Question: "Why is it that Christianity teaches that we must rely on an individual that died approximately 2000 years ago to help us with our problems in the Year 2003? We never see(n) or heard this Man, yet we are to just "Believe" and we are saved?"

This is a good question and one that I am going to prayerfully try to answer well. Two issues you bring up I want to deal with here:

  1. Why rely on an individual that died approximately 2000 years ago to help us with our problems in the year 2003?
  2. Not only haven't you heard or seen this Man, but you are supposed to have blind faith/belief and will somehow magically be "saved"?
First of all Jesus Christ stands out among the gods/prophets of history... Jesus Christ did not simply point people towards His teachings, but towards Himself. The bible stands as being divinely inspired, not because Christians say it is, but because of its historical and archaeological record. To "believe" that the bible is inspired follows that you will accept what it claims concerning who Jesus is and the necessity we have for accepting Him as Savior and Lord.

I want to clarify that the belief or faith that is exercised by the believer is not blind, dumb, etc., however it is a faith that is reasonable. A faith that is informed. Winfried Corduan in "No Doubt About it: The Case For Christianity" states that even though we can only be redeemed through "saving faith," [saving faith is the faith that saves us: please see Acts 16:31; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:8-9; Acts 4:12] such "saving faith" does presuppose some essential items of knowledge. He goes on to rightly point out that James states that the devils believe that God is one, but tremble, for they cannot be saved by such knowledge (Jas. 2:19). Neither are we "saved" by knowledge [alone], but the genuine "saving faith" that a believer exercises presupposes some knowledge along with that faith.

Note: To share a part of my personal testimony with you, I was an agnostic when I accepted Christ... A seeker who was very skeptical, I couldn't deny the truth of the scriptures as they were presented to me.

Jesus did not die on the cross to help us with any problem except our sin problem (Matthew 1:21). As a result of our salvation our quality of life improves, however. We have the hope of heaven, we have the peace that our sins are forgiven, and we have the assurance and comfort that comes along with knowing the word of God. Jesus said (another example of His teachings pointing to Him) I am the way the truth and the life no man comes to the Father but by me. This is why we rely on Jesus... The scriptures explicitly teach that it is through Him that we gain eternal life.


Send YOUR email question to: questions@blackapologetics.com








©Black Apologetics Ministry 2001-2003
home