So What's the Problem?‏

Hello Friends! 

A well-known Christian philosopher, Francis Schaeffer, was once asked this question: If you had only one hour on a train to tell someone about Christ, what would you do? He answered:

“I would spend forty-five minutes showing him the problem, and fifteen minutes showing him the solution

Do you have a problem? Perhaps it is not so easy for you to see. If you have good relationships, make good grades, have a family that loves you, and feel hope about the future, then you may not think there is anything that needs to be “fixed” in your life. But there is. Your problem is with God, and it is serious enough to cost you everything good for all of eternity – eternal separation from God!

 

You may not feel your problem right now. A man may be condemned as guilty and yet not feel guilty, just as a person might have cancer and not feel it or even know about. There is real or “legal” guilt and there is emotional guilt. But regardless how your emotions are experiencing your dilemma, God makes it clear that you have an insurmountable problem…. 

So What's the Problem?

The Word of God, the Bible, uses several words and phrases to help us understand the problem.

First, it says you are dead – not sick, not desperately sick, not sick to the point of death – but DEAD!

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins…. – Ephesians 2:1

The old analogy that claims salvation is likened to a Christian throwing a lifeline out to a floundering, drowning man is not the whole truth. It is much worse than you thought. No, you're not drowning – you're already face down on the ocean floor…

 

Second, the Bible says that you are BLIND:

The god of this age (Satan) has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ – 2 Corinthians 4:4

Just as a person in a cave cannot see his hand in front of him when there is no light, so you cannot see Christ without God shining his light on you:

For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ – 2 Corinthians 4:6

In a world of sightless people, everyone imagines his own inward reality. However, they cannot see the truth unless God gives them sight. They see lies, but they cannot see truth.

 

The Bible also says that you are LOST!

 

In the New Testament book of Luke chapter 15, Jesus Christ described your “lostness” by telling the stories of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. There is nothing more hopeless than being lost. Like the man in a blinding blizzard, every turn seems right for the moment – but all is futile.

 

The Bible goes on to say that you are CONDEMNED. This means that you are under the judgment of God for your sin and disobedience against Him.

Whoever does not believe stands condemned already…. – John 3:18

God condemns every unbelieving person to an eternity in hell, even if he or she is in the remotest part of the world. He is right and just in doing so, because unbelievers have sinned against whatever knowledge of God they have and He cannot look upon sin (Please read the New Testament book of Romans chapter 1 for God’s full explanation)

What I am trying to say is that you do indeed have a problem, and it is the type of problem that can only be solved from the outside. As a dead person you cannot make yourself alive; as a blind person you cannot give yourself sight; as a lost person you cannot find your way out; and as a condemned person, you cannot absolve yourself from your actual guilt. You have a problem and you really don't have a solution unless it comes from somewhere else besides you.

 

Trying to overcome your problem on your own is a useless exercise. The famous preacher of the 1700s, George Whitefield, once said:

"What! Get to heaven on your own strength? Why, you might as well try to climb to the moon on a rope of sand!"

Like trying to jump one hundred foot hurdles, you simply cannot accomplish what God requires. So, how does God solve your problem?

First, He sets His heart on you from eternity past. Think about that! What an exciting thing to know that God has forever loved people just like you:

I have loved you with an everlasting love – Jeremiah 31:3

Next, He sends His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to cover the cost of your sins by dying on the cross in your place as final payment:

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners Christ died for us – Romans 5:8

In Christ's death the full payment for all the sins – past, present & future – of all who come to Him are fully met. In this way God's justice is satisfied and you are fully pardoned. This is why Christ is called the Savior of the world.

 

Finally, He pursues you by His Holy Spirit, convicting you of your sinfulness, teaching you about the nature of salvation, and drawing you to Jesus Christ's beauty and worthiness (see John 16:9-11; John 6:44 & John 6:45). Christ becomes absolutely irresistible to you. 

The Bible teaches that even the faith you exercise is a gift from Him:

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,  not of works, lest anyone should boast – Ephesians 2:8-9

You have a problem and God has the solution – the only solution. The God-man, Jesus Christ!

…Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures –  1 Corinthians 15:3-4

The people who have received God’s solution are called Christians – believers. They look away from themselves to Jesus Christ. They believe that God has loved them from eternity past. They believe that the payment of Jesus Christ's death on the cross for sins was for them. They find Jesus Christ irresistible and following Him the greatest privilege of all life has to offer. They have faith in Jesus Christ and what He has done for them. They trust Jesus Christ, looking outside of themselves to Him alone. They believe.

Now to you who believe, this Stone (Jesus Christ) is precious – 1 Peter 2:7

Do you believe?

Time is running out. Receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior now before your heart is so hardened, you are unable – or unwilling – to hear His voice. Please take heed to this warning! Jesus Christ is the ONLY way to the Father! These are His Words:

I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me – John 14:6

Without Jesus Christ's substitutionary death on the Cross of Calvary for your iniquities, you will die in your sins and face the Wrath of God at The Great White Throne Judgment. You will then receive your just sentence – a literal, physical and eternal place of torment, a place known in the Bible as Hell. Heaven will NOT be your final destination apart from Jesus Christ! Please heed this warning – time is running out!

 

If you have any questions about how to become a true follower of Jesus Christ, please contact me, another Christian or a Pastor – but please do not delay... Today is the day of Salvation!

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!

If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com

I love hearing from you. Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!

Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><

Encouraging Concepts

Truth for Today

"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"

Lighthouse Publications <><
"Dedicated to the Never Ending Search for the Creator's calling within You" (TM)

Science Speaks (Part 3 of 3)‏‏

Hello Friends!

Welcome back to our final journey of the excellent book titled Science Speaks. This week we will investigate the third and most famous section of Stoner's book concerning Messianic prophecy. His theme Scripture verse for this section is John 5:39 ~

"Search the Scriptures because... it is these that bear witness of Me."

 
As we will conclude, it will become quite obvious: Jesus Christ is indeed the Messiah - The Son of God…

Science Speaks – Part Three: Messianic Prophecy
 
Mr. Stoner proceeds to select eight of the best known prophecies about the Messiah and calculates the odds of their accidental fulfillment in one person as being 1 in 1017.

Stoner illustrated the meaning of this number. He asked the reader to imagine filling the State of Texas knee deep in silver dollars. Include in this huge number one silver dollar with a black check mark on it. Then, turn a blindfolded person loose in this sea of silver dollars. The odds that the first coin he would pick up would be the one with the black check mark are the same as 8 prophecies being fulfilled accidentally in the life of Jesus.

The point, of course, is that when people say that the fulfillment of prophecy in the life of Jesus was accidental, they do not know what they are talking about. Keep in mind that Jesus did not just fulfill 8 prophecies, He fulfilled 108. The chances of fulfilling 16 are 1 in 1045. When you get to a total of 48, the odds increase to 1 in 10157. Accidental fulfillment of these prophecies is simply beyond the realm of possibility.

When confronted with these statistics, skeptics will often fall back on the argument that Jesus purposefully fulfilled the prophecies. There is no doubt that Jesus was aware of the prophecies and His fulfillment of them. For example, when He got ready to enter Jerusalem the last time, He told His disciples to find Him a donkey to ride so that the prophecy of Zechariah could be fulfilled which said, "Behold, your King is coming to you, gentle, and mounted on a donkey" (Matthew 21:1-5 and Zechariah 9:9).

But many of the prophecies concerning the Messiah could not be purposefully fulfilled - such as the town of His birth (Micah 5:2) or the nature of His betrayal (Psalm 41:9), or the manner of His death (Zechariah 13:6 and Psalm 22:16).

One of the most remarkable Messianic prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures is the one that precisely states that the Messiah will die by crucifixion. It is found in Psalm 22 where David prophesied the Messiah would die by having His hands and feet pierced (Psalm 22:16). That prophecy was written 2,000 years before Jesus was born. When it was written, the Jewish method of execution was by stoning. The prophecy was also written many years before the Romans perfected crucifixion as a method of execution.

Even when Jesus was killed, the Jews still relied on stoning as their method of execution, but they had lost the power to implement the death penalty due to Roman occupation. That is why they were forced to take Jesus to Pilate, the Roman governor, and that's how Jesus ended up being crucified, in fulfillment of David's prophecy.

The bottom line is that the fulfillment of Bible prophecy in the life of Jesus proves conclusively that He truly was God in the flesh. It also proves that the Bible is supernatural in origin.

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!

If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com

I love hearing from you. Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!

Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><

Encouraging Concepts

Truth for Today

"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"

Lighthouse Publications <><
"Dedicated to the Never Ending Search for the Creator's calling within You" (TM)

Science Speaks (Part 2 of 3)‏‏

Hello Friends!

Welcome back to part two of Science Speaks. This week we will investigate the next remarkable section of Mr. Stoner's book in which he compares the Scriptures to actual history to prove Jesus Christ is indeed the Messiah - The Son of God...   

Science Speaks – Part Two: The Accuracy of Prophecy
 

The second section of Stoner's book is entitled "Prophetic Accuracy." This is where the book becomes absolutely fascinating. One by one, he takes major Bible prophecies concerning cities and nations and calculates the odds of their being fulfilled. The first is a prophecy in Ezekiel 26 concerning the city of Tyre. Seven prophecies are contained in this chapter which was written in 590 BC: 

1.     Nebuchadnezzar shall conquer the city (vs. 7-11).

2.     Other nations will assist Nebuchadnezzar (v. 3).

3.     The city will be made like a bare rock (vs. 4 & 14).

4.     It will become a place for the spreading of fishing nets (vs. 5 & 14).

5.     Its stones and timbers will be thrown into the sea (v. 12).

6.     Other cities will fear greatly at the fall of Tyre (v. 16).

7.     The old city of Tyre will never be rebuilt (v. 14).

Four years after this prophecy was given, Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Tyre. The siege lasted 13 years. When the city finally fell in 573 BC, it was discovered that everything of value had been moved to a nearby island.

Two hundred and forty-one years later Alexander the Great arrived on the scene. Fearing that the fleet of Tyre might be used against his homeland, he decided to take the island where the city had been moved to. He accomplished this goal by building a causeway from the mainland to the island, and he did that by using all the building materials from the ruins of the old city. Neighboring cities were so frightened by Alexander's conquest that they immediately opened their gates to him. Since that time, the city of Tyre has remained in ruins and is a place where fishermen spread their nets.

Thus, every detail of the prophecy was fulfilled exactly as predicted. Stoner calculated the odds of such a prophecy being fulfilled by chance as being 1 in 75,000,000, or 1 in 7.5x107. (The exponent 7 indicates that the decimal is to be moved to the right seven places).

Stoner proceeds to calculate the probabilities of the prophecies concerning Samaria, Gaza and Ashkelon, Jericho, Palestine, Moab and Ammon, Edom, and Babylon. He also calculates the odds of prophecies being fulfilled that predicted the closing of the Eastern Gate (Ezekiel 44:1-3), the plowing of Mount Zion (Micah 3:12), and the enlargement of Jerusalem according to a prescribed pattern (Jeremiah 31:38-40).

Combining all these prophecies, he concludes that "the probability of these 11 prophecies coming true, if written in human wisdom, is... 1 in 5.76x1059. Needless to say, this is a number beyond the realm of possibility...

Don’t miss next week’s final edition to this series as we investigate part 3 - of Science Speaks by Peter Stoner! 

 Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!

If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com

I love hearing from you. Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!

Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><

Encouraging Concepts

Truth for Today

"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"

Lighthouse Publications <><
"Dedicated to the Never Ending Search for the Creator's calling within You" (TM)

Science Speaks (Part 1 of 3)‏

Hello Friends!

There is an excellent book authored by Peter Stoner titled Science Speaks. It uses a remarkable illustration to show how Bible prophecy proves that Jesus Christ was truly God in the flesh. The book was first published in 1958 by Moody Press.

Peter Stoner was chairman of the mathematics and astronomy departments at Pasadena City College until 1953 when he moved to Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. There he served as chairman of the science division. At the time he wrote this book, he was professor emeritus of science at Westmont.

The book is divided into three sections. Two relate directly to Bible prophecy. The first section deals with the scientific validity of the Genesis account of creation. This article (part 1) will investigate the first section and the two subsequent articles will cover the other sections (part 2 & 3). With that short introduction, let's get started with the first section…

Science Speaks – Part One: The Genesis Record

Peter Stoner begins with a very interesting observation. He points out that his copy of Young's General Astronomy, published in 1898, is full of errors. Yet, the Bible, written over 2,000 years ago is devoid of scientific error. For example, the shape of the earth is mentioned in Isaiah 40:22. Gravity can be found in Job 26:7. Ecclesiastes 1:6 mentions atmospheric circulation. A reference to ocean currents can be found in Psalm 8:8, and the hydraulic cycle is described in Ecclesiastes 1:7 and Isaiah 55:10. The second law of thermodynamics is outlined in Psalm 102:25-27 and Romans 8:21. And these are only a few examples of scientific truths written in the Scriptures long before they were "discovered" by scientists.

Stoner proceeds to present scientific evidence in behalf of special creation. For example, he points out that science had previously taught that special creation was impossible because matter could not be destroyed or created. He then points out that atomic physics had now proved that energy can be turned into matter and matter into energy.

He then considers the order of creation as presented in Genesis 1:1-13. He presents argument after argument from a scientific viewpoint to sustain the order which Genesis chronicles. He then asks, "What chance did Moses have when writing the first chapter [of Genesis] of getting thirteen items all accurate and in satisfactory order?" His calculations conclude it would be one chance in 31,135,104,000,000,000,000,000 (1 in 31 x 1021). He concludes, "Perhaps God wrote such an account in Genesis so that in these latter days, when science has greatly developed, we would be able to verify His account and know for a certainty that God created this planet and the life on it."

The only disappointing thing about Stoner's book is that he spiritualizes the reference to days in Genesis, concluding that they refer to periods of time of indefinite length. Accordingly, he concludes that the earth is approximately 4 billion years old. In his defense, keep in mind that he wrote this book before the foundation of the modern Creation Science Movement which was founded in the 1960's by Dr. Henry Morris. That movement has since produced many convincing scientific arguments in behalf of a young earth with an age of only 6,000 years.

Peter Stoner's Calculations Regarding Messianic Prophecy

Peter Stoner calculated the probability of just 8 Messianic prophecies being fulfilled in the life of Jesus. As you read through these prophecies, you will see that all estimates were calculated as conservatively as possible.

1. The Messiah will be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).
   The average population of Bethlehem from the time of Micah to the present (1958) divided by the average population of the earth during the same period = 7,150/2,000,000,000 or 2.8x105.
2. A messenger will prepare the way for the Messiah (Malachi 3:1).
   One man in how many, the world over, has had a forerunner (in this case, John the Baptist) to prepare his way?
   Estimate: 1 in 1,000 or 1x103.
3. The Messiah will enter Jerusalem as a king riding on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9).
   One man in how many, who has entered Jerusalem as a ruler, has entered riding on a donkey?
   Estimate: 1 in 100 or 1x102.
4. The Messiah will be betrayed by a friend and suffer wounds in His hands (Zechariah 13:6).
   One man in how many, the world over, has been betrayed by a friend, resulting in wounds in his hands?
   Estimate: 1 in 1,000 or 1x103.
5. The Messiah will be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12).
   Of the people who have been betrayed, one in how many has been betrayed for exactly 30 pieces of silver?
   Estimate: 1 in 1,000 or 1x103.
6. The betrayal money will be used to purchase a potter's field (Zechariah 11:13).
   One man in how many, after receiving a bribe for the betrayal of a friend, has returned the money, had it refused, and then experienced it being used to buy a potter's field?
   Estimate: 1 in 100,000 or 1x105.
7. The Messiah will remain silent while He is afflicted (Isaiah 53:7).
   One man in how many, when he is oppressed and afflicted, though innocent, will make no defense of himself?
   Estimate: 1 in 1,000 or 1x103.
8. The Messiah will die by having His hands and feet pierced (Psalm 22:16).
   One man in how many, since the time of David, has been crucified?
   Estimate: 1 in 10,000 or 1x104.

Multiplying all these probabilities together produces a number (rounded off) of 1x1028. Dividing this number by an estimate of the number of people who have lived since the time of these prophecies (88 billion) produces a probability of all 8 prophecies being fulfilled accidentally in the life of one person. This probability is 1 in 1017 or 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000. That's one in one hundred quadrillion!

Don’t miss next week’s edition as we investigate part 2 of Science Speaks by Peter Stoner! 

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!

If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com

I love hearing from you. Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!

Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><

Encouraging Concepts

Truth for Today

"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"

Lighthouse Publications <><
"Dedicated to the Never Ending Search for the Creator's calling within You" (TM)