1. IS THE 'JESUS OF HISTORY' ALSO THE  a GREY bead ('Unlikely' that it could Abraham was, I am.” (Jhn.8:58b).
it could Abraham was, I am.” (Jhn.8:58b). Compare this with the
'CHRIST OF OUR FAITH'?
1.2 What We Believe. Born-again Christians, in
contrast to that which the 'Jesus Seminar'-cult
espouses, believe that Jesus is GOD ... and not
that He was only a dedicated prophet, oriental
ascetic or ambitious young Jewish rabbi. We
cannot accept their suggestion that the Jesus of
History is not necessarily today the Christ of our
Faith ... in fact we reject the sick perspective that
the Christ of our Faith is no more than a
theological caricature of the historical Jesus ...
alledgedly born out of a need, amongst His
contemporaries, for hero-worship in the midst of
a community devoid of significant folk- and
mythological heroes.
1.2 We Accept The Claims Of Jesus Of
Nazareth. Yes, we accept, unconditionally, the
bona fides and testimony of Jesus, the humble
carpenter-rabbi from Nazareth/Jerusalem, as
depicted in the four Gospels, and also as
prophetically referred to in numerous other
Messianics portions of Scripture in the Bible.
1.3 Theological Sangomas? We reject, with
contempt, the habit of the 'Jesus Seminar'-Cult
to, like debonaire theological sangomas, to
decide, with the aid of ridiculous coloured beads,
on the merit and authenticity of Jesus' words and
claims. Who appointed them for this task,
anyway? Ought we not to have been granted the
opportunity to also cast coloured beads to first
decide on the fitness of the 'Jesus Seminar'-Cult
to cast beads in the first place?
1.3 The Same Old 'Higher Criticism'. This
weird 'new' doctrine (the same old 'Higher
Criticism' in a new guise) reminds me of the evil
Haman from the book 'Esther' and his evil
conniving, with the aid of the Pur (casting of the
lot) in order to obliterate the Jewish nation. The
Bible says: In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in
the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the
lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to
month, to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar (Est 3:7).
Hence the Jewish festival of Purim, still
celebrated today.
1.4 Crucified All Over Again! The 'Jesus
Seminar'-Cult now casts coloured beads,
reminiscent of Haman's Pur, with reference to
the words and claims of Jesus (in the four
Gospels) as follows:
 a RED bead ('Without question' Jesus'
words).
 a PINK bead ('Apparently' Jesus'
words).
saith the LORD; “Cursed be the man that trusteth in man,
be the words of Jesus).
 a BLACK bead ('Highly unlikely' that it
could be the words of Jesus).
1.5 Jesus An Imposter? The result of this
exercise in futility? Only 18% of all Jesus' words
in the four Gospels were declared by the 'Jesus
Seminar'-Cult as 'credible', in other words, 82%
of Jesus words and claims were rejected as
'myth'. They assert that Jesus was a confused
teacher with a tragic, distorted life-mission, and
according to them, definitely not God. Our point
of departure is:
If God (Jesus) never said what He meant in the
Gospels, how are we going to know whether He meant
what He said in the rest of the Bible?
2. WHY BORN AGAIN-CHRISTIANS BELIEVE
THAT JESUS IS GOD.
2.1 Jesus' Divine Names Bear Testimony To
His Divine Status. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet
as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto
me, “Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth,
and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen;
and have the keys of hell and of death.” (Rev.1:17-18).
Compare this now with the following reference:
Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer
the LORD of hosts; ”I am the first, and I am the last; and
beside me there is no God.” (Isa.44:6 ).
2.2 Jesus' Divine Attributes Proves Hid
Divinity.
(a) His Omnipotence: Which he wrought in Christ,
when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own
right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality,
and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that
is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to
come (Ephes.1:20b-21).
(b) His Omniscience: Jesus knew the secret
past of people (Jhn.4:16-19); He knew their secret
thoughts (Mrk.2:8; Luk.5:22; Jhn.2:24-25). Jesus knew all
things (Jhn.16:30) and in Him are hid all treasures of
wisdom and knowledge (Col.2:3). All the
abovementioned represent a type of knowledge
belonging only to God (2 Chr.6:30; Jer.17:9-10).
(c) His Omnipresence: Jesus is present in the
midst wherever two or three are gathered in His
Name (Matt.18:20); He is everywhere His disciples
may be destined to go (Matt.28:20); He resides
amongst believers (Jhn.14:20; 2 Cor.13:5) and His fulness
fills all in all (Ephes.1:23).
(d) His Eternal Existence: In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
(Jhn.1:1). Jesus said: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before
following: And God said unto Moses, “I AM THAT I AM:
and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel,
I AM hath sent me unto you.” (Exod.3:14). Even in the Old
Testament we read: But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah,
though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out
of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in
Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from
everlasting. (Mig.5:1b). See Isa.9:5; Heb.13:8.
2.3 Jesus' Divine Offices Proves His Deity.
(a) Jesus Created (Heb.1:10; Jhn.1:3).
(b) Jesus maintains the Universe with the power
of His Word (Heb.1:3).
(c) Jesus has the power to forgive sins (Mrk.2:10).
(d) Jesus can resurrect the dead in the future
(Jhn.6:39,44).
(e) Jesus has the power to transform people's
bodies in the future (Phil.3:20-21).
(f) Jesus has the power to judge people (Matt.28:18; 2
Tim.4:1; Jhn.5:22-23).
(g) Jesus has the power to grant Eternal Life
(Jhn.10:28; Jhn.17:1-2).
2.4 The Comparison Of Certain Scriptural
References From The Old And New Testaments
proves Jesus'Divinity. Compare e.g. Jeremia 17:10
with Revelations 2:23: (a) “I the LORD search the heart, I try
the reins, even to give every man according to his ways,
and according to the fruit of his doings.” (Jer.17:10).
(b) “And I will kill her children with death; and all the
churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins
and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according
to your works.” (Rev.2:23 ).
2.5 The Names Of The Father And The
Son Combined Proves The Divinity Of
Jesus.
(a) Jesus answered and said unto him, “If a man love
me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and
we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”
(Jhn.14:23 ). (b) “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in
God, believe also in me.” (Jhn.14:1). (c) Jesus saith unto him,
Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not
known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the
Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
(Jhn.14:9b).
2.6 The Fact That Jesus Accepted The People's
Worship Proves His Divinity.
(a) We are taught in the Bible that Jesus ought to
be worshipped by both people and angels (Matt.14:33;
Matt.28:9; Luk.24:52). (b) Jesus also requested that the
Son be honoured the way the Father is honoured
(Jhn.5:23; Heb.1:6).
2.7 Jesus Makes A Monumental Statement: “...
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe
also in me.” (Jhn.14:1b). This He said while certainly
fully conversant with the Scripture stating: Thus
and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from
the LORD.” (Jer.17:5). Jesus' claim to divinity (the
main 'charge' against Him) left the Scribes
sufficiently chagrined to indict Him for
blasphemy, for which they very well had Him
executed in the end. How some learned
theologians can say that Jesus never claimed to
be of Divine origin boggles the mind (See Matt.26:65;
Luk.5:21; Jhn.10:33; Matt.11:28; Matt.10:37; Luk.14:26,33; Jhn.10:30; Jhn.14:9;
Jhn.17:3).
3. THE THEOLOGY OF SOME GREAT
WRITERS AND/OR PREACHERS.
3.1 TORREY: “There is no room left to doubt the
absolute deity of Jesus Christ. It is a glorious truth. The
Savior in whom we believe is God --- a Savior for whom
nothing is too hard, a Savior who can save from the
uttermost to the uttermost (Heb.7:25). Oh, how we should
rejoice that we no merely human Savior, but a Savior who is
absolutely God. “(R.A.Torrey, 'Prayer And Faith', p.399).
3.2 LEWIS: “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying
the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'I
am ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I
don't accept His claim to be God.' That is the one thing we
must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the
sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher.
He would either be a lunatic --- on a level with the man who
says he is a poached egg --- or else he would be the Devil
of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was,
and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something
worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him
and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call
Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising
nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has
not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” (C.S. Lewis, 'Mere
Christianity', p.52).
3.3 WITHERINGTON: “Here is a man who thought of
himself as the Son of God in a unique sense, who claimed
to act and speak with divine authority, who held himself to
be the worker of miracles, and who believed that people's
eternal destiny hinged on whether or not they believed in
Him.” (Ben Witherington III PH.D, quoted in Lee Strobel, 'The Case For Christ',
p.141).
3.4 SPURGEON: “Know Jesus. Sit at His feet.
Consider His nature, His work, His sufferings, His glory.
Rejoice in His presence; commune with Him from day to
day. To know Christ is to understand the most excellent of
sciences. You cannot fail to be wise if you commune with
wisdom; you cannot miss of strength if you have fellowship
with the mighty Son of God.” (Charles Spurgeon, 'Lectures To My
Students', p.215).
4. JESUS CHRIST, ROCK OF AGES.
4.1 Were Peter Really The 'Rock' Upon Which
The Church Is Founded? Cardinal Gibbons wri-
tes: “The Catholic Church teaches that our Lord confer-red
on St. Peter the first place of honour and jurisdiction in the
government of His whole church, and that the same spiritual
supremacy has always resided in the popes, or bishops of
Rome, as being the successors of St. Peter. Consequently,
to be true followers of Christ, all Christians, both among the
clergy and laity, must be in communion with the See of
Rome, where Peter rules in the person of His successor.”
('Faith Of Our Fathers', p.95 – Quoted in Loraine Boettner, 'Roman Catholicism',
The Roman Catholic thus believes: “This rock
p.141).
was Peter ... Peter has the power to admit into the Church
and exclude therefrom. Nor is he merely the porter; he has
complete power within the Church ... In heaven God ratifies
the decisions which Peter [i.e. the Pope] makes on earth, in
the name of Christ.” ('Confraternity Version', pp.140,141).
4.2 What The Bible Teaches.
(a) Jesus speaks with Peter. “And I say also unto
thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my
church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
(Matt.16:18).
(b) The Greek Term. The Greek term Petros is
used to refer to a small pebble or rock (in this
case Peter), while the term Petra (in this case
Jesus) refers to an immovable foundation. What
happened here is that Peter (the small pebble,
Petros) was suddenly confronted by the Divinity
of the immovable foundation, Petra (Jesus)
(Matt.16:16).
(c) Paul Teaches The Ephesians. And are built
upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus
Christ himself being the chief corner stone. (Ephes.2:20).
(d) Paul Teaches The Corinthians: For other
foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus
Christ. (1 Cor.3:11).
(e) The Messianic References. Christ is also
depicted in Messianic Scriptural references as the
'Rock' (Isa.8:14; Isa.28:16; Ps.118:22; 1 Cor.10:4).
(f) Peter Never Claimed Papal Authority.
Furthermore, Peter was married (1 Cor.9:5), while the
pope of the Roman Catholic Church never
marries. In fact, Peter never claimed any papal
authority during his ministry on Earth (1 Pet.1:1; 5:1-3;
Acts10:25,26). In Gal.2:11-14 Paul even had to severely
reprimand Peter (the Roman Catholic's so-called
'first Pope') when Peter erred seriously on certain
issues of doctrine.
(g) Jesus Is The Rock. The doctrine that Peter
represents the so-called 'rock' upon which the
Church is founded is thus unfounded and a false
Roman Catholic tradition without any Scriptural
basis whatsoever. What Jesus probably must
have articulated (my paraphrasing) was, “Peter,
you may be only a small pebble, ['Petros'] but don't be
alarmed. I am founding my Church on this Rock [Jesus
Christ ... 'Petra'], and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it.” Jesus Christ, and not Peter, is the Rock
upon which the Church is founded. The stone
despised and rejected by the builders had become
the chief corner stone! Jesus says: “And have ye
not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected
is become the head of the corner” (Mrk.12:10). See Matt.21:42;
Luk.20:17; Acts 4:11; 1 Pet.2:7).
5. THE CRITICAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
'RELIGION' AND CHRISTIANITY.
5.1 Religion Worships What It Doesn't Know.
Religion is like a blind man in a dark room
searching for a black cat that is not there. Jesus
reminds the woman at the well: “Ye worship ye know
not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the
Jews.” (Jhn.4:22). Most religions grope in ideological
and philoshical darkness trying to locate or find
and worship some semblance of a supreme being,
divine deity, brahma or a pantheistic idea of
some kind of remote universal spirit.
Christianity (with its ancient Judeo-Christian
roots) clearly explains mankind's origins (no, its
not by means of 'evolution' or 'creative
evolution'); sins and shortcomings; the ultimate
Solution (the Gospel) and an eternal destiny
with Christ. God is a Person, and not only a
breath, influence or some invisible pantheistic,
etherlike spectral life-force.
5.2 The Devil Is An Inferior Opponent. Don't
believe that myth (proposed by some religions)
that the Devil is somehow on par with God like
some sort of evil alter-ego, with both of them
jostling for position and leadership, haunting and
frustrating the Universe like a type of
schizophrenic Dr. Jekyl & Mr. Hyde. God is the
(i) ('uncreated') Creator and omnipotent
Almighty ... and the Devil (ii) a ('created')
creature and vastly inferior rebel with a
disgustingly suspect past and unenviable,
miserable future. I don't want to bursts anybody's
balloon in particular, but the Devil with the
hordes of Hell following him and/or worshipping
him have a sketchy future at best.
5.3 Our Heavenly Father. God is our Heavenly
Father, and this feature alone distinguishes
Christianity from any other religion on Earth. It
is only in Christianity that the creature may
actually approach the Creator as his/her
Heavenly Father, and not only as Supreme
Being, Creative Intelligence, Eternal Spirit, God,
Creator, Messiah or Judge. The book, 'I Call Him
Father' by Bilquis Sheihk, formerly from Rawalpindi,
Pakistan, is highly recommended as it relays the
fascinating account of how a Muslim-woman
found God as her Heavenly Father and Jesus
Christ as her Messiah). Jesus says: “But thou, when
thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut
thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy
Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But
when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do:
for they think that they shall be heard for their much
speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your
Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask
him.“ (Matt.6:6-8).
5.4 God Gave His Son. In many religions (such
as Islam) it is expected of fathers to sacrifice their
sons for their religious-faith or -cause. It is no
surprise then that a fanatical fringe of suicide-
Jesus
bombers are rife in the Middle East and many
Arabic countries. Christianity is different in that
God sacrificed His Son (the ultimate sacrifice)
that we may be saved:
CHRIST
“And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he [Jesus] ROCK OF AGES
that came down from heaven, even the Son of man [Jesus]
which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in
the wilderness, even so must the Son of man [Jesus] be
lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him [Jesus] should
not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son [Jesus] , that
whosoever believeth in him [Jesus] should not perish, but
have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son [Jesus] into
the world to condemn the world; but that the world through
him [Jesus] might be saved. He that believeth on him
[Jesus] is not condemned: but he that believeth not is
condemned already, because he hath not believed in the
name [Jesus] of the only begotten Son of God [Jesus] . For other foundation can no man
(Jhn.3:13-18). lay than that is laid, which is Jesus
Christ (1Cor.3:11 KJV)
5.5 The Heavenly Father Cares. And why take ye CREDITS
thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they
grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto 'Holy Bible' (KJV)
you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like Boettner, Loraine: 'Roman Catholicism' - The
one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the Banner Of Truth Trust (1962)
field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven,
Lewis, C.S.: 'Mere Christianity' - Collins: Fount
shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Paperbacks (1942,1943,1944)
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or,
What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? Pate, C. Marvin & Sheryl: 'Crucified In The
Media' - BakerBooks, Grand Rapids, Michigan
(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your
(2005)
heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these
things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his Spurgeon, C.H.: 'Lectures To My Students' -
Marshall, Morgan & Scott, London (1954)
righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
(Matt.6:28-33). Strobel, Lee: 'The Case For Christ' - Zondervan,
Grand Rapids, Michigan (1998)
6. FOLLOW THAT STAR! Torrey, R.A.: 'Prayer And Faith' – Whitaker
What do wise men (and women) do? They House (2002)
follow the STAR, Jesus (Matt.2:1-2). The World's
Illustration: 'Pentecostal Protestant' (Jun.1983)
(indeed, the Universe's) most magnificent, most
awesome and most grand celebration of all time
is at hand when the believers from centuries will
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gather for the great homecoming at that
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Heavenly extravaganza, the likes the World had
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never seen before: But ye are come unto mount Sion,
Home.
and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,
and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general
assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in
heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just
men made perfect ...”. (Heb 12:22-23). Jesus warns those © P.J. Stassen 2007
who reject Him (the Chief Corner Stone) and His
message with impunity: “He that rejecteth me, and EvangelismRSA
receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word P.O. Box/Posbus 14492 Sinoville 0129 Pretoria RSA
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that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
(Jhn.12:48).