Is Jesus advocating salvation by works? PROBLEM: Jesus says in John’s Gospel that the time is coming when people in the graves will hear His voice “and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation” (v. 29). This... [ Continue Reading ]
Was Jesus’ self-testimony true or false? PROBLEM: In John 8:14 Jesus said, “If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true.” But here in John 5:31 He seems to say just the opposite, namely, “If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true.” SOLUTION: There are two ways to understand this vers... [ Continue Reading ]
Did Jesus accept human testimony about who He was? PROBLEM: In this verse Jesus rejected human testimony about Himself, insisting, “I do not receive testimony from man.” But elsewhere He accepted Peter’s testimony that He was the Christ, the Son of the Living God (Matthew 16:16-18). In fact, even i... [ Continue Reading ]
Can God’s voice be heard? PROBLEM: Jesus declared to the Jews, “You have neither heard His [God’s] voice at any time, nor seen His form.” Yet the voice of God was heard many times in the OT (cf. 1 Samuel 3:4-14), and the Father spoke from heaven three times during Jesus’ earthly ministry (Matthew 3... [ Continue Reading ]