All other religions :Hinduism, Buddhism. Confucianism, Shintoism, and Islam
Founded by human beings - based on philosophies, rules and norms for behavior
Take any of these leaders away...Religions still stand...Little would change
Take Jesus out of Christianity....Nothing Left
Christianity isn’t founded on rules or behavior....FOUNDED ON JESUS
Matthew 16:13-18
Our church is built on a rock...That rock isn’t Peter...The rock is what Peter said
It’s one thing to read the Bible...Go to church...say your prayers
The Rock is .... THE REVELATION OF WHO JESUS REALLY IS
In his famous book Mere Christianity, C.S Lewis makes this statement, "A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic - on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg - or he would be the devil of hell. You must take your choice. Either this was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us."
Let’s look at what some say...about Jesus
1. Some Say....He was Good Man
If Jesus wasn’t the Son of God....HE WAS A HORRIBLE MAN
Luke 9: 59 Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 Jesus said to him, Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.
Mark 1: 16 And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
If I left my job...Didn’t get to bury my dad...
This Guy said he was the son of God
THEN HE TURNS OUT NOT TO BE...It would be on
I ain’t sayin’ what I’d do...
Not training UFC for nothing
If Jesus wasn’t God in the Flesh–
HE WAS A HORRIBLE MAN
2. Some Say he was a Good Prophet-
If Jesus wasn’t the Son of God...He was a Horrible Prophet
Mark 8:31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
Matthew 12:40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC), maker of big mainframe computers, in 1977. Said, "There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home. I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
You can’t think he’s awesome...If he’s this wrong...This Often
Hal Lindsey had predicted in his book "The Late, Great Planet Earth" that the Rapture was coming in 1988 - one generation or 40 years after the creation of the state of Israel.
In 1962 ..Pope John XXIII predicted that December 25, 2000: that Christ would appear in the sky over New York City and announce the creation of a 1000-year paradise.
In 1995, Jack van Impe predicted that in 2001 the Antichrist will appear. This will be followed by the Battle of Armageddon and the second coming of Christ
If a guy calls himself a prophet...He better be right
Jesus said would die, be buried, and rise again...
If he is a good prophet...
Then you have to believe HE IS THE SON OF GOD
If you think he didn’t die and rise again...HE’S A HORRIBLE PROPHET
3. Some say...He was a Good Teacher
Jesus taught a lot of lessons while he was on Earth
A great teacher...Corrects people when they’re wrong
Our teacher would never let us say AIN’T
Correct... speak wrong...math wrong...handwriting’s wrong...
So if Jesus is a good teacher...HE’LL DO THE SAME
John 20: 24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” 26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” 28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” THOMAS HOW DARE YOU CALL ME LORD AND GOD...I”M JUST A GOOD TEACHER 29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Christ was a good man...they left the dead and nets and followed the Son of God
Christ was a good teacher...He taught them he was the Son of God
Christ was a good Prophet...He predicted 5 time...dead, buried, rise again 3 days
And that is why we’re here...
There was a debt of sin we couldn’t pay...HE PAID IT
There was the condemnation that came with the law...HE FULFILLED IT
There was perfection needed...HE SUPPLIED IT
Luke 24: 1 Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them,[a] came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 3 Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. 5 Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, 7 saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’”.......... 8 And they remembered His words.
God is either a LIAR...A LUNATIC...LORD
This morning we serve a risen God...
