Apologetics - VIII

"CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS"
The New Testament: Truth Or Lie?

Up to this point I have tried to demonstrate the following FACTS. That Jesus actually lived and is a real historical person. That the New Testament has good reasons to be considered as a RELIABLE HISTORICAL DOCUMENT. It was circulated soon after the events took place. Archaeology confirms the New Testament record in every area that can be checked. The bibliographical test gives us every reason to believe that what we have today is what was written by the original authors.

But what are we to do with the testimony of the New Testament concerning the miracles of Jesus, and the report of His resurrection from the dead? Archaeology cannot confirm or deny the truthfulness of such things. Each of us must decide whether the New Testament at this point is telling the TRUTH, or that a LIE was carefully orchestrated by the eight writers of the New Testament!
But are these the only alternatives? That the New Testament is either telling the truth or is a carefully orchestrated lie? YES! To understand why, consider let us consider why there are only two alternatives.

The writers of the New Testament leave us no other alternative! As Paul explained in his letter to the Corinthians, either Jesus rose from the dead, or he and other "eyewitnesses" are in fact "false witnesses" - 1 Co 15:14-15 "And if Christ wasn't raised to life, our message is worthless, and so is your faith. If the dead won't be raised to life, we have told lies about God by saying that he raised Christ to life, when he really did not." Peter, also, states that either the events (like the transfiguration) occurred as described by the "eyewitnesses", or they are "cunningly devised fables"! - 2 Pe 1:16-18 "When we told you about the power and the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, we were not telling clever stories that someone had made up. But with our own eyes we saw his true greatness. God, our great and wonderful Father, truly honored him by saying, "This is my own dear Son, and I am pleased with him." We were there with Jesus on the holy mountain and heard this voice speak from heaven."

We cannot say they might have been sincerely deceived! Especially in reference to the resurrection of Jesus. They claim they ate and drank with Him afterwards - Ac 10:39-41 "We all saw what Jesus did both in Israel and in the city of Jerusalem. Jesus was put to death on a cross. But three days later, God raised him to life and let him be seen. Not everyone saw him. He was seen only by us, who ate and drank with him after he was raised from death. We were the ones God chose to tell others about him" They claim they saw and touched Him - 1 Jn 1:1-4 "The Word that gives life was from the beginning, and this is the one our message is about. Our ears have heard, our own eyes have seen, and our hands touched this Word. The one who gives life appeared! We saw it happen, and we are witnesses to what we have seen. Now we are telling you about this eternal life that was with the Father and appeared to us. We are telling you what we have seen and heard, so that you may share in this life with us. And we share in it with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. We are writing to tell you these things, because this makes us truly happy." They leave us NO ROOM for saying they were but MISTAKEN or DECEIVED! Some skeptics have tried to offer this as an alternative, that perhaps in their grief and loss over the crucifixion of Jesus they "hallucinated" or saw grief-inspired "visions" of Jesus. But "hallucinations" and "visions" are highly individualistic experiences. One person might see the hallucination or vision, but several or many people don't see the same vision at the same time! As outlined in the gospels and also 1 Co 15:3-8 "I told you the most important part of the message exactly as it was told to me. That part is: Christ died for our sins, as the Scriptures say. He was buried, and three days later he was raised to life, as the Scriptures say. Christ appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. After this, he appeared to more than five hundred other followers. Most of them are still alive, but some have died. He also appeared to James, and then to all of the apostles. Finally, he appeared to me, even though I am like someone who was born at the wrong time.", the resurrection appearances of Jesus were often witnessed by many at the same time (over 500 on one occasion! So they leave us no choice; either the New Testament is a "Book Of Truth," or it is a "Book of Lies."

Which is more logical, more rational, to believe? To help us decide, consider the implications if the New Testament is not true. First, consider the implication that the New Testament is a carefully orchestrated lie! We have seen the great accuracy they used in describing events, places, and people (as confirmed by archaeology) - Lk 2:1-5. If the record of miracles and the resurrection is false, then they very carefully intertwined fact and fiction! -- IS IT REASONABLE TO BELIEVE THAT?

The next implication would be that the authors suffered extreme hardship for what they knew was a lie! Many people will lie if they can get something out of it (such as money or power). But what did the apostles get out of it? - cf. 1 Co 4:9-13 "It seems to me that God has put us apostles in the worst possible place. We are like prisoners on their way to death. Angels and the people of this world just laugh at us. Because of Christ we are thought of as fools, but Christ has made you wise. We are weak and hated, but you are powerful and respected. Even today we go hungry and thirsty and don't have anything to wear except rags. We are mistreated and don't have a place to live. We work hard with our own hands, and when people abuse us, we wish them well. When we suffer, we are patient. When someone curses us, we answer with kind words. Until now we are thought of as nothing more than the trash and garbage of this world." What did Paul get for holding to his testimony? - cf. 2 Co 11:24-29 "Five times the Jews gave me thirty-nine lashes with a whip. Three times the Romans beat me with a big stick, and once my enemies stoned me. I have been shipwrecked three times, and I even had to spend a night and a day in the sea. During my many travels, I have been in danger from rivers, robbers, my own people, and foreigners. My life has been in danger in cities, in deserts, at sea, and with people who only pretended to be the Lord's followers. I have worked and struggled and spent many sleepless nights. I have gone hungry and thirsty and often had nothing to eat. I have been cold from not having enough clothes to keep me warm. Besides everything else, each day I am burdened down, worrying about all the churches. When others are weak, I am weak too. When others are tricked into sin, I get angry." How do we know they really suffered this hardship? The fact that the letters of the New Testament were even saved! For example, consider the letters 1 & 2 Corinthians. These letters are filled with rebuke of the Corinthians. The Corinthians would have every reason not to save these letters which exposed their faults. The Corinthians had first hand knowledge as to whether the apostles and Paul really suffered the hardship spoken of in their letters. If they knew the accounts of such hardship to be false, they would have quickly destroyed these letters written by a liar who embarrasingly wrote about their problems! So especially the author of half the books of the New Testament (Paul) suffered extreme hardship for a lie, if the New Testament is not true -- IS IT LOGICAL TO BELIEVE THAT?

The authors who were martyred knew they were dying for a lie! History and tradition record that, JAMES was stoned to death, PAUL was beheaded and PETER was crucified. If the New Testament is a lie, they went to their deaths KNOWING they were dying for a lie! -- IS IT RATIONAL TO BELIEVE THAT?
In suffering and dying for a lie, they went against everything Jesus and they themselves taught, if indeed the New Testament is not true! "But let your 'yes' be 'yes', and your 'no' be 'no'." - JESUS (Mt 5:37) "Therefore, putting away lying, each one speak truth with his neighbor..." - PAUL (Ep 4:25) "Therefore, laying aside all malice, all guile, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking" - PETER (1 Pe 2:1) -- DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO BELIEVE THAT?

In fact, the book with the world’s highest standard and loftiest goals was composed by liars, frauds, and deceivers if indeed the New Testament is a lie! What book presents a higher standard of love and morality than the New Testament? For example, Jesus' "Sermon On The Mount" (Mt 5-7) and Paul's "Discourse On Love" (1 Co 13) -- CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?

This is what you MUST believe if you do not believe the New Testament when it speaks of the miracles and resurrection of Jesus Christ, that it is a carefully orchestrated lie! The authors suffered extreme hardship for what they KNEW was a lie! Those authors who were martyred KNEW they were dying for a lie! In suffering and dying for a lie, they went against everything Jesus and they themselves taught! And somehow, these liars, frauds, and deceivers came up with a book containing the world's highest standard morality and loftiest goals!
I am convinced that those who do not believe the New Testament are those who have never read the New Testament carefully. They are not aware of the evidence which supports it as a historical document. They have not considered the logical implications of simply regarding it as a mixture of fact and fiction! But to those who will read it, I believe that they will find that it has "the ring of truth" to it. They will also find that it will produce the faith necessary to believe in Jesus (cf. Ro 10:17), and through such faith
find eternal life (cf. Jn 20:30-31)!

There is a saying: "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink." What I have tried to do is remove any obstacles that might hinder anyone from drinking of "the water of life" (i.e., the New Testament) But no one can present enough evidence to FORCE someone to read and/or believe the New Testament if they are determined not to! Have you read the New Testament? Even more important, have you OBEYED the New Testament?

The evidences supporting the Christian faith are numerous and this study has only skimmed the surface. For a more in depth study on this subject, I recommend beginning with the following books:
EVIDENCE THAT DEMANDS A VERDICT, Vol. I (Josh McDowell, Here's Life
Publishers, San Bernadino, California, 1986, 388 pages)
THE NEW TESTAMENT DOCUMENTS: Are They Reliable? (F. F. Bruce,
Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1975, 120 pages)
Compiled from and used by permission
The Executable Outlines Series, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2000
Used by permission (JMN)