An "Ask the Preacher" article as it has appeared in the Santa Rosa Press Gazette (Milton, Florida). The author is Pastor Carl Gallups of Hickory Hammock Baptist Church in Milton, Florida. Click HERE to go to the Main Index page of Hickory Hammock Baptist Church to read many more such articles. This article is copyrighted by Carl Gallups and may be reproduced provided that copyright notice is given.



Pastor Gallups, I hear Christians all the time make the claim that Jesus is God. How can this be? I have a close relative who is a part of a church that says very emphatically that Jesus never CLAIMED to be God and that he is NOT God. Please help me understand this. - J. M. - E. Milton.

Dear J. M. - Why was Jesus crucified? He was not crucified because He was criminal. He was crucified because He claimed to be "The Christ, The Messiah, The Son of the Living God", ALL of which are Old Testament terms for the " visitation of God" in the flesh on the earth. The ONLY reason Jesus was crucified is because He CLAIMED to be God! The Sanhedrin counsel knew this, that is why they said, "he has committed blasphemy!"

There simply is no denying the fact that Jesus claimed to be God. Either he LIED or he was a LUNATIC or he was the LORD! There are no other choices. If he was a liar or a lunatic then he certainly was not a "great teacher" or even a "good person"!

How do we know he wasn't a liar or a lunatic? The evidence does not support that he was either of these. Everything he ever claimed that he would do he DID! He sure wasn't a liar. How many lunatics do you know that can open the eyes of the blind, raise the dead, cause the lame to walk again? No, J.M, he wasn't a liar or a lunatic. The evidence says that he was the most honest, sane person who ever walked the face of the earth.

But, then, how do we know for sure that He was the Lord? Simple again. There is an EMPTY TOMB to prove that He was and is exactly who He said He was and is, the Lord of Life! J.M., stay clear of any religious system that denies or takes away from the deity of Jesus Christ. Turn to JESUS with your life and trust him as savior and serve him as Lord. Jesus IS God in the flesh, "GOD WITH US!"