of the events of that time

History is passed on through books

Julius Ceasar and the Roman Empire

comes from Ceasers own writing

and Roman historians like Tacitus and Suetonius

yet we don’t question if Rome existed or if Ceaser was real

we study history and we pass it on

when it comes to the Eqytian Civilization

we know about Pharoas and Hieroglyphics

and we rely on inscriptions

and archaeoligal findings to tell us information

and we accept these as factual history

all of history is given to us and taught to us

through books of information

that is how information is passed on

but now watch this

when it comes the the Bible

the historical manuscripts

the documents and writings

that we have found

there are over 24,000 copies of the New Testament alone

and the earliest documents

written between 30-100 years

of the actual events

let me put this into perspective for you

over 24,000 copies of the new testament alone

we learn about Julius Caesar

but we only have about ten ancient copies

of his writings

we learn about plato and socrates

but the earliest copy of their writings

come over a thousand years after they lived

we learn about homers illiad

and that is considered one of the most reliable ancient text

yet it has about 1,800 copies

and the earliest ones are hundreds of years after the original

but we don’t question any of that

we don’t say

maybe Rome didn’t exist

or maybe Plato wasn’t real

we accept tho0se things as history

but when it comes to the bible

which has more manuscripts

closer to the origninal events

and more archaeological history

people suddenly say

you can’t trust it

No other ancient text

nothing we learn about in history

even comes close the amount of evidence that we have of the Bible

in volume

or closeness to the original writings

and The more copies you have

the easier it is to cross check accuracy

and identify copying mistakes

now watch this

99% of the Bibles manuscripts

are the same

the only differences were spelling

word order, or grammer

no other historical event

is as reliable as the Bible itself

and thats not using the Bible to back up the Bible

so we don’t just have a bible

we have the most accurate written

account of God’s Word

than any other document or historical event

in history

so if you believe any history

you would be a fool

not to believe the accuracy and reliability of God’s Word

and im not just talking about Christians Sources

Romans historians

Jewish historians

Governent records

they all confirm that Jesus

was a real person

He was crucified

His followers and many others witness He rose from the dead

And the Rapid spread of Christianity after His death

is documented is proven history

Jesus is not just a figure in the Bible

He is recognized even in secular History

as a real living person who lived in this world

But now How can we believe that He actually rose from the dead?

well first of because the Bible

which we just established the reliability of

records eye witness accounts

remember these weren’t written hundreds of years later

these were written by people who were there

who saw Jesus

walked with Jesus

learned from Jesus

ate with Jesus

saw the crucifixtion of Jesus

then later saw Jesus alive again

this is what secular history says

because in order to admit the resurection of Jesus

its takes faith and belief

but even the unbelieving historians

will say this

without claiming the resurection

they say Jesus existed as a historical person

Jesus died by crucifixion

Early followers came to believe He was raised

there was a empty tomb and post-crucifixion appearances of Jesus

but then they go on to explain hallucinations can cause people

to see things that werent there

they say they were seeing visions

and they can’t wrap their head around a resurrection

so they can’t affirm it

lets talk for a minute

about the fate of the disciple of Jesus

after Jesus was crucified

the bible talks about

those moments after the crucifixion

the disiples were lost

some went back to fishing

others where in dismay

but then the moment Jesus reappears to the disciples

a fire get lit inside them

they regain their strength

its like everything Jesus said

all a sudden came true

and The Bible frequently shows the apostles

imprisoned, beaten, threatened

and they continue to preach the Gospel

which shows, they were willing to risk their lives

for their testimony to the resurrection of Jesus

that means they believed so strongly

because they saw first hand

the resurrection of Jesus

they were even willing to stake their life on it

and thats what exactly what happened to most of them

we find not in the Bible

but in early history

the deaths of the apostle

James the brother of Jesus

not an apostle

but because he wouldn’t quit talking about Jesus

and he became a leader in Jerusalem

was killed by stones

James the Son of Zebedee

was executed by Herod Agrippa

with a sword in Jerusalem

Peter was crucified upside down

Paul was beheaded by Nero

Andrew was crucified on an X shaped cross

Thomas was violently killed by a spear

Matthew was killed while preaching

Philip

Bartholomew

Simon the Zealot

Jude or Thaddaeus

Matthias

and many more

were recorded in history not the bible as killed by crucifixtion

beheadings

stonings

all because they would not deny Jesus

they werent willing to say what they had seen

and witnessed was not true

they were willing to put their life on

they were willing to be murdered for what they believe

and that s what happened

There was a guy by the name of

Lee Strobel

He was not a preacher

nor was he raised in Church

He was an atheist

and he was an award winning investigative journalist

His job was literally

to ask hard questions

and to expose things that were not true

well lee’s wife became a christian

and at fist he was upset

because his view of christianity

was that christianity was just an emotional crutch

for weak people

so he made a decision

He decided to prove christianity was false

just to get his wife out of it

so he did what journalists do

he started investigating

he studied the Bible

he studied history

he studied science

he interviewed some of the top scholars in the world

and he went in with one goal

not to prove Christianity was true

but to prove it was false

he asked questions like

can we trust the Bible

or was it changed over time

did Jesus really claim to be God

or did people add that later

did the resurrection actually happen

or was the body stolen

or did people hallucinate

theses are questions he intended to find answers to

and as a professional he was good at it

and after almost 2 years of investigating

He came to a conclusion he was not ready for

he said the evidence was overwhelming

that the Bible was historically reliable

that Jesus really did claim to be God

and that the resurrection was the best possible explanation

for the empty tomb and the changed lives of the disciples

Lee Strobel said

No one dies for a lie

people may die for something they believe is true

but people will not willingly die for something they know is false

plenty of people throughout history have died for

false religions

wrong political causes

lies they believed were true

but the disciples were in a totally different category

they weren’t just believing a story they heard

they were claiming to be eye witness of the resurrection of Jesus

their message wasn’t

“Someone told us Jesus rose from the dead”

their message was

“We saw Him alive.”

So if the resurrection was fake

if they stole the body

if they made it up

they would have known it was a lie

and when they faced death

they would have

or at least some of them would have come clean

the fact that so many of them

lived getting beaten

lived through the persecution

continued to preach Jesus

and then were murdered holding on to the testimony

proves that what they claimed had to of been true

Lee Strobel

concluded that the Bible was historically reliable

that Jesus really did claim to be God

and that the resurrection did happen

and the man who started out trying to destroy Christianity

ended up becoming a follower of Jesus

and later wrote the book called

“The Case for Christ”

not because he wanted to win an argument

but because He wanted people to know

faith is not blind

faith is built on truth

and i love this story

because it shows us something important

Christianity is not afraid of questions

God is not threatened by our doubts

and some of you tonight

you may have questions

you may have doubts

you may be trying to figure out

if this is really true for yourself

and i want you to hear this

seeking for the truth will always lead you to God

because Jesus is the truth

and when you build your life on the truth

your foundation will stand

another big question people ask

are there many ways to God

can you get to heaven through other religions

because there are many religions out there

and they all claim to be from God

they all claim to be true

so what makes christianity different

here is an important point to understand

most religions are built on man’s way of thinking

do good

try harder

follow the rules

and maybe you’ll be accepted by God

its about what you can do to reach God

but christianity says

you cannot save yourself

no matter how hard you try

no matter how good you are

no matter how well you follow rules

you cannot force your way to God

every other religion is about trying to climb our way to God

but Christianity

is about God coming down to us

reaching out to us and providing a way for salvation

through Himself

every other religion says

here is the path

walk it perfectly

and you’ll reach God

christianity says

you couldn’t walk the path no matter how hard you tried

so Jesus walked it for you

Jesus tells us in

John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”

God is not exclusive

because God made it that way

no other religion

has a leader

who claimed to die for their sins

and then prove it by rising from the dead

and if the resurrection is true

then Jesus is not just another teacher

He is the Son of God

and His Words carry authority

which means

if we are following the words of Jesus

it isn’t about religion

its about relationship

not rules to follow

but a savior to follow

not behavior modification

but heart transformation

and thats why we don’t just believe in Jesus

we build our lives on Jesus

because if He really rose from the dead

and He died for you sin

than you can trust Him with your life

Religion says

“do enough and maybe you’ll be accepted.” Jesus says

“You are accepted - now come and be changed.”

“allow me to transform you heart, not in order for you to get to heaven, but because you are already headed to heaven.”

religion is works

jesus is grace first and truth

Christianity is acknowledging only God could get us to heave

and we put our faith in Him

last question then we will wrap it up

if God is good, why doesn he allow suffering and Hell?

this is one of the biggest questions people ask

if God is good

why does He allow suffering?

and if God is loving

why would He send people to Hell

first lets talk about suffering part

what we have to remember is Genesis chapter 1

God didn’t create a world

that was filled with pain

He created a world that was good

but when sin entered the world

so did brokenness

so did sickness

so did violence and death

so did suffering

a lot of suffering we see

is not caused by God

a lot of times suffering is directly caused by human choices

selfishness

greed

abuse

hate

God gave us a free will

because love cannot be forced

in order for love to exist

there has to be the freedom to choose

but with free will also means

people can choose wrong

and when people choose wrong

others get hurt

and what about sickness

cancer and diseases people didn’t choose

and your right

not all suffering comes from direct human choices

but it still comes from a broken world

when sin entered the world

it didnt just affect our hearts

it affected creation itself

the bible says that creation is broken

groaning and waiting to be restored

that means our bodies can break down

cells stop working right

diseases exist

but God did not design the world with cancer

Fod did not design children to be sick

that is a result of a fallen world

not the desire of a loving God

and we know that because of the way Jesus responded to sickness

when Jesus say sick people

he didn’t say

this is God’s plan

He healed them

He had compassion on them

he touched the lepers

he opened blind eyes

he raised the dead

so suffering is not proof that God does’t care

its proof that the world is broken

and here’s the part we cannot miss

so God created a perfect world

humans adam and eve chose sin

that brought the brokenness of sin into the world

But God didn’t stay distant from our suffering

He stepped into this broken world

He stepped into our suffering

He entered humanity

The bible says Jesus suffered while He was here

He felt rejection

betrayal

he experienced our pain

and He even experienced death

but He over came death

He over came the world

He overcame suffering

so that we could have hope of eternity

back to the way He intended it to be at the beginning

God doesn’t just watch us suffer

He enters our suffering with us

and He promised us that suffering would not have the final say

there is a coming day

when He will wipe away every tear

and make all things new

God didn’t cause the suffering

but He promises restoration forever

now lets talk about hell

because a lot of people say

how could a loving God send anyone to hell

and The truth is

God doesn’t send anyone to hell

but he also doesnt force anyone to choose Him

Hell is not God saying i dont want you

Hell is for people who say i don’t want God

Heaven is filled with God presence

Hell is the only place absent of God’s presence

God offers forgiveness

grace

and salvation through Jesus

but love doesn’t force itself on anyone

and God will not drag someone into heaven

who has spent thier whole life rejecting Him

Hell is not about God being cruel

It is about God honoring human choice

if someone doesn’t want to be with God

why would He force them into heaven?

and here is what proves God’s heart more than anything

because of sin

humanity was headed to hell

humans disobeyed God

and as a result

we are seperated from God

God didn’t want us to go to hell

so He sent His Son to the cross

to die in our place

so everyone would have the opportunity to not go to hell

and go to heaven with him instead

so God does not send people to hell

He actually made a way for us not to go there

through sending HIs son in our place

God gave us a lifeline

and the only way out

is through Jesus

the cross is proof that God would rather die for you

than loose you

so God does not send anyone to hell

he sent everyone a savior

people who reject that savior

are going to the place they are already headed towards anyway

God made the way for salvation

but He allows people to choose whether they accept or not

and that’s why this matters so much

because what we do with Jesus

is not just about Church

its about eternity

suffering and hell

both point to a God

who takes love serious

and who went to extreme measures to save you

because He loves you

He sent His Son to die for you

so that you could spend eternity with Him

so when the question is asked

what do Christians believe

let me sum it up

we believe that the Bible is God’s Word

that Jesus is the Son of God

that he died for our sins

that He rose from the dead

that salvation is by grace through faith

and that following Jesus changes the way we live

and heres what i dont want you to miss

this is not just about information

this is about transformation

this isn’t just about knowing that truth

its about building your life on the truth

remember last week

we talked about the wise builder

and the foolish builder

the difference was their obedience

so the question is not

do you know about Jesus

the question is

are you building you life on Jesus

because storms are coming

temptations come

pressure comes

loss happenes

and when those storms hit

what you really believe

is what you will be standing on

so tonight

Jesus isn’t just asking you to agree with Him

he isn’t asking you for you permission

He is asking you to trust Him with you life

to build your life on the Rock

not just talk about it

but be about it

God doesn’t just save you

and give you information

He puts His Spirit inside you

to guide you

to convict you

and to change you

belief that doesn’t change how you live

isn’t real belief

peer pressure

social media

dating relationships

integrity

these are the areas the HOly Spirit wants to work in your life

and maybe some of you right now

you fell the Holy Spirit bringing conviction into your heart

that not God trying to shame you

that God’s process of transforming you

that His invitation to you

and your opportunity for a response

so take a moment

and when you feel the Holy Spirit working in your heart

that may feel like nerves

that may feel like a desire to take a step

whatever the Lord is doing in your heart right now

as the music begins to play

the alters are open

come bring it to the Lord

and allow Him to work in your heart