Nuggets from Seeking and Finding God—A Planned Salvation

Death not only ends this short earthly life, it separates sinful rebels from God forever. In His infinite foreknowledge, wisdom, and love, however, God had already planned how He would restore life and reunite mankind with Himself. Without ceasing to be God, He would become a man through a virgin birth. Only God could be the Savior (Isaiah:43:11I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.
See All...; 45:21); thus the Messiah had to be God (Isaiah:9:6For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
See All...; 45:15; Titus:1:3But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;
See All...,4). He would die for our sins to pay the penalty demanded by His own perfect justice: “’Tis mystery all, the Immortal dies!” hymn writer Charles Wesley declared. Then He would rise from the dead to live in those who would believe in and receive Him as their Lord and Savior. Forgiveness of sins and eternal life would be theirs as a free gift of His grace—the only way man could receive it.

Centuries before His incarnation as the perfect man, Christ Jesus, God inspired the Old Testament prophets to declare His eternal and unchangeable plan of salvation. Definitive criteria were provided by which the coming Savior would be identified. Jesus and His apostles did not invent a “new religion.” Christianity fulfills scores of specific prophecies and is therefore provable from Old Testament Hebrew Scripture!

So it was not a new gospel that Paul the apostle preached. It was “the gospel of God (which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures) concerning his Son Jesus Christ” (Romans:1:1-3 [1] Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, [2] (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) [3] Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
See All...). Thus, the Bereans could check Paul’s message against the Old Testament (Acts:17:11These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
See All...); and he could use the Hebrew prophets, which were read in the synagogue each Sabbath, to prove that Jesus was the promised Messiah (verses 2-3). Not Buddha, not Muhammad, not anyone else—only Jesus Christ has the required credentials. The fulfillment of scores of specific prophecies in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth provides absolute proof that He is the true and only Savior.