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Christianity’s Fatal Flaw
10/15/2007
“Prove it!”
It’s been the coupe de grace used for centuries by people who don’t believe in Christ to destroy many a Christian’s witness. Usually, we just put our tails between our legs and crawl away wrestling with our own unanswered questions and doubt. Yes, it seems to be Christianity’s fatal flaw that the omnipotent omnipresent omniscient God of the Universe left us without the ability to scientifically prove that He and His Son exist. Why would He do that? Is it some kind of cosmic joke? Or is it that they never existed in the first place?
The fact is that it is no oversight on God’s part…no “Achilles’ heel” in our theology…it is a central part of God’s design. He did it for a reason! The answer lies in the verses below:
1 Corinthians 1:18-21 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE.” Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.
Ephesians 2:8,9 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
The necessity of faith levels the playing field. If God could be found through profound intellectual effort and ability, or great personal sacrifice, or monumental humanitarian effort, or extreme personal purity and morality then men would be able to boast in their achievements. Proud of our humility, we would be able stand among lesser men and even before God Himself and sagely describe how after giving all of our belongings to the poor and scaling the mountains of Tibet and spending years in meditation in a cave and eliminating all worldly desires of the flesh that we finally achieved enlightenment and now we “know God.” And who would be able to achieve these colossal tasks required to achieve the knowledge of God? It would be those who are born to privilege. Those born with great intellectual capacities and the time and opportunity to develop them and pursue such lofty goals without being weighed down by their innate limitations and the necessity of supporting themselves and their families. The rest of us poor slobs would just be left out. The huddled masses who aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed and who struggle with moral weaknesses and spend most of their days just living hand-to-mouth.
By requiring faith to know God, it makes your abilities and your circumstances irrelevant! Whether you are rich or poor, genius or idiot, young or old, moral or immoral, religious or atheist. strong or weak…we all must come to God the same way…by faith! Isn’t the wisdom of God wonderful?!
Read the verses above again. “For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.” No man will ever come to know God by his own wisdom or efforts. No exceptions! “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” You can only be saved through faith…not as a result of anything that you or I can say or do! Why? So that no one can boast! And because God’s design for knowing Him stipulates that “without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him”
Does the fact that I am unable to prove scientifically that Jesus is who He said He is and that His Word is true make it any less true? Is all truth scientifically provable? Sure, I can point you to a ton of books that can present evidence that the Bible is reliable, that Jesus really existed, and that the events of the Bible occurred just as they are described. But I cannot prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt. And even if I could, that wouldn’t really address the main problem, would it?
When presented with specific objections to Christianity, my usual response is to cut to the heart of the matter:
“If I am able to addresses these objections to your satisfaction, are you willing to fall on your knees before Jesus Christ, repent of your sins, and follow Him the rest of your days?”
You see, even if I could answer their “intellectual” questions, most people are just not willing to give up the right to live their life however they see fit. So the central objection to Christianity is not intellectual…it is simple pride…the original sin. The “intellectual objections” are just a smokescreen to allow them to continue to do whatever they want.
Perhaps you’re someone who is struggling with whether or not to believe in Christ. If it’s all based on faith, why choose Christianity over another religion or philosophy? Why not choose something that’s a little more palatable and compatible with what you want? Something that won’t cause the rest of the world to come down on you so hard?
Because it’s true! Jesus is exactly who He said He was! He was crucified for our sins and rose from the grave and sits at the right hand of the Father! His Word is true and He will return soon to judge the living and the dead!
How do I know it’s true? I could go into the intellectual arguments about why I believe but that’s not really why I believe. Or I could tell you of the miraculous things that God has done in my and my families life but that’s not really why I believe either. I can’t really describe to you how I know. All I can say is that His Spirit bears witness with my spirit and I am more certain of these truths than I am of the sunrise.
John 16:13 But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
John 10:26-28 “But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.”
I have heard His voice and I continue to hear it. Do you want to hear His voice? Do you want to “know that you know?” Then I invite you to seek Him with your whole heart. Pray even if you’re not sure that He’s listening. Read His Word and learn of Him. He is knocking at your door and He will not cast out anyone who opens it to Him. If nothing else, God will honor the prayer of the repentant sinner that says:
Mark 9:24 “I do believe; help my unbelief.”
John 6:37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.”
Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.”
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