Don't be bamboozled

The conceit of human intelligence comes into full bloom right around Easter every year. Scholars appear on National Geographic TV or Discovery Channel to 'explain' why the disciples mistakenly thought that Jesus was alive, or how He simply swooned and awakened in the grave, or how the psychological needs of those men caused them to concoct a story that took over their lives. A 'you can't be serious' look comes over many when I say that I really do believe that Jesus died and literally came out of His grave on Resurrection Day.

Many scholars tell us that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is just a collection of folk tales and legend that collected around an obscure Jewish apocalyptic prophet whose radical ideas got him killed. Do you actually think that a cleverly invented lie about a Jewish prophet's death and 'Resurrection' would re-shape the world? When did a lie ever last for two thousand years? It is much more reasonable to believe what the Bible claims - that the Gospel is the Truth of God, that it is the "the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes-... This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, "It is through faith that a righteous person has life." (Romans 1:16-17, NLT)

I am not suggesting that scholarly inquiry and study of the Bible is a terrible thing, nor would I deny that there is a lot of preaching that begs for a serious critique! But much of what is written about the so-called 'historical Jesus' is speculation based on scraps of information. Having pre-determined that the supernatural content of the Gospels cannot be true, these deniers must make Jesus' divinity nothing but a myth. Their intricately woven arguments bamboozle many into rejecting the wonderful facts that Jesus, the Christ, came into the world to bring us the full Truth about God, to die to reconcile us to Him, and to restore us to eternal life!

Paul, just a 20 years after Jesus lived and died and rose again, warned about being taken in by high-flown rhetoric and invented theories that invalidate the Truth of the Gospel. He warned the Christians of Corinth (and us!) this way: "I know very well how foolish the message of the cross sounds to those who are on the road to destruction. But we who are being saved recognize this message as the very power of God. As the Scriptures say, "I will destroy human wisdom and discard their most brilliant ideas." So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world's brilliant debaters? God has made them all look foolish and has shown their wisdom to be useless nonsense." (1 Corinthians 1:18-20, NLT)

I affirm the ancient Truth and I have the experience to back it up.
"You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart!"
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This is my confession:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended into hell.
The third day He arose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven and
sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic* church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body, and
life everlasting.

Amen.
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*Note: The word "catholic" in this creed does not mean the Roman Catholic Church, but rather the world-wide Body of Believers, One in Christ.
I hope you will find a Spirit-filled church this year and plan to worship the Risen Lord.

On Good Friday, at Faith Discovery Church (formerly known as Washington Assembly) we will share at the Lord's Table at 7 PM, worshipping the One who died for our sins.

On Easter Sunday, at 10 am, we will celebrate the Transformational Power of the Resurrection. You're invited!