1 Peter 3:15 (ESV) – always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you
The Case for the Bible—Is the Bible Trustworthy?
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV) – All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Hebrews 4:12 (ESV) – For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
2 Peter 1:20-21 (ESV) – knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Luke 1:1-4 (ESV) – Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also , having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.
What about all the contradictions? “ Okay, but can you believe the Bible?
Did Matthew, Mark, Luke, John… just make stuff up?
The Case for Jesus– Is Jesus God in the Flesh?
What did Jesus claim about Himself?
Matthew 7:29; Mark 1:22; Luke 4:32 (NIV)
“ Never spoke like this man before.”
“He teaches with authority. Not like the teachers of the law.”
Mark 1:22 (ESV) – And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.
Luke 13:15-16 (ESV) – “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?”
Matthew 12:8 (ESV) – Jesus said, For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
John 14:8-9 (ESV) – Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
Matthew 26:63-64 (ESV) – Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
What Do Jesus’ Miracles Say of His Divine Nature
- Jesus Turns water into wine (2:1-11) – Power over Creation
- Jesus Heals the nobleman’s son (4:46-54) – Power over Space
- Jesus Heals a lame man (5:1-9) – Power over Time
- Jesus Feeds the 5000 (6:1-14) – Power over Food
- Jesus Walks on water (6:15-21) – Power over Natural Laws
- Jesus Heals a blind man (9:1-12) – Power over Physical Laws
- Jesus Raises Lazarus from the dead (11:1-22) – Power over Death
- Jesus Gives miraculous catch of fish (21:1-11) – Power over all of the above
Matthew 9:2-3 (ESV) – Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.”
Matthew 9:4-7 (ESV) – But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” 7 And he rose and went home.
What Do the OT Prophesies Demonstrate Jesus’ Divine Nature?
Luke 4:18-21 (ESV) – “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Isaiah 53:6 (ESV) –
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
The Case for the Resurrection—Did Jesus Rise From the Dead?
How can you prove the resurrection?
1 Corinthians 15:3-6 (NIV) – For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.
The Swoon Theory- Maybe Jesus never died
The Product Credibility Evidence—Does Jesus change lives?
1 Peter 3:1-2 (ESV) …t hey may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives,2 when they see your respectful and pure conduct.
Where Does the Evidence Lead You?
Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important. –C.S. Lewis
“You must picture me alone in that room at Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In …1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England” (Surprised By Joy, ch. 14, p. 266).
