Matthew 11:3-5
3 And said unto him, Art thou He that should come, or do we look for another?
4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do HEAR and SEE:
5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them."
It is not explicitly declared in the Holy Scriptures that "pistis" is exclusive to Christians. So, people have MISSED it. We should not use FAITH to describe other religions or non religious things. Yet, we do it all the time. The word Faith is used loosely today.
Christianity is based on eyewitness accounts. Knowledge of events that happed at a particular time and in a specific place. What the Apostles SAW and HEARD is what they wrote about. In the book of Acts, chapter four, the Apostles gave their testimony of the resurrection. The resurrection gives validity to our FAITH.
We need to say; "Jesus rose from the dead." Because we know it. It's not our belief, it's fact! In the Book of Acts, chapter one, verse three, Christ showed Himself for forty days to many people. They considered it infallible proof. Or, proof that will stand up in court. We can say we believe in Salvation, the benefits of the resurrection. That is something we will experience in the future. We will all die and be resurrected.
In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter eleven, when John the Baptizer has questions, about Jesus being the Messiah, Jesus points to His actions. Tells them what they have SEEN and HEARD Him do as proof of who He is. People had experience with Jesus performing miracles. There was only one conclusion that could be drawn; He is the Son of God. From the very beginning Christians have used reason and logic to understand their FAITH. We have a knowledge base to read and study. We can know what God's plan is in the pages of the Holy Bible.
If one starts with miracles can't happen then they can't believe in Jesus, or God. People will criticize the Holy Bible and not believe any of the miracles recorded there. They will think they have knowledge but will not have FAITH. OH, they will say they have faith. They might think of it as blind faith, or faith in faith itself. But, that is called "fideism." It is often passed off as faith in our world today. They don't accept the testimony of the New Testament. It's not FAITH at all.
The New Testament is a record of what people SAW and HEARD. Over five-hundred people saw the risen Christ. Thomas said "my Lord and my God!" Jesus asked witnesses to "behold My hands and feet." When with His Apostles after the resurrection, Jesus ate broiled fish. His brother James became a believer after Jesus's resurrection. All the emphasis in the New Testament is on evidence and proof! Based on people's experiences.
We have eyewitness accounts. No other religion has this. All other religions have hearsay evidence. All Jesus's Apostles went to other parts of the world to evangelize and as a result were executed. They sealed their testimony with their own blood. Their own lives. There is no higher test of the truth than for one to die for it. Because people will die for the truth they will not die for a lie.
To learn more about this subject, the book and it's author listen to PART THREE of this podcast. There is much more information here, and it's VERY interesting...
https://issuesetc.org/2022/02/18/0491-faith-and-christianitys-uniqueness-part-3-dr-alvin-schmidt-2-18-22/
Comments
Post a Comment