I Peter 3:15

Sermon Notes: by Pastor Darryl DelHousaye

Introductory Thoughts:

As we move into this New Year, I want to prepare you for something that is coming, and I want

to introduce it to you with a riddle. What is it that has grabbed the fascination of many of your

friends and is giving them a reason to dismiss the most important person in your life?

• There are more than 4.3 million now in print and in its first week on sale it achieved

unprecedented success. It’s been #1 on The New York Times bestseller list, #1 on The Wall

Street Journal list, #1 on the Publishers Weekly list, and #1 on The San Francisco Chronicle list.

• Since it’s debut, it has hit #1 on every bestseller list in America and is being translated into

more than 35 languages.

• The movie rights have been sold to Columbia Pictures for $6 million and Ron Howard plans to

direct the movie.

• This month’s Entertainment Weekly has it remaining #1 under fiction for the last 37 weeks.

• It has been the subject of featured articles this month in Newsweek, Time, and U.S News and

World Report. It was the inspiration of a one-hour ABC News special sparking debates around

the country on the legitimacy of the Christian faith.

I am speaking of a novel written by Dan Brown entitled The Da Vinci Code. It is quite a read,

endorsed by Clive Cussler and it reads just like one of his thrillers. The Da Vinci Code opens

with the grisly murder of the curator of the Louvre museum in Paris. The crime enmeshes hero

Robert Langdon, a professor of symbology from Harvard, and the victim’s granddaughter,

crytologist Sophie Nevue. Together with a crippled millionaire historian Leigh Teaching, they

flee Paris for London one step ahead of the police and a mad albino "opus dei monk" named

Silas who will stop at nothing to prevent them from finding the "grail". So far, so good.

The conspiracy is this, the grail is not the chalice of Jesus from the last supper, but a crypt

containing the bones of Mary Magdalene with documents proving that for the first 400 years of

the church, Christians never believed Jesus to be divine, but rather a man who married Mary

Magdalene and fathered a child.

Later Mary escaped to a Jewish community in France, then known as Gaul and bore a little girl

named Sarah, the rightful heir to the kingly bloodline of Jesus. We are also told that Jesus had

given the leadership of his church to Mary Magdalene, but Peter became jealous and began the

rumor that she had been a prostitute to secure his place as leader of the church.

Why am I telling you all this and why are we talking this morning about some book written by a

guy named Dan Brown? Believe it or not, many of your friends are beginning to form their

opinions about Jesus based on this fictional novel. We need to crack this code. Read 1 Peter

3:13-15.

"And who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? But even if you should

suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do

not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense

to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and

reverence;…" NASB

Persecution can be physical or it can be an attack on the truth we believe. The central claim of

Brown’s book is that "Almost everything our fathers taught us about Christ is false." Brown

quotes Leonardo Da Vinci as saying, "Many have made trade of delusions and false miracles,

deceiving the stupid multitude…. Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals,

open your eyes!" P231

And how is it we became so deceived? He says by a meeting of bishops in 325 AD, at the city of

Nicea in modern-day turkey. There the roman emperor Constantine wanted to consolidate his

power base by creating a divine Christ.

"But the book is fictional, don’t people understand that?" They would except for what Brown did

at the beginning of his book. He writes this: "fact: …all descriptions of artwork, architecture,

documents and secret rituals in this novel are accurate."

When the faith is attacked, we need to have an answer to respond to those who will ask us. There

are basically five attacks of the Christian faith in this book:

• The attack on the Scriptures

• The attack on the divinity of Jesus

• The attack on church history

• The attack on Mary Magdalene

• The attack on the person of God

I. The Attack On The Scriptures

The Attack: the Bible is not the Word of God

"The Bible is a product of man, my dear, not of God. The Bible did not fall magically from the

clouds. Man created it as a historical record of tumultuous times, and it has evolved through

countless translations, additions, and revisions. History has never had a definitive version of the

book…the fundamental irony of Christianity! The Bible, as we know it today, was collected by

the pagan Roman emperor Constantine the Great." P231

Response:

The Scriptures themselves claim to be the inspired Word of God (2 Tim 3:16). Peter explains

that the Spirit of God came upon apostles and prophets and filled them with his revelation (2

Peter 1:16-21). Paul adds his experience (1 Cor 2:9-13).

But there weren’t additions or revisions; we have over 5,000 ancient New Testament manuscripts

dating back into the second century affirming our present New Testament. Constantine had

nothing to do with creating the New Testament. These books were recognized and used by

general consensus of Christians since the birth of the church.

There is a huge ten-volume set of writings called the Ante-Nicene Fathers with thousands of

pages of writings by Christian teachers and scholars before 325 AD. They speak of the books of

the New Testament as Scripture, the very words of God. The chief test for a book to be

considered part of the New Testament was whether it was written by an apostle or a prophet

associated with an apostle (John 16:12-15). That’s why Paul says this in Ephesians 2:20.

"…having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself

being the corner stone,…"

The scholar Bishop Westcott put it this way: "The extent of the canon was settled by common

usage and, thus, the testimony of Christians became the testimony of the church."

The Attack: We do not have the right Gospels.

"More than eighty gospels were considered for the New Testament and yet only relative few

were chosen for inclusion: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John among them… Constantine

commissioned and financed a new bible, which omitted those gospels that spoke of Christ’s

human traits and embellished those gospels that made him Godlike. The earlier gospels were

outlawed, gathered up, and burned." P234

Response:

Justin martyr lived in the second century and died in 165 AD. Here’s what he said: "…on the day

called Sunday there is a gathering together to one place of all those who live in cities or in the

country, and the Memoirs of The Apostles or the writing of the prophets are read, as long as time

permits."

Irenaeus who lived in the 2nd century died in 180 AD. He tells us that the fourfold Gospel had

become known already as the testimony of the life of Jesus in his time.

In 170 AD, Tatian published his Diatessaron Dia "through" and Tessaron "four") which were

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John woven into one long narrative. The church at that time believed

these were the four authentic gospels and all others were unreliable and not part of Scriptures.

The Attack: archeology proves the gospels are wrong.

"Some of the gospels that Constantine attempted to eradicate managed to survive. The Dead Sea

scrolls were found in the 1950’s hidden in a cave near Aumran in the Judean desert. And, of

course, the Coptic Scrolls in 1945 at Nag Hammadi." P234

Response:

Let me comment on these two archaeological finds: The Dead Sea Scrolls and The Coptic

Scrolls of Nag Hammadi.

The Dead Sea scrolls have nothing to do with Jesus. In 1947 a Bedouin shepherd named

Muhammad was searching for his lost goat and came upon an opening to a cave on the side of a

cliff. He threw a stone in and heard pottery break. Scrolls were found carefully sealed for 1900

years, placed there around AD 68. Other caves were found and other jars with scrolls in them.

These became known as the Dead Sea scrolls.

What is interesting is that there was a complete copy of the book of Isaiah found matching

almost completely with our earliest manuscript dating 1,000 years later in the tenth century AD.

There had been no revisions or additions. But the point is there is nothing said about Jesus in the

Dead Sea Scrolls.

As for the Coptic Scrolls found at Nag Hammadi. In December of 1945 an Arab peasant

discovered an earthenware jar with 13 papyrus books bound in leather. These became known as

The Gnostic Gospels.

Let me tell you about the Gnostics, one of the earliest attacks on Christianity. Gnosticism came

about with an early attempt to combine Greek philosophy, Hinduism and Buddhism with

Christianity after Christianity had been around for a while. They believed in both a father god

and a mother goddess.

The Gnostics opposed Christianity. They believed God could never become a man because flesh

was evil. The Gnostic gospels were written long after Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; and to

give them credibility, they propose that others wrote them like Thomas or Philip.

The Gospel of Philip was not written until the third century AD, over two hundred years after

Jesus. Do you want a first century eyewitness account or speculation about Jesus hundreds of

years later by a cult?

In the ninth century legends began to develop about the life of Jesus and this is when speculation

about marriage, children, and Jesus came about.

Because the Gnostics believe God could not become a man, Jesus could not have taken on flesh.

In the "Acts of John," one of the more famous Gnostic texts found before Nag Hammadi, it

explains that Jesus was not a human being at all but instead a spiritual being who adapted

himself to human perception. Some of them believed Jesus was a spirit who did not leave

footprints, others believed the "Christ" part came upon a man named Jesus only for a while and

left him before he was executed.

The Coptic scrolls are all Gnostic writings including books like The Gospel of Thomas, The

Gospel of Philip, The Gospel of Truth, and others. The Gnostic writings were never part of the

Christian faith.

Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons in 180 AD denounced them as "full of blasphemy" and because of

their attack on the four gospels declared that the "heretics boasts that they possess more gospels

than really are." Irenaeus, in his five volume work entitled, "The Destruction And Overthrow Of

Falsely So-Called Knowledge" begins with "…to show how absurd and inconsistent with the

truth are their statements…I do this so that…you may urge all those with whom you are

connected to avoid such an abyss of madness and of blasphemy against Christ."

An interesting example of this is the "gospel of truth" telling the story of the Garden of Eden

from the viewpoint of the serpent (get a clue).

The Attack: there’s a mystery document written by Jesus

"The ‘Q’ document is a book of Jesus’ teaching, possibly written in his own hand." P256

Response:

The "Q" document doesn’t exist. There is no evidence of a "Q" document. It is from the German

word "quell" (kvell—eh) meaning "source." Some believe that Matthew and Luke got their

information from a previous document source because of some similarities between their gospels

and so they conjured up the possibility of a "Q" document. The similarities may have more to do

with the fact they were talking about the same Jesus.

II. The Attack On The Divinity Of Jesus

The Attack: Christianity borrowed from other religions.

"Nothing in Christianity is original. The pre-Christian god Mithras—called the son of god and

the light of the world—was born on December 25, died, was buried in rock tomb, and then

resurrected in three days." P232

Response:

The cult of Mithraism was quite prominent in ancient Rome, especially among the military for

only men could join. According to Mithraism, Mithra was called the son of god, was born of a

virgin, had disciples, was crucified, rose from the dead on the third day, atoned for sins and

returned to heaven. Did the Christian faith borrow from the cult of Mithra?

Our faith is in history, not myth. The evidence of history tells us Jesus was crucified, was buried

and rose the third day. This is history not a teaching about a mythological man. What about the

similarities?

Two possibilities:

1. All Jesus did was prophesied in the Old Testament and the Old Testament predated Mithraism.

It was foretold that the Son of God would come (Zech 12:10); born of a virgin (Isa 7:14);

crucified (Ps 22); rising from the dead (Ps 16:10). Remember what Jesus said in Luke 24:45, 46,

"Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them ‘Thus it is

written, that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day;…’"

2. What is more probable is that as Mithraism developed, it started to adopt Christian concepts.

To quote one scholar, "Mithraism had no concept of rebirth—at least during its early stages."

With the explosive nature of the Christian church in the 1st and 2nd century, other cults started to

adapt themselves to take advantage of some the teachings found in Christianity. For example the

evidence for the notion of rebirth in Mithraism is all post-Christian. Who borrowed from whom?

The Attack: Jesus was a mere mortal.

"Until that moment in history, Jesus was viewed by his followers as a mortal prophet… a great

and powerful man, but a man nonetheless. A mortal." P233

Response:

What did the eyewitness believers believe about the divinity of Jesus?

• The Gospel of John is dated by most scholars before 90 A.D. Listen to this eyewitness in 1:1-3,

14; 5:18-29; 17:5; 20:28, 30, 31.

• Paul’s witness in the book of Philippians is dated between AD 50-55 (2:5-8)

• Again Paul’s witness in Colossians is dated around AD 60 (1:15; 2:9)

• Hebrews is dated between AD 64-68 (1:1-9)

This is not mentioning the martyrdom of thousands of Christians in history by Rome because

they believed only Jesus was Lord and worthy of worship.

III. The Attack on Church History

"The church’s version of the Christ story is inaccurate, and that the greatest story ever told is, in

fact, the greatest story ever sold." P267

The Attack: Constantine made up the deity of Jesus.

The Council of Nicea from where we get the Nicene Creed was controlled by Constantine to

consolidate his power. Establishing Christ’s divinity was critical to the further unification of the

Roman Empire and to the new Vatican power base. By officially endorsing Jesus as the Son of

God, Constantine turned Jesus into a deity who existed beyond the scope of the human world, an

entity whose power was unchallengeable." PP. 232, 233

Response:

In 325 AD there was a council of Nicea where Constantine permitted some 300 church leaders

representing the consensus of the church to meet. The council was convened to address a

fragment teaching that was in conflict with the teaching of the New Testament scriptures.

The heresy was Arianism, named after Arius who was teaching that Jesus was not completely

divine. Arius taught that Jesus was not fully god because God created him, and yet even Arius

did not believe Jesus was a mere "mortal."

Constantine convened the Council to address this problem and restore peace in the church. The

Council of Nicea was convened to define the faith based on the consensus of early church and let

the debate take place. Athanasius represented the consensus and Arius and his supporters were

overwhelmingly defeated and banished.

Now here’s the rest of the story. Constantine began to waver and within three years the Arians,

denying full divinity were restored to their office, while Athanasius and those who affirmed the

full diety of Jesus were exiled. When Constantius succeeded Constantine as emperor he renewed

the persecution of those who believed in the divinity of Jesus.

The question of history is who was oppressed and persecuted, not those who rejected the Lord’s

divinity, as Brown claims, but those who believed in it.

IV. The Attack on Mary Magdalene

The Attack: Jesus was married and fathered a child.

"The chalice that held the blood of Christ… it speaks, in fact, of Mary Magdalene—the female

womb that carried Jesus’ royal bloodline…behold the greatest cover-up in human history. Not

only was Jesus Christ married, but he was a father." P249

"Mary Magdalene was pregnant at the time of the crucifixion. For the safety of Christ’s unborn

child, she had no choice but to flee the Holy Land. With the help of Jesus’ trusted uncle, Joseph

of Arimathea. Mary Magdalene secretly traveled to France, then known as Gaul. There she found

safe refuge in the Jewish community. It was here in France that she gave birth to a daughter. Her

name was Sarah." P255

"The marriage of Jesus and Mary Magdalene is part of the historical record." P245

Response:

Mary Magdalene was a follower of Jesus and the first to see the resurrected Lord (John 19). This

Mary was of the city of Magdala, a wealthy city. She was healed by Jesus and became one of his

supporters (Lk 8:2, 3). The scriptures never said she was a prostitute and it wasn’t Peter who

authored the rumor, but Pope Gregory the Great five hundreds later.

There is nothing in the scriptures that tell us she was romantically involved with Jesus or that

they ever married. Brown’s argument for Jesus being married and fathering a child is as follows:

"Because Jesus was a Jew and the social decorum during that time virtually forbade a Jewish

man to be unmarried. According to Jewish custom, celibacy was condemned, and the obligation

for a Jewish father was to find a suitable wife for his son." P245

The answer is simple: when did Jesus ever follow "social decorum?" History also tells us that the

Essenes were celibate and held in high esteem among the Jews as spiritual men. Jesus would

have a bride, but his bride would be the Church making herself ready for the marriage supper in

the book of Revelation (Rev 19:7).

The Attack: Mary was to be the head of the church.

"According to these unaltered gospels, it was not Peter to whom Christ gave direction with

which to establish the Christian church. It was Mary Magdalene." P245

Response:

The Book of Acts is dated between 60 and 64 AD and makes it clear that the leadership of the

Church rested with all the apostles, including Paul (Ephesians 2:20; 4:11).

V. The Attack On The Person Of God

The Attack: God the Father has a wife.

"Early Jews believed that the Holy of Holies in Solomon’s temple housed not only God but also

his powerful female equal, shekinah…the Jewish tetragrammaton YHWH—the sacred name of

God—in fact derived from Jehovah, an androgynous physical union between the masculine jah

and the pre-Hebraic name for Eve, havah." P309

"‘The star of David…the perfect union of male and female…Solomon’s seal…making the Holy

Of Holies, where the male and female deities Yahweh and shekinah were thought to dwell."

P446

Response:

Remember the Gnostics believed in two gods, a father god and a mother goddess. The word

Shekinah isn’t even found in the Bible. The word is used to refer to the divine presence of God

seen in his glory (Ezekiel 1:28). Other Gnostic writers even believe the term Holy Spirit was

actually the mother goddess.

Brown is a little confused about the name "Jehovah" as being the root of YHWH. The name

YHWH predates the name Jehovah by centuries. Jehovah is actually a 16th century rendering of

the name YHWH using the vowels of another word Adonai. Brown’s idea that the ancient Jews

believed in a god and a goddess is complete fabrication, for the Jews were zealous monotheists.

The name YHWH is the original word for God occurring in the first sentence of the first written

words God ever gave to human beings, the ten commandments: "I am the lord your God." The

word "lord" here is the word YHWH.

Concluding thoughts:

There are a lot of cracks in this code.

Brown tells us that…

"The definition of faith is the acceptance of that which we imagine to be true, that which we

cannot prove." P341

Faith is not the imagination of human beings, but trust and confidence in what has been revealed

to us in the Word of God. The four Gospels have been given to us that we might know and

therefore believe, and that is why they include hundreds of facts and the testimony of

eyewitnesses. The Christian faith is trust based on historical evidence, not irrational imagination.

Again read 1 Peter 3:13-15.

We live in a time when people are struggling with spirituality. They are looking for someone

who knows what they believe and can give reason for that hope they have. Don’t be afraid of the

discussions. With Mel Gibson’s "The Passion" coming out on Ash Wednesday, why would you

be surprised an attack on Jesus would come?

If I’m going to place my trust for my eternity in anything, I want it to be in something real, not

the imagination of one who will become wealthy at the expense of the faith of many.