Tag Archives: Jesus Christ

Baptism, Mormonism, Top Ten Posts of 2009

Did Jesus Say Baptism Is Required For Entrance Into Heaven? – #3 Post of 2009

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Post Author: Darrell

The LDS Church teaches that Baptism is required for entrance into The Celestial Kingdom (Heaven).  They often cite Christ’s conversation with Nicodemus in John chapter 3 as evidence to support their position.  However, a closer look at this conversation does not in fact support the Mormon view.  Let’s go through this conversation verse by verse.

“1Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.” 3In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”  4“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”

It is important to stop here and look closely at what Christ taught and what Nicodemus asked in return.  Christ said that a man must be “born again” to enter into heaven.  Nicodemus was confused by what Christ meant by “born again” and followed by asking how a man could “enter the womb” again to be re-born.  Keep this in mind.

“5Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of waterand the Spirit.”

It is at this point most Mormons will stop and say something to the effect of “See, Christ taught that you have to be born of water – Baptized – or you cannot go to heaven. ” I am willing to admit that if the conversation stopped here they might actually have a case.  Fortunately, Christ clarifies for us exactly what he means by born of water.

“6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.“

Christ answers Nicodemus’s question of what born again is… how can a man “enter the womb” to be reborn.  Christ tells us that flesh gives birth to flesh when we are born the first time – of water from our mother’s womb.  Mormons get confused by what Christ meant by “born of water”.  It has nothing to do with baptism…. He was referring to being born of our mother.  However, Christ goes further to contrast this first birth with being “born again” of the Spirit.  This is the requirement for entrance into Heaven not baptism.

As you can see, this conversation does not teach that we must be baptized to enter Heaven.  Don’t get me wrong… I am not saying that baptism is a bad thing.  In reality it is a wonderful ordinance that we should all follow once we accept Christ as our Savior.  Christ most certainly taught that it is something we should do as an outward manifestation of a changed heart.  However, He did not teach it as a mandate for salvation.  Only one thing is required for salvation… a sincere and humble expression of faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior which leads to being Born Again of The Spirit.

What a beautiful concept this is!  Christ’s sacrifice is a gift we should all receive… it enables all who do so to enter The Kingdom of God.  I will praise my Savior forever for what He has done for me.

Darrell

Archaeology, Christmas

Why Is Jesus’ Birthday Celebrated on Dec. 25?

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Post Author: Bill Pratt

The usual story about why Jesus’ birthday is celebrated on Dec. 25 is that Christians were trying to convert a Roman pagan festival into a Christian festival.  But it seems this theory may not be true.

Andrew McGowan, professor of early Christian history, has written a fascinating article which links the death and conception of Jesus to his birthday.  It seems that ancient Christians tended to believe that the death of Jesus occurred on the same day as his conception in Mary’s womb, March 25.  So, to arrive at his birthdate, they added nine months to March 25, which yields Dec. 25.

If you are interested in early Christian history and the roots of Jesus’ birthdate on Dec. 25, you won’t want to miss reading this article.

Evil, Pain, and Suffering, Free Will, Morality

Will You Give Up Your Free Will to Rid the World of Evil?

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Post Author: Bill Pratt

One of the most common objections to belief in God is the problem of evil.  One form of the problem of evil sounds like this: “I can’t believe in a God who allows children to be sexually molested.  If there was a God, He wouldn’t allow such things to occur.”

I can understand the objection, and it’s an objection that all Christians have struggled with one time or another.  However, there is a response to this challenge.

The sexual molester has free will and has chosen to exercise that free will to commit an act of evil against another person.  In fact, every human being has free will and makes choices every day to do good or evil.  God has given each of us this power of choice.

The objector wants God to take away the power of free choice from the molester to prevent him from doing evil.  Even though this crime is particularly heinous, the objector must surely want God to stop a variety of other acts of evil as well.  After all, why stop with child molestation when genocide, rape, and torture go on every day?

The only way for God to stop all of these crimes, these acts of evil, is to remove the power of free will from every person.  Some of you might say, “Wait a minute!  I don’t commit these horrible crimes.  Why do I have to lose my free will?”  You may not commit these kinds of crimes, but you commit acts of evil every day, most likely.  They are just more subtle.

Do you lie?  Do you steal?  Do you gossip about other people?  Are you committing adultery? If you don’t think that you ever do evil, just ask your spouse or a sibling.  I’m sure they can provide some examples to you.  The truth is that we all do bad things and that we are all capable of horrible crimes.

So, if God is going to rid the world of moral evil he is going to have to take away every person’s free will first.  Would you be willing to lose your power of free will to rid the world of evil?  If not, then you can hardly blame God for the evil in the world.  You must blame yourself.  After all, when given the chance to rid the world of evil, you declined!

If you would give up your free will, your ability to choose between good and evil, then I encourage you to become a Christian, because that’s exactly what Christians, in a sense, are doing.  Christians acknowledge that the world would be a much better place if we would follow the one man who consistently chose good for his entire human life, Jesus Christ.

When we submit to him, we are submitting our power of free choice to his direction and instruction.  We are saying to Jesus, “We want to do what you did.  We want to choose the way you chose, because you always chose good and never chose evil!”  Instead of every day demanding that our own choices be paramount, we strive to subject our free will to him, and he gives us the power to live as he did.

Our reward for submitting our free will to Jesus results in our spending eternity in heaven.  In heaven, our free will is perfected, as we will always and forever only choose the good.

Historical Christ, Resurrection

Is Extraordinary Evidence Needed to Prove the Resurrection?

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Post Author: Bill Pratt

I sometimes hear skeptics say that they need extraordinary evidence to believe that Jesus rose from the dead.  The reason they need extraordinary evidence, they claim, is that the resurrection is an extraordinary claim.

It is true that the resurrection is an extraordinary claim, but there are many extraordinary claims made about the past that we accept based on historical testimony.  For example, how do you get more extraordinary than the conquests of Alexander the Great?  His accomplishments are virtually unparalleled in history, yet we believe they really happened.

Or take a look at the Guinness Book of World Records some time.  Most of us have no trouble accepting the things recorded in there, but none of us were there to see all of them.  We have to rely on the testimony of those who were there.

The point is that multitudes of bizarre and outlandish marvels have transpired in the past, but for some reason skeptics are quite willing to accept these marvels as real, but not the resurrection of Jesus.

The standard for proving the resurrection should be trustworthy testimony from those who saw what happened, just like any other historical event.  In fact, all we need is eyewitness testimony that Jesus was alive, that he died, and that he was alive again.  If we know from history that these three things occurred, then we know Jesus rose from the dead.

There is nothing difficult about understanding this line of thinking.  If you are a skeptic, go study the historical testimony that shows Jesus lived, that he was then killed by crucifixion, and that he was then seen again by over 500 people.  There are libraries of both scholarly and popular level books that delve into these historical evidences.  Why not go read some of them, with an open mind to the evidence?

If the historical evidence is there, as I claim it is, you have some serious thinking to do.

Atheism, General Apologetics, Miracles, Religion

If Only I Could See a Miracle, I Would Believe

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Post Author: Bill Pratt 

If you are a person who says this about Christianity, excuse me for being skeptical.

God performed miracles through Moses, and yet Pharaoh did not believe.

God performed miracles through Elijah, and yet Jezebel did not believe.

Jesus performed numerous miracles that confirmed his power over sickness, weather, and even death.  Ultimately he rose from the dead.  Yet still some who saw these miracles did not believe.

God has provided plenty of evidence that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and rose from the dead.  If you are a person who has heard the gospel message and understood it, but you continue to demand more evidence in the form of miracles, ask yourself if there isn’t another problem.

Is it possible that you just don’t want to believe?  Is it possible that no matter how much evidence you are shown, that no matter how many times God reveals himself to you, that you just will not believe?

If that is the case, search your own heart and figure out why you don’t want to believe.  Where is this barrier of belief coming from?  We can answer your questions about Christianity, but until you deal with your will, our answers will remain unpersuasive.

Islam

Is the God of Christianity the Same as the God of Islam?

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Post Author: Bill Pratt 

Imagine the following scenario: two people claim to know the same professional football player.  The football player’s name is Alex and he plays in the NFL.  The first person who knows Alex the football player describes him this way:

He is 6′ 6″ tall, he weighs 305 lbs., he plays left tackle, he is married, and he plays for the Carolina Panthers.

Now the second person describes Alex the football player:

He is 6′ 2″ tall, he weighs 256 lbs., he plays middle linebacker, he is single, and he plays for the Atlanta Falcons.

When when we started out, we were pretty confident that these two people were talking about the same Alex the football player.  Once we asked for more details, though, we quickly discovered that they are not the same person at all, but two different people.  We just needed a little more information about Alex from each person.

This is the same situation with the God of Islam and the God of Christianity.  Both are claimed to be the God of Abraham and both are monotheistic creator-God’s.  If we stop there, we might conclude that they must be the same God.

Unfortunately, there is a slight problem.  Christians believe that God is three persons in one nature, a Trinity.  The three persons are the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Muslims flatly reject the Trinity.  There is only one person who is God, not three.

Second, Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the God-man – he is fully God and fully man.  Muslims completely reject this idea of Jesus as God-man.  They view Jesus as a mere human prophet who is less important than the final prophet, Muhammad.

There are more differences in the God of Islam and the God of Christianity, but we need go no further.  Just based on the differences highlighted above, we are 100% sure that these two Gods are not the same.

One final note.  We must admit that there are some similarities in the God of Islam and the God of Christianity, and when Christians speak to Muslims about God, we can use these similarities as launching pads to share our faith.  However, just because there are some similarities, we must not fall into the trap of papering over the very real and very significant differences.  Closing our eyes to the key beliefs of these two religions doesn’t get us anywhere.

Jesus Christ, Mormonism

Do Mormons Worship The Same Jesus As Christians?

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I recently entered into a conversation on Jessica’s blog regarding whether Mormons worship the same Jesus as Christians.   I was surprised to discover a few Evangelicals who expressed the belief they do.  Being a former Mormon I must say I wholeheartedly disagree.  To those Christians who hold this position, I would like to give you something to consider…  The First Vision.  Let me explain.

Joseph Smith claimed Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father appeared to him in 1820 and ushered in the restoration of the true church of Jesus Christ – now known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  When considering this First Vision claim there are only two positions one can take.

  1. It happened
  2. It did not happen

If one believes the First Vision did in fact happen (Number 1)  there are only two possibilities to consider.

A.  One of the beings who appeared to Joseph Smith was in fact Jesus Christ

B.  Neither of the beings who appeared to Joseph Smith were Jesus Christ

Think about the implications of these two positions for a second.  If “A” is true and Jesus Christ did appear to Joseph then The Mormon Church is what it claims to be… the true Church of Jesus Christ.  For it was started by Jesus Christ Himself calling Joseph Smith as His prophet during the First Vision encounter.  To those of you who believe Mormons worship the same Jesus as us – are you prepared to accept this and join the Mormon Church?  However, if “B” is true, then who was the being who appeared to Joseph Smith if it was not Jesus Christ?  Think about this for a second… this is the being who started The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  This is the being who appeared to Joseph Smith and called him as his prophet.  This is the being Mormons worship.  If it was not Jesus Christ, who was it?  One thing we can say for sure… if it was not Jesus Christ then we can rest assured Mormons do not worship the same Jesus Christ we worship.

To those who hold the belief the First Vision did not happen (number 2 above) there are still problems to consider when holding the belief Mormons worship the same Jesus as Christians.  For then you have to believe the founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith, perpetuated a lie of an indescribable magnitude and in the process used this lie to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.  In other words, Joseph Smith knowingly made up all of the visions and used these false visions to preach and lead others to the REAL Jesus Christ.  In addition, you must believe that he knowingly deceived others into believing THEY EXPERIENCED VISIONS.  For some of his visions were experienced in the presence of and by others.  All of this deceit while still preaching the REAL Jesus Christ.  While one can hold this position, to me it strains credulity.

Personally, I believe the evidence points to the fact Joseph Smith did have a first vision (number 1 above) but the being in this vision was not Jesus Christ (B above).  I believe Joseph’s well documented involvement in the occult opened some undesirable doors and the being who appeared to him was an evil spirit sent to lead the hearts of men astray (1 John 4:1).  IMO, the Jesus of Mormonism is not the Jesus Christ of The Bible.  My prayer is for all Mormons to let go of the legalistic bonds of false religion and turn to the True Jesus Christ of The Bible.  In Him there is safety, in Him there is peace!

God Bless!

Darrell

Jesus as God, Jesus Christ, Theology

Did Jesus Claim to be God? Part 7

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Post Author: Bill Pratt 

There are at least six ways that Jesus claimed to be God.  The sixth way is that Jesus Claimed to Be God by Requesting Prayer in His Name. Again, I will draw heavily from Norman Geisler’s Volume 2 of his Systematic Theology series.

Nobody before Jesus, among Hebrew prophets, ever insisted that people pray in his name.  But that would all change when Jesus entered the scene in ancient Judea and Galilee.

Jesus not only asked people to believe in Him and obey His commandments, but He also asked them to pray in His name: “And I will do whatever you ask in my name.… You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” (John 14:13–14). “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you” (John 15:7). Jesus even insisted, “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

The disciples responded by doing just what Jesus told them.

The disciples not only prayed in Jesus’ name (1 Cor. 5:4) but also prayed to Christ (Acts 7:59). Jesus certainly intended that His name be invoked both before God and as God in prayer.

This ends the series of evidences for Jesus claiming both directly and indirectly to be God.  We have yet to cover all of the words of his apostles about his deity.  That will follow in another series of posts.

But before going there, it is fitting to end this series with some words from C. S. Lewis about Jesus’ deity.

Among these Jews there suddenly turns up a man who goes about talking as if He was God.  He claims to forgive sins.  He says He has always existed.  He says He is coming to judge the world at the end of time.  Now let us get this clear.  Among Pantheists, like the Indians, anyone might say that he was a part of God, or one with God: there would be nothing very odd about it.  But this man, since He was a Jew, could not mean that kind of God.  God, in their language, meant the Being outside the world Who made it and was infinitely different from anything else.  And when you have grasped that, you will see that what this man said was, quite simply, the most shocking thing that has ever been uttered by human lips.

You either believe Jesus or you don’t, but please don’t think that you don’t have to make a choice about him.  If he really is God, then you owe him your very life.

Jesus as God, Jesus Christ, Theology

Did Jesus Claim to be God? Part 6

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Post Author: Bill Pratt 

There are at least six ways that Jesus claimed to be God.  The fifth way is that Jesus Claimed to Have Equal Authority with God. Again, I will draw heavily from Norman Geisler’s Volume 2 of his Systematic Theology series.

In the New Testament, Jesus places his words on an equal footing with God’s.  Following are several examples:

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago … But I tell you” (Matt. 5:21–22) is repeated over and over again. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:18–19). God had given the Ten Commandments to Moses, but Jesus said, “A new commandment I give you: Love one another” (John 13:34). Jesus promised, “Until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law” (Matt. 5:18), while later Jesus said of His words, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Matt. 24:35). Speaking of those who reject Him, Jesus confirmed, “That very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day” (John 12:48).

Taken as a whole, there is no question that Jesus  understood his own words to have authority equal to the words spoken by God in the Old Testament.

Put yourselves in the place of the people who heard Jesus speak these words in first century Palestine.  It was shocking and inconceivable for  a Jew to say these things.  Think of all the times that Jesus’ opponents tried to kill him before they finally succeeded.  This mere man, in their mind, continuously equated himself with God, in a way that had no precedent.

You may not believe Jesus is God, but you should be able to understand why his followers and his opponents thought that he was claiming to be.

There is one more line of evidence in this series to consider.  Stay tuned…

Jesus as God, Jesus Christ, Theology

Did Jesus Claim to be God? Part 5

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Post Author: Bill Pratt 

There are at least six ways that Jesus claimed to be God.  The fourth way is that Jesus Claimed to Be God by Accepting Worship.  Again, I will draw heavily from Norman Geisler’s Volume 2 of his Systematic Theology series.

The Old Testament clearly forbids worship of anyone except God (Ex. 20:1–5; Deut. 5:6–9).  The New Testament likewise reiterates this fundamental teaching of Scripture (Acts 14:13-15; Rev. 22:8-9).

But in direct defiance of this command, Jesus accepted worship on several occasions.  Why would he do this?  The obvious answer is that he considered himself equal to God.

A leper worshiped Him before he was healed (Matt. 8:2), and a ruler knelt before Him with a request (Matt. 9:18). After He stilled the storm, “Those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God’ ” (Matt. 14:33). A Canaanite woman (Matt. 15:25), the mother of James and John (Matt. 20:20), and the Gerasene demoniac (Mark 5:6) all bowed before Jesus without one word of rebuke. A blind man said, “ ‘Lord, I believe,’ and he worshiped Him” (John 9:38). Thomas saw the risen Christ and cried out, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).

Did Jesus rebuke Thomas and correct him?  Did he deny that he was Lord and God?  No, he did not.  The message he was sending was clear.  Only someone who considered himself God would accept worship like Jesus did.