Christian Apologetics (3/14/11)

Shalom,

 

    Please begin by reading Isa 43:8-13.

 

    Let's begin by saying that the burden of proof is on those who don't believe in the God of the Bible.  The phrase "let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right" is the key here.  Yahweh is challenging those outside the faith to prove their point, to justify their position.  He calls them to prove their philosophies and theories apart from what he's revealed through the Scritpures.

    As Christians we have the responsibility of being "witnesses."  It specifically means a recorder who testifies, coming from a root word meaning to testify by repeating.  Look closely at your role and function in the debates and discussions.  We're to speak forth what we've heard and seen, to repeat the story of how the Creator has touched us and been involved in the activities of our lives.  We don't have to be able to answer everyone's questions.  We do have to be able to explain what has changed in us because of the grace of Jesus.

    Have you ever noticed that people usually only pay attention to the heavy or weighty questions of life when things go wrong?  Too many of us don't do any real soul searching when things are going along well.  When things seem to be going along well, we tend to assume that we must be doing something right or we're lucky, or we're clueless.  There just isn't enough concern for the big picture of our eternal destiny when we're not under some sort of stress or in a struggle.

    But when things go wrong we might do an inventory of our lives.  It's then that we just might ask the tough questions.  That wouldn't be too bad, but very often we still try to shut out the questions that bother us.  But no one can run away from these questions forever.  All of us believe in something.  Whether we've thoroughly thought it through or not, we have a philosophy of life, maybe even a theology.  It's made up of what we believe about right and wrong, life and death, truth and God and man.

 

    Prov 19:3 says, "People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at Yahweh."  Doesn't that sound like some people you've encountered?  Why is it that so many people are upset with Yahweh over their own bad decisions and choices?  Not a lot of people in our world like the word responsibility, but it's something we're all "responsible" for.  Somehow many people in our world have come to the place where they expect that Yahweh is supposed to bless and help no matter how they treat him.  They reject his truth and still want his protection from the evil in this world.  They deny his sovereignty and yet still blame him when things go wrong.

    Many people are shallow and refuse to discuss religion or politics because of how volatile the topics can be among us humans.  Politics affects our daily lives by its policies and laws.  Religion affects our eternity.  Too many people refuse to consider the most important things in life and how they affect every decision they make and action they take.  That often makes it difficult for us to talk of faith in Jesus or other things that are extremely important to us.

    The bottom line is truth.  There is absolute truth.  It can be known and understood.  The current popularity of tolerance and political correctness doesn't change the fact that there is discernible and absolute truth.  Popular opinion can't change the reality of our Creator and his very real expectations for all mankind.  Absolute truth isn't established by majority rule, but by the Almighty and all-powerful Yahweh.  The Creation can't change the Creator's rules just because they prefer something else.

    It's important for all of us to discover and understand what we believe to be true.  Asking questions of our Father in heaven is a good part of our search for truth.  In fact, he expects it of us.  You don't have to go through life with a blindfold on your mind to believe in the God of the Bible.  It's not that we're merely clinging to wishes and feelings.  Yahweh is real, and he's accessible to everyone who truly seeks him.  Your Father in heaven doesn't get upset at your doubts.  He's only bothered when you fail to ask the questions you need to and you end up sliding into unbelief.

    If something is true, absolutely true, you can look at it hard and think about it and compare it with other belief systems - and it will stand because it's based in the One who is truth.  It will prove to be reliable because it comes from the source of all truth.

 

    Take a hard look at yourself.  What are your roots?  What is it that you hold onto to keep yourself going day by day?  Do you believe the things your family taught you?  Do you accept the version of truth offered by TV media?  Has your schooling been the source of your value system?  Are your friends opinions the ones that guide your life decisions?  Or maybe it's your political party?  Do you know what's really true and where all the answers are to be found?

    What do you hear from the general public?  Surely you don't think that any one belief system has all the answers?  "Everybody" knows that all sincere roads lead to God in the end.  Yes, a lot of people believe these things.  Lots of people avoid the real answers to the real questions with such evasive logic.  They work hard to find a truth that they can call their own, one that doesn't require too much effort on their part.

    But are they right?  Think about right and wrong.  Many modern people believe that we can pick and choose our own system of right and wrong.  But if something is right, then some other things have to be wrong.  If something is true, that means some other things have to be false.  Many people tend to think that facts of religion are different from facts in the "real" world.  Facts about grocery stores, pets, road maps, and other such real things just aren't the same as facts about religious thinking.  Many people have the crazy idea that they can separate spiritual things from worldly things, that they're completely separate and different.

    If you sincerely believe that you're a cow and begin living outdoors and eating grass, aren't some people going to come and take you to a place of padded rooms and such luxuries?  How is it that it's OK in religion to hold to any belief "as long as you're sincere?"  The fact is that no one is supposed to say that someone else's view is either right or wrong, true or false.  We're all supposed to just get along without ever criticizing or proclaiming that these misguided people could be wrong.

    Every idea has consequences, just like a plant that grows from a seed.  Whatever kind of seed that's planted is the kind of plant that will grow, be it weed or good plant.  The logical result of thinking that anything goes in religion is to think that any sincere religious action is OK.  The problem comes when this includes suicide, murder and many other abuses.  What we believe about truth and right and wrong and God aren't "ho-hum" matters.  Although many people say that anything goes in religion, in actual situations they find themselves drawing a line and calling some religious beliefs wrong, hurtful, or even stupid.

    What we believe affects everything about our living every day.  What we think and feel and do springs out of our belief systems.  Our task as Christians is to know what we believe and be able to to explain it to others.  1 Pet 3:15 says, "In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.  Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."  An answer means a logical defense of your belief system.  The process is to seek Jesus with all our might and to spend time with him so that we'll be able to give good answers to anyone who questions us about why we live the way we do.

    Think of keys.  Only the right key will open the door, start the car, or give you access to whatever it is you're trying to open.  The keyhole has a certain shape.  The inner workings have a certain shape.  I believe that there's only one explanation for truth and life, and thereby only one valid religion and philosophy.  Only one fits the facts.  The other opinions won't and can't work.  We've been given the key to eternal life.  We've been given the key to absolute truth.  The other belief systems are false and can't open the door to heaven.

 

    You have a choice when you ask questions about religion and life and worldviews.  You can assume that what you see around you and what you feel inside you are real, and investigate on that basis.  Or you can assume that you need some special mystical knowledge and be led around by that philosophy.  Your Creator has given you everything you need to know and understand him.  Jer 9:23-24 speaks directly to our doubts and unbelief.  "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am Yahweh, who exercises kindness, justice, and righteousness on earth."

    People who try to find their Creator can look for truth by observing the world around them.  People who look to other religions and philsophies have to resort to mystical and magical techniques.  Things like chanting mantras or taking drugs or meditating on some weird thing outside of themselves.  A true God-seeker can find what they're looking for without having to move outside of themselves.

    I believe real truth is practical and sensible.  It fits with and explains the world we see and feel and experience every day.  Christianity is realistic, even harshly so.  Yahweh's Word speaks to us of reality, how people really think and act.  If we're going to explain our faith to others we must have confidence in the God revealed in the Bible.  The Holy Spirit will teach us and guide us and direct us into Yahweh's absolute truth as we ask for his help.  When we trust and seek after real truth, we'll "always be prepared to give a logical defense" for what we believe.

    Remember, our task isn't to convince people of what we believe.  Our task is to share the truth of what we know and understand, to be good witnesses who only speak of what they know.  Don't be confounded by the questions thrown at you.  Yahweh says those who oppose his truth are the ones who must "prove they were right."  Start asking them some tough questions instead of being intimidated by their ignorance of absolute truth.

 

    Blessings & Peace,    Mike