I love the detective-like approach that cold-case detective J. Warner Wallace brings to Christian apologetics! Wallace presents reasonable evidence to lead to a reasonable faith in the biblical claims about Jesus. A quick read to prepare you for Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday is Alive.
The material in this short 48-page booklet is taken from Wallace’s book Cold-Case Christianity, and is a just-the-facts look at the resurrection account of Jesus Christ. This booklet will prepare you to give a good answer to anyone who asks you about your faith.
These booklets are sold in a 10-pack, so buy a pack and pass them out to your friends who want to learn how to defend their Christian faith, or give one to a friend or coworker who is still skeptical about the accounts in the Bible surrounding Christ’s death and resurrection. All who read Alive will learn something they didn’t know before.
To be honest, if someone hasn’t heard the biblical account of the life of Jesus Christ before, it can sound quite fantastic! Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, performed miracles no one had seen before, died a horrific martyr’s death, was raised back to life three days later, and then ascended back into heaven until He returns to Earth again.
But as fantastic as this sounds, there is still enough evidence to reasonably believe it’s all true. An unreasonable faith believes in something in spite of the evidence; a blind faith believes in something without any evidence; and reasonable faith believes in something because of the evidence.
The Bible gives us eyewitness testimony about the life of Jesus which we can matter-of-factly evaluate.
In a modern-day court of law, eyewitness testimony is evaluated on…
…the determination that the witnesses were actually present.
…the ability to corroborate their testimony.
…the consistency of their testimony over time.
…any biases they have that would cause them to exaggerate or misrepresent their testimony.
Let’s consider the testimony of the four Gospel writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
(1) Were The Eyewitnesses Present?
Luke is considered a credible historian, even by modern standards. He wrote the book of Acts following the ascension of Jesus into Heaven. Because he did not mention three major events in Jewish history (the Jewish uprising, the Roman siege of Jerusalem in response to that uprising, and the Roman destruction of the temple), we can determine that Acts was written before 61 AD.
Luke wrote the Gospel that bears his name before he wrote Acts. The Apostle Paul referenced portions of Luke’s Gospel in letters we can date by Paul’s Roman imprisonment, which means Luke was written prior to 53-57 AD.
Luke uses the Gospel of Mark as one of his references, which means Mark was probably written in 45-50 AD, just 10-15 years after the events of Christ’s life.
Mark was closely associated with the Apostle Peter, who was most assuredly Mark’s “source” in writing his Gospel, and Peter was one of the original twelve apostles called by Jesus.
Matthew and John were both apostles of Jesus, living and working closely with Jesus for over three years.
(2) Is Their Testimony Corroborated?
Archeological finds continually demonstrate the accuracy of the people, titles, places and details the Gospel writers mention.
Outside—or extra-biblical—sources like Josephus (a Jewish historian who wanted to preserve the purity of Judaism), Tacitus (a Roman historian), and Mara Bar-Serapion (a Syrian historian)—all who wrote between 40-70 AD—affirm things like where Jesus lived, the miracles He performed, the manner of His death, His resurrection, and the changed lives of people who believed in Jesus Christ.
In addition, Paul wrote of the “five hundred of the brothers” who were also eyewitnesses to the resurrected Christ (1 Corinthians 15:3-8).
(3) Has Their Testimony Remain Unchanged Over Time?
The history and accuracy of the scribes had already been demonstrated in the preservation and transmission of the Old Testament over a period of 1400 years.
These same scribal techniques were not only used in the transmission of the New Testament, but in subsequent years the Masoretic scribes became even more meticulous in the techniques they used.
The “chain of custody” of evidence can be absolutely traced from the Gospel authors, to their students, and to the writings of the Church Fathers.
In fact into the third-century AD, the writings of the Church Fathers contain so many direct quotations from the New Testament, that we can almost completely reconstruct the New Testament from their writings.
(4) Is Their Testimony Unbiased?
These eyewitnesses didn’t gain anything financially by their testimony. In fact, many of them lost or gave up all their possessions to tell others about Jesus.
They didn’t gain political power or influence that could save their own lives. All of the original apostles (except John) died a gruesome martyrs’ death.
In short, they had nothing to gain by making up and reporting a false story about Jesus.
All of these points make it reasonable to believe the evidence presented in the Bible about Jesus Christ is true. Check out this video where I elaborate a little more on each of these points—
If you live in the Cedar Springs area and don’t have a home church, I would love for you to visit with us Easter Sunday morning at 10:30am. We’ll be examining the evidence for Christ’s resurrection from the dead. Click here to get more details.
“Ah, what a thing is prayer! The simplest form of speech—such as even a child could utter—yet the highest and divinest of all utterances; such as the Holy Spirit alone can enable us to give fourth.” —Horatius Bonar
“When God feels distant, remember the Christmas story. When you feel alone, unloved, or unlovable, remember that God loves you. And He travelled a great distance to be close to you. Why? Because He loves to be with the ones He loves!” —Max Lucado
“Do you ever take a moment to pray but feel like you stumble out of the gate? Do you have trouble finding the words when it comes time to bow your head? Remember, the One who hears your prayers is your Daddy. You don’t need to wow him with eloquence. Jesus downplayed the importance of words in prayers. We tend to do the opposite. The more words the better. The better words the better. … Just as a happy child cannot mis-hug, the sincere heart cannot mis-pray.” —Max Lucado
“Nobody ever outgrows Scripture; the book widens and deepens with our years.” – Charles Spurgeon
Far too many school administrators and teachers think they are limited by the so-called “separation of church and state.” Here’s a post from Eric Buehrer you should share with any of your friends who work in the public school system.
John Stonestreet says, “Remember when people laughed about ‘death panels’?” Check out Who decides to end a life?
Frank Turek asks, “How do we fix a world filled with murder, rape, betrayal, adultery, fraud, theft, sexual exploitation, pornography, bullying, abortion, terrorism, cheating, lying, child abuse, racism, assault, drugs, robbery, and countless other evils?” He says we may not like the answer.
“To fulfill God’s destiny for your life, you likely don’t have to do more; you have to do less. … Enjoy the Christmas season. Wrap the presents. Prepare your home in a festive way. Make memories with your family. But don’t let this Christmas pass without spending some time at Jesus’ feet. Long after everything else fades from this Christmas, worshiping Jesus is all that will truly last.” —Rick Warren
“Holidays in America have come to be regarded as entitlements. They’re all about us, seasons of diversion, distraction, self-indulgence, and time off work. Even the great religious celebrations of the national calendar—Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter—are regarded by most Americans as opportunities to get some good bargains and enjoy a little time for relaxation, not for spiritual reflection and renewal, but just for doing whatever we want. Sort of like the way most Christians observe the Lord’s Day.” —T.M. Moore
“I am convinced many Christians today are troubled for the same reason Asa was [2 Chronicles 16:1-9]. They have war in their souls because they have traded faith for self-reliance. But the fact is, there is no way a follower of Jesus can have faith in any other source and not be troubled.” —David Wilkerson
“People who are exercised and preoccupied with such things as how the star worked and how the Red Sea split and how the manna fell and how Jonah survived the fish and how the moon turns to blood are generally people who have what I call a mentality for the marginal. You do not see in them a deep cherishing of the great central things of the gospel—the holiness of God, the ugliness of sin, the helplessness of man, the death of Christ, justification by faith alone, the sanctifying work of the Spirit, the glory of Christ’s return and the final judgment. They always seem to be taking you down a sidetrack with a new article or book. There is little centered rejoicing.” —John Piper
“Whether one makes the observation light-heartedly or in all seriousness, one must observe that, when the male body unites for procreation with the female, the pleasure that goes along with it is understood to be in accordance with nature, but that when male joins with male, or female with female, it is outside the bounds of nature. This outrage was first done by people whose desire for pleasure was without self-control.” —Plato. This agrees with what the Bible says in Romans 1:26-27.
Seth Godin has some insight on whining—“Before starting, a question: Will it help? Like holding a grudge, or like panicking, whining rarely helps. If anything, any of the three make it far less likely that you’ll make progress solving the problem that has presented itself. And, like knuckle cracking, it’s best enjoyed alone.”
[VIDEO] Bobby Conway asks Lenny Esposito how to handle the claim “The Bible has contradictions in it”—
“Shall we spend our time in those things which are offensive to Him [Jesus Christ]? Shall we not rather do all we can to promote His glory, and act according to His command? O my dear brethren, be found in the ways of God; let us not disturb our dear Redeemer by any irregular proceedings; and let me beseech you to strive to love, fear, honor and obey Him, more than ever you have done yet; let not the devil engross your time, and that dear Savior who came into the world on your accounts, have so little. O be not so ungrateful to Him who has been so kind to you! What could the Lord Jesus Christ have done for you more than He has? Then do not abuse His mercy, but let your time be spent in thinking and talking of the love of Jesus, who was Incarnate for us, who was born of a woman, and made under the law, to redeem us from the wrath to come.” —George Whitefield, from a sermon “The True Way Of Keeping Christmas”
Are we connected on Twitter? How about on YouVersion (I am user craig_owens)? If you use either of these great social media resources, let’s connect there too.
“If then, Christian, you believe the gospel to be ‘glad tidings’ (Luke 1:19; 8:1), show that you believe it, by lighting up your face with a smile.” —Charles Bridges
“God’s yardstick for measuring faithfulness is how faithful you are with your own gifts. You are not responsible for the nature of your gift. But you are responsible for how you use it!” —Max Lucado
From Live Action: “Extremists have made the 2016 election about attacking reproductive rights,” Cecile Richards says in the video. “Enough is enough.” Yes, Ms. Richards—enough IS enough:
when it comes to the slaughter of preborn babies in the womb. (327,653 reported in their 2013-2014 annual report)
when it comes to harvesting their body parts for profit.
when it comes to $528 million tax dollars annually to the abortion chain while Planned Parenthood directors receive six digit salaries.
when it comes to Planned Parenthood pushing sexual deviancy on teens.
when Planned Parenthood covers up the sexual abuse of young girls.
when Planned Parenthood names its highest award after its founder, Margaret Sanger, a known Klan speaker and supporter of racist eugenics.
of ambulances summoned to Planned Parenthood due to abortion complications.
of the silence when Planned Parenthood leaves a Black woman on the table to bleed to death after an abortion.
“God never says ‘no’ to us unless ‘no’ will make us ultimately happier.” —Jon Bloom
“You may remember the Old Testament story of the Israelite spies sent to scout out the Promised Land. They came back saying, ‘Yes, it’s a land flowing with milk and honey. But it’s also full of giants and walled-up cities. We’re not able to go up against these people. Compared to them, we’re mere grasshoppers’ (see Numbers 13). Now, these men didn’t accuse God. They never said, ‘God isn’t able. He isn’t strong enough.’ They dared not voice such unbelief. Instead, they focused on themselves, saying, ‘We’re not able. We’re like little bugs in our enemies’ sight.’ Yet that is not humility. And it isn’t innocent, harmless talk. Rather, it’s an affront to the One who is the Light of the world, who commands us to believe, ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me’ (Philippians 4:13).” —David Wilkerson
“The voice of God indeed daily calls to us; calls to the world to abandon sins and seek the Kingdom of God wholeheartedly.” —C.S. Lewis
“Any fixing of the mind on old evils beyond what is absolutely necessary for repenting our own sins and forgiving those of others is certainly useless and usually bad for us.” —C.S. Lewis
“If I pay my debts in gold, no man can blame me because I do not pay them in silver; and if God gives you spiritual mercies in abundance, instead of temporal ones, He has heard your prayer.” —Charles Spurgeon
“We cannot manipulate God. He makes Himself and His glory known when He will, to whom He will, and in the measure He chooses according to His own pleasure and timing. He is not capricious, and He is not cruel. He waits to make His glory known to those who hope for it when the ‘dosage’ He applies will be precisely appropriate to the need in which we know it. So we must endure at the work of waiting on the Lord, because He knows better than we when and to what extent to bring us into His glory and love.” —T.M. Moore
4 reasons women cannot trust Planned Parenthood: (1) They lie to and manipulate women; (2) their business is death (abortion) not health care; (3) they cover-up rape, incest, and sex trafficking; and (4) they want to sell your aborted baby for profit.
“The time for speaking seldom arrives, the time for being never departs.” —George MacDonald
David Wilkerson has some encouraging words for those in a dark place: “When we’re in the midst of a trial, we must get our eyes off our troubles. In just such times, we need to encourage ourselves, saying, ‘My God can do anything—and He hasn’t forgotten me. He has His eyes on me right now….’” Read more of his post on trusting God here.
And Max Lucado remind us, “We need to know that God is near. We are never alone. In our darkest hour, in our deepest questions, the Lord never leaves us!” Read the rest of his post He Is In Charge.
Tim Elmore writes, “Our society today unwittingly encourages our kids to simply ‘blend in’—to do what’s asked of you, but only what’s asked of you. In fact, we condition them to do the bare minimum requirement to get by, to look for loopholes and shortcuts. As a result, too many of our gifted young athletes, academicians, and other performers carry this ‘good enough’ mindset with them. They are fine with being ‘average.’” Read the rest of Tim’s post here, and check out a poem I shared earlier about being average.
“‘God works for those who wait for Him’ (Isaiah 64:4). The proper connotation of saying God works for me is that I am bankrupt and need a bailout. I am weak and need someone strong. I am endangered and need a protector. I am foolish and need someone wise. I am lost and need a Rescuer. ‘God works for me’ means I can’t do the work.” —John Piper
“Pure holy simplicity confounds all the wisdom of this world and the wisdom of the flesh.” —Francis of Assisi
The Cedar Springs Post has a nice article about our residents which are featured in the Heart of West Michigan’s ArtPrize. Glad our town is so well represented!
I love the detective-like approach that cold-case detective J. Warner Wallace brings to Christian apologetics! Wallace presents reasonable evidence to lead to a reasonable faith in the biblical claims about Jesus. A quick read to prepare you for Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday is Alive. 
Craig T. Owens 