Posts Tagged ‘ Cross ’
looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:2, ESV
What is faith? Jesus is the source. Without the cross and resurrection, we have no basis for faith.
Christ’s faithfulness gives us faith.
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 3:23 ESV
We are all equal before God. No one is without shame, but all are welcome at the foot of the cross where redemption is found.
When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
John 19:30, ESV
Jesus died for our sinful rebellion, and the work of forgiveness was completed at the cross. Nothing more is needed.
Believe this. Trust Him. Turn to and be washed by His grace. Let the Holy Spirit change you.
Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!
Psalm 126:5, ESV
God is a Comforter. He sees our tears, our pain and trouble. He has redeemed these through the cross.
Believe in Him, and find the joy that surpasses understanding!
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
Psalm 51:1-2, ESV
We are woefully wicked in our sin. Thanks be to God for showing us grace and mercy through the cross to blot out that sin!
For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
1 CORINTHIANS 1:18, NASB
The message we share sounds foolish to the world.
Be ready for that. Do not be ashamed of sounding foolish. That is being ashamed of His saving work.
Be strong in the power of Christ.
People ask if the the Bible is reliable, that it can be trusted as authentic and historical. (See the video on YouTube by clicking this sentence.)
There are a few items that prove the historicity and reliability of the Bible.
To begin with, in the last 20 years alone, several archaeological discoveries have been made confirming the existence of Kings David and Solomon, as well as much of ancient Israel from Biblical times, including NT times.
One of the greatest discoveries was the Dead Sea Scrolls, collections of biblical manuscripts dating from before the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 and even before the time of Christ. These scrolls contained much of the Hebrew Bible, confirming that existed it before Jesus’ time. This is important, because it means the prophecies of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection existed prior.
What about the New Testament?
First, if we want to discuss numbers of manuscripts, as a whole there are about 24,000 of the New Testament, and the four Gospels alone have nearly 6,000 copies from early on, possibly as early as late first century or early second century. This is within 100 years of Jesus’ and the Apostles’ lives. Even further, we know the majority of the gospels were written before 70 due to Paul – who was killed by 64 – quoted Luke 10:7 in 1 Timothy 5:18. By contrast, the next closest ancient document is Homer’s “The Iliad” with 643 manuscripts from over 500 years after Homer lived.
This should be enough to convince anyone, but just in case, the ultimate proof is that Jesus corroborated much of the OT and said His testimony is true. His proof was that He predicted His own death and resurrection (See Luke 20-22), adding validity to His claims by being crucified and rising again.
Therefore, as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15, “For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” (vv. 16-20)
In other words, the resurrection proves the Bible is true (by backing up Jesus’ claims). (See also the series beginning with this post.)
Wanna debate, challenge, or question what was said here? Leave a comment below or send us an e-mail at Together@asimplemanofgod.com.
