What I Learned About Christianity

By Dennis Soliday

This is the book the author wishes he had read when he began exloring the Bible. He pulls no punches in discussing the truths he found in his extensive search of the Scriptures. He fully realizes that these truths may not be popular. But he's found that real truth remains always the same: real truth. He supports all of his statements with actual verses and passages from the Bible. Whatever your belief system is, reading this book will make you think.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dennis Soliday
• Release date: Sep 29, 2011
• ISBN: 9781466164055

Dennis Soliday

I am a retired Police Officer. My wife Carol and I have been married 44 years. I have 4 Grand-children. We live in a 100 year old farm house in New Palestine Indiana.

Book preview

What I Learned About Christianity

Dennis R. Soliday

Published by Dennis R. Soliday at Smashwords

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Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1. Who is Jesus

Chapter 2. God’s plan of salvation

Chapter 3. A little background on the Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees

Chapter 4. Who is Satan?

Chapter 5. Why I believe the Bible is the truth

Chapter 6. Tithing

Chapter 7. Judging

Chapter 8. Notes on Christian marriage

Chapter 9. Armageddon

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Introduction

But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. (John 6:64)

This is the book I wish I had read when I first started searching for the truth about Christianity. I did not write this book to try and prove anything. I am just sharing some of what I have learned. I hope I have given you enough so that you have a desire to study further.

Think of this as a starter book to Christianity. This is not an exhaustive study of any subject. Do not take anything that I say as the truth. Check it out for yourself. Not just what I say, but what anyone tells you. Satan is slick. You need to look for study sources on your own. A Christian book store is always a good source of information.

Once you die, there are no second chances. Your eternal destiny is locked in during this life.

I am not a Pastor, nor am I a Biblical scholar. I am just an average guy who took the initiative to learn about the Christian faith. I am still learning.

Church can be good, or it can be bad. I will tell you right up front, there are millions of people who are going to hell because of church. That is why it is so important for you to study and discover the truth, and then you can compare the truth to what the church is teaching. Scripture warns us of false teachers. They believe they are teaching the truth. That is why it is on you to know the truth. It takes a lot of work to be a Christian.

There are some doctrinal issues you can get wrong and still be saved. If you believe in a Jesus that is not the Biblical Jesus, you are going to hell. Believe me, there are religions that teach a Jesus that is not Biblical. The chapter on who is Jesus is so important. I pull no punches. I tell what I have learned.

First read the chapter on who Jesus is, then the chapter on God’s plan of salvation. We receive our salvation through Jesus Christ, but you can not receive salvation through a false Jesus.

I was in my forties before I accepted Jesus Christ. Twenty years before I accepted Jesus I was drunk most of the time. After I became sober I decided to look into the Bible. I have never stopped looking and I hope you don’t either.

Chapter 1. Who is Jesus?

When Jesus came into the coast of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of Man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. H saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

(Matthew 16:13-15)

When it comes to faith, many people believe something is true just because they believe it. This is a lie of Satan. We don’t create spiritual truth. Jesus did not just teach truth. He is truth. Just as the only way to receive God’s free gift of salvation is through Jesus Christ, the only way to know the truth (Jesus Christ) is through the Christian Bible. Jesus is the heart and soul of Christianity.

Jesus is both God and man. Jesus has always existed. The word of God became flesh and walked among us. When God’s word turned to flesh, Jesus added the nature of man to his divine nature (John 1:1, 14).

I had to meditate on this information for some time, for it to sink in. It’s a supernatural event: God’s word turning into a human. God’s word is so powerful that I believe it is beyond us to completely comprehend it. His word spoke the world into existence. His word broke the power of Satan over us. His word will defeat the last stand of Satan. His word changed the world forever.

Jesus as God was worshiped (Matthew 2:2, 11)

Jesus as God was prayed to (Acts 7:59)

Jesus as God was called God (John 20:28)

Jesus as God was called Son of God (Mark 1:1)

Jesus as God was sinless (1 Peter 2:22)

Jesus as God knew all things (John 21:17)

Jesus as God gives eternal life (John 10:28)

Jesus as God, the fullness of deity walks in Him (Colossians 2:9)

Jesus as man, He worshiped the Father (God) (John 17)

Jesus as man prayed to the Father (John 17:1)

Jesus as man, He was called man (Mark 15:39)

Jesus as man was called Son of Man (John 9:35-37)

Jesus as man was tempted (Matthew 4:1)

Jesus as man grew in wisdom (Luke 2:52)

Jesus as man died (Romans 5:8)

Jesus as man had a body of flesh and bones (Luke 24:39)

Most religions do not understand the two natures of Christ. Some focus on his humanity and ignore his divinity. Some focus on his divinity and ignore his humanity. The two natures of Jesus must be understood, otherwise one can say anything about Jesus and you would not know the difference. One cannot receive salvation from a counterfeit Jesus.

It is interesting the time in history Jesus appeared to us: The world was ruled by one empire; Pax Romana, or Roman peace was present; modern roads allowed good travel throughout the kingdom; and one language was the official language. God picked the best time and conditions to spread Christianity throughout the world.

Jesus was in Nazareth, where he had been raised. On this particular day He was the guest teacher in the synagogue. He was given the scroll of Isaiah and He read the following, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. To preach the acceptable year of the Lord (Isaiah 61:1, 2).

Jesus handed the scroll back, then set down to expound upon what He had just read. All eyes were upon Him. Jesus looked over the congregation and said, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears (Luke 4:21). You would either have to be crazy or the Messiah to say this. The congregation thought he was crazy because they drug him out of the synagogue, out of the city, and were going to throw him down the side of the mountain, but he escaped. I wonder how many in this crowd came to Jesus at a later date and asked for his forgiveness?

Jesus was announcing He was the long awaited Messiah.

History would indeed verify that He was the person to whom all the prophecies were speaking about. Let’s look at some of the prophecies Jesus fulfilled.

All of these prophecies were several hundred years before the birth of Christ. The prophets told us the blood line Jesus would be born in. They named the city of his birth. They stated he would be born from a Virgin. His birth had international consequences. Wise men from the east came to pay respects. It was prophesied that Jesus would be announced by a forerunner, John the Baptist. John was baptizing, a baptism of repentance to prepare one for the message of Jesus. During Jesus’ Baptism it was prophesied that He would be referred to as God’s Son. This incident is also an example of the trinity: Jesus came up from the water; something like a dove landed on Jesus; and God announced from heaven that Jesus was his son. The dove represents the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:16-17).

The prophets foretold that a Messiah would give freedom to the Jews. Jesus had two comings: The first for his church. The prophets did not see the church age. The second coming was to establish his kingdom forever. The prophets gave prophecies of Jesus’ first coming. They foretold his own people would reject him. They also prophesied the following: His entry into Jerusalem officially announcing he was the Messiah. The timing of his entry is most interesting. In John 7:6, Jesus said His time had not yet come. In Matthew 8:4, Jesus cleansed a man with leprosy, and then told him not to tell anyone. In the book of Daniel, the Angel Gabriel gave Daniel a prediction of the exact day the Messiah would present Himself as king to Jerusalem. The day Jesus rode into Jerusalem was the exact day that was foretold in Daniel 9, several hundred years before.

It was foretold a friend of Jesus would sell him out for thirty pieces of silver. It was also foretold that Jesus would be crucified with criminals. This was before crucifixion was invented. The prophets stated Jesus would have nails driven through his hands and feet, again this is before crucifixion was invented. Jesus would pray for his enemies. Jesus’ legs would not be broken. (It was common for the Romans to break the legs of those being crucified). They would not be able to push up to get a breath and their death would be quicker. Jesus’ side would be pierced. The Romans stuck a spear in his side to double check that he was dead, that way there would be no reason to break his legs.