The Uniqueness of Christianity
the need for our total dependence upon God for all of our needs the fact that when we get out of the will of God, bad things will happen to us as individuals and as a nation staying in the will of God is always proper and will eventually result in good eventually, all those trusting in Jesus will live for eternity in heaven
These are just a few of the common themes that course through the Bible – there are many more that demonstrate this uniformity and consistency of message that suggest strongly that there was actually only one true writer of the Bible, the Holy Spirit. God led each man to write down those words that He wanted all of mankind to read and to learn about Him… including His plans for us. The New Testament concerns itself with presenting Jesus to the world. As everyone knows, it starts with a little baby being born in Bethlehem which was prophesized in Old Testament times. The four gospels then present the life and teachings of this God-Man Jesus. He tells everyone that He is God, and that everyone should trust in Him and follow Him forevermore. In fact, Jesus states that He is ―the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father but through Me.‖ (John 14:6) Of course, this is quite the statement! In the last section of this treatise, I will present much of the evidence that is in support of this bold claim. Jesus appointed twelve apostles to accompany Him and learn from Him throughout His short three to four year ministry. Upon His horrific death up on the cross, his followers were shocked and confused. They were truly puzzled as to what had just happened. Although He had warned them that He would have to die for all mankind, they never really thought the whole idea through to its logical conclusion. Was this all that would be? This was their Messiah after all! Why hadn‘t He brought in His kingdom at that time? The days went by as they mourned. Day one. Day two. Day three arrived… but, then Jesus did arise from the dead! This incredible event changed history and the world! Due to this wonderful show of power over death, the apostles experienced a markedly changed attitude concerning Jesus and their own lives. When the Holy Spirit came upon them just seven weeks later, they were given the power to change the world for Christ… and they went out into the world and preached the gospel to all people… in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Many of these apostles also wrote concerning Jesus, His life, death and resurrection. Hundreds witnessed His resurrected body. Tens of thousands turned to follow Jesus in that first century. The (the followers of Christ) was born. Christianity was born. This New Testament was written within about a 45 year period (approx. 50-95 A.D.) by some of these apostles. All who wrote the New Testament were either eye witnesses of Jesus and His resurrection or were intimately involved with those who had see the risen Jesus. Over the course of the next few hundred years, the New Testament Church (that is, the Christian Church) grew to be the largest Church in the world. This was done 32