Who Is Jesus, Really?

There sure is a lot of misunderstanding about the Person of Christ today. You’ll hear all sorts of theories and explanations as to who this Person is. Some groups even claim He was just a good man or a prophet, others say He was "the archangel Michael" (Jehovah’s Witnesses) and incredibly still others claim he was "a god among many gods," the brother of the angel Lucifer before he became Satan (Mormonism).

To be sure, Jesus is unique. There has never been anyone like Him in the history of the world! Our calendars are even based on His birth (B.C. meaning, Before Christ). Because of these things, the most important question you can ask is this, “Who is Jesus?” Your life will be affected for all eternity by the way you answer that question!

One time the Pharisees (hypocritical religious leaders) challenged Jesus and asked Him some questions about Himself. In John chapter 8:12-59 we read about this confrontation. Here Jesus makes a very important point. He said that if we don’t believe accurately about Him, we would die in our sins. This is something we want to avoid at all costs because the consequences last forever.

Jesus also claimed in this passage that He was alive before Abraham was born which was thousands of years before. This is why God warns us about believing in a “different Jesus” (I Cor. 11:3-4), one who cannot save us. To have a relationship with Jesus, we must know who He is.

The Bible tells us that Jesus had two natures, the nature of God and the nature of man (Philippians 2:6-7). It was God Himself who came to earth on our behalf! He took upon Himself the form of a man in order to be able to suffer and die for us. Yet Jesus also had God’s nature, whereby He could forgive us our sins and give us eternal life (Colossians 1; 16-20). Jesus is the true God and eternal life (I John 5:20; John 20:28)!

Do you believe Jesus is God? If so, that’s great! But just accepting this fact and answering yes to this question will not change your life.

Answering another question will....

Is He your God?

Merry Christmas

as we celebrate the birth of the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
The Lamb who was crucified, conquered death and rose again, this is the hope and promise of salvation.

Do you know Him? Better yet, does He know you?

http://www.carm.org/index/Jesus_saves.htm






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50 Signs of a No Compromise Christian

1 - They Do NOT CONFORM To The Things Of This World—Their #1 Goal Is To Be Like Jesus
2 - They LOVE THE LORD their God with all their Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength
3 - They Are SEPARATING Themselves From ALL Ungodliness And The Things Of This WORLD
4 - They Are Walking Down The Narrow Road Of God's HOLINESS—They Are God's Holy Remnant
5 - They Do NOT WATCH WORLDLY: TV & Movies, Websites, Internet Pornography, Computer Games...
6 - They Do NOT LOOK UPON Worldly Magazines & Books From Celebrity Magazines To Pornography...
7 - They Do NOT LOOK UP TO WORLDLY IDOLS Such As: Singers, Movie Stars, Sports Figures...
8 - They Do NOT COMPROMISE With The World By Listen to WORLDLY MUSIC—TRUE WORSHIPPERS
9 - They Do NOT PARTNER UP WITH UNBELIEVERS And Those Who Compromise Their Walk With Jesus
10 - They PURSUE PURE AND GODLY FRIENDSHIPS That Inspire Them To Be More Like Jesus
11 - They Display Christ-likeness In Their THOUGHT-LIFE & ATTITUDES
12 - They Are HUMBLE and Have Child-like Faith
13 - They REFUSE LUKEWARMNESS—Having "One Foot In GOD'S WORD, And One Foot In The WORLD"
14 - They Seek To Please The Lord through GOOD DEEDS & HAVING A SERVANT'S HEART
15 - They Know That FINANCIAL GAIN DOES NOT MEAN GODLINESS
16 - They SEEK FIRST God’s Kingdom, NOT Worldly Wealth & Possessions
17 - They’d Rather SUFFER & BE POOR & NOT Compromise With The World Than Be Rich & Famous—Content
18 - They Are GENEROUS & are GIVERS Whether They Are Poor Or Have Much
19 - They Are SURRENDERING ALL To Follow Jesus—They Are “Taking Up Their Cross Daily”
20 - They’ve STOPPED PRACTICING SIN—And When They Do Sin There Is Deep Sorrow
21 - They SPEAK OUT & WARN PEOPLE Of God's Coming Judgments, And PREACH THE GOOD NEWS
22 - They SUFFER PERSECUTION For Standing Up For JESUS
23 - They Will LOVE PEOPLE And DO GOOD To Them—Especially To Other Christians
24 - They OBEY— GOD'S COMMANDMENTS, HIS WORD, and the LORD JESUS CHRIST
25 - They Are DOERS Of The Word, Not Merely HEARERS
26 - They FEAR THE LORD And Turn Away From Evil
27 - They Do NOT Seek The Approval Of Man, But Seek Only To PLEASE THE LORD
28 - They Are NOT HYPOCRITES—Giving God Mere Lip Service
29 - Their WORDS & SPEECH Are ENCOURAGING, EDIFYING, AND WISE—NOT Corrupt
30 - They PRAY FERVENT PRAYERS, And Pray Often With Fellow Believers
31 - They STUDY & TEACH GOD'S WORD & HIS WAYS To Sinners & Believers—Making Disciples
32 - They Are WINNING THEIR BATTLE AGAINST SIN & Enduring Hardships, Sufferings, And Trials
33 - They Are READY, WAITING, AND EAGERLY ANTICIPATING The Soon Return Of Jesus Christ
34 - They LOVE GOD'S COMMANDMENTS & HIS WORD, Reading It Daily And Memorizing It
35 - They Make Use Of Every OPPORTUNITY To Do Good & To Preach The Good News
36 - They Are Productive For The Lord, PRODUCING GOOD FRUIT, Which Is Godliness & Souls
37 - They Are Co-Heirs With Christ: And Share The SUFFERINGS OF JESUS By "Crucifying Their Flesh"
38 - They Understand GOD'S ETERNAL PURPOSES For His HOLY PEOPLE Vs. This Temporal Evil World
39 - They Know They Are Merely Passing Through This World, And Their REAL HOME Is With The Lord
40 - They Do Everything For The GLORY OF GOD
41 - They Do NOT BELIEVE FALSE TEACHINGS & Anything That Is CONTRARY TO GOD'S WORD
42 - They CLEARLY Understand The Gospel & CLEARLY PREACH God's Word With BOLDNESS
43 - They Let Their LIGHT SHINE—Their FACE & LIFE EXUDES CHRIST
44 - They Put NO CONFIDENCE IN THEIR FLESH - They Are Decreasing & Christ is Increasing
45 - They Have INTEGRITY, HARD WORK, & PURSUE RIGHTEOUSNESS— They do Not Lie, Steal, Cheat
46 - They Are Always VERY THANKFUl TO GOD For His— Kindness, Provisions, Protection, etc
47 - They Are NOT Full of: SELFISH AMBITION, STRIFE, QUARRELING, JEALOUSY— But Are PEACEMAKERS
48 - They Acknowledge & Obey GOD'S WILL For Their Lives
49 - They Are NOT PREJUDICE— They Show NO PARTIALITY TO THE: RICH, POOR, SKIN COLOR, RACE,etc
50 - They do NOT allow the CARES & WORRIES Of This Life to DOMINATE their MIND & CONVERSATIONS

The Birth of Jesus Christ

In the winter of 5 or 4 B.C., God invaded history by taking on the form of a man. He was born in a small town just south of Jerusalem. Bethlehem, which means 'the house of bread,' indeed became worthy of its name one lonely winter night. For there, in that town, was born the Bread of Life . . .

His mother placed the infant king in a manger--or feeding trough--because the guest room where they were to stay was occupied. The birth of this king was celebrated that night only by his mother, her husband, and a handful of shepherds. The shepherds had been in the fields around Bethlehem, guarding the lambs which would die at the next Passover. An angel appeared to them and gave them the birth announcement: "today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11). In their simple faith, they rushed to see their newborn king.

Shortly after the birth of the Messiah, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem and inquired of king Herod where the real king of the Jews was to be born. The theologians of Herod's court knew the Scriptures well--in 'Bethlehem' they recited. Ironically, though they knew the Scriptures, they did not believe them! They did not even bother to travel the five or six miles to Bethlehem to see their Messiah.

But Herod believed the Scriptures! That is why he sent a corps of butchers to Bethlehem to slaughter innocent children, in hopes of destroying this rival to his throne. But he was too late. The magi had come and gone and Jesus was by now safe in Egypt.

And the magi believed the Scriptures. They had traveled several hundred miles to worship this Babe. They were guided to Bethlehem by a supernatural celestial phenomenon--and by the Scriptures. Apparently, their ancestors had been instructed by Daniel the prophet about the coming Messiah. . . When they saw the child, they fell down and worshiped him. This was God in the flesh. They could do no other.

And they gave him gifts--gold, frankincense, and myrrh. This was an unusual present--by any standards. The gold, of course, we all can understand--but the frankincense and myrrh were odd. Perhaps they had read Isaiah's prophecy that "nations will come to your light, and kings to your rising . . . They will bring gold and frankincense, and will bear good news. . . " (Isa. 60:3, 6). This explains the frankincense, but not the myrrh.

Now myrrh, like frankincense, was a perfume. But unlike frankincense, myrrh smelled of death. In the ancient world, it was used to embalm a corpse. Jesus himself would be embalmed with this very perfume (cf. John 19:39).

If the magi were thinking of Jesus' death when they brought the myrrh, they no doubt knew of it from Daniel's prophecy (9:24-27). In the ninth chapter of Daniel we read that the 'Messiah will be cut off' and this 'will make atonement for iniquity' and ultimately 'bring in everlasting righteousness' (9:26, 24).

Even at the birth of our Savior, the shadow of the cross is already falling over his face. . .

The theologians of Herod's court did not believe the Scriptures. They were fools. Herod believed, but disobeyed. He was a madman. The simple shepherds and the majestic magi believed in this infant Savior--and it was reckoned to them as righteousness. May we follow in their train.


By: Daniel B. Wallace , Th.M., Ph.D.

Isn't the virgin birth of Jesus Christ mythological and scientifically impossible?

Larry King, the CNN talk show host, was once asked who he would most want to interview if he could choose anyone from all of history. He said, "Jesus Christ." The questioner said, "And what would you like to ask Him?" King replied, "I would like to ask Him if He was indeed virgin-born. The answer to that question would define history for me."
--from Just Thinking, RZIM, Winter 1998

Critic's Claim #1
The idea of a virgin birth is SCIENTIFICALLY IMPOSSIBLE.

Pregnant woman. Really? Where have you been for the past 21 years? Ever since in vitro fertilization and embryonic transfer came on the scene in 1978 (not to mention artificial insemination), it is quite possible for a woman who has never experienced sexual intercourse to give birth.

Of course, the Bible makes it clear that it was Almighty God, not some high-paid gynecologist, who worked the details of Jesus' Divine-Human conception, i.e. “And the angel answered and said unto [Mary], The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”
--Luke 1:35, KJV.

Sound miraculous? Of course. But these days, who would deny that miracles occur? And such a 'small' one for the God who created the entire universe!


Critic's Claim #2
The idea of a virgin birth is MYTHOLOGICALLY DERIVED.

Author Patrick Campbell (The Mythical Jesus) and Episcopal Bishop J.S. Spong are two of a number of individuals who have suggested that "...the virgin birth account [is a]...clearly recognized mythological element in our faith tradition whose purpose was not to describe a literal event but to capture the transcendent dimensions of God in the earthbound words and concepts of first-century human beings."

Both men, however, overlook a simple fact: No respectable Jew would have ever condescended to buy into a Greek/Babylonian mythological base for an account dealing with the birth of his/her Messiah.


Critic's Claim #3
The idea of a virgin birth is HISTORICALLY UNSUPPORTED

Feather pen. The Apostles' Creed, written in the 4th century; the Nicene Creed, adopted at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D.; the Athanasian Creed, written about 450 A.D.; the Chalcedon Definition, adopted at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D.; and the Small Catechism of Martin Luther of 1529 A.D. are only a few of the historic creeds that recognize the veracity of the Virgin Birth of Jesus. Only in more modern times have Bible critics begun to try to cast doubt on a doctrinal truth that the Church has long since historically endorsed.


Critic's Claim #4
The idea of a virgin birth is BIBLICALLY UNCONVINCING

Some critics cite the fact that the Apostle Paul is silent on the subject of the Virgin Birth, and the fact that Mary's virginity is never mentioned in the Gospel According to John, as evidence that Jesus was never born of a virgin.

But the argument from silence, always a rather weak tactic in making a case, is particularly weak here due to the fact that both Paul and John were alive and quite familiar with the Gospel accounts written by Matthew and Dr. Luke (a physician!) -- and yet never either questioned or refuted it.


Critic's Claim #5
The idea of a virgin birth is STATISTICALLY UNWARRANTED

If you really want to put truth up for a vote (and who does?), let's get all of the statistics out in the open. While it is true that one very famous poll taken in 1965 (and still being frequently cited today) of 7,441 Protestant clergy showed that many mainline denominational ministers were not convinced of the truthfulness of the Virgin Birth, a more recent Harris poll of a randomly selected group of 1,011 adults found that 91% of U.S. Christians do believe in the Virgin Birth. All of which goes to show that when it comes to determining spiritual truth, our authority ought to be the Bible (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:25), not men -- including clergy!

That's My King!

S.M. Lockridge