One of the more popular arguments used to show that Jesus is God was argued by two well-known Christian apologists – C.S. Lewis and Josh McDowell – called the Trilemma. This apologetic argument basically says, arguing for the divinity of Jesus, that Christ was either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord.
Before we explore the Trilemma in more detail it is important to note that we should never use this as a stand alone argument with a non-believer without first demonstrating why we believe in the reliability of the Bible. Without showing a non-believer that the New Testament books, particularly the four Gospels, are historically accurate and reliable we run the risk of people dismissing Jesus as a mere legend. In addition, once we establish the historical reliability of the Bible, as with any apologetic argument, we need to pray for the individual we are sharing with, that the Lord would open their heart to listen and evaluate our information and logic. Without heavy prayer, and the convicting work of the Holy Spirit, no amount of good evidence will save anyone.
Once we demonstrate that the Bible is historically reliable, and we have prayed for conviction for the person we are witnessing to, the Trilemma argument can be helpful in giving that person something to think about with regards to the divinity of Jesus. So, let’s examine our options.
Was Jesus a Liar?
Josh McDowell shares some excellent insights here when he says:
“If, when Jesus made His claims, He knew that He was not God, then He was lying and deliberately deceiving His followers. But if He was a liar, then He was also a hypocrite because He told others to be honest, whatever the cost, while He himself taught and lived a colossal lie. More than that, He was a demon, because He told others to trust Him for their eternal destiny. If He couldn’t back up His claims and knew it, then He was unspeakably evil. Last, He would also be a fool because it was His claims to being God that led to His crucifixion.”1
The idea that Jesus was a deliberate liar goes against everything we know about Him. McDowell goes on to share: “This view of Jesus, however, doesn’t coincide with what we know either of Him or the results of His life and teachings. Wherever Jesus has been proclaimed, lives have been changed for the good, nations have changed for the better, thieves are made honest, alcoholics are cured, hateful individuals become channels of love, unjust persons become just.”2 So most honest people will agree that Jesus was certainly not a liar.
Was Jesus a Lunatic?
The words that Jesus spoke and the life that he lived were so pure and sublime that no sane person could ever attribute insanity to such a perfectly sane individual. His wisdom surpassed that of Solomon, His parables demonstrated the most sublime teachings, and His honesty was so refreshing that no one could possibly claim Him to be a lunatic. In the Gospel of Matthew, we see Jesus delivering perhaps the greatest sermon on positive mental health ever delivered in the Sermon on the Mount. According to psychiatrist J.T. Fisher:
“If you were to take the sum total of all authoritative articles ever written by the most qualified of psychologists and psychiatrists on the subject of mental hygiene — if you were to combine them and refine them, and cleave out the excess verbiage — if you were to take the whole of the meat and none of the parsley, and if you were to have these unadulterated bits of pure scientific knowledge concisely expressed by the most capable of living poets, you would have an awkward and incomplete summation of the Sermon on the Mount. And it would suffer immeasurably through comparison. For nearly 2,000 years the Christian world has been holding in its hands the complete answer to its restless and fruitless yearnings. Here … rests the blueprint for successful human life with optimism, mental health, and contentment.”3
Jesus lived a life that was so genuine, so honest, so refreshing, and so sane that calling Him a lunatic is sheer lunacy!
Was Jesus Lord?
So, if Jesus was not a liar or a lunatic, and we believe in the historical reliability of the Gospels, I believe, we are left with the only other alternative – He is Lord. The idea, as some claim, that Jesus was a great moral teacher, but not God, to me is not a rational choice. C.S. Lewis shows us the impossibility of this position when he shares:
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”4
Conclusion
So, is Jesus Lord? It is clear that the Jews believed He claimed to be God since they had Him crucified for that claim. As I hope you have seen from my website, that apologetic arguments have cast there claims in favor of the accuracy and reliability of the Scriptures. Yes, apologetic arguments, I believe, are primarily to strengthen the faith of believers. But these arguments, in conjunction with heavy prayer, can open the heart of an unbeliever to examine them too. Man by his nature is dead in his sins and can only come to life if the Holy Spirit does a work in his heart.
I realize that man loves his sin and clearly doesn’t want to be accountable to a holy God. However, the Trilemma can still serve as a useful apologetic argument when accompanied by the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, which can be activated through our prayers. Prayer and the Word of God are still the keys to bringing salvation to a sinner. Apologetics can serve as a useful tool, but can never be a substitute for prayer and the Bible.
1 Jesus: God or Just a Good Man? | Cru
2 Jesus: God or Just a Good Man? | Cru
“Yes, apologetic arguments, I believe, are primarily to strengthen the faith of believers.”
While these “arguments” contain facts that every believer’s heart resonates with, the primary purpose of an “apologia” is a defense of the faith in the face of aggressive opposition or questioning from an unbeliever.
Take a look at I Peter 3
“Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense (apologia) to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.”
Our apologia usually starts with giving a reasonable response with gentleness and respect to an unbeliever but if his questioning turns slanderous, our apologia can shame him, too. We should never be doormats for unbelieving thought when we present the Word of Truth.
At the same time, we know that facts never determine what people believe, it’s their underlying worldview. If there is no “fear of the Lord,” there cannot be any knowledge that makes sense out of anything. The unbeliever despises wisdom and instruction. As the Apostle Peter pointed out, even his eyeball experience was not as reliable as the “more sure Word of prophecy.”
This devotional hit on the important starting point of our apologia, the Bible. We must know our Bible like never before as our current circumstances assail us on every side and we must apply it’s wisdom to every area of life. What sayeth the Lord?
“Let God be found true, but every man a liar.” Romans 3