Answering the Sceptics: Part 2 — Morning Devotions

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Answering the Sceptics: Part 1 — Morning Devotions

Transcript

Well, I looked at 5 objections yesterday, people were saying, well, Christians are hypocrites. What about the atrocities that Christians have committed? And then there was the one about it being narrow-minded to think that Jesus is the only way to God, and I mentioned John 14:6, the great words of Jesus, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Then there was the 4th one, being a good person is all that really matters, and I said that we can be sincerely wrong, God judges people based on truth, not on their opinions. And then there was the one about those who’ve never heard about Jesus? Well, here’s a few more that might be helpful today, I hope it is.

People look at the Christian faith and the people in the church and say, Well, it’s OK, you read the Bible, you follow the Bible, but the Bible is filled with errors.

But did you know that the Bible itself is described as the Word of truth? You can see that in Colossians 1:5. Here we’re talking about the divinely inspired Word of God. The Bible is not some book that’s cooked up somewhere down through the centuries. The book, the Bible is totally trustworthy, we can trust it.

What most people claim as errors in the Bible are not really errors, but they are difficulties. People think that they’ve stumbled on some inconsistencies when they haven’t really taken the time to find out all the facts. They’ve rarely made an in-depth study of the passage, so we can answer that one fairly simply by saying that God’s word has proven itself, it’s stood the test of time.

And if there are problems, it needs to be looked at. Here’s another one.

If God is good, why is there evil?

And I’ve heard that one said many times. God didn’t create evil. He did not create evil. Sin entered the world, we read through Adam and Eve’s disobedience, and you can read all about that in Genesis chapter 3.

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So the possibility of sin is necessary for a free world, just as parents often allow their kids to make mistakes and to suffer the consequences. God acts in a parental fashion with His creation.

But Jesus accomplished the defeat of evil on the cross, so that’s really that in a nutshell.

And based on that is the question many ask is why is there suffering?

I think that suffering, and we’ve talked about this before on this programme, reminds us of the fragile balance of life.

CS Lewis in his book called The Problem of Pain, he says, God whispers to us in our pleasure, but speaks to us in our conscience and shouts to us in our pain. It’s like his megaphone to rouse a deaf world, and I think that’s a great quote. At the heart of this issue, why is there suffering is the challenge that God is not fair. That’s what people are really saying.

But the truth is, if God gave us what we deserve, we’d be in trouble. It would be foolish to ask God for justice. What we really need is mercy.

We’re coming towards the end of some of these things, and here’s number 9:

If there is a hell, why would a loving God send people there?

A good question. While evil and suffering are real, they are also temporary because God hates evil and one day God will destroy all evil, but in the meantime, he longs for people to accept Jesus’ death and resurrection as payment for their sins so that as a result they can live with Him eternally in heaven. So unfortunately and very sadly, many people decide not to be a part of God’s heaven.

Someone has said the gates of hell are locked from the inside by the free choice of men and women.

And then there’s the final argument: Christianity is a crutch.

These people charge that religion is a crutch for people who can’t cope with life, but many non-religious people have their own crutches in drugs or sex or alcohol or money or power. Rather than being weak, Christians are strong because they depend not on themselves but on Jesus, so everyone needs help along the way.

Well, Lord, we give you thanks for friends and people who care for us. It’s good to know there are people, Lord, like that. These are positive people who cheer us up. We thank you, Lord, also for your encouragement. Lead us, Lord, in truth. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

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