Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20040926.htm

ANSWERING OTHERS WITH REASONS FOR OUR FAITH
Part II: Handling Questions Most Often Asked By Christianity's Critics
C. Answering Questions Caused By Ignorance Of The Bible's Teachings

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

In our mini-series on questions people most ask about the Christian faith, a series that is part of our series on apologetics, I have referred to the questions listed by such parties by popular Christian Apologist, Josh McDowell in his book, A Ready Defense.

In the index of his book, on page 8, he lists a variety of questions most often asked by critics of the Christian faith, and a number of those questions arise from the lack some have in knowing what the Bible itself actually teaches on various issues of concern.

For example, here are such questions, and I cite McDowell's work (Ibid.): "Is God Different in the Old and New Testaments? Isn't there more than one way to God? Isn't It enough to be sincere? I'm a good person; won't God accept me? What about those who have never heard the Gospel?"

If we have not read what the Bible says on these issues, we might respond to these questions with a little bit of fear: we might wonder, for example, if God is unmercifully judgmental in the Old Testament in having the nation Israel kill off the Canaanites in stark contrast to Jesus in the New Testament Who allowed Himself to be badly mistreated and nailed to the cross by His evil foes.

We might wonder how we can answer the charge that lots of good and sincere people from other religions around the world "worship God" as they perceive Him, and so wonder how we can teach one must believe in Christ or not make it into heaven!

Indeed, how can we deal with the matter of people living in Third World countries where the Gospel may not yet have penetrated -- are we really prepared to claim they will end up in hell even if they haven't heard the Gospel?!



Accordingly, we will use this message to answer each of these questions that are answerable as we learn what the Bible actually teaches on each of them.





(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )



Need: "When critics ask, 'How can Christianity be true if the OLD Testament, judgmental God is so opposite in demeanor to the gentler NEW Testament Jesus?' or 'Why trust in Jesus -- isn't there more than one way to God?' or, 'Why trust in Jesus if God will accept me if I am sincere and good?' or, 'Why trust in Jesus if God can not fairly reject those who never hear of Him?', what can I say?!"
  1. The questions in our "Need" section above come from critics who do not know the Bible's teachings themselves, for each of these can be answered from Scripture to defend Christianity as follows:
    1. Scripture content itself answers the question, "How can Christianity be true if the Old Testament, judgmental God is so opposite in demeanor to the gentler, New Testament Jesus?" as follows:
      1. Contrary to the opinion on which this question is faced, there is no inconsistency in God's judgments in the Old and New Testaments:
        1. For example, though God judged the inhabitants of Canaan to be slain to give Abraham's descendants their land (book of Joshua), God waited until the evil of these people had become so great that there was no other choice, a gracious wait of four generations according to Genesis 15:13-16a with 15:16b.
        2. Then, it is the New Testament Lord who is called a "Consuming Fire" of judgment in Hebrews 12:29, One Who will bring about unparalleled world destructions in the Great Tribulation in Revelation 6:1-19:21, and who will cast men into the lake of fire forever for their unbelief in Christ, cf. Revelation 20:10,15.
      2. Then, contrary to the presupposition upon which this question is based, God throughout Scripture is gracious and long-suffering:
        1. In Ezekiel 18:1-32, the Old Testament God belabors the point that each man is judged or blessed by Him for his own actions.
        2. Then, God in the Old Testament is repeatedly said to be gracious, slow to anger and merciful, Ex. 34:6; Psa. 103:8, etc.
        3. Even Jesus summed up the entire Old Testament as being fulfilled when one fully loved God and man, Matt. 22:35-40.
    2. Scripture content itself answers the question, "Why trust in Jesus -- isn't there more than one way to God?" as follows:
      1. The Bible holds there to be only one way of salvation, that of faith in Christ, our sole Mediator with God, Acts 4:12; 1 Timothy 2:5.
      2. Thus, this question, based on ignorance of the Bible, itself errs.
    3. Scripture content itself answers the question, "Why trust in Jesus if God will accept me if I am sincere and good?" as follows:
      1. Isaiah 64:6 claims that all of man's best righteousnesses -- sincere or otherwise -- are as filthy rags before a holy God; indeed, Romans 3:9-20 reveals God's law only condemns even the best of men as being woefully inadequate before Almighty God.
      2. Thus, this question, based on ignorance of Scripture, itself errs.
    4. Scripture content itself answers the question, "Why trust in Jesus if God can not fairly reject those who never hear of Him?" as follows:
      1. Scripture reveals God currently convinces the world He exists by the evidence of His handiwork in creation, Romans 1:18-20.
      2. Indeed, Acts 17:24-27 states God has arranged historical events for all people in the world to motivate each one in his own cultural and ethnic setting to see his need for Christ, and Revelation 22:17a and John 16:8-11 show God's Holy Spirit convicts them of this need.
      3. Thus, when anyone in any nation who has not yet heard of Christ's Gospel sees his need before God, God will get him the Gospel (cf. Acts 10:1-48), meaning no one has just excuse for rejecting Christ!
      4. [The late SIM missionary, Ray Davis reported in his work, Fire on the Mountain that before the missionaries arrived, God repeatedly sent signals to prepare needy Ethiopian witch doctors for the truth!]
      5. Hence, no man is without excuse for not believing in Christ!
  2. Thus, in keeping with John 14:26, we who trust in Christ can busy ourselves reading Scripture so that God's Spirit can give us recall on the passages that answer such questions when critics raise them!
Application: (1) May we first believe in Christ to be justified by Him and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, John 3:16; Rom. 8:9b. (2) As believers, may we READ Scripture REGULARLY so God's Spirit in accord with John 14:26 can remind us of those truths that are relevant to questions raised by critics; then we will be able to settle concerns raised by ignorance of the Scriptures!

Lesson: (1) The question on the alleged difference between the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament, the question on why one need trust in Jesus if there is more than one way to God, the question on why trust in Jesus as He is bound to accept one who is sincere and good, the question on why trust in Jesus if God can not fairly reject those who never heard of Christ each fail to be fuel for critics when seen against the backdrop of what the Bible actually teaches. (2) Thus, to be able to ANSWER them, may we read our Bibles so the Spirit of God can bring the answers to our memory when we are confronted by such critics!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

 Years ago, a man who was thinking about receiving Christ as his Savior asked if he could take me canoeing. He had a question to ask me on the trip that needing answering before he became a believer.

We got out on the Bantam River and were paddling along, enjoying the scenery when he asked me, and I paraphrase, "If Christ truly rose from the dead, why did He dwell on how He fulfilled the Scriptures in His resurrection for the disciples on the road to Emmaus instead of pointing them to the hard empirical evidence of His body?"

This man was an engineer who liked empirical evidence, so Jesus' dependence on the Scriptures and minimization of the physical evidence in His body made this man wonder if the account revealed the resurrection was possibly imagined by a few, overzealous disciples.

As he asked me this question, God brought to mind how not long before I had read that same Luke 24:13-35 passage and had noticed that same initial lack by Jesus of using the empirical evidence to prove His resurrection! I knew the passage did not imply there was no such evidence, for Christ later showed these same men His hands and feet and ate food before them to prove He arose, Luke 24:36-43!

Then, I had also recalled how I had noted that Luke wrote his Gospel as a NON-eyewitness to another NON-eyewitness, Luke 1:1-4. Thus, it was fitting for Luke to give his reader evidence that they as mutual NON-eyewitnesses could appreciate! Well, in the Luke 24 account, the two Emmaus disciples realized their 'heart burned within them' as Jesus had expounded Scripture unto them (Luke 24:32); that had led them to believe it was Jesus who had taught them on the way just as He had done so often before His death! Well, that is the SAME evidence of God's power and presence that all we NON-EYEWITNESS believers even TODAY have re: Christ's RESURRECTION -- the WAY the EXPOSITION of SCRIPTURE effects our HEARTS due to the POWER of LIVING LORD!

When I explained to the questioner in the canoe that day that Luke had included this event to highlight evidence non-eyewitnesses such as himself and his reader and even all believers today have of the resurrection, he was satisfied! He later received Christ as his Savior!

May we thus continually READ Scripture that God might similarly bring it to mind to answer those who question us out of ignorance of the truth. Then, they also can believe and be saved!