Answers to Sunday School Questions, Part 10

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 Last Summer, we took up questions from our Adult Sunday School Class at First Presbyterian Dyersburg, Tennessee.  I have adapted the answers I gave in articles in the church newsletter, and I wanted to share them here.  I hope you find the short essays helpful. 

 There are many religions.  Why is Christianity right?  Why is it the one?

            Christianity is based on historical claims where most religions are not.  Jesus died on a Roman cross in about 33 A. D. under Pontius Pilate.  These are historical facts that can be checked out to see if they are true.  That means that evidence can be used to justify belief in Christianity.  Some of these arguments and evidence are given above, but there are many places to get evidence for Christianity’s claims.  Here are some names to get you started. 

            Some places to look on the internet are: www.str.org and www.ligonier.org.  Some helpful books include The Reason for God by Timothy Keller, Reasons to Believe by R. C. Sproul, Reasonable Faith by William Lane Craig, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses by Richard Bauckham, and I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist by Norman Geisler and Frank Turek.  These men differ on many theological issues, but their arguments for God’s existence and the truth of the Bible are sound.  Some other names to research include Greg Bahnsen, Cornelius Van Til, Alvin Plantinga, John Frame, and Craig Blomberg. 

            We come to the end of these essays, and I wanted to end with the following.  There is no other religious leader like Jesus Christ. 

Many of us do not have a respect for authority in and of itself. In general, we do not care what a person’s position is, because we will respect them only if they are worthy of respect. Just because his title is “boss” or “professor” doesn’t mean that we will blindly follow his directives or uncritically do what he says.  We do not follow people who jump off cliffs.

We do not care how many titles a person has; we will only listen to their teaching if we are convinced they are intelligent and trustworthy. That’s why Christ’s credentials as a teacher are so very important to us.

What makes a good teacher? Some qualities of a good teacher include the fact that his teachings are true, and he can prove it. He follows his own teaching. He cares for those whom he teaches. And his teachings make a difference in the world. (Please note that I do not think a person must be male to be a good teacher. I use the masculine pronoun out of convention.)

We have an accurate set of historical documents that describe the events of Christ’s life. Christ appeared on the earth claiming to be God, teaching people how to live their lives, and giving us facts about God.

We can believe His teachings about Himself and about God because of His miracles. The fact that He performed miracles proves that God placed a stamp of approval on His message.

Miracles are contrary to the normal operation of the universe. They cannot be explained by known natural laws. Only a God who is powerful enough to bring about the universe from nothing could possibly perform them. God would not perform miracles on behalf of a false teacher.

Jesus Christ, as both God and man, is the only completely true teacher. He can no more lie than God Himself could.

Christ followed his own teaching. No one, even His enemies, could accuse him of sin. He lived a perfect life, the only man ever to earn the rewards of heaven through His own efforts.

Now we get to the last issue for discussion in this chapter: did Christ care for those He taught? No teacher has ever done for His followers what Christ has done for us.

He took our sins upon Himself and suffered God’s wrath for those sins when he didn’t deserve it. He rose from the dead to show His triumph over our greatest enemy: death itself. He makes it possible for those who have trust Him to take credit for His perfect Life and have their sins paid for by His death.

Christ’s life, teachings, and love make Him the only teacher worth following without reservation. I thank God for what He accomplished for me in Christ each day.

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