Insurance for your Soul 

INTRODUCTION:  

Soul insurance?   Ridiculous!   I mean, who can insure the soul? Consider insurance:   We purchase insurance plans because we cannot afford the cost of a catastrophic health failure.  At last check the human mortality rate was at 100%.    Concern for the destiny of our soul should be high on our list of concerns.
 
I've added this page because I've found a relationship with Jesus Christ to be both the ultimate Life Insurance, providing eternal Life Assurance.    Knowing Jesus Christ is more useful than any insurance policy I have ever sold, with benefits both in this life and the life to come. 

IT'S ALL IN THE BIBLE

Little is known about Jesus apart from the 4 Biblical accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  These were all written in the decades after Jesus lived by those who had first-hand knowledge of the events and persons in question.  These accounts were trusted as being both accurate and trustworthy by the 1st century church and have stood the test of time and modern archeological findings 20 centuries later. 

There are many religions in this world today; All with founders who lived and died-- except Jesus, who holds the unique claim of being God himself.   He predicted that he would die and rise from the dead in 3 days.   History says he died and was raised from the dead--making him unique among all religious figures of all time. (Granted, you must believe by faith that the historical account is true).

In Acts 2, Paul wrote "God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses to the fact"...."Let all Israel be assured of this:  God has made this Jesus both Lord and Christ".   

 I encourage you to not trust the PBS or Discovery Channel specials about Christianity, but read Jesus words for yourself.   If Jesus truly is Creator, Savior and Lord the the word is effort is with it. 

Why is this so important that I would write about it on my insurance web site-risking alienating potential clients? 

If these statements are true, then wouldn't it be tragic for me to know and conceal my belief about Jesus?

JESUS IS GOD ALONE

Jesus unequivically claimed to be God, and never refuted the fact when he was accused of claiming deity.  Many today try to dilute this truth and its importance.   I've compliled a detailed study of the biblical claims of Jesus diety so that you can read first-hand about what Jesus claims about himself in the Bible.  I invite you to spend the time to read the verses in the context of the chapters that they were written in, and decide for yourself if Jesus claimed to be God.  Anyone can take a verse out of the context that it was written to try to prove a point or make a claim.

 The Study is a PDF file you can access by clicking on the blue link below:

Jesus_is_God_Study.pdf

  Understanding biblical Christianity is impossible without actually reading the Bible.  

  Gospel means good news: We live in a terrible time, and what better news is there that God loves you with all of your faults, and invites you to be part of his family?  You can experience real forgiveness of sin, and joy a true peace in this life though Jesus Christ.  He offers to save anyone from a real eternity in Hell, to a destiny with a real future in Heaven.  How awesome is that?

     As you read the Gospels you find the people of Jesus day were split about him:  They could not deny his miracles, but many would not accept him as Savior and Lord.  They had their own pre-conceptions of what their King and God would look like, and he often didn't fit the bill. Not much has changed in 2000 years.  Most people have notions of what Jesus (or God) should look like, but we stand in the same shoes as the 1st century people--we can read Jesus teachings, clearly naming himself as the one path to eternal life, and decide for ourself whether to believe it or not. 

   Despite all the historic, written, and archeological evidence that exists today, the biblical record ultimately must be accepted or rejected on faith (belief in the unseen). There is huge amounts of evidence to prove the biblical record is reliable. Likewise, to believe that the Bible is not true and accurate requires a faith (How can you know for sure that any part of the Bible is incorrect)?  Which is more likely to be correct, the 21st Century critic studying ancient pottery, or a diverse group of 1st-hand witnesses?

As you consider the historical accuracy of the Bible, in real life we might believe the account of an event if recalled by a trustworthy, first-hand witness. We would give even more weight to a story if multiple witnesses agreed in the verification of the event. (Like 4 people who witnessed an auto accident from different sides of the intersection).   The Bible was written by first hand witnesses within the lifetimes that the accounts happened (not centuries later).  In fact, the 4 accounts of Jesus life were written by different men, from different locations, addressing different audiences.  Although the points of view differ slightly, a strong consistency and unity is seen through the entire Bible with very few unexplainable (if any) contradictions. 

     The entire Bible we hold was written over a 1500 year period, by roughly 60 authors, in 3 languages.  Yet today, we have a Biblical record that has been preserved over 2000 years, a mini-miracle in itself, and is remarkably consistent in its message and without major contradictions.   

I know I'm emphasizing the Bible a lot here, but let's face it, if the Bible is not true, then any knowledge of Jesus we have is likely untrue as well, as the bulk of our understanding comes from the 4 accepted Gospel accounts.   We would be left with a man-made, worthless belief and no hope for this life, or the one to come.  To understand Jesus (not the Christian religion), you cannot side-step the Bible.     

  Some read the Bible and it appears as jibberish, to others it is like water to a man dying of thirst.  Eternal Life, the Bible claims, is not found in buying into a philosophy or religion, but in finding life in Jesus, the Son of God.  The honest seeker of this truth will find it.   Jesus claimed to be the Bread of Life, the only Way, Truth and Eternal Life.  He claimed to be like water that satisfies, the only Door to salvation, and the only true Shepherd of the flock of God. 

 PICKING A BIBLE VERSION TO READ:

 If you get this far and say "Ok Dan, I'll try reading the Bible, and check out your Jesus".  If you have never read the Bible for yourself, I encourage you to buy a modern English translation like the New International Version, the New Living Translation, the New King James, or the New American Standard Version.  The King James Version can be a very difficult translation to understand as it was written in 1612 archaic English.  You can read (or listen) to several versions online and search for verses and topics at the link below:

www.biblios.com

    I encourage you to not read about Jesus just to gain knowledge, but to seek eternal life.    Jesus claimed in John 14:6  "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.  No one comes to the Father but through me.  If you really knew me, you would know the Father as well".   To seek life implies rightly that your spiritually dead on your own and in need of life.  The Biblical claim is that our sins make us spiritually dead, and that Jesus is the only one who can restore life.  If Jesus is God (and He is), then the pursuit of Jesus is the very pursuit of God, which is the way to life, the truth about everything important, and the path to eternal Life.   

    The message of salvation is simply restated by Paul in
Romans 10: 9 "That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved".

 AnyA 
   WHERE TO BEGIN READING:  

    I encourage you to begin in the New Testament in the gospel of John to get to know Jesus and his message to mankind.  I would then read about Jesus in the gospels of Luke, Matthew, and Mark--everything after that is gravy. 'Gospel' means good news, and the books were written by Jesus closest companions who offer the account from the perspective of those who witnessed the events described. 

Some may say these were just followers trying to get the religion started, but any honest assessment of history shows these men suffered brutal persecution under the Roman tyranny of the time.  Despite this persecution, these men were willing to suffer and die for the belief that Jesus did truly rise from grave as they had witnessed, and the belief that they were called to preach the good news of salvation in Jesus name.  Do you have anything in your belief portfolio worth giving your life for?

To learn more about worshipping God, spend some time reading the book of Psalms.  Nearly 1/2 of the Old Testament quotes Jesus made was from the book of Psalms.  If you've been living a foolish life, meditate on one chapter of the book of Proverbs per day, and in 30 days you will find yourself considering wiser decisions.  If you want  to know about how this world will end up, read Jesus teachings in Luke, and the book of Revelations, and the book of Daniel.   25% of  the Bible speaks of future things (prophetic), so why ignore it?   Learn about what's coming.  

Salvation is a relationship with a risen Savior, not a belief in a man who died and taught good things.  If Jesus was not God, he was the greatest fraud in history.  Like any authentic relationship, knowing Jesus can only be experienced first-hand.   If you choose to become a Christian some day, you don't need a preacher.  The book of John lays out everything someone needs to know and to follow Jesus. 

IS JESUS REALLY THE ONLY WAY TO GOD? 

I know some of you might think, "how small minded and naive".   It amazes me how many believe that there are many ways to God, or salvation.  Think about the Bible's message:  God loved mankind enough to send his only Son to die a brutal dealth on the Cross on our behalf.  If there were other ways of salvation other then the Cross of Christ, then Jesus died for nothing, and God is a fool.  Does it make even the remotest logic sense that a Christian comes to God by Jesus precious death, and others can find salvation from a less costly road?   Most people ultimately believe what they want to believe.

Jesus clearly taught that he is the only way, the only truth, and the only way to eternal life--so you either choose to believe it or discard it as 'dogmatic'. 

Others try to dismiss the value of the Old Testament books.  As you read the 4 Gospels, you will find the authors constantly quoting from the Old Testment, particularly in the Gospel of Matthew.  We learn that the whole Bible looks to Jesus.  Jesus quoted the Old Testament books frequently, and if they are not correct, then Jesus was wrong about them...think about that.   He is shown to be the Lord of the Old Testament and the Savior and Messiah hoped for.  We learn that every book was written to teach us.  Even a bad example of faith can teach us a better way.

Here's a little of the lingo if it is foreign to you:   The Bible teaches that to be a Christian is to be a follower of Christ, not a church attender.  It's to believe Jesus died on the Cross for your sins and rose to life. He died to save you and forgive your sins if you will believe it in your heart and confess it with your lips. 

Romans 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 

     You may say, "Dan that's just too easy!, Confess Christ and I'm saved?"

Well, it wasn't easy.  Jesus died on your behalf.   We are saved by confession because our good works are not helpful whatsoever to bring us to salvation.

To believe "Jesus is Lord" means that you acknowledge that God is in control (Lord), and you are not.  If Jesus is Lord, then the believer is obliged to follow with a motive of love, not under the threat of punishment.  "Christ" means King or  Messiah.  Jesus is the promised Savior and King predicted in the Old Testament prophesies, and will come again as King of Kings to bring about the end of all things, judge the world, and establish a new heaven and earth, free of evil, sin and the like. Whew!  That's a mouthful.

This should get you started. If you would like to address a certain topic and would like direction or other resources, you are welcome to contact me.  My graduate degrees are in biblical education so my recommendations come with some experience.  I'm not really into debate of any type, but I welcome a friendly discussing of what the Bible teaches about Jesus.  What good are my opinions anyway, or yours for that matter?

 Many people might read a page like this and think, "There goes another Christian pushing his exclusive religion on others".  I'm not here to judge anyone's personal beliefs, but the Bible does, and I guess I am guilty by assocation.   This truth about eternal destiny is important enough to risk offending a few prospective clients.  The Bible clearly teaches the salvation discussed in its pages is offered through a relationship with Jesus alone.  You can have an opinion to the contrary, but Jesus clearly claimed to be the only way to eternal life and at the end of your life, your opinions will weigh in lighter than you may have expected.  Please be mad at the Bible, and not me if you disagree with what I am proposing the Bible teaches.

SO IS GOD SENDING GOOD PEOPLE TO HELL?

 God gives everyone free choice to accept or reject Jesus offer of life.  The Biblical warnings are like a Captain that announces on a flight that the plane is going to run out of gas and he is offering free parachutes to those who will accept them.  If a passenger rejects the parachute and eventually the plane goes down, he/she is in no position to blame the Captain.  Likewise, Jesus is that Captain to those who believe what the Bible teaches about this life.  Salvation is presented as the free parachute and is offered to everyone without predudice, and is free to receive--if you will put your trust in the Captain. 

Every person who ends up in hell ends up there by choice:  God sends no one to hell.

If Jesus was not who he claimed, then his teachings are useless, then no one need worry--we're all going down with the plane!   If the Bible is true, we must evaluate carefully our relationship to Jesus as God's son-as this is the key to eternal life from the Bible's perspective.    

One final word, if reading through the Bible is like jibberish, and it is easier to listen to some 'through the Bible' teachings, the church I attend offers an online library of  verse by verse, through the Bible studies.  You can download teachings on any book of the bible at the website below: 

http://www.atheycreek.com/teachings.aspx

 Pastor Brett Meador (my pastor), has taught verse by verse through the entire Bible over the past 13 years.  If you have questions about some chapters of the bible, a great way to learn is to listen to his free online teachings at the link above.

 WHERE TO ATTEND CHURCH:  

A follower of Christ should only be happy in a church that worships Jesus alone.  Christian churches come in many 'flavors'.   I recommend a church is focused around the teaching of God's word, and tries to keep Jesus the focus.  It usually takes visiting a variety of solid Bible-teaching churches to find one that seems a good 'fit' for you.  

LEARN MORE:

If you'd like to investigate more about the Christian Faith and Christianity, I invite you to visit www.carn.org, which offers many concise explainations of the tenets and issues surrounding biblical Christianity.

 

HELP FOR THOSE HOOKED ON PORNOGRAPHY, ALCOHOLISM, GAMBLING OR OVEREATING.    

I recommend a resourse to investigate if you are seeking freedom from a sin habit.   Visit www.settingcaptivesfree.com    They offer bible-based bible studies that show a clear path to finding freedom from the listed vises.