Jesus is the Answer – C. Britton

My Faith is All About Jesus

My faith is solid and will remain so even if I am never able to completely make sense of some aspects of Genesis.  If presented with any of the many valid questions that people ask such as; "did the Genesis flood really cover the entire earth?" or "did creation really happen in six 24 hour days?" etc., my official stance is “I don’t know.”  It has been my experience that any 'issue' with scripture comes from our misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the text.  I have ample evidence that the Bible is indeed God's word and I trust it to instruct my life.

What Then?

Here is what I would say to someone who was seeking God and genuinely interested in an answer to questions like these:

• These are valid questions and ignoring them or accepting a simplistic answer is not the solution.
• Keep searching for answers to your questions, read the Bible, pray, and read extra Biblical material, but be patient.
• If your primary goal is to evaluate Christianity, it is better to temporarily put the difficult questions of Genesis on hold and first consider the person of Jesus Christ.

 

Jesus is Enough

Jesus has answered all the important questions; with his words, the way he lived, the way he died, and His resurrection.  

I am astounded time and again at the many ways God makes it so obvious that Jesus' words are truth and that He is indeed His son. The way that the events of Jesus' life unfold, the behavior of those He interacted with, and His outrageous claims, come together such that they provide more than enough reasons to believe in Him.  Given how desperate the Jewish leaders of the day were to get rid of Him, and how easily the claims of Christianity would have been to disprove if untrue, the fact that the Church grew as it did in the first century gives further testimony to the fact that Jesus is who He claimed to be.

 

 

I truly believe that a sincere seeker of truth about the existence and nature of God should focus their efforts on the person of Jesus Christ. Christianity differs dramatically from all other religions in several ways.  God has set it up so that our salvation does not depend upon our ability adhere to the ‘program’. Jesus did for us that which we are unable to do for ourselves; provide us a way to be forgiven and righteous before God (in spite of ourselves).  He also revealed the character of God, giving us the ability to know Him in a personal way.  No other successful world religion is based on a man who claimed to be one with God.  

 

The search for answers can be greatly simplified by focusing on Jesus with humility.  Prioritizing the most difficult aspects of scripture presents a risk of "majoring in the minors".  That strategy works well if one is looking for excuses not to believe, but can be very frustrating for the sincere seeker.  All the answers to the most important questions are found in Jesus, and answers to those that remain will come in time.  

 

The Challenge...

I challenge any sincere seeker of truth about God to test my theory.  Spend a month humbly pursuing Jesus in the Scriptures and in extra biblical material. Pray for truth! 

Just like so many other aspects of life, decisions about Christianity need to be made based on the evidence that we have available, not using the scientific method (at least not entirely). 

 

At the very least, I believe that you will have a deep desire to know Jesus better.  And in time, the questions that seemed so pressing and impossible to resolve will be dwarfed by the profound faith that comes from a relationship with Christ. 

 

To those who are looking to for ways to disprove the existence of God or the claims of Jesus, I say "go ahead".  

Many before you have journeyed down that road only to find themselves believers in the end.

 

John 8:31-32

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”

 

John 14:6-7

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  If you really know me, you will know my Father as well.’” 

 

Colossians 2:2-3

“My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” 

 

Colossians 1:15-17

“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”