                      WHY DID CHRIST DIE?
                            PART 1

      If the Resurrection had been a lie, then we have shown
 that  the Disciples KNEW it.  No where in recorded  history
 has  there  ever been a case of a group of  men  giving  up
 their lives for a LIE, much less 12 men:

      o PETER was CRUCIFIED upside down

      o ANDREW was CRUCIFIED

      o MATTHEW was STABBED with a SWORD

      o JOHN  died  a  NATURAL  Death after  a  lifetime  of
        tribulation

      o JAMES, Son of Alphaeus, was CRUCIFIED

      o PHILIP was CRUCIFIED

      o SIMON was CRUCIFIED

      o THADDAEUS was "filled with arrows"

      o JAMES,  brother of Christ was THROWN from the  Walls
        of Jerusalem and then STONED to death

      o THOMAS was THRUST with a SPEAR

      o BARTHOLOMEW was CRUCIFIED

      o JAMES, Son of Zebedee, was STABBED by a SWORD

      A skeptic can still say,  "Well, they died for a lie".
 The  very fact that each of these men had the "opportunity"
 to  recant  their  faith and DID NOT  shows  a  TRUTH  when
 coupled  with  the  very  lives that these  men  led  after
 Pentecost.

      The 500 eyewitnesses that were still living when  Paul
 wrote  his letters,  in essence saying "Go talk to them for
 evidence"  could be better understood if we think in  terms
 of  giving  each of the 500 only 6 minutes  to  testify  in
 court,  we would have over 10 days of court time - 50 hours
 of EYEWITNESS testimony!

                    WHY DID CHRIST DIE ?!

                       o For RELIGION?

    Religion  is humanity trying to WORK their way into  the
 Presence of God.  Good Works, Obedience, etc. So our answer
 is a resounding NO!

                     o For CHRISTIANITY?

    Christianity in NOT RELIGION. Christianity is GOD COMING
 TO Men and Women through the person of Jesus Christ.

      o SALVATION - Secure and Eternal

           Acts  16:31  says,  "Believe  in the  Lord  Jesus
 Christ and thou shalt be saved". However, Jesus also wanted
 something else - Let's look at the following:

           o MARK 1:14,15      We receive Kingdom Citizenship
                  2:17         Our sins are "cured"

           o LUKE 15:7 & 10    Joy in Heaven when we repent

           o LUKE 24:47        Opened to the World

           o ACTS 2:36         Remission of our sins
                  3:19         Repentance is REFRESHING
                 20:21         Repentance is PROFITABLE

      True  repentance  ALWAYS  leads to  a  change  in  the
 conduct and attitude of the believer.

           SALVATION HAS SEVERAL PARTS. THESE ARE:

      o FAITH

           If repentance is true then Faith is the first by-
 product. Faith  means  you  have a  "confident  trust  in"
 something or "reliance on" something.

 ***READ***    HEBREWS   11:6   - "Without   faith   it   is
 IMPOSSIBLE....."

           In and of itself,  FAITH is meaningless  Remember
 the   story  of  the  "battle  of  the  Gods"  when  Elijah
 challenged the priest of Baal?  The priest had faith!  They
 were sincere in their faith! However; FAITH always needs an
 OBJECT to which it is placed in or on. If the OBJECT of our
 FAITH is worthless as it was for the priest of  Baal,  then
 we are victims of superstition.  It makes no difference how
 sincere  or  intense  our faith is,  we  can  be  sincerely
 deluded and intensely mis-led!

           SAVING  FAITH is many things,  but must have  (1)
 Acceptance about the FACTS of and about Christ - HIS DIETY,
 HIS  DEATH  and OUR NEED OF HIM.  Most of  all,  it  should
 contain  (2) a COMMITMENT TO THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST IN  OUR
 LIVES.

           We  don't believe only because of our feelings  -
 we make a DECISION to believe.

 ***READ*** James 2:20. The "faith" indicated here is "head"
 faith  - the kind that does not manifest itself by  leading
 the believer into a MORE holy lifestyle.  This "head faith"
 produces  the DEAD WORKS,  usually to impress other  humans
 with our "goodness,etc".

      o REGENERATION

           Regeneration   is   mentioned   ONLY   TWICE   in
 scripture.  In  Matthew  19:28  the  reference  is  to  the
 restoration  of the world,  but in TITUS 3:5,  we find  the
 reference to individuals.

           Regeneration   is  a  DECISIVE  EXPERIENCE   that
 happens  ONCE   for  ALL.   However;  the  regeneration  is
 continual  in  the results and changes in the lives of  the
 believers.

           In JOHN 5:40,  Christ says :"Ye will not come  to
 me ..".  Notice that He did not say,  "Ye CANNOT come to me
 ..". It isn't that any of us CANNOT come to Him - it's that
 we  CHOOSE  NOT  TO  come to Him.  It requires  the  active
 commission of WILL to acknowledge that He is better able to
 direct  our lives and to submit ourselves to  His  Complete
 Will!

           Well, what of ELECTION where God, in His soverign
 will,  has  chosen  certain  people and certain  groups  of
 people to receive His Grace and Mercy. God chose Abraham as
 an individual and Israel as an entire nation.  Look at  the
 major  aspect  of  ELECTION  - it is not by any  virtue  or
 quality of the chosen,  but exclusively through the Will of
 God.    Coupled    with   ELECTION    is    PREDESTINATION.
 Predestination   indicates  that  God's  purpose  for   the
 believer  -- that  we  become CHRIST-LIKE is CERTAIN  to  be
 fulfilled.

                 ****READ**** Romans 8:29,30

           Foreknowledge,      predestination,      calling,
 justification  &  glorification are all parts  of  the  one
 "package" of SALVATION. If we have one - we have them ALL!

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