Lee Strobel - The Case for Christ Answer Booklet

A s portrayed in The Case for Christ book and movie, the questions discussed in this booklet once represented huge barriers in my quest for the truth about the identity of Christ, his mission and miracles, and his alleged resurrection.

Why do people believe God exists at all? How can we know Jesus was the Son of God? Can we really trust the New Testament as reliable history? Can a thinking person accept the idea of a man rising from the dead? Is there evidence for any of these things? And even if its all true, what difference does it make for my life today?

For a season, these questions haunted me. But gradually, after lots of research, deep discussions, and extended times of reflection, the answers I found began to assure me that the case for Christianity was strong. Maybe there is a God. And maybe Jesus really is Gods Son who came to live, die, and return from the graveall on our behalf.

Increasingly The Case for Christ became convincing to me. After nearly two years of searching, I opened myself up to the truth that there is a heavenly Father, that Jesus is the Savior, and that he had been gently pursuing me all along. Finally, I humbled myself and prayed to receive Christ as my forgiver and leader.

It was a decision Ive never regrettedand one Im confident youll be glad youve made as well! But its not one to take casually. It will require a step of faith built on a bedrock of solid factsbut faith just the same.

So whether youre a spiritual seeker looking for truth or a seasoned Christian looking for spiritual reinforcements, I trust youll find helpful, life-giving answers in the pages ahead. And I hope youll follow up this booklet by reading The Case for Christ book and seeing the movie, as well as delving into some of the great materials listed in the Recommended Resources.

Jesus promised in Matthew 7:7, Seek and you will find. And as you do, Ill be praying for you and cheering you on from afar.

Y ou are doing precisely what you need to doyoure being honest with yourself and open with your questions. Thats the first step toward finding answers. If you do the oppositebottling up your concerns in the hopes theyll go awaythen theyll just fester and infect your entire spiritual life.

Instead, let me urge you to follow the wisdom of Scripture. Jesus said, Everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened (Matthew 7:8). This echoes a principle in the Old Testament: You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13).

Ive struggled with spiritual questions for most of my life, and in some ways I still do. Its an ongoing process to find answers that satisfy my heart and soul. But even bouts of doubt can show were thinking and growing, rather than simply clinging to what weve been told.

As I described in The Case for Christ, my greatest season of spiritual introspection came after my wife, Leslie, announced that she had become a Christian. That was hard news for a skeptical journalist to hear! But it set in motion my own journey of asking tough questionsand discovering unexpected answers. In the end, I concluded that it would take more faith for me to maintain my atheism than it would to become a Christian!

After almost two years of searching, I got on my knees and asked Jesus to forgive my sins and lead my life. It was a decision that changed everything; in fact, it was the pivotal moment of my life.

That decision, mixed with the research I did then and in the time since then, led me to a sense of confidence that there are satisfying answers to even our hardest questions. Its in that spirit that I write this book.

Jesus stayed behind... sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.

LUKE 2:43, 4647