|
By Rick Sibert April 2007 |
|
Faith - Built On Evidence and Truth
I knew it would happen.
I knew it was only a matter of time.
With the rapid advancement of science and the world becoming increasingly anti-Christ, I predicted there would indeed come a day when we would hear a breaking news story such as the one I read about recently – Jesus’ Family Crypt Found. You see, Jesus wasn’t really resurrected. He married Mary Magdalene. And had a family. Didn’t you know that? (For those of you who don’t know me, please read the above with sarcasm!)
There have been theories and hoaxes before, like the recent heretical book/movie The Da Vinci Code and T.E. Lawrence’s writings in the 1920’s (incidentally, these stories always have Jesus marrying Mary Magdalene if you have noticed), but now it’s becoming increasingly more serious because of the all-important DNA evidence that the latest story claims to have.
James Cameron, the director of Titanic has recently unveiled (on the Discovery Channel) his next project - a “documentary” showing that Jesus was not raised from the dead. He says he has “evidence” that the Son of Man didn’t beat the power of death, and that they have in fact discovered his coffin in a Jerusalem suburb, along with that of his wife (Mary), his mother, and his son.
“People who believe in a physical ascension – that he took his body to heaven – those people will say, ‘Wait a minute,’” said the acclaimed director.
We will?? People of faith, who have been born again and have the indwelling power and discernment of the Holy Spirit are now going to just chuck it all? You know, the enemy will stop at nothing to lead mankind astray (and also bring confusion to those in the church), especially as the scientific community advances forward proportionally with man’s decreasing ability to “reason together.”
Do you know what really strikes me when I hear of hoaxes like the above? Not that they are trying to bring disrepute to Jesus or to discredit His resurrection, that has always happened and will continue until He puts down all rebellion and establishes His eternal kingdom. But what is really telling as we get closer to His return is that man is all too quick to say, as Matt Lauer of The Today Show did, that this “could rock Christianity to it’s core,” and “if this turns out to be true it changes everything.” That is, rather than reject stories like this out of hand, mankind in general gravitates instead towards the thinking that says there was no Saviour, and there isn’t a loving God in Heaven who paid for our sins and our separation from Him and made a way for us to spend eternity with Him. It seems that any little trick that comes along (remember the “lost” gospel of Judas found last year?) unbelievers jump all over it, and say, “See, I told you it wasn’t true, it’s all been a big lie!” How tragic.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ, as one noted author states, is the “capstone in the arch of Christianity”! Without it, the foundations of our faith would come crashing to the ground. The apostle Paul, in his letter to the Corinthian church, recounts all of the evidence for that resurrection, and then states, “Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is vain and your faith is also vain…if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!” (1 Cor 15: 12-17)
So why are we so quick to believe a lie rather than the truth when the truth is so wonderful and life changing? It’s really quite simple. There are three main reasons, I believe, (maybe you are in one of these camps) – people are either so comfortable in their sin that they can’t even see that they are sinners in need of saving grace, or secondly, they think they can never be “good enough” to merit such saving or finally, they deny that there is a God who can do that saving. Go ask the average man on the street if he is a sinner in need of a savior and see what his or her response will be! (You better use the Biblical model and take someone with you!) I have friends and family members who are this way, and I’m sure you do too; people we know who are heading toward an eternity of isolation and separation, of “wailing and gnashing of teeth,” as the Bible says. That’s why, when stories like this come along, we, as believers need to be equipped to engage whomever we come in contact with and be ready to point them toward the truth - and do so with conviction!
For our faith is not in vain - it is built upon personal testimony and evidentiary truth, not fanciful stories and blind chance!
Current Issue
Editor’s Note: Eternal Perspective is a monthly feature of Calvary Chapel Columbus and the commentary of Pastor Rick Sibert, focusing on living a Godly life in the midst of an ungodly world.
|
