Witness With History | Sharing Your Faith

Rabbi K.A. Schneider: We're in this world to serve Jesus. So whenever somebody comes into your life, whether it's somebody that you meet at the school, whether it's a neighbor, you always are looking for the opportunity. "Lord, maybe you've brought this person across my path for me to share the gospel with them." Father, I pray for these beloved ones of yours. I pray that you will strengthen us, Father God, and equip us to lift up the name of Jesus wherever we go and at all times for your glory. Last time, we talked about how do we respond to an atheist. I want to read now from the book of Romans, chapter number one, beginning there in verse number 18. "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them, for God made it evident to them." What is Paul saying? He's saying that men deep inside know there's a God. I want to read these two verses again because I really want you to understand that when people tell you they're atheists, they're lying. Deep down inside, they know there was a God. They may have been denying it for so long that they've forgotten about it, that they've seared their conscience to the place that they've really convinced themselves that they believe there's no God, but they know. "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and the unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness." What is the truth that they're suppressing? The scripture is referring to men who suppress the truth of the existence of God, which is so prevalent in our scientific community today. "Because that which is known about God is evident within them." Paul is saying they're denying the truth that they know inside, that God made it evident to them in their heart. Deep in their heart, they knew inside there was a God. God's made it evident to every man that's ever been born. The Bible says of Yeshua, "In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God. In him was life, and that life was the light of men." The Bible says all things were created through him, and apart from him, nothing that's been created has been created. This means that Jesus is the agent through whom God created everyone. When they were created, the Father and Yeshua put a light within the men that they created. The light within them caused them to know inside that there was a God; in their conscience, they knew. "For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so they are without excuse. For even though they knew God..." What am I saying? The atheist is lying because deep inside, when he was a child, they knew there was a God. This is what the scripture says. I don't want you to be thrown when someone comes to you with such hostility and such aggressiveness telling you they don't believe there's a God. They're lying. They knew. "For even though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks." So they didn't respond properly. They knew, but because of rebellion, sin, pride, hurt, and a multiplication of reasons, they began to deny him and not give him honor. They knew, but they didn't respond correctly; they denied. They suppressed that knowledge that they had in unrighteousness. Their conscience got seared. They forgot there was a God and now they are being energized by a demon suppressing the truth in unrighteousness, denying God's own existence. The scripture says, "Will the thing say to the one that made it, 'Thou hast not made me?'" Yet this is what men are doing today. "For even though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations." All these theories about how God didn't create the world, but it came from some Big Bang that had nothing to do with God—these are foolish speculations. Instead, they went into foolish speculations and their foolish heart was darkened. This is the plight and the condition of atheists. They knew there was a God, they denied there was a God, and then they became darkened and got into speculation. Many have even forgotten there was a God and now they're just fueled by rebellion and pride. Now, I talked about two ways to respond to people that take this atheistic position. I talked about the argument of intelligent design. When you look at creation, there's intelligence built into creation. When the human body overheats, it automatically perspires to cool it back down. That's intelligence built into the human body. Birds know when to fly south. If my body gets sick, it automatically creates antibodies to combat the sickness. There's divine intelligence built inside the human body. How do you explain this except that there's an intelligent creator that built this intelligence into creation? You don't get order out of chaos. You don't get intelligence out of unintelligence. This is what the apostle says here in Romans, that God's invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature are clearly seen in creation so that men are without excuse. When they're in this world that God created and they're looking at all the intelligence that's in it, and then they deny there's a God, it's total foolishness. That's why the Bible says it's the fool that says in their heart there is no God. The second response or argument we talked about for the atheist was the response that we called moral absolutism. In other words, all over the world, man knows inside the difference between right and wrong. We know it's not right to steal from people. Now, the atheist will say there's no such thing as moral absolutism, but all morality is relative. It's culturally defined; it's individually defined. But as soon as that atheist that believes in moral relativism—meaning that there's no such thing as absolute morality—as soon as you steal something from him, what does he want? He wants justice. If there was no such thing as absolute right or wrong, things couldn't be made right. It's called justice, and our God is a God of justice.
Dustin Roberts: You're listening to Discovering the Jewish Jesus, and Rabbi Schneider will be right back. But first, here's a testimony from a listener who's been touched by Rabbi's teachings.
Guest (Male): Rabbi, you have peeled back the layers of false doctrines that have been keeping me from the truth and knowing the real Jewish Jesus.
Dustin Roberts: Thank you, Lord. To submit your testimony, go to discoveringthejewishjesus.com, click on ministry, and submit your testimony today. Your support can change lives every day. People around the world are coming to know Jesus as their Messiah through this ministry. Whether you give a one-time donation or commit to a monthly partner, your contribution helps us to keep spreading the gospel and reaching hearts in need. To donate or become a monthly partner, visit discoveringthejewishjesus.com or call 800-777-7835. Now, here's Rabbi Schneider.
Rabbi K.A. Schneider: Now, we're going to pick up today on the third response to the atheist, and it's called the response of First Cause. If someone is an atheist and they claim that we came from some Big Bang that happened in outer space billions of years ago, you always have to ask yourself the question, "Where did the Big Bang come from?" We could say many things about that. It had to start somewhere. The only explanation is that there's a First Cause whose name is Elohim God, God the Creator. In the beginning, Elohim. Genesis 1:1. In the beginning, Elohim God created the heavens and the earth. There's no other explanation for existence and creation unless there's a First Cause. Otherwise, you have to ask the same question for infinity. "Well, where did that come from? What was behind that? Where did that come from?" It had to start with a Cause that had no Cause. It had to start with a Cause that had no cause, and that is God. Now, we can't grasp this. It's too wonderful for us to grasp. So we begin our discussion about how to share our faith with dealing with some biblical responses to atheism. What we're going to do now is we're going to move into our position of Yeshua Hamashiach being the only way, truth, and life to God. We've already argued for the existence of God. Now what we're going to do in defending our faith is I'm going to give you some apologetics. We're not apologizing, we're defending. The field of apologetics is the defense of our faith. So now we're defending our faith. We're moving from the existence of God now to defending our position that there's only one God and that Jesus the Messiah is the only way to God. The claims that Yeshua made are very, very strong. "I am the way, the truth, and the life," he said. "No man comes to God but by me." Jesus said to the people of his age, "Unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins." The New Testament tells us there's no other name under heaven by which men can be saved but the name of Yeshua Hamashiach. Bless the name of the Lord. So the claims of the New Testament are that Jesus is the only way to God. Now, we could go into a multiplication of arguments concerning this, but I want to begin today with this statement. Earlier today, I went over to a Starbucks and I was having a glass of hot chocolate. I was sitting at a table that accommodated six or eight people. I was the only one there. It was the only table left for me to sit down at, so I'm sitting at the table alone and some man comes and asks me if he can join me. I always pay attention to these types of encounters because how do I know if maybe God didn't bring this specific man to sit at this table because he wanted me to share the gospel with him? I think you and I need to approach all of our relationships and all the different people that we cross through life like this. The Bible says go and make disciples of all nations. That means as we're going through life, we're using the relationships and the connections that the Lord brings us into to lift up Jesus and to share the gospel. We should always be paying attention because we don't belong to ourselves; we belong to him. We're his servants. We're not in this world to make ourselves comfortable. We're not in this world to get along with everybody. We're not in this world to enjoy ourselves. We're in this world to serve Jesus. Whenever somebody comes into your life, whether it's somebody in the department store, whether it's your mailman, whether it's somebody at a restaurant, whether it's somebody that you meet at the school, whether it's a neighbor—you always are looking for the opportunity. "Lord, maybe you've brought this person across my path at this point today for me to share the gospel with them." We need to be paying attention. So this man sat down at the table. He was nice and said to me, "I hope it's okay." I said, "Absolutely. God bless you. Sit down, please." For whatever reason, I just felt like the man was kind of drawn to me a little bit. I was working, he just kind of made a couple of comments and he asked me what I did. I told him I was a Messianic rabbi. And then I followed with the question. I said to him, "What do you think of Jesus?" We're going to talk about that exact question because the Holy Spirit gave me that exact question to ask people. So I asked him the question, "What do you think of Jesus?" And he said to me, "Well, I believe in God." Well, that was the wrong answer. I mean, if you know Jesus, if you know Yeshua, you're not just going to respond to that question, "Well, I believe in God." You're going to say, "I love him. He's my savior. He means everything to me." You're going to say something that's going to show how much you love him and how endearing he is to you and how precious he is to you. But he just said, "Well, I believe in God." And I said, "Well, this is what Jesus said." I began to quote scripture to him. He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to God but by me." Jesus said, "Unless you believe that I am he, you'll die in your sins." I said this to him. I said, "Listen, if you don't respond to what I'm saying and I'm wrong and you die, no big deal, no problem." I said, "But if you don't respond to what I'm saying and I'm right and you die, you're going to go to hell." And his eyes got as big as saucers. And I began to share with him a little bit. And then when I left, I said, "Don't forget what I told you." I said, "God may have had you sit down here today just so that you could have an opportunity to receive him. Read the Gospel of John." What I'm talking about today on this broadcast is bringing people to a point of crystallization in their mind that they have to make a decision about who Jesus is, who this Yeshua Hamashiach is, and what they're going to do with him. So we're going to talk about bringing people to this place of thinking clearly about who Yeshua is. We live in a culture today that is more secular than ever. I am so amazed when I go out and ask people that question, "What do you think of Jesus?" how many people have no opinion of Jesus. I mean, obviously, they've got some opinion, but I was kind of under the perception that all Christians knew who Jesus was. But there are so many people today in this society in America and throughout the world that really don't know. So what we have to do is we have to confront them with the truth in such a way that it becomes so crystal clear to them that they have to make a decision, that they're put in a position that they have an opportunity to respond to Yeshua. Here's how we're going to do it. The first thing that we need to do is we need to find out before we begin to quote scripture to them, we need to find out what do they think of the Bible. Do they think that the Bible was just written by men? Do they think that the Bible is not really historically accurate? Do they think the Bible can be trusted? So probably it's a good idea if you have time to begin to dialogue with them about the Bible at this point. And here's what some of the things that we can say about the Bible. The Bible has been documented archaeologically to be historically accurate. All you need to do is go to Israel today and they've unearthed so many archaeological artifacts testifying to the reality, to the people and places in the Bible as being accurate. It's amazing. I remember there was a trend in archaeology some years back that they said, "Well, we can't verify this person that's written about in the Bible ever lived. And so this must just be a myth." One of the people that archaeologists were saying that about was the figure described in the New Testament called Pontius Pilate. And they said, "The only place we have any record or testimony whatsoever that there was someone that lived named Pontius Pilate is in the New Testament. And since we can't verify it anyplace else, it must just be a myth. It must not be real." Until guess what? They found a stone with Pontius Pilate's name and a description of him written on the stone and they have it on display in Israel today. And when that happened, there was a shift in archaeology that began to take place. They said, "We've got so many historical artifacts that we have unearthed that verify the historical accuracy of the Bible. We have to look at the Bible in a new way." So the Bible has been proven by archaeology to be historically accurate. Now, moving this forward, when we look at the New Testament specifically, what are some other things that bring to bear to help us understand how historically accurate the New Testament is? Here's how we do that. Ancient historical people and ancient historical documents were considered absolutely valid if they were written even a hundred years and sometimes even longer after the person's life. For example, Alexander the Great, the earliest piece of literature, the earliest document that we have telling us about Alexander the Great and his exploits, the earliest document that we have about him was written a hundred years after his life. On the other hand, the New Testament was written by a multiplication of eyewitnesses. Matthew, Mark, John—these were eyewitnesses of Yeshua. And so when we have historical documents like we have in the New Testament that was written by eyewitnesses... John said in the book of 1 John chapter 1, "That which what I have seen concerning Jesus, that which I have heard, that which I have touched, I proclaim to you." Peter said, "These aren't cleverly devised tales. We were eyewitnesses of His majesty." Neither you nor I would go to a restaurant, order a meal, and then not pay for it, right? But yet we do that with God. I think that's why the Lord said in the book of Malachi chapter three, "Will a man rob God?" They said, "How are we robbing you?" The Lord said, "In tithes and offerings." We're instructed in scripture to financially support those ministries that are blessing us and feeding us. If Discovering the Jewish Jesus, if my life and ministry is a blessing to you, would you support it? I'm telling you, the Lord will bless you for honoring him with your wealth. God wants us to respond to His love through our wealth. The book of Proverbs tells us in Proverbs 3, verse 9, "Honor the Lord from your wealth and from the first fruit of all your produce." I want to ask you to honor the Lord with your wealth through Discovering the Jewish Jesus if he's blessing you through this ministry.
Dustin Roberts: Thank you, Rabbi. And if you'd like to honor the Lord by helping share His word with others, you can give or partner with us online at discoveringthejewishjesus.com or call 800-777-7835. You can also mail your gift to Discovering the Jewish Jesus, PO Box 777, Blissfield, Michigan, 49228. You know, faithful friends like you, they help proclaim the gospel to Jewish people in Israel, strengthen believers around the world, and also introduce searching hearts to Jesus the Messiah. Because you give, someone else can hear God's word and discover the hope that's found in him at perhaps exactly the right moment they need it the most. And that's what this message was all about. It's about speaking up when God gives you an opportunity to speak. We are also speaking, we're reaching out, and we want to thank you when you help us. To say thank you for becoming a monthly partner, when you give monthly, we'd like to send you a beautifully handcrafted shofar that's made in Israel. Throughout scripture, the shofar called God's people to worship, repentance, and spiritual awakening. We pray that it'll remind you of God's faithfulness and encourage you to remain attentive to His voice. The shofar also carries a powerful prophetic significance for the things to come in the future. Scripture tells us that when Jesus returns, the trumpet of God will sound and the dead in Christ will rise. But until that day, we have an opportunity to trumpet out the gospel. So your gift helps us continue that calling. Give or partner at discoveringthejewishjesus.com. And now, here's Rabbi Schneider to speak God's sacred blessing over your life.
Rabbi K.A. Schneider: Blessings trump curses. And in the book of Numbers chapter six, we find the Aaronic blessing that God commanded Moses' brother Aaron, the high priest, to speak over the children of Israel. There's power in blessing, beloved ones. So take part in receiving Father's blessing upon your life today. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift you up with His countenance and the Lord give you His peace. Yevarechecha Adonai veyishmerecha. Ya’er Adonai panav eleycha vichuneka. Yissa Adonai panav eleycha veyasem lecha shalom. God bless you and Shalom.
Dustin Roberts: This program is produced and sponsored by Discovering the Jewish Jesus, and I'm your host, Dustin Roberts. Join us next week as Rabbi Schneider begins encountering God's Fall Holy Days through Yom Kippur, revealing God's heart for you through this sacred biblical celebration right here on Discovering the Jewish Jesus.