We have -
Moved To:
http://professor-howdy.blogspot.com/

Do You Believe God Has a Son?

Dan Norton: Who is Jesus? Do you believe He's God's Son? How you answer
those questions says a lot about what you believe. And those answers may
reflect key differences in religions. Many belief systems include Jesus as a
prophet, a good teacher, or some sort of spiritual being. But they don't
always agree that Jesus was the Son of God. Today on Back to the Bible,
we'll take a closer look at "Jesus as God's Son" to see the impact that has
on what we believe. And we'll go to the Gospel of John with Woodrow Kroll to
see what the Bible teaches.

Well, Dr. Kroll, welcome! What are some of the things other religions say
about Jesus?

Woodrow Kroll: Well, Dan, the biggie, the real question is, "How can Jesus
be God?" I mean people just cannot conceive that Jesus, a man, could also be
God. I've had other people ask me, "Well, how could one person die for
another person?" or "How could Jesus defy death and rise from the dead?" But
you see, friends, it's these issues that He is God and that He died for us
and that He is alive today--these are the things that separate us from other
religions. It's the thing that separates the Christian religion from all
other religions. In fact it's the thing that separates true Christianity
from the cults.

We have a book here at Back to the Bible called, The Truth Twisters. We'll
tell you a little bit more about that later. But in The Truth Twisters, we
try to define the difference between what we believe as Christians and what
others believe about the Lord Jesus.

Dan Norton: In an era when whatever you believe is okay, why is it important
that we understand these differences?

Woodrow Kroll: Well, it's important because whatever you believe is not
okay. It's not okay to believe that you can kill somebody just because they
anger you. That is what happened on September 11, 2001. It's not okay to
believe that, if you want someone's husband, you just simply seduce him or
you can molest a child. It's not okay to believe that all religions are
equally the same and just pick one and you'll get to God somehow.
I think this holds true with our belief about Jesus. It's not okay to
believe whatever we want to. We have to believe what the truth is and the
Bible is the book that presents the truth.

Dan Norton: Well, this background makes today's study pretty strategic for
our understanding of what we believe and how we relate to other people. So
let's go back now to John, chapter 9.

Woodrow Kroll: You know, my intent in the study of the Gospel of John is to
ask the right questions about Jesus Christ. And then simply let the Bible
give the answers. And today the question is this: "Do you believe God has a
Son?" Now I know as soon as I ask that question there are a million
opinions. But be careful how you answer. Your answer may set you apart as a
member of one cult or another or it may set you squarely in the center of
Christian orthodoxy. So be careful how you answer. "Do you believe God has a
Son?"

Now I'm not talking about making a son biologically, the way we talk about
it in the twenty-first century. You know there's a lot on the Internet
today. I was on a site the other day called "howstuffworks.com" and there
was a piece on there about designer children. It said, "Given the choice,
would you rather have been born with a different eye color, hair color, skin
tone?" Maybe you would have chosen to be taller, or thinner, or more
muscular.

Of course, you didn't have these options. The physical and personal traits a
person winds up with only comes from the biological parents' genes to draw
from. However, within a few decades, there's a good chance that
biotechnology could give us the ability to pre-choose our children's
physical and personality traits like we pick out options on a new car.
In fact, not long ago there was a report in "Science News" about the
researchers at the Genetics and IBF Institute in Fairfax, VA. They announced
a technique that enables you to select the sex of your baby. And they
reported that 93% of the babies were born with the desired sex the parents
wanted. Scary stuff, isn't it?

Well, let me just summarize what the chapter's about that we're looking at
today. We're back into John, chapter 9 again today. We've already seen that
there was a man born blind found begging at the entrance to the temple.
Jesus and His disciples encountered him. Verse 1--The disciples wanted to
blame the parents or the man because he was born blind. And Jesus said, "No,
there's no blame here. This man is blind so that the glory of God can be
seen in what I do." God is going to be revealed through Him. So Jesus healed
him of his blindness. And then, everybody came around and said, "Hey, this
guy can see. He's never been able to see before!"

But the religious leaders of his day drilled him on his story because nobody
believed his story. Again and again and again they asked him, "How did this
happen?" And he told them and they said, "No it can't be that way. We don't
believe that." You see their bias is absolute here. But the man holds his
ground because the person with inexperience is never at the mercy of a
person with an argument. He was blind and he knew it. And now he can see and
he knows that as well and nobody can take that away from him.

Listen, my friends. If you're a Christian today, if you've placed your faith
in Jesus Christ and He's changed your future, changed your destiny, old
things have passed away, all things have become new, don't you let anybody
take that away from you. Don't you let people with arguments, university
professors, your friends, your peers, don't you let anybody take away from
you what you've experienced in Jesus Christ. That's what this story is all
about. This man says, "Look, I don't know whether Jesus is a sinner or not.
One thing I do know--I used to be blind and now I can see."

Now the question is this: "Do you believe God has a Son?" Some time later,
maybe the next day but certainly on a different occasion from what has just
transpired, Jesus encounters this man again. I'm looking at verse 35, of
John, chapter 9. Listen to this: "Jesus heard that they had cast him out and
when He found him, He said to him, 'Do you believe in the Son of God?'"
Now what does it mean "they had cast him out"? Well, the Pharisees didn't
like the man's answers. They didn't like him challenging their ignorance,
didn't like him saying that they were biased, so what did they do? Verse 31
says, "Now we know that God does not hear sinners but if anyone is a
worshipper of God and does His will, He hears him. Since the world began it
has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who has been born
blind. If this man were not from God, He could do nothing." They answered
and said to him, "You were completely born in sin and you are teaching us?"
And they cast him out.

So much for intellectual freedom, friends. I mean these are the
intellectuals of the day. These are the religious leaders. They don't like
the answer so they get rid of the man who is asking the question. Now Jesus
encounters him again--verse 35. And He asks this important question. "Do you
believe in the Son of God?"

See, for this man, faith was a process of coming to know more about who
Jesus is. If you have a Bible in front of you, I want you to notice verse
11. "When they first asked the man how he could see he answered and said, 'A
man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, "Go to the
pool of Siloam and wash."'" You see that's what he knew about Jesus at that
point--a man called Jesus.

And then later on verse 17, "They said to the blind man again, 'What do you
say about Him because He opened your eyes?' And he said, 'He is a prophet.'"
You see we go from a man to a prophet. And that's the best he could do with
the facts that he had. And then verses 27-28, and following, "He answered
them, 'I told you already, and you do not listen; why do you want to hear it
again? Do you also want to become His disciples?'"

Now that little word "also" is important. That implies that by this point
the man is thinking of following Jesus. He's gone from a man to a prophet to
someone to follow. He decided to follow Jesus whoever Jesus was. But Jesus
knows that that in itself is insufficient for salvation.

Friends, to believe that Jesus is a good man is not enough. You'll never get
to heaven believing that. To believe that Jesus is a prophet is not enough.
Mohammed was a prophet. You'll never get to heaven believing that Jesus was
just a prophet. To believe that He was a miracle worker, to believe that He
was teacher--none of that is enough. Just to say, "I'm a Christian. I'm
going to follow Jesus." That's not enough. So Jesus asks the man point
blank: "Do you believe in the Son of God?"

Now some manuscripts here read "the Son of Man" but it doesn't make any
difference. Both of them are expressions about Jesus. It's referring to an
act of reverence to the Messiah or an act of reverence to the Creator.
Either way, without the kind of recognition of who Jesus is and the
reverence for who He is, there may be sight for this man but there's no salvation.

Now we come to a critical point in our study of the Gospel of John. And it's
a critical point in the question, "Who is this Jesus we're talking about?
What makes Him so unique? Why is Jesus different from Mohammed? Why is He
different from Buddha? Why is He different from Joseph Smith? Why is He
different from all the leaders of religions and cults around the world? Who
is this Jesus anyway?"

Well, Jesus asked the question, "Do you believe in the Son of God?" Now
that's a legitimate question because, well, we need to know that. First
John, chapter 4, verse 1: "Beloved, do not believe every spirit but test the
spirits, whether they are of God. Because many false prophets have gone out
into the world." Now listen to this: "By this you know the Spirit of God.

Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of
God and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the
flesh is not of God." And there you have it friends, right from God's Word.
The question is this: "Do you believe that Jesus Christ has come in the
flesh, that He is God in the flesh," as John chapter 1, verses 1-3 and verse
14 indicate? If you don't, the Bible is pretty clear isn't it? You are not
from God. Now Jesus asks the question of the man who was born blind, "Don't
believe I'm a man, don't believe I'm a prophet, don't believe I'm a teacher.
Do you believe I am the Son of God?" See that's where real faith begins! Not
when we see Jesus as Savior, but when we see Jesus as the ONLY Savior--God
Himself, God in the flesh, come to die for us to pay the penalty for our sins.

Now did you notice what happened when Jesus found the man and asked him, "Do
you believe in the Son of God?" You see real faith begins not when we sing
praise and worship to Jesus. Real faith begins when we fall in reverence
before God the Son--the Son of God in the flesh. Let me suggest something to
you. Verse 36 says, "He answered Him and said, 'Who is He Lord that I may
believe in Him?' Jesus said to Him, 'You have both seen Him and it is He who
is talking with you.' Then he said, 'Lord, I believe' and he worshipped Him."

Now I want you to think about that with me for a moment. This is not easy
stuff, friends, but it is important. These are important issues that relate
to whether or not you believe the right Jesus. Matthew, chapter 14, verse
22, let me read that to you: "Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into
the boat and go before Him to the other side while He sent the multitudes
away. And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on a mountain by
Himself to pray. And when evening had come, He was alone there. But the boat
was in the middle of the sea tossed by the waves for the wind was contrary.
"Now in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went to them walking on the
sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled
saying, 'It is a ghost' and they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus
spoke to them saying, 'Be of good cheer. It is I. Do not be afraid.'" Now
this is the good part. "And Peter answered Him and said, 'Lord, if it is
You, command me to come to You on the water.'

"So He said, 'Come.' And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked
on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous
and he was afraid, he began to sink. And he cried out, 'Lord, save me!' And
immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him and said to him, 'O
you of little faith, why did you doubt?' And when they got into the boat,
the wind ceased."

Now listen to this, verse 33: "Then those who were in the boat came and
worshipped Him saying, 'Truly you are the Son of God.'" Don't miss that.
They are not saying, "Truly Jesus, You are a miracle worker. Truly You are
the one who can calm the waves, still the wind." They are not saying,
"Truly, Jesus, You are the One who can feed 5,000." They are not saying,
"Jesus, You are the One who can raise the dead." They are not saying,
"Jesus, You are the great rabbi, the great teacher." That which separates
real faith from supposition is belief that Jesus is God. They came and
worshipped Him saying, "Truly You are the Son of God."

What about this passage? Matthew, chapter 16, verse 13: "When Jesus came
into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples saying, 'Who do
men say that I, the Son of Man am?' So they said, 'Well, some say John the
Baptist, and some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.' And
He said to them, 'Who do you say that I am?'" Now listen. "And Simon Peter
answered and said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. You are
Messiah. You're the One we've been waiting for. You are the Son of God.'"
If you do not believe in Jesus as the Son of God, my friends, you do not
believe in the Jesus of the Bible. And each time a person comes to the
knowledge that Jesus is God the Son; that's when real faith takes hold.
Well, this man is willing to believe that Jesus is God the Son, if he could
only see God. That's what he says in verse 36: "He answered and said, 'Who
is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?'" And look at Jesus' response, verse
37: "Jesus said to him, 'You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking
to you.'" Now that must have been a shock.

So far the man thinks that Jesus is a man. He's called Him a man. He thinks
He's maybe a prophet. He's called Him a prophet. He thinks He's a miracle
worker because Jesus allowed the man to see and he had never seen before in
his life. And now he finds out that Jesus is a lot more than that. Jesus is
God. "Who is the Son of God? Show Him to me that I may believe Him." And
Jesus says, "You've already seen Him and I am the one who is talking with you."

Jesus gives direct reference to His deity. That's as direct as you could
possibly ask for. It's the same kind of reference that others have found in
God's Word. Remember the story of Philip in John, chapter 14? Philip stands
next to Jesus. Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one
comes to the Father except by Me."

And then He says, "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.
And from now on, you know Him and have seen Him." Philip said to Him, "Lord,
show us the Father and it suffices us." Jesus said to him, "How long have I
been with you and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has
seen the Father and how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?"

Now it's pretty evident, isn't it, if you come to the Bible without a bias,
just read what it says, believe what it says, what it says is, Jesus is
saying, "If you want to see the Son of God, you know that you are already
looking at Him." And look at what the man does in response. The question
today is "Do you believe God has a Son?" And here's a man born blind who
suddenly believes God has a Son. He says, verse 38, "Lord I believe!" and he
worshipped Him.

If you could believe God has a Son, if you could only see Him, you would
believe that God has a Son. Wasn't it Dorothy Sayers who said, "Jesus Christ
is the only God who has a date in history"? There was a day when Jesus came
to this earth as a baby born in Bethlehem's manger. And He is God in the
flesh. So the man says, "I believe" and he worshipped Him.

Now don't miss this, friends. The word "worshipped" there is the word
proskuneo. It comes from the word that means "dog" or "a dog kissing or
licking the hand of its master." It eventually comes to mean "to fall down
on the ground--touch the forehead to the ground--to prostrate yourself and
do homage."

In Matthew, chapter 2, verse 2, when the wise men came from the east to
Jerusalem, they asked King Herod, "Where is He who is born King of the Jews?
We have seen His star in the east, we have come to worship Him?" That's
proskuneo. And when they had come into the house they saw the young Child
with Mary His mother and fell down and worshipped Him.

I've said it many times before and I'm going to keep on saying it until the
Church of Jesus Christ in the twenty-first century discovers it's true. In a
day when we pride ourselves on the quality of our praise and worship in
church, we stand and we sing and we clap and we dance and we don't have a
clue what worship is. When this man, this man born blind, believed in Jesus,
he fell before Him and worshipped Him. When the wise men discovered the
Christ Child, they fell before Him and worshipped Him. Worship doesn't
begin, my friends, until we find ourselves at the feet of Jesus and believe
He is God.

Don't give Him a cheapened worship by excusing yourself and saying it's
something you've done in your heart. There is no worship in the Bible that
is not flat down on our face before God. And you know what? In this respect,
I think, I think the Muslims have it all over us Christians. When they
worship their god, Allah, they get on their knees and they put their
forehead on the ground. When we worship our God, we jump and clap and sway
and sing and laugh. We do very little to respect the Son of God.

This is a man blind from birth finally discovering that Jesus is not a
prophet--He's not just a man. Jesus is the Son of God, and when he believed
in Jesus as God, he fell before Him and worshipped. We could use a healthy
dose of that kind of faith in our churches today.

Dan Norton: What an incredible moment that must have been for this man--to
come face to face with Jesus. Real worship of the true and living Savior
brings us to our knees and our faces before God.

This is the Friday edition of Back to the Bible with Woodrow Kroll. Dr.
Kroll, there's a definite challenge here to our own worship and also to take
steps that help us to know God better. What can we apply to our lives from
this example in John?

Woodrow Kroll: This is a great story, Dan. I hope you folks can tell that
this is one of my favorite stories in the Bible. I really love to preach on
this story and I've loved teaching on it today. But what I see from this
story is this. Worship is based on appreciation.

This man fell down and worshipped the Lord Jesus because he appreciated what
God did for him. But real worship is also obedience. John, chapter 9, verse
31 says, "If anyone is a worshipper of God, he will do His will." I think,
Dan, the difference between real worship and false worship is whether or not
we just feel our worship or whether it translates to the way we live.
Dan Norton: Well, seeing and believing went hand in hand for this blind man,
yet as Jesus later told Thomas, "How much more blessed are those who believe
Jesus without seeing Him." That means you and me.

Well, if you'd like some practical help in understanding the difference
between what the Bible teaches and what other religions say about Jesus,
contact Back to the Bible and ask for The Truth Twisters, the book we
mentioned earlier. It lines up what various systems say about God, Jesus,
sin, salvation, man, and the future with what the Bible teaches and it
includes a chapter on answering these beliefs. www.backtothebible.org