Knowing and Believing

Belief in Jesus requires faith. “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭11:1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This is not a blind trust that you know Jesus. The Jews knew Jesus, there are historical documents written by non-Christians that prove He was here. God actually challenges us to use our minds and reason when discussing God.

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭12:30‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”

‭‭James‬ ‭3:17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Did you know that there are at least ten non-Christian sources written within 150 years of Jesus life the corroborate the New Testament story including accounts from Josephus, Thallus, and Emperor Trajan?

And how do we know that the New Testament documents were written early enough to be eye-witness testimony? Well, we can determine that they were all written prior to 70AD because none of them mention the Jewish war with the Romans that began in 66AD and ended with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70AD. Jesus actually predicted the destruction, but no New Testament document reports that His prediction was correct. It is unlikely such an event would have been ignored in the text if it was written later.

God is even pointed to in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

So, all these things point to a knowing that Christ Jesus existed. Faith comes in when you accept the belief that He is your Lord and savior. The difference between knowing Jesus and believing in Jesus. Religion versus relationship.