1. Brooks Wilson
Mrs. Oncu
AP Literature
20 December 2013
This I Believe
Many people will have their beliefs challenged as they go about their lives. As a
Christian, it is essential to remain constant in our duties as followers of the one true
God. Being unashamed of the life I live in Christ is vital to the strength given to me by
Christ. “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to
everyone who believes…” (Romans 1:16). I believe in the undisputable truth of the life
of Christ Jesus given in the Bible, his purpose in coming to Earth to bring salvation to all
who believe, and the importance of spreading the word of God to further his kingdom.
Christianity is seen to some as a way of being satisfied without actually knowing.
What they do not recognize is the inner moral standards written in the hearts of people
by God. The Bible, Jesus, and salvation are the central origins of the Christian faith.
Commonly unaccepted, the Bible gives a controversial issue throughout the
world. The Bible, a collection of sixty-six books divided into the Old and New
Testaments, has numerous differences from other world religions. The Bible has more
supporting evidence than any other religious text. The Islamic Koran and The Book of
Mormon, for example, have blatant contrasts with the Bible (Bible and Book of Mormon
Contradictions). The Bible claims to be God’s revealed word and others do not. The
Bible accurately supports scientific and historical finds. The Koran has clear historical
inaccuracies. The Koran says the Israelites “left Egypt and their gardens and fountains

2. and splendid dwellings.” Historical evidence, however, claims that they endured slavery
and oppression. Important Biblical prophecies that are fulfilled include the coming of the
Messiah Himself, and the means of His birth from a virgin (Virgin Birth, A Defense). The
prophecy of Christ’s crucifixion was laid out in Psalm 22:1-18, decades before this
method of execution was invented. “Our God has foretold the future in the Bible and
fulfills his prophecies in it. That sets the Bible apart from the books of false religions”
(Fulfilled Prophecies). The historical accuracy and internal agreement of the Bible verify
the consistency of the foundation of the Christian faith.
Throughout history, there have been many objections against the Bible and its
historical integrity. There are numerous examples of archaeological discoveries that
have been uncovered. The Code of Hammurabi are seven foot black stones engraved
with the laws of the ancient king of Babylon, King Hammurabi, in approximately 1750
BC. These stones show a common Semitic law of retribution in the ancient near east,
which is clearly reflected in Exodus 21 ( Biblical Archaeology). In the early 1900s,
archaeologists discovered the existence of the Hittites. “Genesis 23 reports that
Abraham buried Sarah in the Cave of Machpelah, which he purchased from Ephron the
Hittite. Second Samuel 11 tells of David’s adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the
Hittite” (Biblical Archaeology). Archaeologists digging east of Ankara, Turkey,
discovered the ruins of Hattusas, the ancient Hittite capital at what is today called
Boghazkoy. They found a large collection of Hittite historical records that showed a
thriving nation during the time the Bible was written. Since the beginning of modern
archaeology, “hard” evidence has continued to be found and the historical accuracy
has made it harder and harder to protest against the truths of the Bible.

3. Internal evidence in the Bible also proves its credibility and dependability. It
makes sense that a collection of 66 books written by more than forty different authors,
would have some substantial contradictions. This is not the case. While both the Old
and New Testament writers speak of men in their own times, they also bear witness to
the truth of each other. “There are at least 855 quotations in the New Testament taken
from the Old Testament many of them with the formula, ‘It is written’” (Internal
Evidence). The Old Testament accurately described events that happened in the New
Testament. Some prophecies of the Old Testament, however, have yet to happen and
some people devote much of their lives to predicting or deciphering when those events
may occur.
It is difficult for people to believe that the Son of God came to Earth to save all
who believed in Him. Jesus proclaims that if mankind does not believe in Him as the
Son of God, then they will perish in their sins. In Mere Christianity, written by C.S.
Lewis, he describes that there are only two possible answers to Jesus claiming to be
the Son of God. “Either He was, or He was not the Son of God. If He was not and He
knew He was not, then He is a liar. If He was not and did not know He was not, then He
is considered a lunatic. However, if He truly was the Son of God and knew He was by
claiming it, then undeniably He is Lord.” The idea that Jesus was only a good man, or
perhaps a prophet, does not coincide with “either he was, [or was not] the son of God.
Jesus Christ was, in fact, 100 percent man, 100 percent God.
God tells us that every person has been given the opportunity to believe in the
life of Christ and the prophecy he fulfilled. God always has been and always will be as
described in John 1:1. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and

4. the Word was God.” In this verse, “The Word” is the Son of God. This can only be true if
He was alive before He came to earth. Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, giving
Christians another reason to believe in Him. The Old Testament prophesizes that the
Son of God will be born of a virgin, and it is verified in the book of Matthew. Over three
hundred prophecies were fulfilled during the life of Jesus Christ and are recorded in the
Bible (351 Prophecies). All the miracles of Christ pointed to him as the messiah
(Miracles of Jesus). Another reason to believe in Jesus is because of the miracles he
performed. But even as Jesus performed miracles, he remained humble and declared
that it was simply the work of His father, the creator. His miracles did help many people
around him but more importantly, those who saw him do wonderful things began to
understand and believe that he truly was the son of the almighty God, and the king they
have been waiting for. Most people see Jesus’ desire to help others and relate him to
prophets who came before him. Because of this, people denied that he was, in fact, the
son of God and referred to him as just another prophet or moral teacher.
Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice of his death and later the fulfillment of prophecy through
his resurrection, is perhaps the most influential topic of the Christian faith. Matthew,
Mark, Luke, and John tell the story of Jesus’ life through their gospels. They teach of
Jesus’ parables and miracles that he performed and also of His ultimate goal to provide
salvation to all who believe. Many people acknowledge the death of Christ but continue
to deny His resurrection. However, the resurrection is supported with evidence
throughout the New Testament. Even Jesus himself foretold of the events that would
take place such as His death and resurrection. Everything happened exactly how He
predicted. “The idea that the empty tomb is the result of some hoax, conspiracy, or theft

5. is simply dismissed” ( The Reality). Archaeologists have found that ancient tombs, such
as the one Jesus would have been buried in, would have been closely guarded by
Roman soldiers and sealed with a large bolder. Because Jesus was 100 percent man,
if he was still alive in the tomb, it would be impossible for him to move the bolder and
defeat roman soldiers to escape. The guards would also have been more than capable
of defending off people attempting to obtain Jesus’ body.
The Bible also speaks of Jesus appearing to many people after His resurrection.
He appeared to the disciples as well as ordinary people. He was seen by as many as
500 people at once. The book of 1 John tells us that these were not just hallucinations
because Jesus ate with them and talked with them. The testimonies of the apostles
such as Peter and John include statements that they had indeed seen the resurrected
Jesus. John proclaims “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves
have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the World.
Jesus Christ had risen from the dead, never to die again” (Who is Jesus).
“To believe in Christ is to commit our lives by faith to Christ—to trust Him
personally as our Lord and Savior. Our prayer is that you will come to truly believe in
Christ” (Answers).
Many religions and theories try and answer the question of why evil is so evident
in the world around us. But only Christianity gives a true answer to this question. It is
the sin nature of mankind corrupting the perfect creation. The solution: Jesus dying on
the cross for the sins of the world, making the ultimate sacrifice. Differing religions such
as Islam, or Muslims, believe that everyone is born free of sin and must earn their way
to a saving grace. “No person inherits original sin as God forgave Adam and Eve and

6. did not pass down the sin. Since Muslims believe that people are born inherently good,
there is no concept of redemption” (Do Muslims).
What is sin? Soren Kierkegaard, a Danish Philosopher, says,” sin is: in despair
not wanting to be oneself before God” (Keller). More than just doing wrong, sin is
inherited. Ever since the fall of mankind, when Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, mans imperfections are inescapable without the assistance
of Jesus Christ. Through Eve’s temptation from the devil, she was given a choice: To
honor God the Father and obey his commands or listen to the words of Satan. Eve falls
to the deceptions of the devil and Adam does the same. This is where the sin nature o
man was bread. As a result of their disobedience to God, Adam and Eve were banished
from the Garden of Eden and the ground beneath them was cursed. God sent his son
to die and to make the final sacrifice for this original sin in the garden. Sin in any amount
will result in distance from God because He is perfect and just. “What separates us
from God? Simply that we choose to ignore Him…to drown out His ‘still, small voice”
(Gods Words). Much of sin comes from greed and ones desire to do what they want
and not what God wants for them. We are to be ever thankful for Jesus’ sacrifice and
we should exalt the Lord for if we do not, Jesus’ death would have been in vain.
There are differing views on the atonement of Christ that have been offered
throughout the history of the Christian church. Once the concept that Jesus died for
each and every person on this earth, past, present, and future, and took our punishment
to the cross, is when one truly understand what it means to be saved by grace, through
faith in the God of creation. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and
this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God…” (Eph. 2:8-9). Because “God made

7. Him who had no sin to be sin.” Because of what Jesus did, Christians can have hope
in the eternal life promised by God in his covenant.
My Christian character is completely influenced by these beliefs and impacts the
way I live everyday. My goal is to live everyday for Christ as he did for me, trying to be
an imitator of the only perfect man to walk the Earth.
It is the biggest blessing in my life to have been raised in a Christian home. I
was constantly surrounded by other believers who helped me in my walk with Christ. It
was not until I was about 12 years old, with the help of my youth pastor, that I found
how wide and how deep God’s love is for me and that helped me to comprehend that I
am a sinner and that I was saved by the greatest king to ever live, Jesus Christ. I strive
each and every day to implement the laws of Christ in my daily life. Part of my walk with
the Lord involves falling to temptations of the world but through redemption, I am
granted the gift of heaven and washed as white as snow in Gods eyes. Having faith in
Jesus starts with having faith in the infallibility of the Bible and its divinity. Knowing
these truths has grown me into the man I am today and will continue to grow me into the
man I am today but I am not finished. I have much more knowledge to obtain to
become more like Christ and to continue to grow the kingdom of God. Without the Bible
and the life of the savior, none of these things are possible and are all in vain.
Therefore we are to treat everyday on this Earth as a blessing and a gift from God. His
endless love makes me strong when I am weak. God uses our weakest moments to
make us stronger in the end.
The Bible, Jesus death on the cross, and sin and salvation prove have proven
themselves the most crucial concepts of the Christian faith. It is not always fun or easy

8. when trying to be an imitator of Christ but the hope of eternal salvation that it provides
makes it more than worth the effort and devotion. The ultimate meaning of life that
Christians strive for is based on this hope in Jesus Christ; the bearer of all truths and all
love, who bore the sins of the world for the salvation of mankind.

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