THE HOLY BIBLE

The Bible is the inerrant Word of God. A common rebuttal to this simple truth is that it was “written down by men” and is therefore fallible. Though it’s fair enough to say that it was indeed written down by mankind, it remains pure and unadulterated. Think of it this way, a secretary may take dictation from her boss in authority, but she does not write her own opinions or orders. Nor does she add to or take from his explicit directions. In like manner, the men who wrote down the books of the Bible were chosen by God to express His will and ways to us. What they wrote down was and is divinely inspired, literally God-breathed. This is what sets the Bible apart from ALL other literature. It is not merely historical art or poetry. Rather, it is the living voice of Yahweh, the one and the only Almighty God. As we see in John 1:1, referring to Jesus, John writes, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

THE HOLY TRINITY

Having no beginning and no end, God exists in three persons as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are one. They do not act separately or independently from one another. Jesus stated in John 10:30, “I and the Father are one.” And Jesus said of the Spirit in John 15:26, “The Helper will come-the Spirit who reveals the truth about God and who comes from the Father. I will send Him to you from the Father, and He will speak about Me.” The three divine Persons of the Trinity do not stop being one and become another, they are one.

JESUS, THE ONE WAY & LONG AWAITED CHRIST

Jesus identifies Himself as deity in Mark 14:62 when the High Priest again asked Him if He is the Christ, saying, “I AM; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of Heaven.” He is the Messiah sent from God to offer salvation to the world. Both Old and New Testaments of the Holy Bible give prophecy of His coming. Just a few of the prophecies supporting this assertion can be found in the following scriptures…Numbers 24:17-19; Psalm 2:7-9; Isaiah 42:1-4; Micah 5:2; Matthew 3:11-17. And here is it crucial to underscore the point that, as much, Jesus is the one and only way to the Father, Yahweh. Many people will come with flattering things to say about Jesus, calling him a great prophet or a good person or a profound teacher. They may even say that he is “a” way to Heaven. Though all these attributes are, in part, true of Jesus, they do not convey the whole truth of who He is. That is because He is not merely “a” way to Heaven, but rather He is the ONE and ONLY way to Heaven. And this is the scandal of Christianity. This belief flies in the face of all other well-intentioned religions. Truly well intentions be seem nice on the surface, but as the old saying goes, “The road to hell is paved with them.” Jesus said this about Himself in John 14:6, “I AM the way, the truth, and the life;” and in the same verse He went on to clarify with pinpoint certainty, “No one comes to the Father but through Me.” And truly “a” way, to indicate “one of many” ways, is the very and exact opposite of saying “one way.”

JUSTIFICATION

Though faith without good works is dead as we are told in James 2:17, our own good works are still has filthy rags before God and cannot save us. (See Isaiah 64:6, Ephesians 2:8-9) We are rather saved by God’s grace, His unmerited favor, through our faith in Jesus Christ. It is the finished work of CHRIST who saves us when we repent, and continue to repent, to turn from sin, and to believe in Him. Some religious people come in the name of Jesus and say, and may earnestly believe, that their good works will “earn them” passage into Heaven. But they are mistaken, misled, and they preach a version of Jesus that is not supported by the Holy Bible.

ATONEMENT

Psalm 22 offers another prophetic description of Jesus and what He endured on the cross, written centuries before His birth. It is written, “…They pierced my hands and feet…” in verse 16. Isaiah 53 also depicts the torture Jesus received and further defines His role in our deliverance, especially in verses 4-5, which read, “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him. And by His scourging we are healed.” Scriptures such as these define Jesus from Nazareth to be this long awaited Messiah. But He is further defined as that Messiah by the sinless life He lived from His physical conception to His physical death on the cross. Though never conceived in sin, and born to a blessed, virgin girl (See Matthew 1:18-25), Jesus lived as a human man who faced all the temptations we, as humans, have faced – yet unlike us, He did not sin in those moments of temptation. He is fully God and fully man. (See Hebrews 4:15) And His sinless life is what makes Him the perfect and unblemished sacrifice before God. (See Leviticus 23:12 and 1 Peter 1:17-19) Therefore, when Jesus died on the cross, his death satisfied the wrath of God against humanity. And the Father was able to receive that perfect atonement. (See Isaiah 53:10) After His death, he literally rose from having been physically dead. He then appeared again to His disciples and commissioning them to carry His good news to the world, He ascended to Heaven where He sits at God’s right hand. (See Mark, Chapter 16) And as He prophesied, He will return with the clouds of Heaven to judge the world.