Unfortunately some of the message was lost because the batteries ran out but here in

this PDF you have a very detailed set of notes. At the end of the actual lesson is a
list of resources that can help you further your study in apologetics on Jesus Christ
and if you read them you will definitely grow in your faith
tart off with !ore than a Carpenter and see what you thin" And don#t forget to
get the boo" $ We dont speak great things we live them %y David %ercot
&han" you
'our %rother in Christ(
)lenn Petru**i
AP+,+)-&.C +/ J-U C01.&
April 14, 2007
* This class is for the purpose of building up your faith! For being able to defend the faith
that we put all our trust in!
* wanted to do this class because what really changed this world was the !essage of
"esus #hrist!
That he came from heaven born of a virgin through the Holy Spirit, he died on the
cross for the sins of the world and rose from the dead on the third day according to the
scriptures in the OT, and now sits at the right hand of the ather waiting for the call to
come back and redeem and !udge this world and every soul before the !udgment seat of
"hrist#
4
th
Century Nicene Counsel Creed!
We believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker o heaven and earth, and o
all things visible and invisible!
And in one "ord #esus Christ, the only$begotten %on o God, begotten o the
Father beore all &orlds, God o God, "ight o "ight, 'ery God o 'ery God,
begotten, not made, being o one substance &ith the Father by &hom all things
&ere made( &ho or us men, and or our salvation, came do&n rom heaven, and
&as incarnate by the )oly %*irit o the 'irgin Mary, and &as made man, and &as
cruciied also or us under +ontius +ilate! )e suered and &as buried, and the
third day he rose again according to the %cri*tures, and ascended into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand o the Father! And he shall come again &ith glory to
,udge both the -uick and the dead, &hose kingdom shall have no end!
And we belie$e in the %oly &pirit, the 'ord and (i$er of 'ife, who proceedeth fro! the
Father and the &on, who with the Father and the &on together is worshipped and
glorified, who spo)e by the prophets* And we belie$e one holy catholic and apostolic
#hurch* +e ac)nowledge one baptis! for the re!ission of sins* And we loo) for the
resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to co!e* A!en*
,u"e 23455 $ &his scripture calls all men if they are to follow Jesus and be saved
from their sins $ to give up everything !a"e Jesus the ,ord of your lives
.f you don#t have the faith that Jesus really is not 6ust a teacher( not 6ust a prophet
but the image of the invisible )od7
&his study is really dealing with three things4
2. &he D-.&' +F C01.& $ ,-)-/D( ,.A1( ,U/A&.C or ,+1D7
8. D.D 0- 1A.- F1+! &0- D-AD
5. &-&.!+/' +F &0- AP+&,-
. hope this class will strengthen your faith and ma"e you bolder as you wal" on
campus that you truly have a faith that is true and reasonable7 &hat you can give an
answer to the faith7
hare4 !uslim e9perience. )o home crying !a"e it by business to "now and
always be ready to give an answer7 &hen : years later . am preaching and
converting !uslims in a !uslim Country7
;Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who as"s you to give reason for
the hope that you have.< 2 Peter 542=>
2
st
things first $ what is an apology? @hat are apologetics?
Definition means a defense or 6ustification for..
@ho grew up in the church most of their lives? People taught you and it is
an ama*ing blessing but . want to encourage you to truly start to figure out
what you believe and why7 @hat are the reasons? .f a !uslim as"ed you
why Jesus is the only way to heaven and that fact that he prays five times a
day( fasts for a month or more eating only when the sun goes down( gives to
the poor( believes in )od( and goes to !ecca on his pilgrimage7
+ &1AP ./ A/D )-& 1-AD' &+ -/)A)- $ @- @.,, 0AA- A B C A7
Jesus $ 0is name is derived from the )ree" form of name Jeshua or Joshua
meaning ;JehovahDavior< or ;the ,ord saves.<
&he title Christ is derived from the )ree" word for !essiah or 0ebrew word
!ashiah $ and means anointed one.
Almost 8(EEE years ago( Jesus entered the human race in a small Jewish community.
0e was a member of a poor family( and minority group( and resided in one of the
smallest countries in the world. 0e lived appro9imately thirtyDthree years( of which
only the last three comprised his public ministry.
@e are told through historians both nonDchristian and Christian that this man
healed the sic"( raise the dead( caused the blind to see( help the mute spea"( wal"ed
on water( feed =(EEE people( drive out demons( and many more miracles.
0e was crucified and later thousands of martyrs died bFc they believed that this man
rose from the dead in three days. &hey say he is the only way to heaven( they say he
is )od in the flesh. &hey say he is the son of )od.
, 0e is by far the most influential man that ever lived.
, +ur time and calendar system is calculated by his birth.
, 0e never wrote a boo"( but more boo"s were written about him than anyone
else.
, 0e never wrote any songs but more songs are written about him than any
other person.
, 0e never traveled more than 2EE miles from his home town yet the name
Jesus is "nown all around the world.
, John said in his gospel that if all the things that Jesus did were written down
than . don#t even suppose that all the whole world would not have enough
room for the boo"s that would have been written.
, /oDother prophet has raised from the dead7 !uhammad( )hadi( !oses(
%udha( or any other prophet claimed to be )od in the flesh.
B4 @hy do you thin" when people tal" about )od most people smile( but when you
mention Jesus Christ $ 0ow do people usually react?
B4 @hy is it that this name( more than the name of any other religious leader( cause
irritation? G%FC he claimed to be )od( 1ise from the dead( the only way to heavenH7
* @A J-U A 1-A, P-1+/ ./ 0.&+1'? $ ,-)-/D?
B4 @hat do you thin" and what bac"s up that statement?
, /o serious scholar has ventured to claim that Jesus was a nonDhistorical
character. +tto %et* .
. want to loo" at historical references from secular authorities spea"ing of Jesus#
e9istence7
, %y secular . mean pagan $ nonDchristian and generally antiDchristian
Cornelius &acitus lived GAD ==D28EH was a 1oman historian who lived through the
reign of over a half a do*en 1oman emperors. 0e was called the greatest 0istorian
of ancient 1ome. 0is misspelling of Christ $ ;Christus< was a common error made
by pagan writers.
$The persons called "hristians, who were hated for their enormities% "hristus, the
founder of the name, was put to death by &ontius &ilate, procurator of 'udea in the
reign of Tiberius%( H)S)*#
,ucian of amosata a gree" satirist of the latter half of the second century spo"e
scornfully of Christ and the Christians( never assuming or arguing that they were
unreal.
$The "hristians, you know, worship a man to this day+the distinguished personage
who introduced their novel rites, and who was crucified on that account ,ou see,
these misguided creatures start with the general conviction that they are immortal for
all time, which e-plains the contempt of death and voluntary self.devotion which are
so common among them% )ll these they take /uite on faith, with the results that they
despise all worldly goods alike, regarding them merely as common property%(
0AA/7
Josephus ben !attathias Gborn 5IF5J AD( died after 2EE ADH A Jewish 0istorian.
@ho did not believe in Jesus as the son of )od7 0e actually later left his Jewish
rebel troops and 6oined the emperors inner circle.
0e writes in his Jewish AntiKuities( a passage occurs that has created heated debates
among scholars.
Josephus( a nonDChristian Jew( ma"es statements about Jesus that an orthodo9 Jew
could not affirm.
$*ow there was a about this time 'esus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man,
for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with
pleasure% He drew to him both many of the 'ews, and many 0entiles% He was the
"hrist, and when &ilate, at suggestion of the principal men among us, has condemned
him to the cross, those who loved him at the first did not forsake him1 for he appeared
to them alive again the third day1 as a divine prophets had foretold these and ten
thousands other wonderful things concerning him% )nd the tribe of "hristians so
named from him are not e-tinct at this day% 2)nti/uities, 34555, 667
&here are more than 8E other sources that . could of listed but for the sa"e of time .
thin" these three will do. &his is more than enough evidence to help me understand
the Jesus wal"ed on this earth7 /ot to mention the fact that the birth of Christianity
came from someone7
... ,+1D( ,.A1( ,U/A&.C7
,et#s turn to John 234=D2E $ .f you don#t have a %ible read along with the person
ne9t to you.
, Jesus said . am the way( the truth( and the life noDone comes to the Father
e9cept through me.
B4 @as Jesus saying in vs. : $ G0e is the only way( truth( life. /oDone comes to
Father e9cept through me7 F 0e is saying that the only way to get to heaven is
through him.H
0e says that when you see me you see the Father.
,et#s loo" at what some of the other scriptures where Jesus claims to be the son of
)od7
John =42ID8= $ Jesus Deity C Judgment.
John 2E45ED55 $ People pic"ed up stones to stone him bFc he claimed to be )od.
John 2843= $ 0e says whenever you see me you see the Father
!ar" 234:ED:3 $ Jesus claims that he is the son of )od
&he popular e9planation of Jesus is that he was a good moral teacher or a prophet
who said a lot of profound things.
&o say what Jesus said and to claim what he claimed about himself(
one couldn#t conclude he was 6ust a good moral man or prophet.
.)/+1A/& P-+P,- A' 0- @A A )++D !+1A, P-1+/
@0+ 0AA- /-A-1 0-A1D 0. @+1D7
&he Pharisees were right that either he is ,ord or a Demon7

.f he really did claim to )od in the flesh we can only come to 5 of the following
conclusions7
2. ,+1D $ 0e is who he says he is. 0e is )od in the flesh7 0e is the only way
to heaven( he is the truth and the life and noDone can come to the Father
e9cept through him. And he truly is the son of )od and all people must and
should follow him7
8. ,U/A&.C $ 0e is cra*y person( many people have claimed to be )od. &hey
say . am )od. And Jesus really needed to chec"ed into a mental hospital. 0e
was mista"en and had visions that were not true.
5. ,.A1 $ 0e lied about who is was and wanted the fame and prestige from it.
0e died for a lie and so did many other of his followers. &housands of people
died for a lie about Jesus being the son of )od and raising from the dead on
the third day.
A great apologetic writer
C. ,ewis said that4 ;A man who was merely a man and said the "ind of things
Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. 0e would with either be a lunatic on
a level with the man who says he is a poached eggLor else he would be the Devil of
0ell. 'ou must ma"e your choice. -ither this man was( and is( the on of )od4 or
else a madman or something worse.<
,ewis later says4 ;'ou can shut him up for a fool( you can spit at him and "ill him as
a demonM or you can fall at 0is feet and call him ,ord and )od. %ut let us not come
up with any nonsense about his being a great human teacher. 0e has not left that
open to us. 0e did not intend to.<
First let#s consider let#s consider that his claim to be )od was false. .f it was false(
then we have two and only two alternatives. 0e either "new it was false or he didn#t
"now it was false. @e will consider each one separately.
.f Jesus did "now that his claims of being the son of )od was false than he was
deliberately lying.
B4 @as Jesus a ,iar( why or why not?
.f Jesus made this claim( and was lying then he was a hypocrite
because he told others to be honest( whatever the cost( while he
himself lived a lie?
0ow could a liar do all these miracles to bac" up his claim?
@hy did he die on the cross for a lie?
0istorians say that he died by crucifi9ion.
@hy did he go to a Jewish /ation( where it was more difficult( why
not go other nations li"e -gypt and )reece where the belief of many
gods was common and his message could be received better.
0is lie and claims and sayings have changed the lives of millions in
every nation in history for the better.
.f he wasn#t a liar and we can deductively conclude that he was not a liar than he
didn#t "now that he was lying and therefore was a lunatic.
After all it is possible to be sincere and wrong right?
>omeone who believes he is )od sounds li"e someone today believing himself to be
/apoleon. 0e would be deluded and selfDdeceived and probably he would be loc"ed
up so he wouldn#t hurt himself or anyone else.
B4 @as Jesus a ,unatic( why or why not?
'et in Jesus we don#t see or observe the abnormalities and imbalance
that usually go along with being deranged. Usually when someone is
mentally ill they display an inconsistent life. G+ne day up or down.
+ne day say this( another say thisH
/oyes and Nolb in a medical te9t describe the schi*ophrenic as a
person who is more autistic than realistic. &he schi*ophrenic desires
to escape from the world of reality. ,et#s face itM claiming to be )od
would certainly be a retreat from reality.
.n light of what we understand about Jesus it#s hard to imagine that he
was mentally disturbed. 0ere is a man who spo"e some of the most
incredible sayings ever recorded. &he s"ill and the depth and consistency
of his teachings support the case only for his total mental soundness and
health. Consider the sayings of the sermon on the mount.
.f only we were as insane as he. . don#t believe him to be a lunatic7
&hen was he ,ord7
. cannot conceive that personally Jesus was a liar or lunatic. &he only other
alternative is that he was the Christ( the son of )od( as he claimed.
B4 @hat do you thin"? @as he who he said he was $ the son of )od7
ome people that you say this too will agree that Jesus is not a liar or lunatic. %ut
they Kuic"ly disagree for Jesus being the son of )od and ,ord.
'et one has only so many choices7777
@ho you decide Jesus Christ is must no be an idle e9ercise. 'ou cannot put him
away as a great moral teacher. &his . believe is not a valid option.
0e is either liar( lunatic( or ,ord. 'ou have to ma"e that choice7
... D.D 0. F+,,+@-1 D.- F+1 A ,.-? D &he apostles7
, &he apostles were with Jesus the three years of his public ministry and saw
Jesus crucified and rose from the dead on the third day.
, &hey were some of the most transformed men of this world.
, . believe . can trust the apostle#s testimony of who Jesus is more than any
other men or man that claims differently.
-leven died martyr#s deaths on the basis of two thingsM the resurrection of Christ(
and their belief in him as the on of )od. &hey were tortured and flogged( and
finally faced death by some of the cruelest methods then "nown4
2. Peter $ crucified upside down
8. Andrew $ crucified
5. !atthew $ the sword
3. John $ natural death e9iled on the island of Patmos.
=. James( son of Alphaeus $ crucified
:. Philip $ crucified
I. imon $ crucified
J. &haddaeus $"illed by arrows
O. James( brother of Jesus $ stoned
2E. &homas $ spear thrust
22. %artholomew $ cruicified
28. James son of Pebedee $ the sword
&he response is that a lot of people have died for a lie( so what does that prove.
'es( a lot of people died for a lie but they thought is was the truth7
.f the apostles "new that the resurrection did not happen what would possess them
to do what they did?
.t is hard to find eleven people that would die for a lie that they "new was a lie.
&hese people were eye witnesses of everything that happened. And they bac"ed it
up being martyred on their faith of their testimony.
,et#s loo" a 5 testimonies that . believe will ma"e you thin" about this more.
2 Corinthians 2=42DJ
Paul someone who we could spend a whole discussion tal"ing about him( "illing
Christians. 0e spea"s of the eye witnesses of his resurrection.
, First the +ld &estament scriptures prophecy more than 5EE prophecies about
Jesus and his death and resurrection on the third day.
, 0e was buried and then rose again on the third day.
, &hen he appeared by Peter $ or Cephas( then by the twelve.
, After that 0e was seen by over =EE brethen at once( of whom the greater part
remain alive( but some have fallen asleep.
, After that he was seen by James then by the apostles.
, &hen at last Paul says he appeared to him.
&hese were the people that were willing to bet their lives on the fact that they saw
the resurrection. &hese are the men and women that . can trust before any other
person who gives their testimony of who Jesus is hundreds of years later.
,et#s loo" at the resurrection &o have faith in his resurrection you must "now
how he was buried7 &o "now who moved the stone you must "now how the stone
was placed
!atthew 8I4=ID::
&hree things are to be noticed in this story about the burial of Jesus
2. &he Pharisees "new that Jesus said he would raise from the dead.
2* &a"e a )uard $ 3 men $ each one who watched in turn while the others
rested beside him as to be roused by the least alarm( but in this case the
guards have been more numerous7
5. Putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard7
B4 @hat do you thin" about these eye witnesses?
,et#s loo" at something that Peter says $ 8 Peter 242:D2J
, .f you recall and you can read it later. Peter denied Jesus in fear of his death.
%ut later on in his life he was a fearless man.
B4 @hat happened in between his denial and boldness?
&he 1esurrection7777
,et#s read D 2:D2J
Peter is testifying that he saw Jesus. &his is not a cunningly devised fable( it is true.
Peter says we were eye witnesses of 0is ma6esty.
8 Peter 242:D2J
For 0e received from )od the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to
0im from the -9cellent )lory4 ;&his is my %eloved son( in whom . am well
pleased.< And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with him
on the holy mountain.
2 John 242D3
John was an eye witness. &hat which we have heard and seen with our eyes( which
we have loo"ed upon( and our hands have handled( concerning the word of life.
John was with Jesus and touch him and heard and saw him
0e was e9iled to an island7
B4 @hat do you thin" about these testimonies?
.A. Conclusion
, @hat do you thin"?
, &here is no doubt that Jesus e9isted on earth and was sentence to be
crucified.
, 0e either is liar( lunatic( or lord.
, Consider the -ye @itnesses.
. hope and pray that you can start really investigating this out and study the %ible.
'ou can#t lose anything by doing it7
, Jesus is he a liar $ than why would he die li"e he did?
, Jesus is he a lunatic $ than why are his teachings so consistent and incredible.
, Jesus is he ,ord $ &hat is what every man and woman must find out for
themselves.
. hope that this has been helpful and you will get a chance to study the scriptures7
2E %oo"s that will aid you in further study of this sub6ect
> Are my personal favorite
2. !ore than a Carpenter D Josh !cDowell >
8. A Case for Christ $ ,ee trobel
5. &he /ew -vidence that Demands a Aerdict $ Josh !cDowell>
3. &he @or"s of Josephus $ &ranslated by @illiam @histon
=. &he Dictionary of -arly Christian %eliefs $ -dited by David %ercot>
:. @e don#t spea" great things we live them $ -dited by David %ercot>
I. @ho moved the tone $ Fran" !orison>
J. &he +ne who Nnows )od $ -dited by David %ercot
O. 1easons for %elief $ John !. +a"es>
2E. &rue and 1easonable $ Douglas Jacoby