Building On An Evidentiary Faith In Jesus As Lord And Savior
Religion is often seen as a faith that requires no proof or evidence; however, for those who choose to follow Jesus as Lord and Savior, there are facts and evidence to back up their faith. Building an evidentiary faith in Jesus is essential for not only understanding the Christian narrative but also for living it out through your life. In this blog post, we will explore the value of building an evidentiary faith in Jesus Christ. We will talk about what evidence supports a belief in Him and why it’s important to have this assurance. By the end of it all, you’ll hopefully come away with a greater understanding of your own personal relationship with Jesus – one rooted in fact and evidence. Evidentiary faith can move one from a “believer” to one who knows with total certainty.
Defining Terms: Faith, Belief, and Evidence
When it comes to having faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, there are three key terms that are often used interchangeably: faith, belief, and evidence. While all three of these concepts are important when it comes to our relationship with Christ, it is important to understand the distinct differences between them.
Faith is often defined as a confident belief or trust in someone or something. When it comes to our faith in Jesus Christ, this means having a confident belief in Him as our Lord and Savior. We put our trust in Him to lead us and guide us through this life.
Belief, on the other hand, is typically defined as a mental acceptance of something as true. In the context of our faith, this means accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This is more than just acknowledging that He exists; it is believing that He died for our sins and rose again so that we may have eternal life.
Evidence, finally, is anything that can be used to support a claim or assertion. In the context of our faith, evidence would be things like the Bible, testimonies of those who have been transformed by Christ, answered prayers, etc. It is the proof that we have that Jesus Christ is indeed who He says He is.
Building our faith on the evidence
When we put our faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are building on an evidentiary foundation. The evidence for who Jesus is and what He has done is overwhelming. From the eyewitness accounts in the Gospels to the impact of His life and ministry on history, there is more than enough evidence to support our faith in Him.
When we build our faith on the evidence, we can be confident that we are putting our trust in someone who is worthy of it. We can know that we are following a savior who is supported by facts, not just blind faith. And when we encounter challenges to our faith, we can stand firm knowing that we have a solid foundation to fall back on.
The Evidential Value of the Gospels
The Gospels provide a unique and valuable record of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. They were written by eyewitnesses or those who had access to eyewitness accounts, and they provide an accurate historical record of Jesus’ ministry and teachings. The Gospels are also valuable for their spiritual insights into the nature of Jesus Christ and His relationship with God the Father. In terms of eyewitnesses, distance between events and writings, number of copies known to exist and many other facts, the Biblical evidence of historical Jesus is beyond almost every other historical figure, prior to and after the advent of Jesus.
The Evidential Value of Christ’s Resurrection
The Evidential Value of Christ’s Resurrection:
While the Bible is not a book of evidence, there are many places where its writers appeal to evidence to make their case. The New Testament writers certainly did this in their efforts to show that Jesus was who he claimed to be and that his death and resurrection were real historical events. In 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, the Apostle Paul listed a number of people who saw the resurrected Christ and then he offered this challenge:
Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain… And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone. (1 Corinthians 15:12-19)
Paul’s point is that the Christian faith stands or falls on the reality of the resurrection. If Jesus was not raised from the dead, then Christianity is a false religion based on a lie. But if Jesus was raised from the dead, as the eyewitnesses attest, then Christianity is true and offers us hope both for this life and for eternity.
The bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead may be one of the best-attested facts in ancient history.
Other Important Considerations in Assessing the Evidence for Christianity
There are a number of other important considerations in assessing the evidence for Christianity. Here are some of the most important:
-The credibility of the New Testament documents. The New Testament documents are reliable historical sources that provide eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.
-The testimony of early church fathers. The early church fathers were disciples of the apostles and provided firsthand accounts of their teachings.
-The archaeological evidence. Archaeological discoveries have corroborated many details mentioned in the New Testament documents.
-The fulfilled prophecies. There are over 300 prophecies about Jesus in the Old Testament that were all fulfilled in his life, death, and resurrection.
-The changed lives. Countless people have had their lives transformed by encountering Jesus Christ. This is perhaps the best evidence for Christianity – that it has changed people’s lives for the better.
How to grow our evidentiary faith
In order to grow our evidentiary faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior, we must firstly understand what it means to have faith in Jesus. Faith in Jesus is not simply a mental assent to certain doctrines or ideas about who Jesus is; rather, it is a personal relationship with the living Christ. When we have faith in Jesus, we are putting our trust in Him as our Lord and Savior – He is the one who saves us from our sins and gives us eternal life.
It is important to remember that having faith in Jesus does not mean that we will never have doubts or questions. Doubts and questions are a normal part of the human experience, and they can actually help us to grow our faith if we allow them. What matters is how we respond to our doubts and questions. Do we allow them to cause us to question everything we believe, or do we turn to God in prayer and ask for His help?
There are many ways that we can grow our evidentiary faith in Jesus. Here are just a few:
1) Read the Bible on a regular basis. The Bible is God’s Word, and it contains everything we need to know about who He is and what He has done for us. As we read it, God speaks to us through His Word and helps us to grow in our understanding of who He is.
2) Pray on a regular basis. Prayer is how we communicate with God.
3) Research the work of academics such as Gary Habernas, journalists such as Lee Stroebel (The Case For Christ) and books such as Cold Case Christianity.
Conclusion
Building an evidential faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior requires effort on our part. We need to be willing to pursue knowledge, dig deeper into the scriptures, and meditate often upon God’s promises for us. With dedication and hard work, we can grow a deeply rooted faith that will sustain us through difficult times, provide comfort when facing trials, and lead us closer to our Heavenly Father each day. Let us use this time wisely to build on the foundation of our faith so that we may always have evidence of God’s goodness in our lives.
