Just for a few minutes, let’s set aside debates and arguments about things like politics, gender, abortion, evolution, same-sex marriage, and religious freedom – to name a few. What really matters? Everything in life hinges on whether or not Jesus is God. Think about it. We know He existed historically – but what’s the final verdict? Is He a liar, a lunatic, or Lord and God?

Questions are good! But don’t deny the answers if they can be backed up with facts and evidence. Did Jesus tell the truth? Is there one living God or can we make up as many gods as we want?

Maybe you’re someone who thinks Jesus was just a good teacher. Would a good teacher lie or tell the truth? Is the Bible wrong for referring to Jesus as God? What about the men He spent three years with, were they all telling the truth? What about all the miracles they witnessed and the claims Jesus made? What about the resurrection and empty tomb?

They believed Him enough to live for Him and to die for their faith.

Another question is why couldn’t the Jews and Romans who thought they killed Jesus stop Christianity before it started? How could they refute the testimonies of hundreds of eye-witnesses that saw the risen Christ and hundreds more who were healed of diseases? Moreover, the burial tomb of Jesus confirmed by witnesses is still empty. Why couldn’t the authorities find the supposed dead body of Jesus?

The events surrounding the life of Jesus, especially His virgin birth, crucifixion, death, and resurrection either happened or they didn’t. We’re talking about actual history and the fact that if these events documented in detail throughout Scripture really took place, it changes everything – and should affect how we live today.

C.S. Lewis stated:

“You must make your choice: either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us…”

So – is Jesus a Liar? Was Jesus wrong about anything He taught? Did He deceive people for personal gain? Many call Jesus a good person, Rabbi, or a prophet, but – if He didn’t tell the truth, can He really be good?

While the Old Testament prophets wrote, “This is what the Lord says,” Jesus however said, “I tell you the truth.” In addition, prophets spoke for God, but Jesus consistently spoke as God. The Jews knew exactly what He meant because on several occasions, they tried to kill Him for claiming deity and equality with God.

Was He a Lunatic? Have you read what Jesus actually taught? He was pretty bold and controversial! For one thing, He declared to the Pharisees that He existed before Abraham (John 8:58)! Jesus made twenty-three “I Am” claims and used seven major metaphors such as, “I am the light of the world… the bread of life… the good shepherd… the resurrection and the life.” 

Is Jesus Lord then? In the face of overwhelming evidence, (archaeology, fulfilled prophecy, miracles, ancient history, and eye-witness testimony) no one in all history has successfully proven Him wrong. If Jesus spoke the truth, then there are tremendous consequences for not believing in Him! For one thing, He promised to return one Day to judge the living and the dead. He also talked about heaven and hell as actual places, and the need for people to confess our sins and be saved.

Truths about Jesus Christ revealing He is GOD

• Jesus was with God in the beginning, (John 1:1)
• Jesus is equal with God, (Phil. 2:5-11)
• He was born of a virgin; became a man, (Matt. 1:18, Jn. 1:14)
• He forgives sins, (Mark 2:10)
• He performed miracles, (John 10:32)
• He is one with the Father, (John 10:30)
• Jesus came from the Father, (John 16:28)
• He is the Christ, (Mark 14:61-62)
• He is the Messiah, (John 4:25-26)
• Jesus came to give spiritual life, (John 10:10)
• He gives the right to become God’s children, (John 1:12)
• Jesus bestows eternal life, (John 10:28)
• Jesus became man, (Philippians 2:5-11)
• Jesus is fully God, (Philippians 2:5-11)
• His death was a ransom for our sins (Matthew 20:28)
• Jesus died for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8)
• Jesus rose from the dead, (Luke 24:46, Acts 2:24)
• He ascended to Heaven and is at God’s right hand, (Mark 16:19)

Colossians 1:13-17 states:

For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions 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.

And in Col. 2:9-10,

…In Christ, all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.

Those of us who believe need to turn from the world’s ways back to God, stop conforming to the world or playing church, and submit to the authority of Christ. 

If Jesus was in fact the predicted Messiah, then the Bible is true and all other gods must be false. There are many paths, but every other way of salvation won’t work out in the end. Jesus overcame death and the grave, and His resurrection proves Jesus is the only way to the Father. If you’ve been following a different god or another “pathway,” don’t put off this decision to repent of your sins and trust Christ with your life. Do this while there’s still time!

*Originally published by Freedom Project Media