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“Is The Resurrection True?”

(c) Rev. Pat James

Recently Christians around the world celebrated what we call Easter. We say that Jesus was dead, that on the third day He rose, that He walked this earth in His resurrected immortal body and then He ascended to Heaven, both physically and visibly where He remains at the right hand of God the Father. This belief is the very foundation of the Christian Faith!

But is the resurrection of Jesus Christ a well documented historical fact or is it a product of wishful thinking? Is it a myth, or a fable … a bit of old folklore that has come down through the ages? Is it a story that will stand up to serious and objective investigation?

You see, the resurrection of our Lord is either one of the most wicked, vicious, and heartless hoaxes ever to be imposed on the minds of humanity or … it is by far the most important fact of human history! There really is no in-between. It is a vicious lie or a glorious truth, one or the other! And not only that, but the gospel writers who report the actual bodily resurrection of Jesus are either viciously deceptive, hopelessly deceived or boldly honest!

Lets begin our investigation by reading the words of the apostle Paul in 1st. Corinthians 15:3-8,“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,  and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.  After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.  Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,  and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one untimely born.

This book was written about 28 years after Jesus’ resurrection and in effect this was an invitation to any who doubted his statements to just check it out! Since most of the 500 witnesses were still available to be questioned, it would have been very easy to discredit his statements if they had not been true.

The writers of the accounts of the resurrection gain even greater credibility when we consider their honesty in telling us of the disciple’s failure to understand the significance of the resurrection or even to believe in Jesus following the resurrection!

For example if we study the gospel accounts of the resurrection events we find that the women, on their way to the tomb, give no hint of expecting that Jesus had been bodily resurrected. In fact, they were surprised to find that His body was gone! This indicates that they must have misunderstood our Lord’s predictions that He would rise again on the third day. If the story had been fabricated it’s very unlikely that the women’s confusion would have been included.

The disciples didn’t expect our Lord’s resurrection either! In Luke 24:11we read,  “And these words (of the women) appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them.”

The Bible accounts of the resurrection indicate very clearly that Thomas was not the only one who doubted. After Cleopas and another disciple met the risen Jesus on the road to Emmaus, they returned to the other disciples to tell them what they had seen. And speaking of this Mark 16:13 says, “And they went away and reported it to the others, but they did not believe them either.”

Matthew 28:16-17 says, “But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. And when they saw Him, they worshipped Him; but some were doubtful.”

The honesty of the gospel writers in reporting the doubts and disbelief of the disciples is a strong testimony to the truth of what they wrote. If the resurrection of Jesus had been fabricated by the early Christian writers they certainly would not have made the disciples look so lacking in faith and understanding.

Matthew records that the only response from the Jewish leadership to the preaching of the resurrection was the accusation that the disciples had stolen the body. Which actually acknowledges the fact that the tomb was indeed empty and even the Jewish Religious leaders knew it!

It would have been impossible to preach the resurrection in Jerusalem if the tomb had still contained Jesus’ body. How could they say that He was resurrected if His body lay there in a tomb?

Also, if the disciples had invented the resurrection story we would think that they would have been out on the street the very next day proclaiming the risen Lord. But what we actually find is a 7 week delay during which, they seemed generally confused and ignorant of their mission! It was only after the filling of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost that these peasants, shepherds and fishermen were suddenly changed into a confident witnesses for Christ. They were absolutely convinced of salvation in Christ, their doubts had been completely removed! Do you think they would have rallied to that degree because of some made-up story?

We might also consider the fact that nearly every one of the disciples of Christ were killed for their faith! Does it seem likely that these men would have died for their belief if they hadn’t been absolutely positive of the truth of that belief?

The resurrection of Jesus Christ IS true and it is Scripture’s most encouraging message!

The empty tomb validated, confirmed, established and settled once and for all the truth that Jesus spoke. That He is the Son of God, the Messiah; the Savior of all mankind!

The empty tomb is the single most hope-filled fact of history and it is absolutely essential to the Christian faith.

Pat James is Pastor Emeritus of True Hope Christian Fellowship Church, at

2506 18^th Ave., Forest Grove, OR 97116

Ph. 503-357-8534 ~ Email: pastorpatj@gmail.com

 

Have You Experienced The Holy Spirit?

Pastor Pat James

The book of Acts tells of how the Holy Spirit came upon the believers who were gathered in the upper room. There was a sound like a strong wind, there were what appeared to be flames of fire over their heads and they were changed in a dramatic way. Most believers have never experienced anything like that, however many of us consider it to be an example of what it means to experience the Holy Spirit in our life.

A Pharisee named Nicodemus paid a rather clandestine visit to Jesus one night, (the first case of “Nic at night”), and Jesus spoke to him of the mystery of the Holy Spirit. He said, “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; …” (John 3:8)

The Holy Spirit is like the wind, we will not be able to tell where He came from or where He is going, but we will be aware of His presence. But how? How will I be aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit in my life? To answer that, we must be aware of what the Holy Spirit does.

Jesus said , “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment;” (John 16:8).

One of the ministries of the Holy Spirit is to convict the world of sin. Has He done that in your life? Though we may call it different things most everyone is aware of the wrong things they have done in their life.  Yet those who believe and have the Holy Spirit within them, are not driven to deny or hide from their sins; they do not feel the need to blame others or attempt to escape their guilt through intoxicants and such. The believer somehow finds the strength to face the fact that he has sinned, without allowing that fact to overwhelm him. If you have experienced that strength then you have experienced the Holy Spirit in your life!

Jesus tells us the Spirit would also convict the world concerning righteousness. Many have tried to find righteousness by keeping rules and regulations. No matter how hard we tried we always felt that we haven’t tried hard enough, that we just haven’t been good enough. Then we came to understand that righteousness is not gained through self-efforts, instead it is a gift that we receive by faith. It is through our faith in Christ that we are forgiven and His righteousness is credited to our account. That realization causes us to respond in love because we have been set free from a life of struggling to earn the favor of God. And that realization is a touch of the Holy Spirit!

Jesus also said the Holy Spirit would convict the world concerning judgment. Most all of us know what it is to be judged. Many of us have felt the pain of being miss-judged by others. But there comes a time when we realize the judgments of others are not what is important. The Holy Spirit causes us to realize that our worth is based not upon the judgments of other people, but on God’s judgment. We are forgiven of our wrongs, we are loved and we are free to enjoy the possibilities of each day before God. And that wonderful, liberating realization is a touch from the Holy Spirit!

The Holy Spirit is truly active in the life of every believer, but we must learn to recognize His work.

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Pastor Pat James is pastor emeritus of True Hope Christian Fellowship Church, at

2516 18th. Ave, Forest Grove, OR Telephone 503-357-8534

Religious Liberty

Rev. Pat James

While celebrating Independence Day I began thinking about the First Amendment to the Constitution that guarantees Religious Liberty in this great country. That Amendment reads in part;  “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; …”

In modern times, that Amendment is being used as the basis for all sorts of rulings and laws and many of those rulings are completely contrary to the intentions of our Founding Fathers who wrote the Amendment. For example, the First Amendment has been used to silence prayer in public schools and at school functions.It is being used as the basis for insisting that all symbols of Christianity be removed from any publicly owned building. It is being used in an attempt to prevent Christian groups from meeting on publicly owned property.

The First Amendment has been called “The wall of separation between church and state”, but the intent of that law was to prevent the government from ever establishing a State Sanctioned Church. It was to prohibit the government from passing laws that would favor and support one denomination or religious belief over all others. It was also intended to prevent the government from interfering in the expression of a persons faith regardless of what that faith is.

Most everyone has heard that in the beginning, one of the main reasons why people came to settle in this country was to escape religious persecution. What many folks don’t realize is that for the most part, that “persecution” was from the official government established churches of the various countries. For example in England, the established church was the Church of England.  Therefore no other church or denomination was recognized as legitimate. Those who held beliefs that differed from theirs were persecuted in various ways because they were considered to be “heretics.” In Scotland the Presbyterian Church was the State Church and they too persecuted anyone who didn’t agree with their doctrinal beliefs.

In Germany the State Church was the Lutheran Church. In Spain, Italy, and France, the State Church was Catholic.  Most every country had a State sanctioned church and in every case those who didn’t belong to the State Church were persecuted in one way or another.

Of course there were people who lived in those various countries who’s beliefs differed from the State Church. For example, even though the Church of England was the official church in England, there were still Lutherans and Presbyterians and Catholics who lived there.

In most countries there were also those who’s beliefs differed from those of the popular denominations. These people were called by many different names but the oldest and most common name was “Ana-Baptist”.

They were originally called that because most of them didn’t accept the doctrine of infant baptism, so if someone wanted to join their church they had to be baptized even if they had already been baptized as a baby.  That was called “Another Baptism” and that’s what “Ana-Baptist” means … “another baptism.”

Over time however, nearly any church or group that didn’t align with one of the State sanctioned denominations were usually called “Ana-Baptist” regardless of their beliefs about baptism.

In the early days of immigration to this country, the Congregationalists, Presbyterians, and the Church of England groups established separate colonies. There they immediately passed laws establishing their particular church as the only legal church in their colony, to the absolute exclusion of all others.

The Massachusetts Bay Colony, which had the Congregational Church as their State Church passed a law that read; “It is ordered and agreed that if any person within this jurisdiction, shall condemn or oppose the baptizing of infants or go about secretly to seduce others from the use thereof or purposely depart the congregation at the ministration of the ordinance, such person shall be sentenced to banishment.”

Banishmentwas serious business in those days, it usually meant that a person would have to go and live with the Indians in order to survive. Of course there were many other kinds of persecution which included confiscation of property, public whippings, imprisonment, etc.

In 1638 a group of people who had been banished from other colonies, and were led by Roger Williams, and an Ana-Baptist Preacher named John Clark, decided that even though they didn’t have legal authority from England, they would organize a colony of their own. They found a little section of land that had not yet been claimed and settled there forming what came to be known as the Rhode Island Colony.

In 1663, after finally receiving permission from England, the Rhode Island Colony wrote a legal charter that attracted world wide attention because it was the very first legal declaration of Religious Liberty in the whole world!

When Congress began discussing the question of whether the United States should have an established church, there were three primary contenders; the Church of England, the Congregationalist Church and the Presbyterian Church. However, the so-called Ana-Baptists who were supported by James Madison, and many others, argued for complete and total religious liberty.

Patrick Henry proposed a bill that would establish four churches (or denominations) as the official churches of this country and his bill would allow the tax payers to indicate which church received their tax money.

It’s interesting that one of the major obstacles to religious liberty in America (and probably all over the world at that time), was the idea that the church could not possibly exist without governmental support. The idea that a church could survive just on the voluntary offerings of their congregations was considered an impossibility!

And the churches that were already established as State Churches used that as the basis for their arguments against religious liberty. Their conviction was that if the government didn’t support the church then this country would soon become a nation of “non-religious heathen” and our society would crumble.

But thanks to the Providence of God it was finally decided that; “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; …”

For centuries, that law is what has set this nation apart from all others. That law, (when observed in the way it was intended), is what prevents the government from establishing a State Church, and from interfering with the church through taxation or zoning laws or anything else.

I thank God for that law and I hope you do too.

Rev. Pat James, Pastor Emeritus, True Hope Christian Fellowship

2506 18th. Ave.

Forest Grove, OR  97116

503-357-8534

email: pastorpatj@gmail.com

SUNDAY

Pastor Pat James

What do you normally do on Sunday? When our Lord gathers His church together on Sunday morning are you there or are you enjoying your favorite hobby, doing chores or just relaxing with the Sunday paper? What is it that is so important that it prevents you from taking part in public worship?

 

Matthew 12:8 teaches that Jesus is “the Lord of the Sabbath”. Do you claim Him as your Savior and Lord while refusing to honor the day of His resurrection?

 

Jesus has promised to be with us when we assemble for public worship. It is sad that so many are not faithful to meet Him there! True saving faith in Christ is evidenced when we place our relationship with Him above all things, when He occupies the place of highest priority in our lives. That would certainly include assembling together with other believers for worship and instruction. That would also include taking an active and supportive role in our church.

 

Idolatry means loving something or someone more than God. Throughout both the Old and New Testaments we are repeatedly warned against that. Yet each Sunday morning many professing Christians clearly demonstrate that their love for recreation, comfort and entertainment is greater than their love for God!

 

In the Living Bible Hebrews 10:25 says, “Let us not neglect our church meetings, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.”

This Sunday when the Lord gathers His family together for worship, will you be there?

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Pastor Pat James is the pastor emeritus of True Hope Christian Fellowship Church

2516 18th. Ave, Forest Grove, OR Telephone 503-357-8534

 

 

“What About Hell?”

Anyone who has spent much time sharing the gospel has heard the argument that goes something like this; “How can you believe in a God who sends people to hell?” or, “How can a loving God sentence someone to hell for eternity?”

Over the past 100 years there have been a lot of changes in what the majority of professing Christians believe, especially in areas such as:

* THE BELIEF THAT THE BIBLE IS INSPIRED BY GOD

* THE EMPHASIS ON JUSTICE AND JUDGMENT

* THE IDEA OF ETERNAL CONSEQUENCES

Many professing Christians no longer hold to those concepts, but it’s certainly not because the Bible doesn’t teach them, because it does!

In 2nd Thessalonians 1:9, the Apostle Paul is speaking of those who don’t know the Lord and do not obey the Gospel, “They will be punished with everlasting destruction …”

In Revelation 14:11 the Apostle John wrote, “And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever.”

We should also note that the greatest preacher who ever lived was also the most descriptive teacher on Hell, and that was Jesus Christ!

Jesus said things like: “And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell,” (Mark 9:47)

He also said, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)

And in Matthew 13:41-42 Jesus said, “The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Our Lord was meek, mild, and gentle, but he taught about Hell. He taught it clearly and he taught it often!

It’s interesting that most people will agree that not everyone is going to go to Heaven, but at the same time they deny the existence of a real and literal Hell! Since the Bible teaches both then I must believe in both!

One objection to the concept of hell goes something like this; “Justice demands that punishment fit the crime, and what crime is so bad, as to demand an eternity of torment in hell?” The question then isn’t, “Is it right for God to condemn to hell?” The question is, “Does the punishment fit the crime?” The “crime” that sends people to hell is the rejection of God and His offer of eternal life. Is that worthy of eternal damnation?

The problem is, we cannot understand the severity of the crime of rejection until we have some understanding of God. We must have some appreciation for God’s awesome goodness, His love for us, His patience with us and all that He has done for us, in order to understand what a tremendous crime it is to reject Him.

The punishment does fit the crime because God is infinitely good and perfect and loving and because of that, He deserves infinite adoration!

 

In 1st. Timothy 6:16 Paul said, (God), “who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion!”

God has been infinitely benevolent to us. He has given us a wonderful world in which to live and the senses of smell, taste, touch, and vision that allow us to enjoy it.

God has been infinitely patient with us.

Romans 1:21 says,“For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

In spite of our rebellion and willful ignorance God has lavished on us the riches of His kindness, tolerance and patience. He has giving us every opportunity imaginable to come to Him.

Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul and all your mind, and all your strength. How many of us have really done that?

Yet what has been God’s response to our rejection?

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

Paul said, (Acts 4:12) “there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

2nd. Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

God gives us infinite opportunities to recognize His mercy and He reveals Himself infinitely.

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.” (Psalm 19:1-3)

The invisible God has been made known through the visible universe!

The Apostle Paul said it well, in Romans 1:20, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”

And not only that, but we can look at mankind and see the image of God. We can see that humans have a moral instinct, a personality and a free will. In our own sense of anger when we are wronged we see there is such a thing as right and wrong and we sense in our own hearts that evil must be judged!

God has given us infinite opportunities to see who He is – We can see him in creation.   We can see Him in His word. We can see Him in His Ultimate revelation – His Son. Jesus said, “He who has seen me has seen the Father.”

In light of the infinite revelation of God, the infinite opportunity that I have been given to respond to the infinite Grace, the infinite Goodness, and the infinite Glory of God, if I reject God, then my sin is infinitely evil and I am infinitely accountable!

God is so Glorious, so Good, so Gracious, and His revelation is so complete that if we reject Him, that is the ultimate rejection and it can only result in an ultimate penalty some day!

Simple annihilation is not enough to condemn our sins against God. There are only two things that can pay the penalty for that, either the Lake of Fire, or the Cross of Calvary! It has to be one or the other! But because of God’s love, you get to choose which it will be for you.

God will get rid of His enemies! He will either have them in the Lake of Fire or He will adopt them as children, but God will get rid of His enemies!

The question we must all answer is, “Do I want God’s Justice? Or do I want God’s Grace?”

To me that’s a “no-brainer”!

Pat James is Pastor Emeritus of True Hope Christian Fellowship, in Forest Grove, OR

“Happiness”

Rev. Pat James

As we begin another year some folks look to the future with fear and worry, others are excited and optimistic, but one thing we all have in common is we all hope for happiness.

Every one wants to be happy: that’s a universal desire. If we cut through all the rhetoric, we find that everyone’s real goal is happiness.

Blaise Pascal, who was a 17th century philosopher said this: “All men seek happiness. This is without exception. This is the motive of every man, even of those who hang themselves!”

When writing the Declaration of Independence our founding fathers thought of happiness as a very precious aspect of life. They wrote, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Happiness is the underlying theme of most advertising. The message is; “You want to be happy? Buy this product, go to this movie, use our credit card.” But for all of our focus on how to be happy, it seems there are very few people who are truly happy.

A valid question might be to ask ourselves is, “What makes me happy?” I suspect there are some common responses to that question. Many would say happiness is greater financial stability as well as spendability! Someone has said, “Money can’t buy you happiness, but I wouldn’t mind trying.”

Most people relate happiness to having more money, that is why millions of people are trying to become happy by winning the lottery. However, the chances of winning are something like 80 million to one! Not good odds if you’re trying to find happiness that way!
According to reports I have read even those who have won the lottery usually don’t end up all that happy! It is very doubtful that many people are going to find happiness in the lottery!

I read recently that, when asked what happiness was, a lady replied, “Happiness is seeing your husband’s old girlfriend … and seeing that she is fatter than you!” It seems that we all have an opinion of what will make us happy, and for most people it involves the circumstances of their life.

We can learn very important truths about happiness by studying the writings of the great Apostle Paul in the Bible. In the book of Acts we are told that he had been arrested and was being brought before King Agrippa. We wouldn’t think there would be a whole lot of happiness in that situation, but read what Paul said in Acts 26:2 “I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because today I shall answer for myself before you concerning all the things of which I am accused by the Jews…”

If happiness is a product of our circumstances then Paul had no business being happy! He ought to be miserable and filled with fear because of his circumstances (on trial and in chains) but Paul understood that his happiness was not dictated by his circumstances!

Paul was happy because he knew that he was in God’s will, that he was in close fellowship with God and that he was doing what God wanted him to do. You see, Paul’s source of happiness was God and ONLY God!

The truth is, if our happiness comes only through maintaining a sufficient flow of favorable circumstances, then we will see very little happiness in life! Even if we could determine our happiness by circumstances we wouldn’t be happy for long because we have little or no control over our circumstances! Happiness pursued through circumstances will always lead to disappointment!

If we look for happiness in what this temporary world has to offer then life will be a profound disappointment! True happiness will never be found in pursuing the things of this world! So the question naturally follows: “What will make us happy?”

One day a big dog saw a little puppy chasing its tail … and he asked, “Why are you chasing your tail so?” The puppy said, “I have mastered philosophy; I have solved the problems of the universe which no dog before me has rightly solved; I have learned that the best thing for a dog is happiness, and that happiness is my tail. Therefore I am chasing it; and when I catch it, I will have happiness.”

The old dog said, “My son, I, too, have paid attention to the problems of the universe, and I have formed some opinions. I too, have judged that happiness is a fine thing for a dog, and I too have found that happiness is in my tail. But I have noticed that when I chase after it, it keeps running away from me, but when I just go about my business, it comes after me.”

“Happiness is not found by chasing after it; true happiness is a by-product of pursuing God.” True happiness is something that comes when we truly commit ourselves to living our life in obedience to God, seeking only to do His will. That is the only way to real and lasting happiness!

In Psalm 16:11 the Psalmist wrote, “Thou wilt make known to me the path of life; In Thy presence is fullness of joy; In Thy right hand there are pleasures forever.”

I believe most folks would agree that God has all wisdom; we would also agree that the Bible contains God’s wise instructions for living fulfilled and happy lives here on earth. Now, with that in mind, please read the following selected verses of Scripture;

Psalms 144:15 “ … How blessed are the people whose God is the LORD!”

Proverbs 16:20, “He who gives attention to the word shall find good, And blessed (or happy) is he who trusts in the LORD.”

Proverbs 29:18 “ …. happy is he who keeps the law.”

Jeremiah 29:11-13, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”

John 15:11 (Jesus), “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”

Happiness is found in the pursuit of God; and when do that we will discover that God is pursuing us with His love!

Do you want to be happy? Sure you do! Pursue God and watch happiness come after you!

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Rev. Pat James is the pastor emeritus of True Hope Christian Fellowship Church at 2506 18th. Ave. Forest Grove, OR 97116 ~ Phone: 503-357-8534 ~ email pastorpatj@gmail.com

Is The Bible True?

Pastor Pat James
(Originally published in the Oregonian)

I understand there are many Christians who simply decided to believe the gospel message; that Jesus is the Son of God, He paid the debt of our sin and we can have salvation and eternal life simply by believing that.

I must admit that I cannot believe something simply by deciding to believe. I must first become convinced that a thing is in fact true. So for me the question was, how do I go about verifying the truth of the claims of Christianity?

Since the claims of Christianity are based on the Bible, then our basic question involves the veracity of this great book. Is the Bible really the inerrant inspired word of God?

If the Bible truly is the Word of God, then we would expect to find some very unusual and significant facts surrounding this book. If the Bible is what it claims to be then one would certainly expect to find unique information within its contents. We would also expect to find unusual circumstances related to the development, preservation and transmission of such an exceptional document.

Even a cursory study reveals that the Bible truly is unique, not only in the message that it brings to mankind, but also in many other ways. For example, the Bible was written over a period of 1500 years by at least 40 different authors who were inspired by God. These authors represented nearly every social and economic level. They included kings and paupers, as well as the educated and uneducated. They were separated by location, time and culture; they wrote on every conceivable topic relating to human existence, many of them controversial, yet their writings merge into one cohesive whole. It is doubtful that we could name even three secular authors who agreed completely on all things. The only reasonable explanation is that of a supernatural influence.

The Bible is also unique in its survival. Powerful dictators have determined to wipe the Bible from the face of the earth. Those men have gone, but the Bible remains.

The Bible has withstood every form of criticism known to man. However historical investigation, archeological discoveries and scientific examination have repeatedly proven the Bible to be entirely accurate and reliable. Not to mention the literally hundreds of prophecies which have been perfectly fulfilled to the smallest detail.

It is only reasonable to conclude that the Bible truly is the inspired word of God and since that is true, what could possibly be more important than to learn what it says and do what it says?
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Pastor Pat James is the pastor emeritus of True Hope Christian Fellowship Church
2516 18th. Ave, Forest Grove, OR Telephone 503-357-8534