A Christian response to “How the Bible led me to Islam: The Story of a former Christian Youth Minister”

I’m a Christian and after a friend introduced me to the video with the above mentioned title on the internet I felt that it would be right for me to write a written response to it. The purpose of this response is not to argue what Christians believe against what Muslims believe; I don’t think I am qualified to describe the beliefs of Islam in detail, but rather to give a Christian response to some of the criticism the speaker gives against the Bible and the beliefs of Christians in general.

Firstly a couple of important introductory points:-

1) The video speaker Joshua Evans was never a Christian youth minister 

The video title claims the speaker was a former minister or youth minister but this is clearly not true for the below reasons:- 

a) He never claims to have been a minister throughout the entire video 

Although he makes mention of an older friend of his who was a youth minister and studied at Bob Jones University (perhaps this is the confusion) he himself never mentions he was a minister of any kind

b) He was only active in Church between the ages of 13-16 

He says that he never listened to the Sunday sermon growing up and only really started calling himself a Christian when he started attending youth services which he says at time 5:00 in the video was about 13/14 years old. He also states that after rejecting Christianity and researching other world religions he became disillusioned at the age of 17. (listen to the 36th minute in the video) Assuming he spent a year researching other religions he would have been 16 when he left Church. Being so young, with no formal qualifications, no church would ever make him a minister of any kind.

2) The Bible needs to be understood and applied not just read

 Christians do not see the Bible as simple a book to read or recite but rather one that needs to be understood and applied to our lives. The book of James 1:25 says:-  “But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”

It is good that while in his teens Mr Evans read the whole Bible but that does not make him a Bible expert, the key is to understand what it says.
 

Now to respond to some of his key points:-

1) Does the Bible say Noah was an alcoholic?

Mr Evans claims that the Bible describes Noah as an Alcoholic which therefore casts doubt that he would ever be capable of building the ark or hearing from God. Does the Bible really say this?

The only mention of Noah drinking alcohol is after the flood had happened. We read in Genesis 9:20-21:-

“Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent.”

This passage tells us that after the flood Noah got drunk on wine on ONE occasion. (Potentially he may have even been unaware of the affects of fermented grape juice, ‘proceeded’ could mean ‘was the first person to’) To suggest that Noah was a lifelong alcoholic because he got drunk on one occasion towards the end of his life is unfair.


2) The Bible claims the prophets of the Old Testament committed great sins

The Bible is clear about what God’s standards are – for example you shouldn’t get drunk, you should only sleep with your wife and you should have only one wife. It is true that despite this we do read in the Bible that Noah got drunk, that Lot slept with his daughters and that King David, already with many wives, murdered another man, Uriah, so that he could get his wife. So how do we respond to these flawed Prophets?

Every Prophet in the Bible is shown to have sin in their lives despite all the other great things they accomplish for God. This shows us one great truth – we all need forgiveness from God, we all need a Saviour. If any of God’s prophets showed us a perfect picture of following God then we may be tempted to think it is possible to please God based on our own obedience but every prophet who ever lived before the time of Jesus always shows us one great lesson – no-one is ever good enough to obey God as they should. We need a Saviour.

Matthew 1:21 says:-  “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus [which in Greek means ‘The Lord Saves’] because he will save his people from their sins.”

3) Does the Old Testament makes no mention of the trinity ?

 God reveals himself increasingly over time. We understand more about God after reading the New Testament that if we just read the Old Testament. However the Old Testament does speak of God as both being one and somehow many.

A couple of examples:-

Genesis 1:26 “Let US make man in OUR image, in OUR likeness so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the air…” 

Notice that God refers to himself in the plural 3 times in this verse describing the creation account.

Isaiah 6:8-10 “Also I heard the voice of the LORD, saying: Whom shall I SEND, and who will go for US?”

In the same sentence God refers to himself as both one (‘I’) and somehow plural (‘US’)

4) Does Jesus say anything about the trinity?

As in the Old Testament Jesus does affirm that God is one but he also affirms clearly that God is more than just one, he himself claims to be God:-

John 17:1- “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you”

John 8:58-59- “Very truly I tell you” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born I am!” At this they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself..” [The Jews who were questioning Jesus wanted to stone him because they understood that he was claiming to be God]

Matthew 28:19 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”

Jesus affirms that God is one but also that he is many in some way. He prays to the Father in heaven while also declaring to people on earth that he himself is God.

5) Does Jesus only speak of obeying the commandments as the way to follow God?

Jesus repeatedly claims that we must have faith in him as God’s son to be saved. For example Jesus says:-

John 3:14-18 “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

6) Unnamed professor claims Bible is put together by trial and error

I disagree with the professor in question and can name many other professors who also would disagree. Since the professor is unnamed I cannot discuss any further. 

I hope that covers the main points raised in the video, please feel free to raise any questions in the comments section.

Are the words of Jesus better than his apostles?

I have been inspired to restart my blogging - sorry for the delay those who have spent the last few years awaiting the next blog entry....to quickly update those who don't know I'm now living in Malaysia and will be getting married next week (its been an interesting 3 years)...anyway to answer the question posed....

Are the words of Jesus better than his apostles?

If you go to your local Christian book store and flick through the gospels of some of the bibles on show you will see that many of them highlight the words of Jesus in red or bold. This sounds logical – these are the words of the Jesus the son of God, how can they compare with those of his apostles such as Paul who wrote other books in the New Testament? However if we accept Jesus’ actual words to hold more value than other parts of the bible then we are to say that parts of the bible are not inspired ‘as much’ by God. If this argument holds then huge amounts of the bibles teaching could be discounted with the excuse that Jesus didn’t overtly confirm it. The question asked in the title then is of huge importance.

I propose that the whole of the bible as we have received it today must be accepted as Gods word and to highlight Jesus’ words in the gospel as more important than other parts of the bible is wrong. My reasons are as follows:-

1) Jesus didn’t write the Gospels

The Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – were not written Jesus. They were written by….Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. If the argument is put forward that the apostles later writings are based on their flawed interpretation of Jesus’ words or was limited by the culture they were in then equally you could argue that their memory of what Jesus said and did would be flawed. The detail of the gospels – and the fact that all four written by different authors have no contradictions between them - is incredible. I can’t remember conversations said last week, yet despite being written after Christ ascension the gospel writers show amazing recollection of Christ words.

How can this be? In John 14v26 Jesus says to his disciples:-

“The Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you”

Jesus promised the disciples the Holy Spirit would remind them of everything he had said to them. If we believe the Gospels to show the true words of Jesus then we believe this second part that the disciples were reminded of what Jesus said and did by the Spirit. If we believe this part why do we doubt the first part which says the Spirit will teach all things to the disciples? In effect the teachings the disciples give (as read in other parts of the New Testament) is Gods word inspired by the Holy Spirit.

2) The teaching of the Apostles was authenticated by signs from God.

Today when we hear someone teach we compare what they say with the Bible. What about the apostles? They were writing part of what is now seen as the inspired word of God – why did people at the time believe what was taught by the apostles? (and decide it should become part of the bible)

Hebrews 2v3-4 reads:-

“This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord [Jesus], was confirmed to us by those who heard him. [the apostles] God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will”

We read in the Gospels the miracles of Jesus being used to show the people that he was the Messiah – Jesus himself uses his miracles to authenticate himself when asked by John’s disciples. (Matthew 11v1-6) In the same way as we read the book of Acts we can see how God continues to work miracles through the apostles to again authenticate that their understanding of Jesus teaching, their development of it in passages like Romans is from God not from man.

3) Cultural context does not affect the message

The apostles were all from similar cultural contexts (ie they were all Jewish) – surly that makes any teaching flawed and too warped by their own culture. In some ways it is true that the explanation of the teachings – by both Jesus and the apostles – is affected by their own culture. For example when we hear the phrase ‘If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles’ (Matthew 5v41) we may think Jesus is suggesting a passive response when someone attempts to abduct you. (Providing they don’t take you more than 2 miles from home)

However if we understand the context – where legally any Roman solider could order a citizen to carry his armour up to a mile away – we understand that the teaching is that when we have to do something do it with Joy and enthusiasm so as to win the other person over rather than do it bitterly.

It is important to understand the culture – explaining the cultural is often part of a good sermon – but it doesn’t make the teaching wrong. We are at fault as 21^st century readers for not doing our homework if we don’t understand the cultural meaning in some of the bibles teaching. Our duty is to understand the culture of the time to understand what the message the author originally intended is.

Also remember that Jesus was the promised Messiah to the Jews, prophesied numerous times in the Old Testament. The fact that the disciples were all Jewish is an advantage.

Preparing for marriage before the 'I dos'

In the last post I touched on marriage – the covenant (promise before God) commitment between two people. Despite this biblical ideal marriages, even among Christians, can often end in divorce. In the UK the average length of this 'lifelong commitment' is 11.5 years. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4200410.stm]

As Christians how do we protect marriage? Perhaps a more personal question is how do we protect our own marriages? I'm not doing a blog on marriage – as an unmarried I don't have the experience to charge into one. However a long lasting Godly marriage is built before the 'I dos'. I have yet to start have a relationship myself but perhaps its wise to think now about what a Godly relationship should look like...

1. Relationships with a Spiritual foundation – Don't marry for butterflies.....

“Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a women who fears the Lord is to be praised” Proverbs 31v30

“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment....Instead is should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quite spirit, which is of great worth in Gods sight” 1 Peter 3v3-4

Marriage is a life long commitment. In a relationship what qualities in your partner you admire. To quote Michael Jackson its often 'the way you make me feel' Anyone who's ever had even a crush on someone will know that 'the gushy stuff' is not consistent. If a marriage is based on that initial chemistry, or the initial 'charm' or the 'way you just clicked' then its not based on a foundation that will last.

In this culture a women's outward beauty are often used in advertisements...aimed at men. Ladies don't swallow the lie that its only the outside that counts. Invest in inner spiritual beauty and seek a man who isn't going to marry you just for your looks which will fade but rather who is attracted to your inner self.

To be clear I'm not saying for a moment that 'chemistry' and physical attraction do not play an important role in a relationship. However if your living a genuine Christian life with Christ at the center then Christ should also be the foundation for your relationships.

2. Relationships within community.....

“As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world” John 17v18

If a marriages has a spiritual foundation then the heart of two people committed to one another is a heart of joint ministry. In serving in the church and as witnesses to the world a married Christian couple is called to service. If two people committed to serving God before marriage suddenly disappear after the 'I dos' it would seem quite strange and hardly the picture of Christ and the Church that marriage should be. (Ephesians 5)

However often in 'going out' people can become missing persons, emerging months later after the relationship has ended to re-integrate into the friendship group. When in a relationship perhaps the best way to get to know someone else is not necessarily a secluded chat but rather a joint ministry. Don't let a relationship become the cause for giving up responsibilities but rather try serving together in the different ministries God has given you. See how you relate together as a couple with other Christians and with each others non-Christian friends. A relationship with a spiritual foundation is a powerful witness.

3. Relationships with a purpose....

In the previous post we looked at how God created marriage to be a picture of the committed relationship between Christ and his people the church. Marriage was Gods design for the expression of emotionally and physically intimate relations with members of the opposite sex.

Broken commitments prepare you for divorce not marriage. If you invest emotionally, physically and spiritually in a relationship you give away apart of yourself. If you enter a relationship without considering marriage an outcome you are stealing from your partners and your own future husband/wife.

As a relationship develops so should a prayerful consideration of whether God is calling you to marriage. If you are unable or unwilling to consider marriage then honour your future husband or wife by waiting on romance.

“Love is patient...” 1 Corinthians 13v4

The purpose of...Sex

It seems that sex forms some part of almost every Hollywood film. From James Bond sub-plots to 'Romantic comedy's' which more and more place the pinnacle of a relationship at a night of passion rather than any old fashion idea of a 'to death due us part' marriage commitment. In Britain today playboy – a company which turns sex into a hobby – is producing merchandise, with its prominent logo on, aimed at Children [http://www.bbc.co.uk/essex/content/articles/2005/11/23/zeal_playboy_feature.shtml]

What is the Christian view? Does the bible really say sex should only take place in marriage? If so why? Lets have a look at what the God who is there has to say about sex.....

1. Sex is a good gift from God and a sign of the marriage covenant.

“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh” Genesis 2v24

“May your fountain be bless and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth” Proverbs 5v18

“Marriage should be honoured by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral” Hebrews 13v4

If you look into the preceding verses of the passage in proverbs above you'll see that the reference to the fountain is a reference to sexual pleasures. In this passages and other passages such as the book 'Song of songs' sex in marriage is celebrated as a gift from God.

The verse in Hebrews warns that God will judge those who dishonour the marriage bed through sexual expression outside marriage.

The verse in Genesis points to the first marriage between Adam and Eve where a husband and wife becomes one flesh. Although this has many meanings one part of this verse points to the intimacy experienced between a husband and wife in sex.

Marriage is a covenant – a promise before God – for a husband and wife to commit themselves to serve each other until death. Sex is only permitted in Gods word as being a part of this marriage covenant. God thinks much more of Sex that today's culture – rather than used casually for 'fun' God protects Sex by commanding it to be shared only within the protection of a marriage commitment.

2. Marriage is a picture of the relationship between God and his people

“I saw the Holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” Revelation 21v2

“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son” Matthew 22v2

"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.” Ephesians 5v31-32

Throughout scripture we see a key purpose of marriage is to be a witness to the world of the relationship between God and his people. Jesus Christ is described as a groom (Matthew 9:14-15) and his church, Christians who follow him, are describe as his bride. For example the 'new Jerusalem' in revelation is a picture of Gods people and it is portrayed as a bride prepared for Christ.

In Ephesians 5 the apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, moves on from describing marriage to revealing it to be picture of the relationship between Christ and his Church.

3. Sex as part of the marriage covenant points to the intimacy between God and his people through the gospel.

“Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”
Ephesians 5v22-33

“If you love me, you will obey what I command” John 14v15

“God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5v8

“For the fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy...” Galatians 5v22

“They consult a wooden idol and are answered by a stick of wood.
A spirit of prostitution leads them astray; they are unfaithful to their God.” Hosea 4v12

This passage in Ephesians describes the different role relationships between a husband and wife in marriage and how this is a reflection of the relationship between God and his church.

Although we've seen above that both sex and physical attraction within marriage are celebrated gifts in the Bible it is not the cornerstone of what a marriage is based on. We see here how the basis of marriage, as is the basis for our relationship with Christ, is unconditional love.

While we were still sinners Christ died for us – we did not deserve his love in any way. As Christians we do not serve God out of fear of hell – we know that through Christ paying for our sins on the cross we are saved from the coming judgment. Rather through the power of his indwelling Holy Spirit we seek to obey his commands out of love for him.

The indwelling Holy Spirit moves us to love God and gives us Joy in the intimate relationship we have with God through the death of Christ. In the same way a sign of the marriage covenant based on a mutual unconditional love for each other, (unconditional – loving even when the other acts unlovingly!), is Gods gift of sex. By protecting sex as a gift just for marriage we have a far greater intimacy in marriage and better reflect the intimate relationship we have with God. In the Bible the God who is there even uses the picture of the adulterous bride as an analogy for his people when they turn away from God to idols. Sex outside of marriage is an empty gift corrupting the image of God and leads to Abortions, Single parent families and people emotionally broken by relationships where sex was never accompanied with a commitment to lifelong unconditional love.

If we are saved by faith why do good?

If 'all have sinned' (Romans 3v23) but Jesus has paid the price of our sin for us then does it matter how we live?

As mentioned in a previous post over 70% of the UK population would class themselves as Christian. [http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=293] However if you compared the morality of our modern western culture with that laid out in the Bible you would see a growing difference. As one example while Biblically sex outside marriage (Hebrews 13v4) and getting drunk are both wrong (Ephesians 5v18) these things seem to be a 'cultural norm' in modern Britain.

Is this the result of hundreds of years of Christianity? Perhaps Christianitys theology of Christ paying for our sin means that we can act how we like with no thought of any judgement or consequences. In fact couldn't you argue that the more we sin the more Gods love is shown in that he forgives us?

“Shall we go on sinning so that grace [Gods undeserved loving forgiveness] may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” Romans 6v1-2

Gods word clearly denies such an idea. So in the light of Gods forgiveness for the sinner how does that mean Christians should live and if we already have our 'ticket to heaven' what's the motivation to live for God?

1. We are saved through faith alone in Christ NOT by the good we do

“This righteousness [Right relationship with God] from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans 3v22-24

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him” John 3v36

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves it is a gift of God – not by works, so that no-one will boast” Ephesians 2v8-9

“For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteousness” Romans 5v19

As we can see from the above the Bibles message is clear that we are saved through faith alone in Christ. Righteousness [a right relationship with God] comes as a gift from God – not earned by the good we do.

Through faith in Christ we are redeemed – the price of our sin paid for by Christ in our place on the cross. Through faith in Christ we are imputed [given] his righteousness gained by him obeying every part of Gods law fully.

To underline then we are saved through faith alone in Christ and......

2. A true Christian can never go to hell – once saved nothing he does will ever lose his salvation – he is guaranteed a place in heaven.

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1v13-14

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” Romans 5v1

Above we read that through faith we are justified. Being justified is to be 'declared righteous' – having peace with God with no sin to separate us from God. 'Justified' is past tense - it happens when a true Christian is converted. Once it has happened we have peace with God which we cannot lose.

All true Christians receive the Holy Spirit once they are saved which is a guarantee of our inheritance – eternal life with God. A true Christian cannot lose his salvation.

3. The Holy Spirit indwelling in all true Christians will change them – giving them a hatred of sin and love for holiness.

“For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” Philippians 2v13

“You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.” Romans 8v9

“You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?” James 2v19,20

“A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' Matthew 8v18-23

Over the 70% of the UK would call themselves Christian. Someone can believe in God, can believe academically in all the truths of Christianity but if it has no affect on their life it is a dead, useless faith. Faith without works is a dead faith.

We are saved through faith alone, not what we do. But all true Christians who are justified by faith receive Gods Holy Spirit which will affect how they live. They will bear Good fruit, showing a hatred towards sin and growing in Godliness. If someone is converted to Christianity yet consistently shows no outward change in there behaviour then it is a strong indication that they have not truly accepted Christ into there hearts and fully submitted to him in repentance.

4. True Christians with the Holy spirit will still battle with sin in their lives.

“For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing” Romans 7v19

“For in my inner being I delight in Gods law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord” Romans 7v24-25

"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." I John 1v8-9

Once we are saved the Holy Spirit does not make us morally perfect robots. Christians will still battle with sin and will constantly fail. Through the Holy Spirit we have the power to fight sin. Through the Holy Spirit we have a desire to do good. Through the Holy spirit we will mourn when we do sin. The indwelling Holy Spirit will cause a change in someone's life as mentioned above but on this earth we will still battle with Sin in our lives. However for all who faith in Christ he has already paid for all our sin on the cross so that by confessing them to God in prayer he has promised to forgive us.

We will be rescued from this battle against sin – which as Christians we will mourn over – when Christ returns and we are given new sinless resurrection bodies and spend the rest of eternity in a new heaven and a new earth free from all sin, death and suffering getting to know more of our loving creator each day.

The God who is three and one.

How can Christianity believe in 'One' God in 'Three' persons?
Do Christians worship one God or three Gods?

Firstly what does God as the trinity actually mean?

1. God is three persons
“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” 2 Corinthians 13v14
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit” Matthew 28v19

We see in these verses and many others throughout scripture that God has three distinct persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

2. Each person is equal and all are fully God
Firstly from the above section where all three of the persons of God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – are mentioned we get a picture of equality. If for example Jesus was only a man then it would be an abhorrent Blasphemy to group him in verses with God the father.

“Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."”
John 20v28-29
After Jesus resurrection he affirms the disciple Thomas declaration that he[Jesus] is God.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” John 3v16
Jesus is speaking here about how God (the father) sent his son [himself] into the world. God the father is clearly divine.

“The Peter said “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit......You have no lied to men but to God”” Acts 5v3-4
God the Holy spirit is fully equal in the Godhead.

3. There is one God
“Hear, O Israel:The LORD is God, the LORD is one.” Deuteronomy 6v4
“There is only one God” Romans 3v30

Despite the Bible clearly defining 3 persons in the Godhead it also describes God as being one.

How can God be both three and yet still one?

Understanding the nature of God is hard. There have been thousands of books trying to understand the nature of the trinity and personally I still struggle to get my head round a God who is both three and one. But I understand that in a number of ways a relational Godhead is the only kind of God that makes sense:-

1. Humans were created relational beings
'No man [or women] is an island' goes the well known cliché and its true. As human beings we live and seek out relationships whether in family, friendship groups or more intimate 1-1 relationships. (almost every film has a romantic sub-plot!)

“So God created man in his own image” Genesis 1v27

We were created in the image of God. If God is just One with no relationship within the Godhead then why are we created as relational beings? How could God create human beings, which revolve there lifes around relationships, unless he too is relational in nature.

2. Gods Character does not make sense unless God is relational.
"God is love” 1 John 4v8

One part of Gods character is love. We believe in an eternal unchanging God who has no beginning and no end. He existed before anything was created. So how can God be 'love' unless he is relational. The triune God is three persons held together in perfect unity in love as one. If God is just one then how can God be love, a Godhead with no relationship cannot be loving in character.

3. The Gospel – Gods rescue plan - revolves around relationships.
"Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent" (John 17:3)

Jesus Christ died on the cross to take away our sin that separates us from God. Through Jesus sacrifice we have a way open to us – eternal life.

What is eternal life?
What is the point of the Gospel?
To Know God.

Gods plan for salvation is focused around opening a way to an eternal relationship personally between each of his people and God himself. Only a relational God could have a great rescue plan which revolves around his desire to know us and to allow us to get to know him for all eternity.

4. God is a trinity because it is hard to understand!
What kind of crackpot would make up a religion about a God who is three and yet one? He'd be laughed and ridiculed. That is why Christianity must be true.

If I could understand everything about God with no questions then it would be a God dreamt up in someone's imagination. I worship the infinite God who is there, who is infinitely greater than I can imagine. If I could understand the whole character of God then the God I imagine is too small to be my creator.

Why the resurrection?

A core belief of Christianity is that Jesus died on the cross and then three days later rose again.
If Jesus was God then how could he die in the first place?
How is it significant that he rose to life again?

Firstly how can God die? Previously we've discussed Gods holiness and just anger against sin which is deserving of death. (“For the wages of Sin is death” Romans 3v23) We discussed that the only way for God to reconcile his holiness and just anger against sin and his love that desires that no-one should perish was to punish a perfect, sinless, sacrifice in our place.

“For God so loved the world that he sent his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” John 3v16

“He [Jesus] humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!” Philippians 2v8

Jesus Christ, part of the Godhead (I'll look at the trinity in a few days), humbled himself to take on human form and became obedient to death on the cross to pay the price of sin for all who believe.

“And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith” 1 Corinthians 15v14

As you can see above the fact of Jesus resurrection from the death is a fundamental belief in Christianity. Below are a few of its most important implications.

1. Christ's resurrection gives a certain hope to the resurrection of his followers

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” 1 Peter 1v3

Through his resurrection those who have faith have a 'living hope.' The Greek word which has been translated 'hope' here is a certainty. (not in the colloquial sense of 'I hope I'll get good grades') So we know as follows of Christ that we will be raised to life after our death on this earth as a certainty just as Jesus Christ was risen from the dead.

2. Christ resurrection proves that God has forgiven the sins of believers

“He [Jesus] was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” Romans 4v25

'Justification' is a term which describes God declaring people righteous - blameless before him. Jesus paid the price of the sin for all who believe in him (John 3v18) and his resurrection from the dead was Gods sign that he had accepted Christ sacrifice paying the penalty of sin in our place.

3. Christ resurrection proves his claims to be the Messiah

“Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life” Matthew 16v21
Christ speaking to his disciples before his death.

“While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you."

They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have."

When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.

He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms."

Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”

Luke 24v36-47
Christ speaking to his disciples after his resurrection.

Jesus disciples presumed the Messiah would free Israel from Roman rule – they were looking for an earthly kingdom. Yet Jesus taught them how he must suffer and die to bring about a heavenly kingdom freeing people from the power of sin.

After Jesus death the disciples grand idea of freedom from Rome seemed dashed. Jesus bodily resurrection proved to them he was the Messiah, he was the Christ the son of God, and he sent them out to be witnesses to the world of this good news, the Gospel.