Fact

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:”

-1 Peter 3:15

Dear Christians,

I hope this information is an encouragement to your belief in like it was to me.

I talk a lot about evangelizing, and sharing the good news of the gospel of Christ.

But are you ready to answer a person if they come up and starts attacking our faith in Jesus?

They may ask you this: “Do you choose to believe the Bible?”

If you're a follower of Christ, hopefully you will say “Of course!”

This is a question that many people are asked in school, at work, or with family and friends.

It's a question that while many of us say: “Of course,”

Most Christians don't even know why we do.

So that's the next question they ask:

“Why do you choose to believe the Bible?”

“Hmm.” You think. “Good question.”

Well before I give the answer that I've learned to that question, I'd like to explain WHY it's an important question.

It's important, because as Dr. Dwight Fredrickson explained on our Sunday service, we Christians have Feeling, Faith and Fact.

When our feelings fall, our faith is more inclined to fall.

Fact is what picks up our faith, and faith picks up our feelings.

So by having some facts to fall back on, we are able to know for sure that what we believe is true.

In order to present the gospel, you don't need to have this answer memorized.

But just ask yourself, am “Ready to defend the reason for the hope that's in me?”

That question, can increase someone's faith tremendously,

Or in some very sad cases, young people are asked this question at school, and instead of being ready to answer, they say.... “Ummmm.... I dunno. Never thought about that!”

A few years back, I heard a sermon by Dr. Voddie Baucham, called “Why I Choose To Believe the Bible.”

I highly recommend that you all listen to that!

According to Dr. Baucham, most people answer with one of two responses:

Either 1. I believe the Bible... because my parents taught me.

Or 2. I believe the Bible... because I tried it, and it worked for me.

Dr. Baucham says that we shouldn't ever use those are our answer, because every person involved in any religious belief can say the same thing about whatever they believe.

“What? Well then what else can I say?” Is what I was thinking a couple years ago when I was listening to that sermon.

I'm thankful for Dr. Baucham explaining a passage of Scripture that can answer that question, and also sharing exactly what he says.

2 Peter 1:16-21

^“For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.

We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”

Basically, Dr. Baucham summarized that passage of Scripture into one phrase. Word for word, this is what he says:

“I choose to believe the Bible because it is a reliable collection of historical documents,

written by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses.  

They report supernatural events that took place in fulfillment of specific prophecies,

and they claim to be divine rather than human in origin.”

It's an amazing response that should be studied a bit more than the depth of what I am going to talk about now.

But I am so encouraged to know what we have isn't only Faith and Feeling.

It's Fact.

Thousands of years of history and thousands of detailed prophecies point every “scientific” or “facts” person, (or anyone for that matter) toward Jesus Christ as Lord.

Why do YOU choose to believe the Bible?

Story:

Upon pondering the statistic that such a small percentage of people even know why they believe what they believe, I decided to take action.

I decided to experiment.
At the time, I was attending Kishwaukee Community College. So for every student that I talked to, I simply asked them their beliefs about eternity, and asked “WHY do you believe that?”

Most of the people were Catholic, and Christian, and few said they were atheist. About a third each.

I talked to a few people who were Muslim, or who said “I don't want to talk about it,” or “I don't really care.”

Interestingly, the reason for about 95% of those people's beliefs was:

“That's how I was raised.”

There are 2 things that this discovery did for me.

1. It made me realize the power of the leadership, good, bad, or absence of.
2. It also made me realize that our generation is being brainwashed by the world, and needs to hear the gospel of Christ, and be ready to defend the faith.

Recommendation: Why I Choose To Believe The Bible, Dr. Voddie Baucham http://www.sermonaudio.com/playpopup.asp?SID=530914253

Project 100

I'm going to Florida now, and I'd appreciate your prayers as I share tracts and start a conversation with to 100 people in 1 day, starting off by asking the 1 question of: “What does Easter mean to you?” And then transitioning to the gospel.

Lord willing, I will be able to video tape all the people and post some highlights.

Most importantly, my goal with “Project 100” is to honor and glorify God through sharing the gospel, to encourage other believers, and also to personally draw closer to God. I pray that the hearts of these people will be open to the gospel, and for boldness to proclaim the gospel unashamed.

The Lord bless you all this week!

Love in Christ,

Landon