Christianty and the New Testament

EXPLORING CHRISTIANITY - EYEWITNESS

THE BIBLE
Can we trust a book written 2000 years ago?

EYEWITNESS
Did the writers of the New Testament get their picture of Jesus right?

GOD - MAN
Is Jesus really God?

RESURRECTION
Did Jesus really rise from the dead?

RELIGIONS
With so many religions, why Christianity?

SUFFERING
If there is a God, why is there so much suffering?

TRINITY
Understanding the Trinity.

SCIENCE
The complementary nature of Science & Christianity.

FORGIVENESS
What it is and why it matters?

GUIDANCE
How does God guide?

REPENTANCE
What it is and why you can't get to heaven without it.

BORN AGAIN
What does it mean to be converted and born again?

SAVING FAITH
The kind of faith that will get you to heaven

ASSURANCE
Can I know for sure that I am going to heaven?

TRUTH
What is truth and does it matter?

MORALITY
Does it matter how we live? A Christian view of morality.

THE CHURCH
God's vision for his family, the Church. A call to the churches of the new millennium.

PURPOSE
How can I find a great purpose for living?

IDENTITY
Who am I; Finding my true identity as a human being and as a child of God.

SELF-ESTEEM
How can I feel good about my self? The Christian basis for proper sel-esteem.

LIFE AFTER DEATHChristianity's Hope & Challenge.

THE CROSS
Why did Jesus Die? What the Bible says about the Cross.

Conclusion

In considering the historical reliability of the New Testament it is important to note a relevant saying of Jesus that John records at the Last Supper. It seems to me that this is often ignored by those who study these documents. "The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name...will remind you of everything I have said to you" (John 14:26). Could it be that Jesus really did say that, that he meant exactly what he said, and it happened as he said it would? He was concerned to see that we had an accurate record of who he was and what he had come to do.

Much of the New Testament is written by people who either knew Jesus, or knew very well those who did know him. The evidence clearly points us to the conclusion that the Jesus of the Gospels is indeed the Jesus of history. The assumed gap between Jesus himself and the writers of the New Testament does not exist. Either he is the Lord of heaven and earth as he claimed to be, as his resurrection proves him to be, and as his committed followers have always believed him to be, or we have here the most remarkable hoax of history.

In his book, The Ring of Truth, J. B. Phillips tells of a radio interview he had with the distinguished classical scholar, Dr. E. V. Rieu, who was the scholar who translated Homer into very modern English for the "Penguin Classics". Rieu was sixty, and a lifelong agnostic, when the same firm invited him to translate the Gospels. His son remarked: "It will be interesting to see what Father makes of the four Gospels. It will be even more interesting to see what the four Gospels make of Father." The answer was soon forthcoming. A year later Dr. Rieu, convinced and converted, joined the Church of England.

When Phillips asked him, "Did you not get the feeling that the whole material was extraordinarily alive?" Rieu replied, "I got the deepest feeling. My work changed me. I came to the conclusion that these words bear the seal of the Son of Man and God. And they're the Magna Carta of the human spirit."

Phillips concluded, "I found it particularly thrilling to hear a man who is a scholar of the first rank, as well as a man of wisdom and experience, openly admitting that these words written long ago were alive with power. They bore to him as to me, the ring of truth."

If Jesus is the eternal God who came to share our humanity and die for our sins, if he lives today to offer us forgiveness, his friendship through life and a future in his kingdom, and if he will one day be our judge as the records consistently declare, then we are foolish to ignore him. The question that Pilate put to the crowds at his trial is one that should concern us all, "What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?" (Matthew 27:22). We will be the losers if we ignore it.

Michael Green, Adviser to the Archbishop of Canterbury for the Decade of Evangelism, who has had many years of experience in helping people find a vital faith, has this to say in an article he wrote for Decision:

Time and again after discussing the Gospel with argumentative acquaintances, I have encouraged them to read with an open mind one or more of the four Gospels - a mind open to the possibility that God is real, that Christianity might be true. I ask them to pray before reading, even a prayer such as, "O God, if You exist, and I very much doubt whether You do, show me what truth there is in this stuff about Jesus. I am honestly willing to go where the evidence leads me."

Time after time I have found them in a Christian meeting a few weeks or months later. Smiling, they may say something like, "I did what you suggested, and I was convinced by the text itself. It has the ring of truth about it."

Why not give it a try? Truth is hard to resist when faced honestly!

For those who would like to study this question further, I would recommend Richard Bauckham's very thoroughly researched and timely book Jesus and the Eyewitnesses:The Gospels As Eyewitness Testimony. Willian B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2006.