THE MOST ASTOUNDING

CLAIMS EVER MADE

BY A HUMAN BEING

Jesus Christ cannot be simply a good man.

Either He was the world's greatest liar--a very bad man, or

He is the Lord of Heaven and Earth--as He claimed.

You Must Decide. He claims your eternal destiny depends upon Him!

Consider a few of the claims

of Jesus Christ.

"I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no man cometh unto the Father but by Me." John 14:6

In this one statement Jesus claims

to be the only Way to God, the Father, asserting that all others who offer "another way" to God are imposters, liars, and deceivers
to be the Truth, asserting that all others are wrong whose teachings disagree or contradict with His
to be the Life, thus claiming to be the source of all life both here and hereafter
to be the only One who can assure you access to God the Father.

"Verily, verily I say unto you, 'He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life' " John 6:47

In this statement Jesus claims

that believing in Him is the only condition of eternal salvation (An astounding claim)
that salvation will only be given to those who are able and willing to trust Him and Him alone to save them.

"I am the Bread of Life; he that cometh to Me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst." John 6:35

In this statement Jesus claims

to be the all sufficient source and satisfier of life on this earth and in all eternity
to be able and willing to spare any person the eternal unquenchable thirst of hell if that person will come to Him.

"All authority is given unto Me in heaven and in earth." Matthew 28:18

In this verse Jesus claims

to be the Sovereign and Ruler of the universe
to be God since only God has this authority and power.

"All [people] should honor the Son as they honor the Father." John 5:23

(Pure blasphemy if He is not God come in the flesh)

In this statement Jesus claims

that Jesus Christ deserves the same honor, worship, praise, and reverence as God the Father
that He Himself is God because only God is to receive worship.

"I am the Light of the world." John 9:5

In this statement Jesus claims

to be the only One who can shed light upon the perplexing questions about man's origin, identity, purpose, and destiny
to be the only one who can give the light of hope and salvation to this spiritually blind world.

I am the Door, by Me if any man enter in He shall be saved." John 10:9

In this statement Jesus claims

to be the one and only door of salvation from hell
to be willing to save any person who will seek salvation from Him alone.

In view of these claims any thinking person is forced to conclude one of three things about Jesus Christ:*

1. He was a liar
2. He was a lunatic, or
3. He is Lord of heaven and earth.

Which is He? You must decide.

You cannot remain neutral; since Jesus Christ claims that your eternal destiny depends upon what you believe about Him.

______

Consider the

Most Important Claim

of Jesus Christ

"It is finished!" John 19:30

In this last statement of victory, cried out from the cross at the moment of His death, Jesus claims

that He had completely finished paying the horrible sin debt of mankind with His own blood.
(See 1 Peter 2:24; 3:18, Isaiah 53:4-6, Ephesians 1:7)

On the basis of Christ's claim, "It is finished!"---

The Apostle Paul concludes ... that salvation is now offered to us as a free gift since Christ has finished paying the entire debt.

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ
our Lord." Romans 6:23

The Apostle Peter concludes ... that our sins can now be forgiven through repentance and faith.

" Repent ... and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out." Acts 3:19
"Whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins." Acts 10:43

The Writer of Hebrews concludes that salvation requires

no more sacrifices (such as the mass)
Hebrews 10:10,11,12,14,18;9:12
no more human mediators (such as popes, priests, saints, etc.) Hebrews 4:14-16, 7:24-28, 10:11; 1 Timothy 2:5
no more "works of merit"
Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5

Consider the

Most Astounding Claim

of Jesus Christ

"After three days I will rise again." Matthew 27:63

"From that time forth began Jesus to show unto His disciples how He must ...suffer many things ...and be killed, and be raised again the third day." Matthew 16:21

In this statement recorded over 10 times in the gospels before His death, Jesus Christ claims:

that He would be killed
that He would lie dead, and
that He would rise up from the dead the third day.

"I will rise again"

This claim, whether true or false, would resolve forever the identity of the man Jesus of Nazareth.

If Jesus Christ's body remained dead in the tomb on the third day, this would be proof that He was a fraud, a liar, a deceiver.

However, if Jesus Christ did indeed rise again from the grave on the third day, this would prove that He was truly God come in the flesh.

Would not such a resurrection verify every word and claim that Jesus spoke upon the earth?

Jesus Christ staked the results of His entire life ministry upon the truthfulness of this one statement.

If He were a fraud, this statement would have been the greatest blunder of His life. A quick look in the tomb on the third day would expose His life of deception.

If His body remained dead and decaying in the tomb on the third day, the faith of even the most ardent disciple would be immediately destroyed.

In this statement Jesus Christ makes a claim that no other human being has ever dared to make: not Mohammed, not Buddha, not Confucius, not Abraham, nor any other----that after death His body would not decay, but would rise again. All the millions of Mohammedans, Buddhists, and Jews agree that their founder 's bodies have never come up out of the dust in resurrection.

In view of the extreme importance of the resurrection upon the identity and truthfulness of the One who claimed to be the Lord of all, we need to ask a question about the resurrection----

Did Jesus Christ Truly Rise from the Grave?

Notice 6 proofs of the resurrection to help you decide.

1. God's Word, the Bible, says He did.

"And the angel answered and said unto the women, 'Fear not, for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for He is risen, as He said.'" Matthew 28:5-6

2. The transformed lives of the disciples prove it.

Men who 3 days before were so frightened and cowardly that they denied Him and "all forsook Him and fled" (Matthew 26:56), became so courageous for His name that they were willing to die telling the world of His resurrection. (Read Peter's sermon in Acts 2) Would these men have been willing to be mocked, beaten, imprisoned, and killed for a man who said He would rise from the dead, but did not? You decide.

3. The empty tomb proves the resurrection.

What happened to the body of Jesus Christ?

The disciples could not have stolen the body-it was guarded by a troop of Roman soldiers for whom negligence meant death.
The enemies of Christ would not have stolen the body--their greatest desire was to avoid the thought of a resurrection.

4. The behavior of Christ's enemies proves His resurrection.

For hundreds of years after Christ's death, not one serious enemy of Christianity tried to deny the empty tomb -- they only try to explain what happened to the body.
The crack Roman guard troop charged with sealing and watching the tomb was paid by the Jews to say that Christ's disciples came and stole the body out of the tomb while they slept.(Matthew 28:11-15) But if they were sleeping, how did they know who stole the body?
Could simple frightened disciples sneak past the guards, break the seal, move the rock, remove the body without moving the grave clothes and get away without being noticed? You decide.

5. The appearances of Jesus Christ to many of His disciples after His death proves His resurrection.

"...He rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that
He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that,
He was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that,
He was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all
He was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. -- 1 Corinthians 15:3-8.

6. The transformed lives of Christians in all ages proves the resurrection.

The transformation of drunkards, harlots, profane cursers, drug pushers and users, the violent, the perverted, the immoral, the corrupt, even the most vile sinners, into pure, clean, joyful, honest, upright people who love Jesus Christ above all else, surely is proof that JESUS CHRIST IS VERY MUCH ALIVE and able to transform lives.

YOU MUST DECIDE

Dear friend the choice is yours.

You can reject Him and be eternally condemned.

"...he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." John 3:18

Or, you can admit to Him that you are a lost sinner and ask Him to forgive and save you. He promised He would.

"...him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." John 6:37

Why not take Him at His word?

"Come unto Me, all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:20

"He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life." John 6:47

Why not ask Him now?

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Many other free Bible tracts are available for your help and study. Visit, call or write:

Truth Baptist Church, 60 Burnham Street, South Windsor, CT 06074 860-289-8976;

Sunday Services,

Church Services: 8:30 am; 11:00 am

Sunday School Bible Classes for all ages: 9:45 am;

Evening Sunday Worship: 6:00 pm

Bim Rowley Pastor, 282-0804.

Originally written in 1984. edited, formatted, cpl99c18, 03f15