Do You Have To Believe Jesus Was God To Be A Christian?

I.  Basic Background Belief

-              Before we look at this question we have to establish an understanding of our belief in the Biblical text.

-              The best starting point is a consideration of the reliability of the New Testament books because our knowledge of Christ depends on them.

-              Some objections to the reliability of the text. Some people challenge the Christian believer with comments and questions like these:

-              “Several people just wrote down legends about a man called Jesus!”

-              “ The books have been copied so many times. How do you know they haven’t been changed?”

-              “Religious books tell about emotional experiences. They have no basis in historical fact.”

-              In investigating the reliability of any historical source these three questions need to be considered:

·                      Who is the actual author?

·                      Has the book been copied correctly since its time of writing?

·                      Is the book a historical true account of what happened?

-              There has been much research on this matter and for our study we will believe that the New Testament text is an accurate historical account.

-              If you have questions about this or want further study we can come back to it at a later time.

II.  The Importance Of The Question

-              The essential question is- “Who is Jesus?” This question demands a personal response. Each person must answer.

·          It is an all important question. How a person answers will determine his purpose in life and decide his eternal destiny

·          The issue is also all inclusive. Believing Jesus is the Son of God and submitting to Him as Lord influences every area of one’s life. It changes one’s thoughts, feelings, motives dreams, words, and actions. The decision concerns not only this life but the life hereafter as well.

·          The issue is also all impelling. If Jesus is the Son of God, then believers will give their all to submit to His Lordship, even being willing to die for Him. Commitment to Jesus as King is a driving dynamic that knows no equal in the world.

III.  The Problem

-              Various responses have been made and are being made concerning Jesus.

·          The Pharisees watched Jesus’ every word and action, ready to pounce on any flaw or misdeed. What was their response to Jesus? They rejected him as a blasphemer.  There are those today who reject Jesus as unworthy of their allegiance.

·         Judas, one of Jesus’ disciples, betrayed Him with a kiss. Today many professing Christians are betraying Jesus by their lives.

·         Pilate’s response to Jesus was different. It was not direct rejection or betrayal, be he tried to avoid a decision about the issue.  Many say, “I don’t want to make a decision about Christ.”

IV.  The Claim Is Made

·         In answering the question, “Who is Jesus?” we will consider what His enemies and friends said about Him and then what Jesus claimed for Himself.

·         His enemies.

• Pilate: “I find no crime in this man.” (Luke 23:4, 14, 22)
• Judas: “I have sinned in betraying innocent blood.” (Matthew 27: 4)
• Pharisee: He is a blasphemer “because he not only broke the Sabbath but also called God his Father, making himself equal with God.” “You, being a man, make yourself God.”

·         His Friends

• Angels to Shepherds: “A savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11)
• Simeon: “The Lord’s Christ.” (Luke 2:26-32)
• Wisemen: “King of the Jews.” (Matthew 2:1-11)
• John the Baptist: “The lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” “This is the Son of God.” (John 1:29, 34)
• Andrew: “The Messiah.” (John 1:41)
• Peter: “The Christ, the Son of the living God.” “The Holy One of God.” “Lord and Christ.” (Matthew 16:16, John 6:68-69 and Acts 2:36)
• Paul: “The Son of God.” “… in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.” (Acts 9:20, Romans 1:4 and Colossians 2:9)

·         Jesus’ claims

• Equality with God – “I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30)
• Came from Heaven- “I have come down from Heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.” (John 6:38)
• Always Existed- “Before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:56-58)
• Only Way to God- “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)
• Seeing Him Was Seeing God- “He who has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9)
• Exclusive Knowledge of God- “No one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” (Matthew 11:27)
• He Could Raise the Dead- “I am the resurrection and the life.” (John 11:25)
• Savior- “You will die in your sins unless you believe that I am he.” (John 8:24)
• Judge- “The Father… has given all judgment to the Son.” (Matthew 16:27)

·         Either He is who He claims to be or He is not. Either these statements are true or they are false. Some people, however, try to find a halfway position. The praise Jesus as a teacher but reject His divine claims.

·         In a college English Literature course a student was asked to give a report on the influence of the Bible in English literature. The report concluded, “Either the Bible is a true revelation from God or it should be rejected as a false book. Either Jesus was the Son of God or He should be rejected as an imposter.” After students made several comments, the teacher said she did not go to church anymore, but she had gone to Sunday School as a child. Expressing her view of Christ, she said, “I don’t believe the miracles. I don’t believe Jesus was the Son of God, but I do think Jesus was a great moral teacher.”

• The former atheist, C.S. Lewis, makes it clear why that view cannot be accepted:
• “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would be either a lunatic- on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg or else he would he the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice: Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and Kill Him as a demon; 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. He did not intend to.”
• So Jesus was either a
• Liar
• Lunatic
• Or God

V.  Jesus Gave Us Credentials of His Claim

• Fulfilled Prophecy
• Fulfilled prophecy is one line of evidence supporting Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God. Jesus fulfilled more than two hundred predictions, spoken hundreds of years before by the Old testament prophets.
• Miracles
• The miracles that Jesus worked provide further evidence of His deity.            

 Miracles

      A miracle is an event in the external world worked by the direct power of God intended as a sign.

o       New Testament Words for Miracles:       

§         Works- emphasize the power involved

§         Signs-emphasize the purpose of miracles

§         Wonders- emphasize the effect on observers

o       Miracles as Credentials (Demonstrations of Divine Authority):     

Matthew 9:6-7; 11:21-23; Mark 2:10: Luke 7:22; John 5:36; 10:37-38; 14:10-11; 15:24; 20:21; Acts 2:22; Hebrews 2:3-4.

The Miracles of Jesus

Power over Nature

·         The water changed into wine- John 2:1-11

·         The first miraculous catch of fish- Luke 5:1-7 

·         The stilling of the storm on the Sea of Galilee- Matthew 8:23-27; Mark 4:36-41; Luke 8:22-25

·         Feeding of 5000 from lad’s lunch- Matthew 14:15-21; Mark 6:30-34; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-14

·         Walking on Sea of Galilee- Matthew 14:22-32; Mark 6:45-46; John 6:15-21

·         The feeding of the 4000- Matthew 15:32-39; Mark 8:1-9

·         Finding the tribute money in the fish’s mouth- Matthew 17:24-27

·         Cursing of the fig tree- Matthew 21:18-22; Mark 11:12-14, 20-24

·         The second miraculous catch of fish- John 21:1-11

Power to Heal Diseases

·         The healing of the nobleman’s son at Capernaum- John 4:46-54

·         Peter’s wife’s mother healed of a fever- Matthew 8:14-18; Mark 1:29-34; Luke 4:38-41

·         The first cleansing of a leper- Matthew 8:1-4; Mark 1:40-45; Luke 5:12-14

·         The healing of a paralyzed man- Matthew 9:1-8; Mark 2:3-12; Luke 5:18-26

·         The healing of the lame man at the Pool of Bethesda- John 5:1-16

·         The man with the withered hand- Matthew 12:9-14; Mark 3:1-6; Luke 6:6-11

·         The paralyzed centurion’s servant- Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-10

·         The woman with the issue of blood- Matthew 9:20-22; Mark 5:25-34; Luke 8:43-48

·         The restoring of sight to two blind men- Matthew 9:27-31

·         The healing of the deaf and mute man- Matthew 15:29-31; Mark 7:31-37

·          The restoration of sight to the blind man outside of Bethesda- Mark 8:22-26

·         The cleansing of ten lepers- Luke 17:11-19

·         The man born blind- John 9

·         The woman with the bent back- Luke 13:10-17

·         The man with dropsy- Luke 14:1-6

·         The two blind men near Jericho- Matthew 20: 29-34; Mark 10:46-52

·         The restoration of the severed ear to Malchus- Luke 22:50-51

Casting Demons out of Persons

·         The man with an unclean spirit in the synagogue at Capernaum- Mark 1:23-28; Luke 4:33-37

·         The man who was both blind and mute- Matthew 12:22-30: Mark 3:22-30; Luke 11:14-23

·         Two possessed with demons at Gadara- Matthew 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-21; Luke 8:26-40

·         A mute man- Matthew 9:32-34

·         The daughter of the Syrophoenician woman- Matthew 15:21-28; Mark 7:24-30

·         The child, after the Transfiguration- Matthew 17:14-21; Mark 9:14-29; Luke 9:37-43

Resurrections from the Dead

·         The son of the widow of Nain- Luke 7:11-18

·         The daughter of Jairus- Matthew 9:18-19; 23-26; Mark 5:21-24, 35-43; Luke 8:40-42, 49-56

·         Lazarus- John 11

·         His own resurrection- Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20-21

Resurrection

-  The resurrection is a convincing credential verifying that Jesus stands true as the Son of God.

-              If Christ were not raised from the dead, these consequences would be true:

·         Jesus would not be the Son of God

·         Christianity would not be the true religion

·         The gospel message would be false

·         No salvation or hope could be found in Christ

-              The Post- Resurrection Appearances of Jesus

·         Woman returning from the tomb- Matthew 28:1-10

·         Mary Magdalene at the tomb- Mark 16:9-11; John 20:11-18

·         Peter- Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5

·         Cleopas and another disciple- Mark 16:12; Luke 24:13-35

·         Ten apostles (Thomas absent)- Mark 16:14-18; Luke 24:36-40; John 20:19-23; 1 Corinthians 15:5

·         Eleven apostles (Thomas present) – John 20:26-28

·         Disciples at Sea of Galilee- John 21:1-23

·         Apostles, above 500 brethren, on mountain in Galilee- Matthew 28:16-20; 1 Corinthians 15:6

·         James- 1 Corinthians 15:7

·         Apostles on Mount of Olives before ascension-Mark 16:19; Luke 24:50-52; Acts 1:3-8

The Historical Results

§         Many historical results cannot be explained apart from the fact the resurrection. Only the resurrection explains the transformation in character of denying Peter, unbelieving half-brother James, and persecuting Saul. Only the fact of the resurrection made possible the resurrection faith which accounts for the origin and growth of the church.

§         Early Christians writers tell us that the Christians worshiped on the first day because this was the day Christ arose. The validity of baptism is linked to the resurrection. Ant the Lord’s Supper is not just remembering a dead martyr but is communion with a Living Lord.

VI.  What Does It All Mean?

·         What does the resurrection of Christ mean? It means that the living God of the universe has acted in history. God is real. Christ is Lord, God in Flesh. And man has hope through Christ.

·         We have looked at the identity of Jesus. The case rests. Each must make his or her own choice. The evidence shows that Jesus is the Son of God and the Savior of man.