Questions in Christianity Today Essay

The Christian population is growing every day. With the economy today people are starting to turn to God for answers and pray for help with their problems. Since so many people are starting to look to God for answers I decided to talk about the following three topics: â€Å"Did Jesus Claim to be God?†, â€Å"Did Jesus need to be born of a virgin?†, and â€Å"What can your local church do to better communicate Gods love to your community?† There are many questions and concerns about these topics. Although there are a lot of debatable questions it is clear to see that Jesus did claim to be God. Did Jesus Claim to be God Jesus never said in the Bible â€Å"I am God†. He did however say in John 10:30 â€Å"I and the Father are one†. Because of the ways the Jews reacted to his statement they said he was claiming to be God and then tried to stone him for this reason. We must see that the creation of the universe was done by God, but we must also remember that God is made of the Trinity which is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three things make God. Since the Son of the Trinity would be Jesus it would be possible for Jesus and God to be the creator of the universe because they are one. Before Christ was born, God spoke to Moses and told him that his name was Yahweh. Yahwen is also known as I AM. I AM was the scared name of God and Jesus used it for himself. In the passage John 8:56-58 Jesus makes it clear that he is not merely a mortal man. â€Å"Your father Abraham rejoices at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.† â€Å"You are not yet fifty years old,† the Jews said to him, â€Å"and you have seen Abraham!† â€Å"I tell you the truth,† Jesus answered, â€Å"before Abraham was born I am!† At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds. In an article I read, it says that there is a great deal of secondary evidence that Jesus is the Son of God. His teachings, miracles and resurrection claim this. Jesus had a special relationship with God and claimed to be alive before Abraham. People asked if he was the Son of God or said that He was and Jesus either affirmed or denied it. Did Jesus Need to be born of a Virgin? The miracle of a virgin birth has kept people from accepting the truth of Christianity. The bible does say that God had decided his son would have a miraculous entrance into the world. The verse Isaiah 7:14 says â€Å"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: Behold the virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call his name Immanuel† God was unhappy with the way the world was turning out. So many people were committing sin. This is why he decided to bring his Son to the world to help guide and teaching people. The virgin birth of Jesus was very important. To come into the world to teach the people about sin he needed to be sinless himself. This is why God called upon the Holy Spirit to go to the Virgin Mary and plant his seed in her womb. Many debate on how a virgin can be pregnant and how Jesus became Human. In fact Jesus received his human aspects from his mother, whereas he still had his deity because God was his father. In order to keep his deity he could not be born of sin. Since all are born with sin because they are conceived by man, Jesus was not conceived by man which makes him pure and having no sin. Local Churches and the Community It is important to treat others as you would want to be treated. A lot of Christians today look down on those who don’t believe the way that they do. You shouldn’t judge anyone on their perspective about God. God is the only one who can judge. Christians should just share Gods love to those who do not accept him. When non believers look into becoming Christian, they look to their local churches for answers. This is why it is important for churches to be well informative and also have their doors open for all perspectives. You can expect a non believer to come if they feel like they are going to be judged as soon as they walk in the door. It is important for Christians to spread the word about God. We just have to make sure we go about it a certain way. No one wants to feel as if they are being preached to all the time. You have to be prepared to listen to their point of view without judgment. It’s ok to debate as long as it’s not taken to a certain level. I think personal experiences on why you believe a certain way could help others understand better. You can’t just tell someone why they should believe a certain way without some kind of reason behind it. Churches can also have a big impact on the way people view Christianity. It is the churches responsibility to get the word out about God. Not only can Churches open their doors to teach the word of God but they can do things to help the community. Churches can have food drive, feed the homeless, volunteer at nursing homes, help community members with funeral cost or just raise money to help someone. People in the community wither they are Christian or not will see what good the church will do for others. This could make non believers come to that church to learn more on what they are about. In conclusion, Jesus did claim to be God, he was born of a virgin, and there are many way churches can help out the community. Jesus allowed people to worship him, which worshiping was only supposed to be allowed for God. He was born of a virgin to help the people with their sin. God did this on purpose because he needed help. People can help local churches spread the love of God. It is important for the people to give a good image about the church to bring non believers in. We want to give everyone the same love and respect as we would want for ourselves.