1. Why is It Important To Establish Jesus’ Reality?

2. Arguments for No Concern It won’t make any difference to my salvation. I can still be a good Christian without believing there really was a Jesus. What really counts is what He taught.

3. We Must Believe To Be Saved Mark 16: 15 – 16 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. Acts 8: 35 – 37 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. 36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? 37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

4. Belief in Jesus and Who He Is Is the cornerstone to the foundation on which our Christian faith is built Matthew 16: 13-20 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, [b] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades [c] will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be [d] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be [e] loosed in heaven.”bcde

5. It Is a Condition of Salvation. Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved… 1 Corinthians 1: 21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

6. One of His Most Remembered Lessons John 20: 24 – 29 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus [a] ), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”a 26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” 28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.

7. If Jesus Was Not Real It undermines the credibility of every other passage in the Bible. The Old Testament points to Jesus coming. The gospels center on Jesus’ sacrifice. The letters are based on His teachings.