The Skeptic
The most important question any of us will ever have to answer is what we did with the Lord Jesus Christ. Many are skeptical, thinking there is not enough information to decide intelligently about Christ. But this is not true. The Bible abounds with eyewitness accounts and rock-solid proof that cannot be dismissed lightly. Enough information resides between it's covers to convince even the most skeptical of honest skeptics.
The Bible includes the accounts of many skeptics, some of whom did accept Jesus Christ, and some of whom did not. In the Gospel of John, the Apostle John illustrates with two who did. One day Philip came to his friend Nathaniel to tell him that he had found the promised Messiah. Nathaniel's skeptical nature answered sarcastically saying "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth" (John 1:46)? Instead of arguing with Nathaniel's self-satisfied response, Philip simply told him to come and see for himself. No doubt Nathanial laughed at his own joke all the way to Jesus.
But once he arrived, things changed rapidly. Jesus recognized him immediately as an "Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile" (John 1:47). Yes, he was a skeptic, but he was an honest, truth-seeking skeptic; one who when confronted with the truth would respond by accepting it. Amazed at Jesus' statement, he asked Jesus how He know him. Rather than answering directly, Jesus demonstrated that He know many other personal things about Nathaniel as well. Jesus said "Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee (John 1:48). Jesus knew what Nathaniel was doing, and where he was doing it, even though He was not there. This was enough for Nathaniel. All his doubts vanished, and he saw Jesus not just as a good teacher, but as God. "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou are the King of Israel (John 1:49)
John gave a second account, this time later in Jesus' ministry with Thomas--doubting Thomas, perhaps the most famous skeptic of all. We pick up the story just after Jesus' resurrection when He appeared to all the disciples except Thomas. When the others told him about it, he didn't believe it and said, "Except I shall see his hands the print of the nails...and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe (John 20:25). And this is exactly what Jesus told him to do when He appeared the second time. This was finally enough for Thomas. he worshipped Jesus personally, calling Him "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28).
The Holy Spirit wrote the Gospel of John to convince just such skeptics, so that they "might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name (John 20:31). Are you an honest skeptic? Look at the firsthand evidence found here and see if you too aren't convinced beyond a doubt.
The Apostle John, the same eye-witness author who gave us the above accounts, began his Gospel with these amazing words: 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). Grammatically this sentence is only 17 words long, all but one being monosyllabic. It is at once simple enough for a child and yet profound enough for a lifetime of study by the scholar. We learn here that Someone called the "Word" had already existed before anything else was created. Think back as far as you can--a thousand, a million, a billion years ago--and wherever you put down your pegs you will find that the Word was there already.
He "was with God", associated intimately with the Father yet distinct from Him. He always existed in eternity, always resided in the closest possible relationship with the Father, and always was the absolute Deity. In fact. "He was God".
But who is this Word? For that we must read a few verses further. "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). The Word of eternity is identified here with the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Word, who was deity in eternity, became Jesus the man in time. He became flesh and took part in all that it means to be human, identifying with us for the sole purpose of taking our sins onto Himself (who had no sin) and dying in our place on the cross.
Think of it. The God who created Bethlehem was born a babe in a manger there. The God who created the rock from which Jerusalem was built was almost stoned to death by the people there (John 8:59). The very God who created the trees dies on a wooden cross, hewed by sinners like us, so that He could redeem us from sin and satisfy all the righteousness of an infinitely just God, thereby providing for us a complete and perfect salvation. Thankfully, the God who did this also created human language and used it to bring the word of grace and peace and truth to sinners.
Have you heard God's Word? Nathaniel heard and believed early in Jesus' earthly ministry, Thomas at the end. The time of the word of His grace is late. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, God the Creator and Savior of the world--before it is too late.
The most important question any of us will ever have to answer is what we did with the Lord Jesus Christ. Many are skeptical, thinking there is not enough information to decide intelligently about Christ. But this is not true. The Bible abounds with eyewitness accounts and rock-solid proof that cannot be dismissed lightly. Enough information resides between it's covers to convince even the most skeptical of honest skeptics.
The Bible includes the accounts of many skeptics, some of whom did accept Jesus Christ, and some of whom did not. In the Gospel of John, the Apostle John illustrates with two who did. One day Philip came to his friend Nathaniel to tell him that he had found the promised Messiah. Nathaniel's skeptical nature answered sarcastically saying "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth" (John 1:46)? Instead of arguing with Nathaniel's self-satisfied response, Philip simply told him to come and see for himself. No doubt Nathanial laughed at his own joke all the way to Jesus.
But once he arrived, things changed rapidly. Jesus recognized him immediately as an "Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile" (John 1:47). Yes, he was a skeptic, but he was an honest, truth-seeking skeptic; one who when confronted with the truth would respond by accepting it. Amazed at Jesus' statement, he asked Jesus how He know him. Rather than answering directly, Jesus demonstrated that He know many other personal things about Nathaniel as well. Jesus said "Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee (John 1:48). Jesus knew what Nathaniel was doing, and where he was doing it, even though He was not there. This was enough for Nathaniel. All his doubts vanished, and he saw Jesus not just as a good teacher, but as God. "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou are the King of Israel (John 1:49)
John gave a second account, this time later in Jesus' ministry with Thomas--doubting Thomas, perhaps the most famous skeptic of all. We pick up the story just after Jesus' resurrection when He appeared to all the disciples except Thomas. When the others told him about it, he didn't believe it and said, "Except I shall see his hands the print of the nails...and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe (John 20:25). And this is exactly what Jesus told him to do when He appeared the second time. This was finally enough for Thomas. he worshipped Jesus personally, calling Him "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28).
The Holy Spirit wrote the Gospel of John to convince just such skeptics, so that they "might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name (John 20:31). Are you an honest skeptic? Look at the firsthand evidence found here and see if you too aren't convinced beyond a doubt.
The Apostle John, the same eye-witness author who gave us the above accounts, began his Gospel with these amazing words: 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). Grammatically this sentence is only 17 words long, all but one being monosyllabic. It is at once simple enough for a child and yet profound enough for a lifetime of study by the scholar. We learn here that Someone called the "Word" had already existed before anything else was created. Think back as far as you can--a thousand, a million, a billion years ago--and wherever you put down your pegs you will find that the Word was there already.
He "was with God", associated intimately with the Father yet distinct from Him. He always existed in eternity, always resided in the closest possible relationship with the Father, and always was the absolute Deity. In fact. "He was God".
But who is this Word? For that we must read a few verses further. "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). The Word of eternity is identified here with the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Word, who was deity in eternity, became Jesus the man in time. He became flesh and took part in all that it means to be human, identifying with us for the sole purpose of taking our sins onto Himself (who had no sin) and dying in our place on the cross.
Think of it. The God who created Bethlehem was born a babe in a manger there. The God who created the rock from which Jerusalem was built was almost stoned to death by the people there (John 8:59). The very God who created the trees dies on a wooden cross, hewed by sinners like us, so that He could redeem us from sin and satisfy all the righteousness of an infinitely just God, thereby providing for us a complete and perfect salvation. Thankfully, the God who did this also created human language and used it to bring the word of grace and peace and truth to sinners.
Have you heard God's Word? Nathaniel heard and believed early in Jesus' earthly ministry, Thomas at the end. The time of the word of His grace is late. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, God the Creator and Savior of the world--before it is too late.