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Signs of the Times Australia / NZ edition — lifestyle, health, relationships, culture, spirituality, people — published since 1886 |
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Signs of the Times Australia / NZ edition — lifestyle, health, relationships, culture, spirituality, people — published since 1886 |
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Social commentator Philip Adams says he believes we live in a meaningless universe. Our destiny, he says, is the second law of thermodynamics: we die, we decay, and that’s it! TV comedian Andrew Denton concurs, commenting, “I’m overwhelmed by the pointlessness of existence.”
Christianity seems to have something better to offer, but how do we know it’s true? The truth of Christianity stands or falls with its founder, Jesus Christ. Jesus is either who He claims to be—God—or else He’s either mad or the devil himself.
Thomas Schultz writes: “Not one recognised religious leader, not Moses, Paul, Buddha, Mohammed, Confucius have ever claimed to be God; that is, with the exception of Jesus Christ. Christ is the only religious leader who has ever claimed to be deity [God] and the only individual ever who has convinced a great portion of the world that He is God” (The Doctrine of the Person of Christ, page 209).
the predictions of Jesus
Matthew 24:35 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”
Jesus’ words have been translated into thousands of languages, printed in millions of books, scribed on gravestones and buildings. The United Bible Society prints more than 600 million Bibles and Bible portions each year. The Bible is still the number-one bestseller.
How did Jesus know the effects of His words unless He was God?
Just as the sun is the source of all energy in the physical world, so Jesus claims to be the inspiration of all life spiritually. The life and teachings of Jesus have inspired that which the world considers the very best in every area of life.
In the arts, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel is considered a masterpiece; Handel’s Messiah is recognised as the height of musical genius; and Milton’s Paradise Lost the best in literature. Modern science was born out of a Christian world view: scientists such as Sir Isaac Newton; astronomer, Johannes Keppler and Michael Faraday were all motivated by their devotion to Jesus.
Motivated by love for Jesus, people began hospitals and welfare organisations, Florence Nightingale and Dr Barnardo, for example. The lives of millions around the world have been changed for the better by the teachings of this Man.
Matthew 17:23 “On the third day he will be raised to life.” Many people die for flawed causes they believe to be true, but no-one willingly dies for what they know is a lie. Yet most of Jesus’ disciples died for their belief in Him. If the resurrection of Jesus were a hoax, the disciples would have known. Jesus’ resurrection changed them from frightened followers to courageous Christians. It is the cornerstone of the Christian faith.
the message of Jesus
John 3:17 “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save [it].”
Matthew 26:28 “My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
John 3:16 “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
The Bible says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
John 14:1-3 “I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me” (vv 2, 3).
the solution from Jesus
Matthew 11:28, 29 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me . . . and you will find rest.”
1 John 3:1 “We should be called children of God!”
John 6:35, 37 “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” “Whoever comes to me I will never drive away.”
Here, then, is the short cut to solving the riddle of life. Jesus, and the Bible He inspired, is the “way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6).
Pop singer and activist Peter Garrett says the message of Jesus “gives us a purpose, a hope, the ability to go on.” Jesus can do that for you as well!
Articles of interest:
Extract from Signs of the Times, April 2004.
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