1 Peter 3:15 – But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.
Why do you believe in God? Ans. That is easy. He has revealed himself trillions of times. Let me ask you a question? Why is there something rather than nothing? … Since there is something rather than nothing, that necessitates the miraculous! How has God revealed himself? Through Creation Rom 1:18– General Revelation – to everyone, everywhere, at all times. Consider this, if you see a painting, you KNOW that requires a painter, a watch, a watchmaker, a creation, a creator. That is clear logic. To deny that is delusional and an example of a depraved, immoral, and rebellious mind. Time permitting, go through more various proofs for God.
Why do you believe the Bible? Ans. First a question – Who can predict the future? NO ONE!
The only thing in all the world that does so with pinpoint accuracy scores of times is the Bible. We know that men penned the Bible so how do you account for prophecy? The only answer can be that someone outside our time/space dimension had to have authored it. Someone who knows the end from the beginning and is ultimately eternal. GOD! Prophecy is God’s sacred seal on his message to us and it is his unique fingerprint proving beyond doubt that scripture is absolutely unique in all the world. A scripture explaining this is 2 Peter 1:20-21 Above all you must understand that no prophecy of scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. Have some examples such as Tyre or Jesus.
Scriptures that help seal up both of those questions of God and the Bible:
Rev. 23:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
Isa. 46:9-10 I am God and there is no other; I am God and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning.
Isa. 44:6-8 “This is what the Lord says – Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come – yes, let him foretell what will come. Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell in long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No there is no other rock; I know not one.
God is giving us the test of how we can tell the only true God from all other claims. PROPHECY
How does one become a “born again” Christian and join the family of God? Simply put – 6 words: CREATION FALL REDEMPTION – BELIEVE REPENT ASK = salvation
I call this the Story of Reality – God’s word to us in his Special Revelation – Genesis to Revelation
I put out this story in 111 word. Modify how you wish, but keep it short and simple so that anyone can remember and tell the story and explain the process of salvation.
THE STORY OF REALITY
In the beginning God
Created The heaves and the earth – Out of Nothing
For Man – Made in his image
And for God’s glory and our pleasure
God gave us free will to choose With one restriction, don’t eat from a tree
We chose badly / consequently Man fell and sin entered the world
All men are now Under a Death Sentence
God works his rescue plan through Jesus, The Scriptures, and the Cross
God Judges Believers and non-believers
God determines Everyone’s Destiny
Our life Quest is Truth, and to live in truth
Jesus is the Truth He offers salvation – eternal life
Our part is Believe, repent, ask him to be LORD
Simply put – Creation – Fall – Redemption Our Part – Believe / Repent / Ask = Salvation
Once that is done, you are forever sealed with God’s Holy Spirit and NOTHING can change that
Once that is done, the first action point of obedience, seemingly without exception in the New Testament, was to get baptized. This was like putting your personal, public, blood oath, seal and signature to an official legal document, announcing you made an irrevocable, covenantal promise to be a follower of Christ through the act of baptism. This act was the public ceremony that showed you were an official member of the family of God with all the rights, privileges, and blessings thereof, such as brotherhood fellowship and the Lord’s supper.
A verse that strengthens this act is Matt 10:32-33 “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.
Another proof for God. Creation is a physical proof for God, but the idea of perfection is a metaphysical proof. Everyone will tell you they are NOT perfect. But no one seems to grasp the full ramifications of that statement. In order for anyone to make such a statement of comparison, they must first have a concept of perfection to compare it to.
If you were to dig into what a person was trying to tell you by that statement, it would most likely center in on not being perfect in character. That directly translates into a lack of moral perfection that the Bible calls our sin nature.
The Bible succinctly gives a list of moral characteristics in the 10 Commandments which includes lying, stealing, adultery, coveting, blasphemy which everyone intuitively knows is wrong by their own built in morality meter, called a conscience.
Here is the test: Ask someone if they consider themselves a good person. Most people will answer, yes. Then ask them if they are perfect. They now answer, no. What is it they are in fact admitting to? Much of it will have to do with those moral qualities of the 10 Commandments.
Ask them if they have ever lied, stolen, lusted, or used God’s name in vain? That is at the core of their own self-evaluation and admission. If there is no God, then there is no basis for feeling ANY guilt, remorse, or judgement over those issues.
Once again this is strong proof there is a God and the Bible is his authoritive word. When we admit we are not perfect, we in fact are comparing ourselves to the Biblical God, who is in fact is the one and only model of perfection and we intuitively truly know this. All people everywhere, at all times have demonstrated the propensity to worship something outside of themselves.
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