Just the other day I heard an individual exclaim, "Why Jesus was a good man, but this Son of God business is a story that no logical person could accept." Needless to say, I was a bit disturbed. Really now! Do people know what conclusions must be faced if Jesus was not the Son of the living God? Consider a few:

If Jesus was not the Son of God. He was a liar and deceiver! Jesus said, "I am God." (John 8:23) Suppose I made the statement, "I am God." People would think I had lost my senses, or brand me as a liar. Yet Jesus went all about Palestine saying that He was God. How could a man be considered "good" and at the same time be insane or a liar???

If Jesus was not the Son of God, then all the prophets were insane or liars. Prophets, from Moses to the very last one under the law, John the Baptist, said that a Savior would come and his kingdom would be the greatest ever! Who would say that the 40 men responsible for writing the Bible were all out of their senses??

If Jesus was not the Son of God, then he was born illegitimate. The Bible says he was born of a virgin" and "conceived of the Holy Spirit." (Matt. 1:18-23) If not, then he was conceived out of wedlock, being the son of Joseph or some other man, and Mary was a fornicator and certainly put one over on the world all of these years. However, it is written that God chose her, because she had not known a man! She was a virtuous woman.

If Jesus was not the Son of God, then all the miracles were staged. If Jesus is not what he himself claimed to be, then he certainly did not perform any miracles, such as the changing of water to wine, feeding of 5,000 people, walking on water, etc., and the claims of raising many from the dead were all a hoax. If He was not the Son of God, he was some kind of magician, "scientist," or sorcerer! Yet, he had no formal education, for the city of Nazareth was a poor, beggarly city.

If Jesus was not the Son of God, then He certainly was not resurrected from the dead. And if he was not, all of our hopes for being resurrected are forever gone! Furthermore, all of our loved ones are gone forever! If Jesus Christ is not the Son of God, then death cannot he overcome! It is the victor and all hope is lost!

In reality, if Jesus is not the Son of God, then He is a devil! Only a fool would believe it in view of the facts presented!

TRUTH MAGAZINE XVII: 46, p. 13
September 27, 1973