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To live in a fallen world means we struggle with sin on a daily basis. We experience heartache and pain. We deal with injustice, troubles, losses and falsehood. We witness natural disasters. None of this was God’s original plan for humanity. We fell from our original position in the Garden of Eden. Because of that we now live in a fallen world, and all creation “groans” under the consequences of sin (Romans 8:22). It was through Adam that sin entered the world (Romans 5:12).

In Genesis we read that Adam and Eve, in the Garden of Eden, were forbidden by God to eat from one specific tree. But satan convinced Eve to eat from the tree anyway, using the same trick as he still does nowadays by letting people doubt God's authority and twisting His Word. In Genesis 3 we read how the serpent asks Eve: “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from ANY tree in the garden?” Eve answered the serpent: “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” The serpent replied: “You will not certainly die for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Eve ate from the fruit of the tree and convinced Adam to do the same. They went against God's instructions and because of this they were punished by God in the form of spiritual death, and curses upon their lives. The relationship with God was cut off.

From that point on, every person born has inherited Adam’s sin nature and suffered the same consequences of both spiritual and physical death. Just like Adam and Eve, we are sinners who transgress the Law of God. We are born physically alive but spiritually dead. Physical birth provides us with a sinful human nature; spiritual rebirth provides us with a new nature (Ephesians 4:24). That is why no one will enter the Kingdom of God until they become born again. What this means according to the Bible, you will read further on in this guide.

When people are asked if they think they are a good person, they will likely respond by saying "Yes!", but when we test ourselves to the Ten Commandments (God's moral Law. See: Exodus 20:1-17; Deuteronomy 5:6-21) we can clearly see that we are not good at all. We make the mistake of judging ourselves by OUR own standards, and not by the standards of a holy God who is completely just. Sin is described in the Bible as transgression of the Law of God (1 John 3:4) and rebellion against God (Deuteronomy 9:7; Joshua 1:18).

We're all infected with sin (1 John 3:4). We are born with sin and personally choose to sin (Romans 3:23). Sin begins in the heart (Matthew 12:34; 15:18-20). Sin is what makes us unsaved. Sin is what separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2). It has us on the path to eternal destruction (2 Thessalonians 1:9). All of us have sinned and fallen short of God's glory (Romans 3:23-24). Some common examples of sins we commit include using God's name in vain, sexual immorality, lust, lying, stealing, hatred, mistreating others, vanity, envy, greed, idolatry, witchcraft, divination etc. (Proverbs 6:16-19, Galatians 5:19-21). But we can also sin in the privacy of our own thoughts. God sees everything and His moral standard extends to our thoughts, fantasies and attitudes (Jeremiah 12:3).

God is holy and righteous and the moral Law demanded payment for sin. If we would stand in court for a crime, we will be judged according to that crime. The judge won't let us free simply because we also have done some good things in our lives. Justice requiers a punishment for crimes. The same counts for sin. A holy God can not turn a blind eye on sin or He would not be a just judge but would be corrupt. We can not enjoy fellowship with God when we are still under the weight of our sins and guilty before a holy God.

All sins are equal to God in that any and every sin will keep one out of heaven. A holy God has to punish sin because He is just. However, God is also loving (1 John 4:16) and does not desire anyone to perish. Now that we can see how enslaved we are by sin, let's go to the good news of deliverance (Isaiah 61). Since we as humans are not capable of change because of our sinful nature (Ecclesiastes 7:20), we need a Savior. A Savior who paid our ransom to free us from sin, death, and hell. God gave us this Savior (Isaiah 9:6-7, Jeremiah 31:31). His name is Jesus Christ.

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Jesus Christ was sent into the world to bear the sins you and I committed so that God's judgement toward us could be transferred to Jesus. Through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross, He paid our debt and took away our sin (Matthew 20:28). Jesus died for our sins and rose again from the death to reconcile us to God (Romans 4:25). There are about 300 prophecies, from Genesis to Malachi, in the Old Testament, detailing the coming of the Anointed One, the Messiah, who would be persecuted and die for our sins (Isaiah 53) all fulfilled by Jesus Christ.

In the New Testament we can read that Jesus existed eternally in Heaven from the very beginning (John 3:13; 8:58; 17:5). Jesus and God are one (John 10:30). Through Him all things were made (John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16-17; Hebrews 1:2). God became a human in Jesus Christ (John 1:14), being conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit in the virgin Mary (Matthew 1:20). Jesus was truly man and truly God in His idenitity. He lived a perfect life to fulfill the righteous requirements of the Law that we fail to abide by (2 Corinthians 5:21). The wrath of God against sin had to be poured out on Jesus, the Lamb of God, the perfect sacrificial substitute, in order for forgiveness and salvation to be poured out to the nations (John 1:29).

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.” Romans 6:23.

Jesus Christ took on the sin of the world, He paid the ransom for our lives so that we might have life in Him. That whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:15-16). We will never be able to save ourselves because we all fall short to the glory of a holy God. (Romans 3:23). Before Jesus died on the cross, He said, “It is finished!” An accounting term, meaning that the debt had been paid in full. Justice was fully satisfied with payment through the blood shed by Jesus on the cross (Romans 5:8-9).

Because of the cross, God could then be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Romans 3:25-26). If you don't know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior you are still under the weight of your sins, guilty before a Holy God and you will be held accountable for your moral crimes and you will not enjoy eternal fellowship with Him (John 3:36).

The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ finished His work of redemption, atonement, and reconciliation and is the core of the Christian Gospel (1 Corinthians 15:14). Over 500 people saw the resurrected Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:3-8), including His disciples, His half brother James, and Paul, who was a persecuter of followers of Jesus. Paul converted after his encounter with the risen Jesus. (Acts 9:1-21; 22:3-13; 26:12-18; 1 Corinthians 15:9).

Jesus’ victory over sin was also a victory over death. He did not remain in the grave, but arose from the dead with a glorified body, containing the whole fullness of God’s own nature. If you truly believe and receive Jesus alone as your Lord and Savior, you will be saved from judgment and spend eternity with God in heaven (John 5:24).

Jesus Christ is the mediator between us and God (Hebrews 9:15). Jesus paid our debt on the cross (Isaiah 53:5; Matthew 20:28; 26:28; Colossians 2:13-14) and when we repent and we accept Jesus Christ and believe in Him, God no longer sees our sins but sees Christ's righteousness covering us (Acts 3:19; Ephesians 1:7). Through repentance and acceptance of Jesus’ death on our behalf, we become God's children (Ephesians 1:5-6). A common misunderstanding is that we are all children of God since He is the creator but the Bible clearly tells us that we are not children of God by nature but that we BECOME children of God (John 1:12). That is why Jesus said we all must be born again to be able to enter the Kingdom of God (John 3:3). We will not go to heaven by default (Matthew 5:20). Otherwise we would be stuck in the same situation in heaven as we are now on earth.

In Matthew 7 Jesus Himself describes how narrow the path to eternal life is. (See also: Luke 13:23-24 ; John 10:1-9)

Jesus said: “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:13-14).

Ever heard how Jesus is all about tolerance? A fluffy, cuddly Jesus that never mentions sin or hell or the need for repentance? Probably you have but that is not what Jesus Christ taught. Jesus Christ taught more about hell than He did about heaven because of the seriousness and urgency of it. Jesus said that He didn't came to earth to bring peace but rather division and a sword:

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” - Jesus Christ (Matthew 10:34-38; See also: Luke 12:49-53; 14:26)

Sadly, todays world tries to change Jesus’ teachings to fit it's own agenda and desires (here we see satan's same old trick again in twisting God's Word), so that Jesus’ teachings become more comfortable for todays world to hear and are easier to follow. By doing so they break the second commandment and make a god in their own image. When a teaching reinvents Jesus as someone other than He is or intentionally minimizes the more difficult truths of His gospel, it presents a false christ. Jesus Himself warned that in the last days many false christs and false prophets will come and will lead many astray (Matthew 7:15; 24:4-5; 24:23-24; Mark 13:21-23; Luke 21:8).

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!” - Jesus Christ (Matthew 7:21-23)

In Matthew 10:22 and John 15:18-25 we read how Jesus Christ explained that all His followers would be hated by all nations because of Him. Jesus also explained the reasons why they hate Him. He said: “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.” Nowadays many people seem to like Jesus until it gets Biblical and that is because todays world is not liking or following the Jesus Christ of the Bible but a false christ, made in their own image. If we want to know Christ, we have to know the Bible, God's Word. For God doesn't change, neither His Word, neither His teachings and neither His promises. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) and “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

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The basics of Jesus’ teaching are profound yet simple enough for a child to understand. Basically, Jesus taught that He was the fulfillment of messianic prophecy and that salvation comes to those who believe in Christ, and judgment is coming to the unbelieving and unrepentant. Jesus often taught in parables (Matthew 13:3-17), which are extended illustrations to explain spiritual truth. Some of the parables of Jesus can be found in Luke, such as the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37) and the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11–32). There are between 30 and 40 parables of Jesus in the entire New Testament.

The longest section of Jesus’ public teaching is called “the Sermon on the Mount” (Matthew 5; Luke 6:17-49). Much of Jesus’ teaching seems to have been intended to get listeners to realize their inadequacy to keep the Law. For instance, when someone asked Jesus about the greatest commandment, He responded, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40).

Jesus affirmed the Old Testament over and over again and He said that He came to fulfill the Law of the Prophets. Jesus’ purpose was to establish the Word, to embody it, and to fully accomplish all that was written. “Christ is the culmination of the law.” (Romans 10:4). The predictions of the Prophets concerning the Messiah would be realized in Jesus; the holy standard of the Law would be perfectly upheld by Christ, the strict requirements personally obeyed, and the ceremonial observances finally and fully satisfied.

Jesus said: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” (Matthew 5:17-18).

Jesus’ purpose was not to abrogate the Word, dissolve it, or render it invalid. The Prophets will be fulfilled; the Law will continue to accomplish the purpose for which it was given (see Isaiah 55:10-11). He taught people to obey the Law (Matthew 22:35-40), and obeyed the Law Himself (1 Peter 2:22). In living a perfect life, Jesus fulfilled the moral laws; in His sacrificial death, Jesus fulfilled the ceremonial laws. Christ came not to destroy the old religious system but to build upon it; He came to finish the Old Covenant and establish the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31; Hebrews 10:8-10).

Some argue that, since Jesus did not "abolish" the Law, then the Law is still in effect and still binding. But Paul is clear that the believer in Christ is no longer under the Law: “Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,” (Galatians 3:23-25; 6:2).

Are we then free to sin and ignore the Law? No, not at all. Jesus Himself said that unless heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Through the Law comes knowledge of sin (Romans 3:20). The Law shows us our need for a Savior.

The core of Jesus’ teaching is the good news of the coming of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom is mentioned over fifty times in the Gospels. Many of Jesus’ parables were about the Kingdom (Matthew 13:24-52). Jesus said He was sent for the purpose of preaching the coming of the Kingdom (Luke 4:43).

The focus of Jesus Christ's mission was to call sinners to repentance: “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32). “But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” (Luke 13:5). In His farewell to the disciples, Jesus commanded that they take His message of repentance and faith to all the nations (Luke 24:47).

Jesus taught that the first and greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind. And that the second is to love our neighbor as ourselves. He also told us to love our enemies. “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.” (Luke 6:27) Jesus warned us that it is easy to love those who are like us (Luke 6:32-33). But Jesus loved even His enemies and expects His followers to do the same (Luke 6:35). He healed, fed, and ministered to many who would later shout, “Crucify Him!” (Matthew 27:20-22). He washed the feet of Judas Iscariot, knowing Judas would betray Him (John 13:4-5). He made a point of ministering to the hated Samaritans (John 4), even making a Samaritan the hero of a parable (Luke 10:25-37).

Jesus Christ taught that every person needs salvation. He came to save and forgive people from all walks of life, and Jesus encouraged His followers to forgive others the same way. (Matthew 6:14-15; Mark 11:25)

Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.” Matthew 18:21-22

Jesus taught more about hell than He did about heaven. Nowadays the topic of hell and sin is often ignored by many churches and Christians, because it makes people uncomfortable. But Jesus was very clear about hell and how serious it is. We have to take it with that same urgency and seriousness. Jesus Christ said: “Fear Him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him.” (Luke 12:5). Jesus describes hell in great detail. He says it is a place of eternal torment (Matthew 25:46), of unquenchable fire, where the worm does not die (Mark 9:43; 9:48), where people will gnash their teeth in anguish and regret (Matthew 13:42), and from which there is no return, even to warn loved ones (Luke 16:19-31). Jesus taught that hell is a real place where some will spend eternity (Matthew 23:33; 25:41). In Jesus’ teachings, hell is not figurative or symbolic but a real place with real experiences. Jesus portrayed what hell is like with vivid imagery such as fire and outer darkness (Matthew 8:11-12; 25:30).

According to Jesus, hell is a place for those who reject God, rebelling against Him and refusing His grace. Jesus’ parables consistently portray people rejecting God’s invitation to fellowship, and the only alternative to fellowship with God is an eternity in hell (Matthew 22:1-14; Luke 14:15-24). Sin is a form of rebellion against God. The devil and his minions are the original rebels against God, and they will suffer eternally in hell, which has been prepared for them (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10). Based on Jesus’ teachings, hell is not temporary but eternal (Matthew 25:46). Those who suffer in hell will suffer forever. There is no exit from hell, and no respite from it or comfort in it (Luke 16:24).

A holy God has to punish sin because He is righteous and just. The only way to be forgiven of sin is to repent and believe in Jesus Christ, who paid our debt on the cross and rose again to reconsile us to God. Only through Christ we will be saved, forgiven, cleansed, and promised eternal life in heaven with God. God loves us so much that He provided the means for our salvation, but if we reject His gift of eternal life, we will face the eternal consequences of that decision.

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In order to get right with God, we must first understand what is wrong and why we are alienated from Him. The answer is sin. “There is no one who does good, not even one.” (Psalm 14:3). We have all rebelled against God’s commands; “All we like sheep have gone astray.” (Isaiah 53:6). We are separated from God and on a path that leads to eternal destruction. Reconciliation with God is the remedy for all that’s wrong with us and the resolution for everything we need. Mending our broken relationship with God is the primary point of Christian salvation.

Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2). Jesus satisfied the debt we owed and took the punishment we deserved (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 1:18-19; 2:24; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13). When Christ rose from the dead, He conquered death for us (Revelation 1:18; Hebrews 2:14). The only way to be forgiven of sin and restored to God is to repent and believe in Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38; 17:30; Mark 1:4; Luke 13:3). Jesus is the only way to the Father (1 Timothy 2:5; John 3:16).

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:6–7)

When we believe in Jesus, we become children of God: “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). When we believe in Jesus, we receive access to God’s holy presence to comfort, protect, lead, and guide us (Ephesians 2:13; 2:18; 3:11-12; Hebrews 4:16). He teaches us and speaks to us through His Word and enables us to live for Him by the power of His Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 2:10-13; John 14:26).

When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we receive the greatest gift of all: the salvation of our soul (1 Peter 1:8-9). We can’t do anything to earn it. We don’t deserve it. It is a gift of God: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Believing in Jesus and putting our faith in Him opens up our hearts to experience a love like no other. The kind of love that is willing to sacrifice and die for us (John 10:11; Romans 5:8). God’s love is the strongest and most profound love ever known, and nothing will ever separate us from it (Romans 8:35-39). Having a relationship with God sets us free from our old life of guilt, shame, and sin (John 8:36; Romans 8:2). Only through Christ can we experience the satisfaction our souls long for: “For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.” (Psalm 107:9).

Jesus said: “...but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:5 ). Biblical repentance involves a complete and irreversible change of mind, heart, and actions. Repentance is recognizing that our sins are offensive to God. Repentance is necessary so that we are no longer slaves of sin (John 8:34) but become servants of righteousness (Romans 6:18). Only Jesus Christ can restore our relationship with the holy God and only through repentance and faith in Him can we get eternal life.

“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” Galatians 5:24-25

Receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and being born again ALWAYS results in a complete change in a person. They'll experience grief and sorrow over their sins (2 Corinthians 7:10) and no longer want to continue in it. This is called repentance. Their heart, mind, their entire life will be transformed (2 Corinthians 3:18). True repentance will ALWAYS result in a change of actions (Romans 12:2; Acts 3:19). Repentance is not a work that earns salvation, repentance unto salvation does result in works. A person who has truly repented of his sin and exercised faith in Christ will give evidence of a changed life (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 5:19-23; James 2:14-26).

Repentance and faith can be understood as two sides of the same coin. It is impossible to place your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior without first changing your mind about your sin and about who Jesus is and what He has done. Repentance is a change of mind. From rejection of Christ to faith in Christ.

No one can repent and come to God unless God pulls that person to Himself (John 6:44). Repentance is something God gives and it is only possible because of His grace (Acts 5:31; 11:18). No one can repent unless God grants repentance. All of salvation, including repentance and faith, is a result of God drawing us, opening our eyes, and changing our hearts. Because of God's love for us, we want to live in obedience to Him. God's goodness is meant to lead you to repentance. (Romans 2:4; 6:17; 2 Peter 3:9)

In John 3:3 Jesus tells Nicodemus that one can not see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. In John 3:3-7 we read what it means to become born again. As Jesus continued His conversation with Nicodemus, He said, “‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.’ ‘How can a man be born when he is old?’ Nicodemus asked. ‘Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, “You must be born again.”’

The phrase "born again" literally means "born from above." We sinners are spiritually "dead". When we receive spiritual life through faith in Christ, the Bible likens it to a rebirth. Physical birth provides us with a sinful human nature; spiritual rebirth provides us with a new nature (Ephesians 4:24). Being born again is an act of God. Only those who are born again have their sins forgiven and have a relationship with God. Since holiness is the absolute condition for acceptance into fellowship with God, sinful man in his fallen, dead condition can’t ever have that fellowship; and God won’t accept man's corrupt self, so man needs a new life. A total transformation. The old life has to be totally done away and a new life has to come (1 Peter 1:15-16; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 12:1; 1 Thessalonians 4:7; Matthew 5:48; 2 Timothy 2:21). We transfer kingdoms.

“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.” (Colossians 1:13)

At the moment of salvation we'll receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). The Holy Spirit is one of the three persons within one divine Trinity. The triunity of God as one God and three Persons, is a central biblical teaching and a central point of the teaching of Jesus Himself. More information about the Trinity can be found in the 'Frequently asked questions' section of his guide.

Jesus said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20; See also: John 14:25-26)

In Titus 3:5 we read that God saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. By the Holy Spirit we will transform and grow in holiness (2 Corinthians 3:18).

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The Mosaic Law refers to the laws God gave Moses on Mount Sinai after releasing the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. They include the Ten Commandments (see Exodus 20:1-17), ordinances for living in society, and regulations for worship (requirements for priests, sacrifices, feasts, and the temple). Four reasons why God gave the Mosaic Law to His people: to reveal Himself to them, to set them apart in order to reveal Himself to others, for their own good, and to reveal humanity's need for a savior.

In the Old Covenant, the Israelites were required to obey God and to keep the Law. In return He protected and blessed them (Deuteronomy 30:15–18; 1 Samuel 12:14-15). God made it clear in Deuteronomy 4:5-8 (and elsewhere, such as in Isaiah 49:6) that Israel was to be a witness to the world. The Law was given to separate God’s people from the evil nations around them and to define sin (Ezra 10:11; Romans 7:7). God also provided them with an elaborate sacrificial system. The Old Covenant required repeated, daily sacrifices of animals, as a reminder of their shortcomings and the penalty for their continuing sin. But “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” (Hebrews 10:4). The Law clearly demonstrated that no human being could purify himself enough to please God. God gave the Law to reveal His standard of absolute righteousness to convict us all of our true guilt before Him, so that we would see our need for a Savior.

Even while the Old Covenant stood, God had planned the New Covenant. The two work together to establish our guilt before God and our need for a Savior, and then to fulfill that need. Under the New Covenant, promised by Jeremiah the prophet (Jeremiah 31:31-33) and made effective by the death of Jesus Christ (Luke 22:20), we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all time (Hebrews 10:10). The Law was never intended to save anyone. The purpose of the Law was to make us conscious of sin. “who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Corinthians 3:6)

By New Testament times, religious leaders had added their own rules and traditions to the Law (Mark 7:7-9). It was during these times that Jesus came into the world, and conflict with the hypocritical arbiters of the Law was inevitable. But Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them”. As John 1:17 says, “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” In the New Covenant God becomes the proactive and unconditional source of salvation and blessing. In the New Covenant, God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

During the Last Supper on the night of Jesus' arrest, Jesus passed the cup to the disciples and told them, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you” (Luke 22:20). When Jesus was crucified, His blood provided for the forgiveness of the sins of the whole world—the basis of the New Covenant. Salvation is now a free gift for any who will believe in Christ and trust that His blood takes away their guilt before God (John 3:16-17).

A common misconception about the Old Testament way of salvation is that Jews were saved by keeping the Law. But we know from Scripture that this is not true. Paul says in Galatians 3:11: “Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” Here Paul is quoting Habakkuk 2:4—salvation by faith, apart from the Law was an Old Testament principle. Paul taught that the purpose of the Law was to serve as a “tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” (Galatians 3:24). In Romans 3:20 Paul makes the point that keeping the Law did not save either Old or New Testament Jews because “No one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law.” The Law was never intended to save anyone; the purpose of the Law was to make us “conscious of sin.”

In Romans 4 the apostle Paul makes it very clear that the Old Testament way of salvation was the same as the New Testament way: By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. To prove this, Paul points us to Abraham, who was saved by faith: “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:3). Again, Paul quotes the Old Testament to prove his point—Genesis 15:6, this time. Abraham could not have been saved by keeping the Law, because he lived over 400 years before the Law was given.

Paul shows that David was also saved by faith (Romans 4:6-8, quoting Psalm 32:1-2). Paul continues to establish that the Old Testament way of salvation was through faith alone. “The words ‘it was credited to him’ were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.”(Romans 4:23-24). In other words, righteousness is “credited” or given to those who have faith in God—Abraham, David, and we all share the same way of salvation.

Jesus said: “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” (John 8:56)

The Old Testament saints understood God would have to do something dramatic to save them. They placed their faith in the coming Savior who was described from the earliest of times. God told Adam and Eve one of their descendants would eventually defeat Satan (Genesis 3:15), and Abraham understood God would provide a sacrifice for sin, just as God provided the substitutionary sacrifice to replace Isaac (Genesis 22:8). Job had a similar expectation and hope for a Redeemer (Job 19:25-26), and Moses also expected and believed in the coming Messiah and the reward of Salvation (Hebrews 11:26, John 5:46). Many other Old Testament prophets and wise men spoke about the coming Savior. Enoch, for example, even talked about the second coming of the Messiah (see Jude 14). Old Testament prophets clearly described where the Messiah would be born (Micah 5:2), how He would be betrayed (Zechariah 11:12), how He would die (Isaiah 53:5), and how He would be resurrected (Psalm 16:10, Isaiah 26:19).

Those who lived in the time of the Old Testament looked forward to the Messiah and believed God’s promise of the coming Servant of the Lord (Isaiah 53). Old Testament saints were aware of the promised Redeemer and they were saved by faith in that Savior, the same way people are saved today. Jesus is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:11-12, quoting Psalm 118:22).

“The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.” Galatians 3:8-9, quoting Genesis 12:3.

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We are saved by grace, through faith (Ephesians 2:8). The keeping of the Law cannot save any person (Romans 3:20). Those who claim righteousness on the basis of keeping the Law, only think they’re keeping the Law. This was one of Jesus His main points in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:20-48; Luke 18:18-23). The purpose of the Law was, basically, to bring us to Christ (Galatians 3:24).

God has always been full of grace (Joel 2:13), and people have always been saved by faith in God (Genesis 15:6). There is no conflict between grace and the Law when properly understood. Christ fulfilled the Law on our behalf and offers the power of the Holy Spirit, who motivates a regenerated heart to live in obedience to Him (Matthew 3:8; Acts 1:8; 1 Thessalonians 1:5; 2 Timothy 1:14).

Conflict between grace and Law can arise when someone:

• Misunderstands the purpose of the Law.
  
• Redefines grace as something other than “God’s benevolence on the undeserving” (Romans 11:6).
  
• Tries to earn his own salvation or “supplement” Christ’s sacrifice.
  
• Follows the error of the Pharisees in tacking manmade rituals and traditions onto his doctrine.
  
• Fails to focus on the “whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27).

Some people have taken the fact that we as Christians are not under the law as an excuse to sin. Paul had to deal with this early on in Romans 6. In verse 15, he says, "Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace?" By no means!" Since, as Jesus said, the whole law of Moses depends on the commands to love, and we are commanded to love as Jesus loved us (John 13:34–35), we cannot use our freedom as an excuse for sin. Instead, because of that love, we will want to avoid sin, since sin is what separates us from God. In Romans 6:1-2 we read: “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” Paul clarified what Jesus had taught: the Law shows us what God wants (holiness), and grace gives us the desire and power to be holy. Rather than trust in the Law to save us, we trust in Christ. We are freed from the Law’s bondage by His once-for-all sacrifice (Romans 7:6; 1 Peter 3:18).

Grace is an essential part of God’s character. Grace is closely related to God’s benevolence, love, and mercy. Grace can be variously defined as “God’s favor toward the unworthy” or “God’s benevolence on the undeserving.” In His grace, God is willing to forgive us and bless us abundantly, in spite of the fact that we don’t deserve to be treated so well or dealt with so generously.

To fully understand grace, we need to consider who we were without Christ and who we become with Christ. We were born in sin (Psalm 51:5), and we were guilty of breaking God’s holy laws (Romans 3:9-23; 1 John 1:8-10). We were enemies of God (Romans 5:6; 5:10; 8:7; Colossians 1:21), we were unrighteous (Romans 3:10) and without means of justifying ourselves (Romans 3:20). Spiritually, we were destitute, blind, unclean, and dead. Our souls were in peril of everlasting punishment.

But then came grace. God extended His favor to us. Grace is what saves us. Grace is the essence of the gospel (Acts 20:24). Grace gives us victory over sin (James 4:6). Grace gives us “eternal encouragement and good hope” (2 Thessalonians 2:16). Paul repeatedly identified grace as the basis of his calling as an apostle (Romans 15:15; 1 Corinthians 3:10; Ephesians 3:2; 3:7). Jesus Christ is the embodiment of grace, coupled with truth (John 1:14).

Throughout history people have tried to pervert the gospel by adding human works to it, requiring certain things to be done to earn salvation. But the Bible’s clear message is that the way of salvation has always been through faith. Our works do nothing to earn or maintain salvation. It was the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ that justifies sinners (Romans 3:24). “yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” (Galatians 2:16). Salvation is by grace. Grace is, by definition, unearned, and Scripture makes it clear that God’s grace in salvation destroys the argument for human effort: “If by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.” (Romans 11:6).

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9.

God’s requirement for salvation is faith in His Son. One of the grand themes of the Bible is that we are justified, or declared righteous, by faith (Genesis 15:6). Faith is the only means of making sinful human beings able to stand before a holy God. No amount of law-keeping or good works can accomplish it (Titus 3:5). If our works could save us, then Christ died for nothing (Galatians 2:21).
Works are the product of faith. Those who have true faith in Jesus Christ will be eager to do what is good (Titus 2:14). John the Baptist called for “fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8).

“So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” and “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.” (James 2:17; 2:26). Grace through faith saves, and faith is manifest in works. If someone claims to have faith yet exhibits no good works, his or her faith is “dead,” or nonexistent. Both faith and works are integral parts of the Christian life. Biblically, faith is the cause of salvation, while works are the evidence of it.

Once we are saved, God desires to glorify Himself through our good works (Matthew 5:16). Therefore, good works follow salvation; they do not precede it. When we enter into a right relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ, we learn who we were created to be and discover the true purpose of our lives:

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

God did not change between the Old Testament and New Testament (Numbers 23:19). There is not one way to be saved in the Old Testament and a different way to be saved in the New Testament. There wasn’t one way for the Jew to be saved, and now a different way for the gentile to be saved. There’s only one road to heaven. Jesus said: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6).

The same God who gave the Law also gave Jesus (John 3:16). His grace was demonstrated through the Law by providing the sacrificial system to cover sin. Jesus was born “under the law” (Galatians 4:4) and became the final sacrifice to bring the Law to fulfillment and establish the New Covenant (Luke 22:20). Now, everyone who comes to God through Jesus Christ is declared righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 3:18; Hebrews 9:15; Philippians 3:8-10).

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“For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” Romans 1:20

“They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them.” Romans 2:15

In Romans 1 we read that God reveals Himself in creation. In Romans 2 we read how God's moral Law is written on every persons heart and that our conscience bears witness of it. Every human being in the world has an inborn knowledge of God and His Law. But that does not mean that man, on his own, based on that natural revelation, can be saved. The gospel is veiled to those who are perishing (2 Corinthians 4:3). The sinner in his natural condition is dead in trespasses and sins. ignorant and blinded by satan.

“In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
2 Corinthians 4: 4

When a person, by reason, concludes there is a first cause, that there is a God, a powerful and mighty God and when he recognizes that there are certain moral rights and wrongs, this in itself will reveal to him that God is a law-giving God. But what does man do with that truth? He suppresses it because he is in his nature wicked, corrupt, sinful and incapable of any true righteousness. In Romans 1:21 we read: “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”. They reject the light of truth and they believe a lie.

“And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.” John 3:19 (See also: John 1:10-11)

God placed in man evidence from reason that He exists. Evidence from what we see in creation, evidence from moral law and conscience that He exists, but people with their sinful nature suppress it, override it, corrupt it, pervert it, they don't follow it, because they are incapable of that. “Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator,” Romans 1:24-25. The entire Old & New Testament is full of examples of these practices. Nothing has changed. People still worship created things rather than the Creator. (See also: Jeremiah 10:14).

This is the story of human history over and over again. This is everybody's history. This is how they all respond. It's the same old story. They don't want to acknowledge God, so God just lets them go. Man is unable to believe in the truth by himself. There is darkness in their hearts. They profess to be wise, but they become fools. They exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible mankind (Romans 1:23).

The Bible gives more explanations why people reject God and won't accept Jesus Christ.
The Word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing (1 Corinthians 1:18). Even when he is presented with the Gospel, it is to him foolishness (1 Corinthians 2:14). Man, in his natural condition, without the Gospel is not going to come to the truth of God. Man in his natural condition, given the gospel, is not going to believe it. But to us who are being saved this Gospel becomes the power of God to salvation. You can't get saved by your own powers. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” 1 Corinthians 1:19.

“Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,” 1 Corinthians 1:20-28

Another thing is that most people do not think they need a savior. They consider themselves to be “basically good” and do not realize that they, like all people, are sinners who cannot come to God on their own terms. Jesus said, “...No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). You can't get to God by your own wisdom or works. There's no salvation apart from the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The only people who can believe are the ones to whom God has given an effectual call because they were His chosen. You must come to the Gospel to be saved, but you can't come on your own. It will always be a work of God. Why is that? “So no man should boast” (1 Corinthians 1:29).

According to Romans 8:29-30, God predetermined that certain individuals would be conformed to the likeness of His Son, be called, justified, and glorified. Numerous scriptures refer to believers in Christ being chosen (Mark 13:20; 13:27; Romans 8:33; 9:11; 11:5-7; Ephesians 1:11; Colossians 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:4; 2 Timothy 2:10; Titus 1:1; 1 Peter 1:1-2; 2 Peter 1:10). Predestination is the biblical doctrine that God in His sovereignty chooses certain individuals to be saved.

“By His doing you are in Christ Jesus. who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.”(1 Corinthians 1:30). Ephesians 1:4-6: “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.”

Left to ourselves we would never choose God. We're all sinners and our initial response to God is to rebel against His love and sovereignty. We do not seek Him (Romans 3:11). We do not want Him to tell us what to do. The natural person is hostile to God. If we are ever to turn from our sin in repentance and faith, He must initiate the process. Jesus said: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” (John 6:44). The only reason a rebellious sinner ever comes to faith in Christ is because God has decided to no longer allow the person to continue on the path to destruction. God is in charge. Scripture teaches that God has chosen to save some people, and He chose them based on His own purposes, not some innate goodness on the part of the people being saved.

The Bible says that all who believe in Jesus Christ and accept Him will be saved (John 3:16; Romans 10:9-10). The Bible never describes God rejecting anyone who believes in Him or is seeking Him (Deuteronomy 4:29). The truths of God’s sovereign predestination and also man’s responsibility are not mutually exclusive. It's impossible for a finite mind to comprehend (Romans 11:33-36). God knows and chooses who will be saved, and we must choose Christ in order to be saved. Both facts are equally true.

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“The Bible has been translated and recopied so many times...” is a much used comment. The “telephone” game is often used to demonstrate how reasonable this objection is. Whisper a message to one person and transfer it from person to person, in a circle. Then compare the message’s final form with the original. This example is often used to demonstrate that the New Testament documents must be equally unreliable. We do not have any of the original writings of Biblical books. The original writings were often written on animal skin and other materials that deteriorated rather quickly. So if what we have are copies of copies of the originals, how can we know that they are accurate?

The earlier an ancient account was written (closer to the events), and the more copies we have, the higher the reliability will be. New Testament documents are considered primary eyewitness accounts. They were written in the 1st century during the time people involved were alive to confirm or dispute the events. The writings of the New Testament were immediately copied and widely dispersed throughout the Roman Empire and beyond (see book of Acts) thus eliminating time for changes, forgeries, or embellishments. If there are many copies and the oldest existing copies are reasonably close in time to the original, the textual critic can be more confident he’s pinpointed the exact wording of the autograph. There is an incredibly high number of surviving copies of original Biblical writings. These are called manuscripts. There are 5,366 surviving manuscripts for the New Testament alone. This makes it the best attested document of all ancient writings.

To get an idea of the significance of the New Testament manuscript evidence, let's look at the record for non-biblical texts. These are secular texts from antiquity that have been reconstructed with a high degree of certainty based on the available textual evidence.

• 1st Century document The Jewish War, by Josephus, survives in 9 complete manuscripts dating from the 5th Century—4 centuries after they were written.
  
• Tacitus’ Annals of Imperial Rome is one of the chief historical sources for the Roman world of New Testament times, it survives in partial form in only 2 manuscripts dating from the Middle Ages.
  
• Thucydides’ History survives in 8 copies.
  
• There are 10 copies of Caesar’s Gallic Wars, 8 copies of Herodotus’ History, 7 copies of Plato, all dated over a millennium from the original.
  
• Homer’s Iliad has the most impressive manuscript evidence for any secular work with 647 existing copies.

For most documents of antiquity only a handful of manuscripts exist, some have a time gap of 800-2000 years or more. Yet, scholars are confident of reconstructing the originals with some significant degree of accuracy. In fact, virtually all of our knowledge of ancient history depends on documents like these.

The manuscript evidence for the New Testament is stunning. There are 5,366 separate Greek manuscripts represented by early fragments. Among the nearly 3,000 minuscule fragments are 34 complete New Testaments dating from the 9th to the 15th Centuries. Uncial manuscripts provide virtually complete, multiple books of the New Testament bound together into one volume, back to the 4th Century, some are earlier:

• Codex Sinaiticus (dated c. 340).
  
• Codex Vaticanus (dated c. 325-350).
  
• Codex Alexandrinus (contains the whole Old Testament and a nearly complete New Testament dates late 4th Century - early 5th Century).
  
• The Chester Beatty Papyri (contains most of the New Testament, dated mid-3rd Century.)
  
• The Bodmer Papyri II collection (includes the first 14 chapters of the Gospel of John and much of the last 7 chapters dates from A.D. 200 or earlier).
  
• John Rylands Papyri (A small portion of John 18:31–33 represents the earliest known copy of any part of the New Testament. The papyri is dated on paleographical grounds at around A.D. 117-138 though it may even be earlier), showing that the Gospel of John was circulated as far away as Egypt within 30 years of its composition.

About 50 manuscripts contain the entire New Testament, though most of the other manuscripts contain the 4 Gospels. The manuscript textual evidence is exceedingly rich, especially when compared to other works of antiquity.

Two other cross checks on the accuracy of the manuscripts remain: ancient versions and citations by the early church Fathers known as “patristic quotations.” Early in the history of the Church Greek documents, including the Scriptures, were translated into Latin. By the 3rd and 4th Centuries the New Testament was translated into Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, Georgian, etc. These texts helped missionaries reach new cultures in their own language as the Gospel spread and the Church grew. Translations of Greek manuscripts help modern-day textual critics answer questions about the underlying Greek manuscripts.

In addition, there are ancient extra-biblical sources—characteristically catechisms, lectionaries, and quotes from the church fathers—that record the Scriptures. Paul Barnett says that the “Scriptures...gave rise to an immense output of early Christian literature which quoted them at length and, in effect, preserved them.” Metzger notes the amazing fact that “if all other sources for our knowledge of the text of the New Testament were destroyed, [the patristic quotations] would be sufficient alone for the reconstruction of practically the entire New Testament.”

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the 1940’s allowed scholars to compare Old Testament manuscripts that were separated by hundreds of years. Of particular importance was the newly discovered copy of Isaiah, which predated the earliest known copy of the book by 1,000 years.
Comparing the two ancient documents revealed that they were nearly identical, except for some minor spelling or stylistic differences. Even though one of the manuscripts had been copied countless times more than that which was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, there was no substantial difference between the two texts.
Click here[logos.com] for more info about the Dead Sea Scrolls.

This shows how faithful scribes were when copying the Scriptures. These copies were accurately created by those dedicated to preserving the Word of God. Even though we do not posses the original writings, we can be confident that the copies we do have were reliably handed down over the centuries.

Having an abundance of manuscripts shows that copying Scripture was not like a game of “telephone.” Comparing the incredible amount of manuscript evidence has shown that the New Testament is 99.5% accurate. The vast majority of differences found are completely inconsequential—spelling errors, inverted phrases and the like. In the entire text of 20,000 lines, only 40 lines are in doubt (about 400 words), but not a single variation in these thousands of manuscripts has been shown to affect a theological issue in any way and none affects any significant doctrine. We can have confidence that they stayed true to the originals because the copies themselves are so close to one another, despite being written at different times and in different places. “The purity of text is of such a substantial nature that nothing we believe to be true, and nothing we are commanded to do, is in any way jeopardized by the variants.” - Greek scholar D.A. Carson

If we reject the authenticity of the New Testament on textual grounds, we simply have to reject all ancient work of antiquity and declare null and void every piece of historical information from written sources prior to the beginning of the second millennium A.D.

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The reliability of the New Testament Gospel eyewitness accounts is dependent on the reliability of the authors: Were the witnesses really present at the time? Can the witnesses’ accounts be corroborated? Did the witnesses changed their story over time? Do the witnesses have biases causing them to lie, exaggerate or misinterpret what was seen? We can examine the Gospels and their authors by asking these questions.

The amazing things about the Gospels is how they verify each other. The authors are telling one unified narrative. Sometimes, though, they support each other in very surprising ways, and these are called undesigned coincidences: different authors that are describing the same event, but they give different details that clarify what happened.

For example: Matthew records Jesus' arrest in chapter 26, starting in verse 67: “They spit in his face and beat him with their fists; and others slapped him, and said, ‘Prophesy to us, you Christ; Who is the one who hit you?’” Why would these men ask Jesus who it is that hit him? They’re standing right in front of him. Luke’s Gospel gives us the answer. In Luke 22, we read: “The men who were holding Jesus in custody began mocking him and beating him, and they blindfolded him and repeatedly asked him, saying ‘Prophesy, who is the one who hit you?’” One account gives the detail that doesn’t seem to make sense: “Who hit you?” Another separate account fills in the gap: Jesus was blindfolded. One Gospel unwittingly corroborates the other. These unplanned details connect the accounts together. This gives credibility to the historical accuracy of the accounts.

The Gospel authors weren’t the only ones reporting information about Jesus Christ.

• Josephus was the court historian of Emperor Vespasian. He recorded these references to Jesus at the end of the first century in his famous history, “Antiquities of the Jews.” First, he recounts the execution of James, the brother of Jesus: “Ananus brought before the Sanhedrin a man named James, the brother of Jesus who was called the Christ, and certain others. He accused them of having transgressed the law and condemned them to be stoned to death.” Josephus makes a remarkably detailed reference to Jesus: “At this time there was a wise man called Jesus, and his conduct was good. He was known to be virtuous. Many people among the Jews and the other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and die. But those who would become his disciples did not abandon his discipleship. They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that he was alive.”
  
• Another reference is from a book called the Talmud. See how this subtly acknowledges Jesus’ supernatural acts: “On the eve of the Passover Yeshua was hanged...because he practiced sorcery and enticed Israel to apostasy.”
  
• Next example comes from a historical reference from a Greek writer, Lucian. Lucian was a second century writer who berated Christians. He writes: “The Christians, you know, worship a man to this day—the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on that account. You see, these misguided creatures start with the general conviction that they are immortal for all time...and deny the gods of Greece, and worship the crucified sage.”
  
• Another extra-biblical source comes from Cornelius Tacitus, a Roman historian. He was considered by some the greatest historian of ancient Rome. He wrote in his “Annals of Imperial Rome” in 115 AD regarding the burning of Rome in the mid ‘60s: “Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilate, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome.”

There are a total of 17 ancient non-biblical sources corroborating the Gospel record.

Archaeology continues to corroborate the New Testament. Almost every month, a new discovery supports the biblical account. Here’s just three notable examples.

• Crucifixion. Thousands of criminals were executed by crucifixion, but it wasn’t until 1968 where the first remains of a victim of crucifixion were found, probably buried in a grave, too. Until then, skeptics doubted the Gospel accounts, since they thought crucified criminals were thrown into just massive graves. But this discovery corroborates the fact that the criminals were actually given, sometimes, proper burials, just as was Jesus in the Gospels.
  
• Pontius Pilate. Until recently there was only one mention of Pilate outside the New and this caused some people to question the Gospel accounts. But in 1961, archaeologists discovered a stone in Caesarea, Israel, and on it, it said in Latin, “Pontius Pilate, prefect of Judea.” Once again, archaeology corroborating the Gospels.
  
• The Pool of Bethesda. The Gospel of John mentions the Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem surrounded by five porticos near the sheep gate. Skeptics doubted the pool’s existence until 1888, when archaeologists discovered the remains of a pool with five shallow porticos in the exact area John recorded.

Multiple pieces of evidence corroborate each other. We have abundant corroboration between the Gospels, corroboration from extra-biblical sources, and corroboration from archaeology. The corroboration test is yet another reason to believe the New Testament is historically reliable.

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The timeline below, created by J. Warner Wallace, confirms the reliability of The Bible.

The Gospels were written early enough to have been cross-checked by those who were still alive and would have known better:

• The missing information in the Book of Acts (i.e. the destruction of the Temple, the siege of Jerusalem, the deaths of Peter, Paul and James) is best explained by dating Acts prior to 61AD. The inclusion of the deaths of Stephen and James (the brother of John), make the exclusion of the deaths of Paul, Peter and James (the brother of Jesus) powerful evidences for the early dating of Luke’s work. The most reasonable inference from the omission of these deaths is that Luke wrote his narrative prior to their occurrence.
  
• Luke wrote his Gospel prior to the Book of Acts.
  
• Paul’s referencing of Luke 10:6-7 (1 Timothy 5:17-18, written in 63-64AD) and Luke 22:19-20 (1 Corinthians 11:23-26, written in 53-57AD) is best explained by dating the Gospel of Luke prior to 53-57AD.
  
• Luke’s reference to his Gospel as “orderly” in Luke 1:3 (as compared to Bishop Papias’ 1st Century description of Mark’s account as “not, indeed, in order”) and Luke’s repeated references of Mark’s Gospels are best explained by dating Mark’s Gospel prior to Luke’s from 45-50AD.

The Gospel accounts of the first century are better corroborated than any other ancient historical account.:

• Archaeology corroborates many people, locations and events described in the Gospels.
  
• Ancient Jewish, Greek and Pagan accounts corroborate the outline of Jesus’ identity, life, death and resurrection.
  
• The Gospel authors correctly identify minor, local geographic features and cities in the region of the accounts.
  
• The Gospel authors correctly cite the ancient proper names used by people in the region of the accounts.
  
• Mark’s repeated reference and familiarity with Peter corroborates Papias’ description of Mark’s authorship of the account.
  
• The authors of the Gospels support one another unintentionally with details obscure details between the accounts.

The Gospels were cherished and treated as Scripture from the earliest of times. We can test their content and accurate transmission:

• A New Testament “Chain of Custody” can be reconstructed from the Gospel authors (through their subsequent students) to confirm the original content of the documents. (Click here[coldcasechristianity.com] for more info.)
  
• Much of the Gospels (and all the critical features of Jesus) can be confirmed in the writings of the Church Fathers
  
• The vast number of ancient copies of the Gospels can be compared to one another to identify and eliminate late additions and copyist variants within the text
  
• The earliest caretakers of the text considered it to be a precise, divinely inspired document worthy of careful preservation

The authors of the Gospels claimed to be eyewitnesses who were transformed by what they observed in Jesus.

• The disciples ended up as Christians and became certain that Jesus was God as a result of their observations. The disciples were evidentially certain. The apostles became convinced of Jesus’s deity after they observed His life and resurrection. They didn’t start off as Christians … One example is Paul, who went by the name of Saul at that time. Paul was a persecutor of followers of Jesus Christ, but converted after he had an encounter with the risen Jesus. (Acts 9:1–9; 22:6–11; 26:9–20).
  
• The three motives driving bias were absent in the lives of the authors. They were not driven by financial gain, lusts or the pursuit of power. They died without any of these advantages.
  
• The testimony of the authors was attested by their willingness to die for what they claimed. There is no evidence any of them ever recanted their testimony.

The 'Reliability of The Bible' section of this guide, which includes timelines, historical accounts, archaeological and manuscriptual documentation, was put together with help of following sources: coldcasechristianity.com ; crossexamined.org ; str.org ; gotquestions.org
Books: Cold-Case Christianity by J. Warner Wallace; Evidence for the historical Jesus by Gary R. Habermas.

For more information about the reliability of The Bible, I would like to refer to below video. Start @ 12:31:
https://youtu.be/7e8WG12Yshw?t=751

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Evil has no existence of its own. Evil is the absence of good. God did not create evil, but He allowed it. In Genesis 1:31 we read that everything God created was good. God made creatures who had the freedom to choose good. In order to have a real choice, God had to allow there to be something besides good to choose. If He had not allowed evil, we would be worshiping Him out of obligation, not by a choice of our own will.

In Genesis 3 we read that sin came into the world through Adam. Sin’s effects permeate everything; the world is fallen, and all creation suffers as a result (Romans 8:22). It is in times of despair and sorrow that we reach out to God, and, if we are His children (John 1:12), we always find Him there waiting to comfort and uphold us through it all. In this way, God proves His faithfulness to us and ensures that we will stay close to Him. An added benefit is that as we experience God’s comfort through trials, we are then able to comfort others in the same way (2 Corinthians 1:4).

God assures us that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” Romans 8:28. Suffering is part of the “all things” that God is using to accomplish His good purposes, ultimately. His plan is perfect, His character is flawless, and those who trust Him will not be disappointed.

Satan was created as a holy angel. The Bible describes Satan as having been created a cherub, apparently the highest created angel. God permanently removed Satan from his exalted position and role because of his sin. He became arrogant in his beauty and status and decided he wanted to sit on a throne above that of God (Isaiah 14:13-14; Ezekiel 28:15; 1 Timothy 3:6). Satan’s pride led to his fall. Although everything God created was good (Genesis 1:31), Satan chose to rebel against the Lord, and many other angels followed his rebellion (Ezekiel 28:15; Isaiah 14:12-17; 2 Peter 2:4). Satan tempted Eve to sin in the Garden of Eden, and Adam followed her into sin, plunging the whole human race into a curse (Genesis 3:16-19; Romans 5:12).

Jesus said to them: “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” (Luke 10:18)

According to Scripture, Satan is the ruler of this world and the prince of the power of the air (John 12:31; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2). He is an accuser (Revelation 12:10), a tempter (Matthew 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 3:5), and a deceiver (Genesis 3; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Revelation 20:3). Satan will do anything and everything in his power to oppose God and those who follow God. He still seeks to elevate his throne above God. He counterfeits all that God does, hoping to gain the worship of the world and encourage opposition to God’s kingdom. However, Satan’s destiny is sealed—an eternity in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10). But until it is so far, he will continue to try to drag many people with him.

The Trinity is one God in three Persons. The Bible teaches three coexistent, co-eternal Persons who comprise the one God. While there's only one God, the Godhead consists of three distinct persons - the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All are equally omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, eternal, and unchanging, but each has unique functions. For a detailed explanation of the Trinity, I'd like to refer to: gotquestions.org/what-is-the-Trinity.html

One reason God may seem hidden today is the simple fact of willful, unrepentant sin. When we read the Old Testament we can see how God revealed himself many times but still people chose to rebel against him in every possible way. They continued to worship created things instead of the creator, and continue in their sins. God reveals Himself in creation, and God's moral Law is written on every persons heart. They are without excuse. Still they choose to reject Him. (Romans 1:20-32)
“Then they will cry out to the LORD, but he will not answer them. At that time he will hide his face from them because of the evil they have done” Micah 3:4 (See also: Deuteronomy 31:18; 32:20).

Another reason for the "hidden" state of God today is alluded to by the prophet Habakkuk: “The just shall live by his faith.” Habakkuk 2:4. God expects trust in what has already been revealed and what He has already done, search the Scriptures daily, and live by faith, not by sight (Matthew 16:4; John 20:29; 2 Corinthians 5:7). God has already spoken. His words were faithfully written down. The Bible is finished. God’s revelation is done (Revelation 22:18).

The phrase "God is love, and as long as we live in love we all follow the same God" is often used to demonstrate that every religion worships the same God. According to the Bible, this idea is false. Yes, The Bible tells us that God is love and we come to know something about God through experiencing and witnessing love but there lies exactly the problem. We haven’t actually loved that well at all. Also, the world has an unbiblical definition of what love is, since it does not know God (1 Corinthians 13:6; Ephesians 4:15). People think they will go to heaven, because in their estimation, they are good people. People can be kind or thoughtful, give generous gifts, and care for the disadvantaged. However, no amount of “good deeds” can change the fact that all people are sinful by nature and that we all fall short of God’s character and glory (Isaiah 64:6; Romans 3:10; 3:23).

Christianity is the only religion that teaches that God came to us and not the other way around. God's sovereignty is the power and not our efforts. God has sent his Son because He knew we could never get things right apart from Jesus. Other religions give us a list of things to do and not do. Instructions to follow in hopes to gain acces to heaven. The focus is always on the individual, on the self. But God shows us through His Word that we will never be able to save or justify ourselves (Proverbs 16:2). It is by faith we are saved, through His grace. Our works can do nothing to earn salvation. God Himself provided for us the way to receive forgiveness for sins. None of our religious efforts can save us. And this is also the reason why many have difficulty with Christianity because they want to come to God on their own terms and efforts and not the other way around.

Often people think that eventually all roads will lead to God and that this is the reason why there are so many different religions and spiritual movements. If that would be the case, it would mean that God is constantly contradicting Himself, and keeps changing His character, since all different religions offer contradicting, different paths, traditions and instructions to follow in order to get right with God. But a holy God doesn't contradict Himself. He is incapable of lying. He does not change and neither does His promises (Numbers 23:19). God is the same yesterday, today, forever. There can only be one absolute truth. There is no such thing as many different versions of truth.

Another crucial point in the Christian faith is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. No other religion has an empty tomb. Every other major religious leader is dead. In 1 Corinthians 15:14 we read: “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” The tomb is empty, the body will never be found because Jesus rose from the dead (Matthew 28:6).

There is only one God and one way that leads to life. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). Salvation is only through Jesus Christ. He is the mediator between us and God. Only through repentance and acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior will we be reconciled to God.

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Did you know that the Bible is the best-selling religious book of all time and best-selling book overall? Did you also know only 11% of Americans read their Bible daily? Therein lies exactly the problem. I know the importance of studying God's Word daily and sticking to sound doctrine. Not so long ago, I was active in New Age spirituality (labelling myself an open-minded, progressed Christian), and began to dabble in Occult practices that come with New Age. I was always seeking answers. For more "hidden" knowledge, wisdom and enlightement. It was a hamster wheel that led to nothing but chaos, confusion and deception.

I had a Bible at home but never read it. Because of this I had adopted all kinds of theories and philosophies over the years and was looking for answers anywhere BUT the Bible since I had also embraced the "popular" cultural idea that the Bible was just a cavemen book that should not be taken too literally and serious. The more I listened to the world around me, the more I began to create a god in my own image, someone that would always make me feel comfortable. Something like truth became flexible (“My truth doesn't have to be your truth, we can all have our own truth..” etc).

Ever since I got saved out of the dark web of the New Age/Occult (All glory to Christ for saving His lost sheep), and I have studied the entire Bible, guided by the Holy Spirit, all my questions have been answered and my eyes have truely opened. In the New Age & Occult I was taught that we as humans are gods ourselves (satan's same old lie as in Genesis 3). That we progressed so much throughout the ages. That we've become more developed and enlightened. But it's all a lie. Everything the Bible describes about how people are, how we behave, how wicked our minds, hearts and desires are, it is all still accurate today.

We're still doing the exact same things people did thousands of years ago and have not progressed one bit. Our wicked hearts desires everything that opposes good. We think of ourselves as being a "good" person but when we test ourselves to the ten commandments (God's moral Law) we can clearly see that we are not good at all. We make the mistake of judging ourselves by OUR own standards, and not by the standards of a Holy God who is completely just.

Jesus Christ said: “For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” (Matthew 24:5)

In the New Age/Occult I was taught we can all achieve the ultimate enlightened state, be like God (they call it Source), that we can tap into this "universal christ consciousness", a "cosmic christ", that Jesus Christ came to earth to teach us about this, and Christians who follow the Bible are not enlightened enough to realize that. I was taught that there's no such thing as sin , that all roads lead to God, encouraging people onto all kinds of paths ('do what thou wilt'), which leads away from the narrow path Jesus Christ spoke about (Matthew 7:13-14). I had no idea that by slowly embracing such teachings, I was completely going against God. I didn't know that all the practices done in the New Age & Occult were already happening in Old Testament times (Deuteronomy 18:9-15) and that it was something God strictly forbids since these are not from Him but from satan. (Acts 13:6)

I neglected reading the Bible. I followed a false christ (Matthew 24:23-24). Scripture is often being quoted in both the New Age & Occult but always with a tweak here and there. A little twist in God's Word. A little push to make someone doubt what God really meant. “Did God really say that?, Does God really mean that?”. The same tactics satan used in the garden of Eden. The same way he tried to tempt Jesus by using Scripture (Luke 4:3-13). Just because someone is able to quote Scripture, doesn't automaticly make them a Christian. I've learned this the hard way.

“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” 2 Timothy 4:3-4

I once was deceived, and as a result, I myself misled people by spreading the teachings and philosophies I'd picked up around me. Jesus Christ told us to be the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13). Salt slows down decay, but instead of doing just that, I helped in the spreading of the decay. If I would had died back then, Jesus would've said to me: “I never knew you. Depart from me you worker of lawlesness.” (Matthew 7:21-23). A terrifying thought. I was on the path to eternal destruction. I was serving satan and didn't even realize it. People always portray satan as a red, giant monster with horns. But The Bible states that satan transforms himself as an angel of light, even his servants. The Bible calls satan the "prince of the power of the air" in Ephesians 2:2. He is the "ruler of this world". (John 12:31; 1 John 5:19).

“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” Colossians 2:8

Because I neglected being in God's Word, I could not compair what I read and heard around me to His Word. I embraced doctrines of demons (1 Timothy 4:1) because they always made me feel good about myself and I could continue doing what I wanted, not having to worry about sin. satan is the father of lies and a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44), and the doctrines taught by his demons through the agency of willing human accomplices continue to separate people from God and His blessing. There are serious, eternal consequences to that. For both those who spread falsehood and those who follow it (Matthew 15:14; 2 Peter 2:1-3).

Jesus Christ said: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” (Matthew 18:6)

It's everyones own responsibility to know God's Word so everything we see, hear and read can be tested to Scripture. The Bible warns us to hold fast to sound doctrine, not take away from or add to Scripture, not having our ears tickled by following the patterns of the world, our deceitful heart & it's desires (satan's tricks). (See also: Acts 2:38; Romans 8:2).

There's a reason why The Bible is called the LIVING Word of God (Hebrews 4:12). The Bible is not a book you read once and that's it. It needs to be studied continuously since God will reveal everytime more to you while reading it, once you're guided by the Holy Spirit. The Bible is to be read in its entirety, not cherry picking some verses while ignoring the rest. It is one complete story, from Old Testament to New Testament. The OT tells the why (why there is evil and sin, why we are alienated from God, etc.), the NT shows the how (how we can be made right with God and be saved, how we can enjoy eternal life with a holy God etc). BOTH are important.

God does not change. Neither does His Word. God's Word is holy, just and COMPLETE. There's no "secret hidden knowledge" outside Scripture (1 Corinthians 3:19). Our wonderful God gave us everything we need through His Word. What a blessing that we no longer have to walk in the darkness of this world but can have the light that gives life (John 8:12).

I hope this guide has encouraged you to pick up your Bible, and to be in His Word. Daily!

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This guide was put together with help of following sources:
The Holy Bible KJV & ESV ; biblegateway.com ; gotquestions.org

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