Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
Somehow, a call got through to me at work that had nothing to do with my job. A man wanted to argue that Jesus is not God. It's not like he wanted to know "a reason for the hope that is in me;" it's just that he wanted to bash Christianity... on my boss' dime. I did not give him the satisfaction of a fight. The decline was firm, but not harsh.
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But I thought about his question, and so I ask: why did they kill Jesus? Remember that the Roman governor could not find fault in the man. It was the religious leaders that insisted upon the death penalty, but for what? Was it because Christ performed miracles? because he was humble and unassuming? because he stressed the over-arching importance of loving God and loving our neighbor? No. It was because they knew he was claiming to be God.
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If someone claims that (who is not God), it is blasphemy. That is a serious sin... unless that person actually IS God. One of my favorite passages is John 8:58, because of how eloquently Jesus made the claim, and because the reaction clearly demonstrates that they clearly knew what he meant. And they killed him for it..
In the beginning... both Genesis and John's gospel tell us that God created the world. But John's gospel presents Jesus as the Creator. This is not a case of "either/or," but "both/and."
- Who raised Jesus from the dead? You'll find that the Bible will tell you that God did, but you will also find that Jesus said that he would raise himself. Again: both/and.
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I'm sure a person can be saved without first knowing how to defend the doctrine of the Trinity (like the thief on the cross next to Jesus), but can a person truly be saved who vehemently denies it? I honestly doubt it. This is not a matter that has to do with allowable preferences, but a non-negotiable, essential doctrine. It is heresy to deny the deity of Christ. I wished that I could answer the man's question. Hopefully someone will.
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