When I was in college I met an older student who had previously been in the Air Force. We got to talking about various things and he mentioned that he had a pilot's license. We became friends and on several occasions went to local airports to rent a plane and fly over campus and tour the area. I trusted my friend to fly the plane. He was a good pilot. I relied on him. You can say that I had faith in my friend's ability to fly the plane.
Faith is confidence in the ability of another person. I had faith in my friend's ability to fly the plane because he showed me his pilot's license and it appeared genuine. He also told me technical info about flying. I made a rational decision to put faith in my friend's ability. Faith is rational. Faith is not a shot in the dark or wishful thinking or hope. Worldly people may mock and say that faith is belief without evidence but that's not the biblical meaning of faith. We put our faith in Christ based on reasonable, rational, real evidence.
The New Testament Greek word translated "believe" is the word "pisteuo" which means to trust, have confidence in, reliance upon - and not mere credence. The Bible clearly and meticulously sets forth the evidence for belief in Christ. The evidence shows that He is the promised Messiah who came to redeem us from our sins. Why do you think there are four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke & John? These are four EYEWITNESS accounts of the teachings and miracles of Christ! There were over 500 eyewitnesses to the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:6).
As for evidence supporting the general reliability of the Bible please note that there are literally hundreds of predictive prophecies contained in the pages of the Bible that give persuasive witness of the Bible's divine inspiration. Many of these prophecies were fulfilled in the first coming of Christ. Jesus' birth, death and resurrection were foretold centuries before He was born.
Events in world history were told in advance in the Old Testament books of Isaiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. Some of these prophecies were fulfilled centuries ago and some are being fulfilled in our own time! No alleged holy book of any other religion has anything to compare with the Bible's record of prophecy and fulfillment. The Bible is unique, it is reliable, It is God's word! It is entirely rational and reasonable to have faith in the Bible's teachings about Christ.
We trust in Christ to save us from our sins. That is the Bible concept of faith. The Bible tells us how Jesus, the Son of God, came and lived a perfect life and then suffered the grievous pain of crucifixion in which He suffered the penalty of our sins and then he died and was raised from the dead. Jesus took the punishment for our sins upon Himself so that if we put our faith in Him to save us we receive God's forgiveness for our sins. Our faith is our confidence in Christ to save us.
Therefore we must receive Christ as Savior and follow Him as Lord. If we trust in Christ and serve Him in this life we will enter heaven to be with God forever in the afterlife.
The Bible is scientifically accurate! Find the evidence at www.icr.org.
Steps to salvation:
Jesus said "Ye must be born again." (John 3:7)
- Believe that God created you and loves you and sent the Messiah (Messiah is Hebrew for Christ) to redeem you.
- Believe that Jesus the Messiah came in fulfillment of over 300 Bible prophecies to die for you to take upon Himself the penalty for your sins. (Isaiah 53:5-6, John 6:29, Romans 4:5, First Peter 3:18)
- Turn from sin and call on the name of Jesus to receive forgiveness. (Romans 10:13)
- Receive Jesus as Savior and experience the new birth. (John 1:12, Acts 2:38)
- Follow Him as Lord. (John 14:21)
"Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13)
To receive the salvation that Jesus purchased for us at the terrible cost of His suffering and death on our behalf I invite you to pray this simple prayer:
"Dear heavenly Father, I thank you for sending Jesus, the promised Messiah, to die for my sins. I admit that I am a sinner and I ask for your forgiveness on the basis of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I ask you to fill me with your Holy Spirit to empower me to serve you under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, Amen."
If you prayed that prayer in the humble sincerity of your heart then you have received everlasting life, which includes power to live right in this life and entrance into heaven in the afterlife!
Bill Nugent, Overcomer Ministries of West Harrison, New York, USA
(C) 2010 William P. Nugent, permission granted to email or republish if credit given
Read Bill Nugent's award winning Christian book, Lawful or Legalistic: How New Testament Believers Must Understand Old Testament Laws. For more information and to order click here.
e author's award winning Christian book, Lawful or Legalistic: How New Testament Believers Must Understand Old Testament Laws. For more information and to order click here.
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DEFENDING THE FAITH
APOLOGETIC ARTICLES
Bill Nugent currently writes a series of articles called "Defending the Faith" which, as the title suggests, defend the Christian faith from the many attacks leveled against it in our postmodern world.
The articles deal with such topics as evolution, UFOs, cults, modern/postmodern philosophy, liberal theology and popular culture. At the end of each article is an invitation to receive Christ as Savior and Lord. These articles are sent out over the Internet to several opt-in email lists. People who receive these articles are encouraged to resend them to their own lists and in this way reach their own unsaved relatives and friends with the Gospel.
All Defending the Faith articles are © 2009 William P. Nugent, permission is granted to email or republish if credit given.
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