CA201

Ten Reasons to Believe in the Christian Faith LESSON 06 of 10

Reason 6: Its Power to Change Lives

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Edwin Yamauchi: I think that one of the greatest arguments

for belief in the reality of the resurrection was in fact the
transformation that occurred to specific individuals who believe
they had witnessed the resurrected Christ.

Dr. Vernon Grounds: They previously were doubters, and they

were cowards, but for now they’ve become courageous witnesses,
and it was the French philosopher Pascal, who once remarked,

“I believe those witnesses were willing to get their throats cut.”

People don’t die for a self-concocted lie. These apostles were

willing to die as martyrs, not because they made up a story, but
because they had met the risen Christ, and they were convinced
of His triumph over death. And that fact transformed them.

Edwin Yamauchi: The Greek word for martyr originally meant

witness, but since so many Christians were willing to die for their
faith, the word has come to have the connotation of someone who
is willing to die for his or her faith. And one of the most remarkable
things about the history of Christianity is the many martyrs were
willing to die for their faith in the resurrection of Jesus.

Kerby Anderson: It’s important to recognize that as we are

talking about the disciples, they were scared individuals. They
fled from Jesus, they were spending most of their time in hiding,
and all of a sudden, something very dramatic took place. They
were all of a sudden energized by some event in their lives. And
what I think we see are a number of individuals who are afraid.
They were fearful, and all but one of them died martyrs’ deaths. If
they were dying for lies, certainly one of them would have cracked.
Certainly one of them would have said, “No, this is too much.”
Something dramatic took place, and I believe that dramatic event
was the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That changed them from

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Transcript - CA201 Ten Reasons to Believe in the Christian Faith
© 2015 Christian University GlobalNet. All rights reserved.
Lesson 06 of 10 Reason 6: Its Power to Change Lives

fearful people in the shadows to those who are willing to step

forth and die martyrs’ deaths because they believed that they had
met the risen Lord.

Christ-Centered Learning — Anytime, Anywhere

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Transcript - CA201 Ten Reasons to Believe in the Christian Faith
© 2015 Christian University GlobalNet. All rights reserved.