JESUS SAVES
APOLOGETICS
1 Peter 3:15- “...Always be prepared to give an ANSWER to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect...”
The Greek word for “answer” in this verse is the word “apologia” and can mean to “give a defence” or “reasoned argument” as to why we believe what we believe in Jesus!! It is from this Greek word that we get the word APOLOGETICS from!
Thus, we see that the Apologetics ministry is not saying “sorry for our faith in Jesus”, but giving a REASONED ARGUMENT as to why we believe in Jesus, as the apostle Peter tells us to do here in 1 Peter 3:15!!
May these resources attached below help you to DEFEND YOUR FAITH IN JESUS and equip you to give a REASONED ARGUMENT as to why you believe in our wonderful Saviour Jesus as the ONLY HOPE for eternity in Heaven!
PROOFS FOR GOD’S EXISTENCE! (HOW DO YOU KNOW GOD IS REAL?)
HERE ARE SOME PROOFS OF HOW WE CAN KNOW GOD IS REAL!
1.Romans 1:20- GOD REVEALS HIMSELF THROUGH CREATION! (The law of first cause! The scientific law of cause and effect- for every material thing we see, there was a cause that came before it. Since the Universe is material, if must have had a beginning and therefore a cause. To believe the Big Bang (caused by a singularity) that scientists believe is to believe that something came from nothing! This can’t be proven scientifically!! When you look at a wrist watch, do you believe that it was the result of random evolution and evolved from a piece of slime millions of years ago? Do you believe the watch just randomly appeared out of nothing? Even though you didn’t see the watch maker who made the watch, the evidence that the watch was made is by the DESIGN! The mechanics and design of the watch bears proof that there was an intelligent designer behind it. So too, when you look at creation, when you look at just how COMPLICATED OUR BODIES ARE, our design and complexity is proof that there must have been an intelligent designer behind it!! Romans 1:20 tells us that by just looking at CREATION there is enough proof by its design to know God exists and therefore man is WITHOUT EXCUSE!
2.Romans 2:14-15- GOD REVEALS HIMSELF THROUGH MORALITY! The fact that 99% of the worlds population would agree that murder is wrong and that what Hittler did in killing 6 million Jews was atrocious, testifies to the fact that a higher standard of morality has been instilled in mankind from an objective source! If the Big Bang was actually true and we are truly just the result of a random evolutionary process, then there would be no basis or reason for us to think murder was wrong. According to the evolutionary principle- survival of the fittest (kill or be killed) murder would therefore just be one means of allowing the fittest to survive! Therefore, we should then be applauding what Hittler did during world war 2 since all he was doing was trying to make sure his Aryan race would survive and prosper! But the question remains, why does 99% of the worlds population (including atheists) still think that what Hittler did was wrong? The answer: This is proof that God has instilled a greater objective standard of morality in our hearts, since we were created in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:26-27) and therefore human life has intrinsic value!!
3.Hebrews 2:3, John 10:38, John 14:11, Acts 2:22, John 14:11-JESUS BEARS EVIDENCE THROUGH MIRACLES! Jesus’ signs and wonders He did and still does prove He is real and one with God the Father!! They also back up the gospel message!! (Mark 16:20) (See the case for miracles: Lee Strobel)
4.YOUR PERSONAL TESTIMONY of how you encountered Jesus and how He TRANSFORMED your hearts desires and life!! When people see the transformation and change that Jesus has made in your life from living a life of sin to now being transformed and living a life pleasing to Him, this can be a powerful witness too!!
May these 4 evidences help you to bear witness to God's existence!
IF GOD IS ALL POWERFUL AND ALL GOOD/LOVING, WHY IS THERE SUFFERING AND EVIL IN THIS WORLD?
Read Habakkuk 1:2-4.
This is effectively the very question that Habakkuk asked God when he saw the injustice and violence in Israel!!
The first thing to realise when answering this question is that there are 2 lines of reasoning or aspects to why people ask this question in the first place.
1.PHILOSOPHICAL/intellectual reason. (People use this as a reason to try and disprove God’s existence)
2.EMOTIONAL reason. (This could be because that person has personally experienced suffering or a tragedy in their life and wants to gain understanding as to why this happened)
In order the find out the reason behind this persons question, a good question to ask them is:
‘IF YOU DON’T MIND ME ASKING, WHAT MAKES YOU ASK THAT QUESTION?’
This will allow you to find out if the reason for their question is because of a personal experience and hurt, or if it is purely from a theoretical argumentative point of view. This will then influence how you respond to that persons question.
PHILOSOPHICAL ASPECT:
To suggest suffering is evil is predicated upon the assumption that there is good. To define something as good and evil, that means you have to admit God exists because He is the objective moral law giver outside of ourselves (mankind) who objectively determines good and evil. (For there to be an objective moral law, there must be an objective moral law giver!!) You see, if God doesn’t exist and we truly are the result of a random evolutionary process, then that means everything is just random and there is no such thing and good and evil. Then morality is also SUBJECTIVE based on what each person randomly thinks is “right” or “wrong”. The problem with this perspective is that what ONE PERSON THINKS IS EVIL in their own mind, ANOTHER PERSON MIGHT THINK IS GOOD! So then, who is right and who is wrong?
Evil can only exist if there is good to compare it to! If there is an objective standard of good that has been instilled in all of us, then there must be an objective moral law giver that determines what is good and what is bad!! That is God!! (Romans 2:14)
This could be an example of a question you could therefore ask a person who doesn’t believe God exists: (Let me ask you a question sir/madam. Since you don’t believe God exists, what makes you think suffering is an evil thing? Why do you think suffering exists?
As an atheist, suffering would be a random evolutionary process to weed out the weaker genes, so it is a good thing. So what makes you think it is bad?)
Also, from an atheistic point of view, there is no meaning behind suffering. The atheist is left with no MEANING, PURPOSE or HOPE behind suffering with their belief of there being no God.
SO, WHY MIGHT SUFFERING OCCUR FROM THE CHRISTIAN VIEW POINT?
Here are some biblical reasons from the Christian view point as to why suffering occurs in this life.
1.SUFFERING: A CONSEQUENCE DUE TO MAN’S FREE WILL AND GOD’S HOLINESS!
a) There is suffering because man has been given free will (Matthew 23:37, James 4:4, Deuteronomy 30:19).
The fact that we can ask this question in the first place means we have been given free will. Free will means we also have the choice to disobey God and His commands which can lead to suffering as a consequence! (Eg. In one of the 10 COMMANDMENTS, God said “DO NOT MURDER” and “DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY”. So What happens when mankind disobeys these commands of God? People get hurt and suffer!!)
b) In Romans 8:20-22, another consequence of sin is that creation itself was subjected to frustration and bondage to decay. This could be why we get earthquakes, famines, diseases etc.
c) SUFFERING CAN ALSO BE GOD’S JUDGEMENT/DISCIPLINE FOR MAN’S DISOBEDIENCE! God is not only all powerful, all loving but we forget He is also ALL HOLY and JUST. Therefore suffering can also be God’s judgement/discipline/consequence for our sin against Him!! (Eg. Revelation 18:5-8 God’s judgement of Babylon) (See also Hebrews 12:5-11 and how for the Christian, God disciplines His children to lead them to holiness)
3.WITHOUT GOD, NO PURPOSE OR MEANING TO SUFFERING! (Suffering is part of our Christian calling)
If God doesn’t exist, there is no purpose (Romans 5:3-5, James 1:2-4), hope or justice in suffering. It has no meaning!!!
If God does exist, that means eternity exists, which means there is LIFE AFTER SUFFERING AND DEATH, and there is also Justice/judgement to those who have caused the suffering!! (Eg. Hitler will be judged by God for what he did during world war 2!
If there is no God, then there will be no true justice for the atrocities Hitler did during the war!)
THERE IS ALSO MEANING IN SUFFERING FOR THE CHRISTIAN:
a) From the Individual Christian perspective-(Romans 5:3-5, James 1:2-4, Hebrews 12:6-11) SUFFERING CREATES PERSEVERANCE AND STRENGTHENS OUR FAITH IN JESUS as it draws us closer to God! Hardship and suffering also leads us to holiness by God’s discipline!
b) From God’s bigger purpose and plan in suffering: We sometimes make the mistake of thinking that we are the centre of the universe and assume that God is some kind of genie who is here to take away our suffering and please us. God’s objective is to glorify Himself, draw people to Him and fulfil His bigger purpose and so by allowing suffering it can help fulfil this.
Eg. Book of Job- his suffering wasn’t about him!!
Eg. Joseph went through suffering in order to fulfil God’s bigger plan to become second in command in Egypt and save lives! (Genesis 50:20)
Eg. Acts 8:1-4 the reason God allowed the church to be persecuted was to allow the gospel to be spread from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth!!
GOD HAS A BIGGER PLAN AND PURPOSE BEHIND THE SUFFERING WE GO THROUGH AS CHRISTIANS!
These can be reasons why the bible says suffering is part of our Christian calling- Romans 8:17, Philippians 1:29)
Also, Christianity in Jesus offers 2 THINGS no other world religious view can offer in the midst of suffering. COMFORT in the midst of suffering and a HOPE to look forward to after suffering!!
EMOTIONAL ASPECT:
1.WHY DOESN’T GOD STOP EVIL STRAIGHT AWAY?
Romans 3:10-23 tells us that all of us are evil by God’s holy standard. God’s means of stopping evil is by bringing His righteous Justice and judgement. That would mean all who don’t trust in Jesus would go to Hell! Because God is JUST, He would judge all who are guilty at the same time. (We see this in Genesis 6 with the flood during Noah’s time, and in Genesis 18-19 with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah!) SO, MAYBE THE REASON GOD IS RELENTING IS TO WAIT FOR YOU TO BE SAVED!!! (2 Peter 3:9)
2.GOD CARES ABOUT OUR SUFFERING:
The comforting thing is that we serve a God who is not distant or indifferent to our suffering, but who actually cares about our suffering and can relate (John 11:35, Acts 9:5, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Hebrews 4:15-16).
3.GOD PROVIDES THE SOLUTION TO SUFFERING BY HIS OWN SUFFERING ON THE CROSS ON OUR BEHALF!
He suffered along with us! Jesus suffered on the cross!! This was the ultimate means of saving us for eternity from our suffering, for those who would put their full trust in Jesus and what He did for us on that cross!!
A TIME IS COMING WHEN GOD WILL ULTIMATELY DO AWAY WITH ALL THE PAIN AND SUFFERING, but it is only for those who put their full faith and trust in Jesus as their Lord and saviour!!
REVELATION 21:3-5 "And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; THERE SHALL BE NO MORE DEATH, NOR SORROW, NOR CRYING. There shall be NO MORE PAIN, for the former things have passed away.” Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”
EVIDENCE THAT THE BIBLE TRULY IS GOD'S DIVINE WORD
IS THERE EVIDENCE TO SHOW THAT THE BIBLE TRULY IS GOD’S DIVINE WORD?
Let's take a look!
The bible is 66 books written by 40 different authors inspired by God, over a period of 1500 years. Many of these authors didn’t even know each other and yet their words perfectly point to Jesus!! CONSISTENCY!
1. HISTORICAL FULFILMENT OF PROPHECY:
Evidence within the bible!! (2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:20-21, 2 Peter 3:15-16, 1 Thessalonians 2:13)
There are more than 300 prophecies in the Old Testament that Jesus perfectly fulfils in the New Testament!!
2.HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OUTSIDE THE BIBLE:
More and more archaeological digs are revealing the bible to be true!!
There are also non-christian historians who wrote down that Jesus did exist and was crucified on a cross!! These can help back up that the gospels can be taken as historical recounts!! (Eg. 2 Historians named Tacitus and Josephus)
3.MANUSCRIPT EVIDENCE:
The number of copies of manuscripts of the New Testament and how soon they started being written after Jesus’ life are more than any other historical figure ever!! The gospels therefore are considered to be historically accurate documents!! (Bart Ehrman, an atheist New Testament scholar admits to the authenticity of the gospel recounts as authenticate historical documents!)
HERE ARE SOME OTHER USEFUL LINKS BELOW THAT MIGHT ALSO HELP!
WATCH: THE CASE FOR CHRIST movie by Lee Strobel to see more evidence for the bible’s authenticity as God’s inspired word and evidence for Jesus' resurrection!!
COLD CASE CHRISTIANITY- evidence for Jesus outside the bible.
https://youtu.be/nvOsR1-YHTQ
https://youtu.be/Ohf5A8FbUB8
(Why trust the bible? Small talk with Max Jeganathan)
WHAT ABOUT THOSE PEOPLE WHO HAVE NEVER HEARD ABOUT JESUS? WILL THEY GO TO HEAVEN?
FIRSTLY, according to Genesis 18:25, Psalm 19:9 and Revelation 19:2, we know that God’s judgements are TRUE and RIGHTEOUS! So He will judge fairly!!!
SECONDLY, Romans 1:20, Psalm 19:1-3 and Romans 2:14-16 tells us there are TWO WITNESSES that make all mankind accountable and without excuse for knowing God exists!!
Romans 1:20 and Psalm 19:1-3 shows us God has revealed Himself in how CREATION and the UNIVERSE WAS MADE!
Romans 2:14-16 tells us God has given us CONSCIENCE and MORALITY as proof of His existence!! These MAKE US ALL ACCOUNTABLE and without excuse because even the person in the remote jungles of Africa has morality instilled in them and can see God’s creation to know He exists!! This leads to Romans 3:10-18,23 which shows us that there is no-one good, and therefore all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God!!
Revelation 5:9 tells us that people from EVERY TRIBE, NATION and LANGUAGE will be standing before the throne of God in heaven praising Him in the future!! This shows us that everyone will get the chance to hear the gospel in some way!!
THIRDLY, God tells us in Jeremiah 29:13 that if we truly SEEK HIM with all our heart, we WILL FIND HIM! (Acts 17:24-27, Matthew 7:7) To those who seek Him wholeheartedly, God will reveal Jesus to them because Jesus is the ONLY WAY WE CAN BE SAVED! (John 14:6)
A good example of this is Cornelius in Acts 10:2-47 who was a God-fearing man, yet didn’t know Jesus, so God sent Him a vision to go and see Peter who would lead Him to Jesus!
A second example is found in Acts 16:14- Lydia was a worshipper of God, yet she didn’t know Jesus! God used Paul to preach Jesus to her!!
Let us also not forget that Jesus revealed Himself DIRECTLY to Paul in a vision on the road to Damascus in Acts 9:1-6. So if Jesus could supernaturally reveal Himself to Paul, could He not do the same for that person out in the African jungles who hadn’t heard the gospel yet, but was earnestly seeking after the God who created everything they see?
But the question that remains is: WHAT ABOUT THOSE PEOPLE WHO LIVED BEFORE JESUS CAME TO THIS EARTH IN THE OLD TESTAMENT?
According to Romans 3:25, we see that those who put their faith in the ONE TRUE GOD in the Old Testament (even though they didn’t know who the messiah would be who was to come)- their sins were left UNPUNISHED because Jesus would pay for their sins also on the cross when He did come to this earth!!
This included those GENTILE (non-Jewish) believers who put their trust in the ONE TRUE GOD OF ISRAEL.
A good example of this is Rahab who was a gentile in Joshua 2:9-14. She had heard about what THE GOD OF ISRAEL had done in bringing Israel out of Egypt (the whole world had heard about this!) and she put her trust in the ONE TRUE GOD and was saved by faith!! She was even included in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1 because of her faith!!
PROBLEM: To say that those who do not hear the gospel get saved, means that then Jesus is not the only way to be saved. It would then be Jesus and IGNORANCE that are the 2 ways to be saved. If this were the case, wouldn’t it be better for Christians to not preach the gospel so that people are ignorant and therefore get saved? But this contradicts scripture in Matthew 28:19-20 where Jesus told the disciples to make disciples of the nations, and Romans 10:14-15 where we are called to preach Jesus so that they can hear and believe!! Since God is absolutely JUST and FAIR, He will give everyone who is earnest about seeking Him the opportunity to find Him and be saved!
CONCLUSION: Therefore we see that the person who lives in the jungle and hasn’t heard the gospel, just by looking at CREATION and seeing MORALITY instilled in themselves- should firstly realise that GOD EXISTS. Then secondly, if they truly and earnestly are desiring to seek after the one true God, Jesus can reveal Himself to them supernaturally via a vision or dream, or He can send an evangelist into that remote part of the world to preach the gospel of Jesus to them- since God promises in Jeremiah 29:13, that if we truly seek after Him with all our heart, WE WILL FIND HIM!!
Here are some more resources that might help answer this question!
https://youtu.be/yQISdCWQhRg
https://youtu.be/DsliLza9GD4
WHAT HAPPENS TO CHILDREN WHEN THEY DIE?
(Do children go to heaven when they die?)
In 2 Samuel 12:22-23 when King David’s son died, David was confident that he would see his son again. David says “I WILL GO TO HIM, BUT HE WILL NOT RETURN TO ME.”
We know that David was a man after God’s own heart (as Acts 13:22 in the bible says), and so we know that David would eventually be in heaven after he died. The fact that David said he would go to his son therefore suggests that his child would therefore also go to be in heaven with God.
This seems to also be backed up by what our saviour Jesus said in the bible in Matthew 19:14 when He said “LET THE LITTLE CHILDREN COME TO ME, AND DO NOT HINDER THEM, FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN BELONGS TO SUCH AS THESE.”
We also see in Matthew 18:14 that Jesus said about the children “IN THE SAME WAY YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN IS NOT WILLING THAT ANY OF THESE LITTLE ONES SHOULD BE LOST.”
(Read Matthew 18:2-14 for context).
Therefore from these verses in the bible, this tends to suggest that children will go to heaven if they die!
The truth is we are all sinners (Romans 3:10-23 the bible) and the punishment we all deserve is eternity in hell, but Jesus made a way for us to be saved by His Death on the cross and resurrection so that if we REPENT OF OUR SINS and BELIEVE that Jesus died for us, we can have FORGIVENESS of our sins by God (and be able to come into an intimate relationship with Him) and have a TRANSFORMATION in this life to be able to start living a life pleasing to Jesus (by His Holy Spirit in us) and a HOPE FOR ETERNITY IN HEAVEN AFTER THIS LIFE.
Based on the verses above, since a child/baby doesn’t yet have the moral capacity to make a decision to repent and believe in Jesus, those above verses mentioned seem to suggest that we can have comfort and confidence that babies will go to heaven if they die. May we take comfort knowing that God's judgements are always righteous, just and correct and that He is also merciful!.
Youtube clip:
(John MacArthur on: Do children go to heaven?)
EVIDENCE FOR A YOUNG EARTH CREATION!
(Genesis 1, Exodus 20:11, 2 Peter 3:8)
Firstly, In Genesis 1 we see how God defined and described a “day” when He said “And there was EVENING and there was MORNING…” (See Genesis 1:5,8,13,19,23,31).
This therefore seems to show us it was a literal 24 hour day! (Otherwise you have to also re-interpret what evening and morning mean, in order to say that a day was millions of years!)
Secondly, in Exodus 20:11 when God gave Israel the 10 COMMANDMENTS, He told them to work for 6 days and to rest on the 7th BECAUSE He Himself worked for 6 days at creation and rested on the 7th. This command wouldn’t make sense if creation took millions of years.
Thirdly, 2 Peter 3:9 tells us that with God A DAY IS LIKE A THOUSAND YEARS AND A THOUSAND YEARS ARE LIKE A DAY! This means God is not bound by time and can do a thousand years worth of work in a single day if He wanted to!! This principle shows us therefore that God could get done in a single day of creation, what looks to be like millions of years of work!
Fourthly, our saviour Jesus said in Mark 10:6-7 about Marriage that “AT THE BEGINNING OF CREATION, GOD MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, and for this reason and man shall leave his father and mother and be United to his wife…”
Jesus thus confirms that Adam and Eve were created AT THE BEGINNING OF CREATION, not after millions of years, since they were created on the 6th day!
Fifthly, the problem with an old earth creation belief is that it means there was DEATH BEFORE THE FALL OF ADAM! The problem with this is that it firstly contradicts Genesis 1:31 where at the end of creating, God saw that all He had made was GOOD, and it was VERY GOOD! This would not be true if there was already death and decay by that point in time!! This also contradicts Romans 5:12 which says that sin entered through one man (Adam) and DEATH THROUGH SIN! This passage clearly shows that there was no death before the fall of Adam in Genesis 3!!
Therefore, the OLD EARTH CREATION BELIEF SEEMS TO CONTRADICT SCRIPTURE!!
Ultimately, the most important thing to remember is that whether a Christian believes in young earth or old earth, it doesn’t change the essentials in our Christian faith- that God created everything, that we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, that Jesus came to die on the cross and be raised from the dead 3 days later to save us if we repent of our sin and put our full trust in Him! Therefore May we not let this cause division amongst Christians.
(See: Answers in Genesis sermon)