Five Apologetic Issues That Christians Must Be Prepared to Defend–Number Four *

Is Jesus a Man of History or a Man of Myth?
Three Challenges Christian Apologists Must Refute

Philosophers seek to know ultimate truth. Scientists seek to discover empirical knowledge. Psychologists seek to understand human behavior. These are important pursuits, yet they pale in significance compared to discovering the answer to the ultimate, far-reaching question confronting the human race in every generation: Who is Jesus Christ (Matthew 16:13)?

Other religions besides Christianity try to answer this question. Islam recognizes Jesus as a great prophet. Hindus consider Him to be an avatar, an incarnation of Vishnu. Buddhists call Jesus an enlightened one. New Agers view him as a man who realized his “divine potential.” Jehovah Witnesses claim that Jesus was a lesser god created by Jehovah. Mormons teach that Jesus was the spirit-brother of Lucifer. If these non-Christian religions are correct, if Jesus is a lesser god or a mere human, such as Mohammed, Buddha, or Joseph Smith, Christianity is a sham because only Christians acknowledge Jesus to be God in human flesh, the second member of the Trinity (See John 1:1,14; Phil. 2:6-8.)

C. S. Lewis, in his lucid and compelling style, has expressed the sum and substance of the debate over the person of Jesus Christ more emphatically and uncompromisingly than anyone I’ve read:

I’m trying here to prevent anyone from saying the really silly thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.” That’s the one thing we mustn’t say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said wouldn’t be a great moral teacher. He’d either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he’s a poached egg—or else he’d be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But don’t let us come with any patronising (sic) nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He hasn’t left that open to us. He didn’t intend to. (C. S. Lewis, The Case for Christianity, p. 45)

The best evidence reveals that Jesus Christ is God. Nevertheless, there are three crucial challenges related to the person of Jesus Christ that Christian apologists must be prepared to refute.

First, is the Jesus of history the same person as the Jesus portrayed in the Bible? Liberal critics, typified by the Jesus Seminar, say no. The Jesus of Scripture, they claim, is a fabrication of the early church, presumably in its quest to enhance the community of faith as Christianity emerged. The task of Christian apologetics is to refute these critics and demonstrate that the Jesus of history is also the Christ of faith. The Gospel authors recorded and passed on an accurate portrait of the historical Jesus.

Second, we must establish the reality of the Trinity. Most people believe in some kind of god; only Christians believe that Jesus is God. A true understanding of Jesus requires that people understand and accept the Triune nature of God, where Jesus is revealed as the second member of the godhead and the incarnate Son.

Third, we must demonstrate that Jesus claimed to be God. If He didn’t, why explore this further? The deity of Christ would be an invention of the early Church, and all related doctrines (virgin birth, Trinity, miracles, fulfilled prophecy, Jesus’ resurrection) would have been placed in the Bible by editors contrary to actual history. There would be no Christianity. Thus, we must establish that Jesus offered undeniable proof that He is God in human form. ©

* This article is adapted from Part Four in my book, The Christian Combat Manual; Helps for Defending Your Faith: A Handbook for Practical Apologetics, which is available in most outlets.

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