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Why
Christianity
Sixty-five
common questions and objections to the Christian Faith
Understand why I believe
Christianity makes good logical sense. Introduction.
There are some who think that Christianity
is not logical because a good God would not let suffering go on. Others think it
requires blind faith, some judge Christianity
before they know what it teaches. I know you aren't like that, you try to be
fair, so I'm asking you to throw out all your preconceived notions you have
about Christianity. Starting out with a
clean slate. I want you to consider a few points and see if they make sense to
you. Defining terms. When
I say, Christianity, I specifically mean the Biblicist view of Christianity.
The Biblicist view believes that the Bible is totally accurate in all
that it teaches. How
we interpret the Bible. First, it's not a "free for all" of
interpretations within the Biblicist view there are specific rules one
must follow (see literal grammatical-historical
hermeneutics)
Are you good enough to go to Heaven?
by Ray Comfort
Of all the questions you
will ask yourself in life, probably the most important is, Am I good enough
to go to Heaven? The way to find this out is to ask yourself if you have
obeyed the Ten Commandments. most would answer the question, "Well, I've
broken one or two, but nothing too serious, like murder, etc." So, let's go
through them and see how you do:
1. "You shall
have no other gods before Me."
Is God first in your
life? Do you love God above all else? Many years ago, I purchased a T.V. for our
children, but the first evening we had it, I arrived home from work and found
that they didn't even bother to greet me. They were too busy watching
television. I turned it off and explained to them that if they ignored me
because they preferred to watch T.V. they were setting their love on the gift
rather then the giver, a wrong order of affections. In the same way, if
we love anything—husband, wife, children or even our own lives—more than we
love God, we are setting our affection on the gift rather than the Giver, which
is a transgression of the First Commandment. In fact, the Bible says that we
should so love God that our love for Mom and Dad and brother and sister should
seem like hatred compared to the love we have for the God who gave those
loved ones to us.
We are also commanded
to love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves. Jesus spoke of a Samaritan
who found an injured stranger, bathed his wounds, carried him to an inn, gave
money for his care and told the inn-keeper that he would pay for his expenses.
We call him the good Samaritan, but in reality he wasn't "good"
at all, he merely obeyed the basic command to love his neighbor as himself. That
is a picture of how God expects us to love our fellow human beings. We should
love them as much as we love ourselves...whether they be friend or foe.
Have you loved God with
all your heart? Have you loved humanity as much as you love yourself? You be the
judge. Will you be innocent or guilty on Judgment Day of breaking that
Commandment? I'm not judging you—I'm asking you to judge yourself before
the Day of Judgment. The sentence for breaking this Commandment is death.
2. "You shall
not make for yourself any graven image."
This means that we
shouldn't make a god to suit ourselves, either with our hands or our mind. I was
guilty of this. I made a god to suit myself. My god didn't mind a
"white" lie or a fib here and there—in fact, he didn't exist. He was
a figment of my imagination, an "image" which I shaped to suit myself.
Is your God the One revealed in Holy Scripture? If not, then you have made your
own god to suit yourself—you have committed the oldest sin in the Book.
Scripture warns that no idolater will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
3. "You shall
not take the name of the Lord your God in vain."
Have you ever taken
God's name in vain—instead of using a four-letter word to express disgust,
you've used His name? Hitler's name wasn't despised enough to use as a curse
word. If you have used His holy name in that manner, you are a blasphemer and
will not enter the Kingdom of God.
4. "Remember the
Sabbath Day, to keep it holy."
I ignored this command
for 22 years. Even though God gave me the gift of life, never once did I ask
what He required of me. I was guilty of breaking this Commandment.
5. "Honor your
father and your mother."
Have you always
honored your parents in a way that's pleasing in the sight of God? Ask Him to
remind you of the sins of your youth. You may have forgotten them, but God
hasn't.
6. "You shall
not murder."
Jesus warned that if we
get angry without cause we are in danger of judgment. If we hate our brother,
God calls us a murderer. We can violate God's Law by attitude and intent.
7. "You shall
not commit adultery."
Who of us can say that
we are pure of heart? Jesus warned, "You have heard that it was said to
those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that whoever
looks at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery already with her in
his heart." Remember that God has seen every thought you have had and every
sin you have ever committed. The day will come when you have to face His Law,
and we are told that the impure, fornicators (those who have sex before
marriage) and adulterers will not enter the Kingdom of God. Punishment for
transgression of this Commandment is the death penalty.
8. "You shall
not steal."
Have you ever taken
something that belonged to someone else (irrespective of its value)? Then you
are a thief—you cannot enter God's Kingdom.
9. "You shall
not bear false witness."
Have you ever told a
lie? Then you are a liar. How many lies do you have to tell to be a liar? Just
one. The Bible warns that all liars will have their part in the Lake of
Fire. You may not think deceitfulness is a serious sin. God does!
10. "You shall
not covet."
That means we shouldn't
desire anything that belongs to another person. The covetous will not inherit
the Kingdom of God.
Who of us can say we are
not guilty of breaking these Commandments? All of us have sinned, and
just as with civil law, you don't have to break ten laws to be a lawbreaker, so
the Bible warns, "For whoever shall keep the whole Law, and yet stumble in
one point, he is guilty of all."
A little girl was once
watching a sheep eat grass and thought how white it looked against the green
background. But when it began to snow she thought, "That sheep now looks dirty
against the white snow!" It was the same sheep, but with a different
background. When we compare ourselves to man's standard we look pretty clean,
but when we compare ourselves to the pure snow-white righteousness of God's
standard—His Law, we can see ourselves in truth, that we are unclean in His
sight. That Law is the holy standard by which humanity will be judged on
Judgment Day.
This may sound strange,
but the worst thing you could do at this point of time is to try and clean up
your lifestyle—you realize that you have sinned, so from now on you will keep
the Ten Commandments, do good deeds, say the right things and think only pure
thoughts. But should a judge let a murderer go because he says he will now live
a good life? No, he's in debt to justice and therefore must be punished.
The Law of God is merely
like a mirror—all a mirror does is show you the truth. If you see egg on your
face, you don't try and wash yourself with the mirror, it's purpose should be to
send you to water for cleansing. Neither should you try and wash yourself with
the mirror of God's Law...that's not its purpose.
The sight in the mirror
is not a pretty one, but if you don't face it and acknowledge that you are
unclean, then all that "dirt" will be presented on Judgment Day as
evidence of your guilt, and then it will be too late to be cleansed.
Perhaps you think that
God is good and will therefore overlook your sins. But if you were guilty of
terrible crimes in a civil court and said to the judge, "Judge, I am guilty
but I believe that you are a good man and will therefore overlook my
crimes," the judge would probably respond by saying, "You are right
about one thing; I am a good man, and it's because of my goodness that I
am going to see that justice is done, that you are punished for your
crimes." The very thing that many are hoping will save them on Judgment
Day, God's "goodness," will be the very thing that will condemn them.
If God is good, He should punish murderers. liars, thieves, etc., and
Hell will be their dreadful fate.
What a terrible place
Hell must be. If you read in the newspaper that a man received a $5 fine for a
crime, you could conclude that his crime was insignificant. But if a man
received multiple life sentences, you could conclude that his crime was
heinous. In the same way, we can catch a glimpse of how terrible sin must be in
the sight of God by looking to the punishment given for it—eternal
punishment. Ungrateful humanity never bothers to thank God for His wonderful
blessings of color, light, food, joy, beauty, love, and laughter, so He will
take those blessings away from them. Instead of proving their gratitude by
obedience to His will, they use His name to curse. Their punishment will be just
but severe to the uttermost. Take the time to read what Jesus said Hell was like
in Mark 9:43-48. I am afraid for you...please, look honestly into the mirror of
the Law, then seek the "water" that cleanses every sin. If you don't
believe what I am saying about the reality of Hell, it means you think God is
corrupt (that He hasn't the moral backbone to seek justice), that Jesus was a
liar, that the Apostles were false witnesses, that God's promises are nothing
but prefabricated lies, and there is no greater insult to God than to call Him a
liar. By doing so, you are adding to your transgressions. Imagine if you
reject the Savior, die in your sins and find that what I have told is the Gospel
truth? Then it will be too late, you will be judged for you sins. If that
happens, and your eyes meet my eyes on the Day of Judgment, I'm free from your
blood. I have told you the truth, but if you choose to ignore it your blood will
be upon your own head...you will have no one to blame buy yourself.
Can you see your
predicament? You are guilty of sinning against God Himself, and, because you
have a conscience, you have sinned "with knowledge." Isn't it true
that every time you lied, stole, lusted, etc., you did it with knowledge
that it was wrong?
Does the fact that you
have sinned against God scare you? It should. You have actually angered
Him by your sin. The Bible says His wrath abides on you, that you are an
"enemy of God in your mind through wicked works." But let fear work
for your good in the same way that a fear of jumping out of a plane at a great
height would make you put on a parachute. Let your will to live open your heart
to the Gospel of salvation.
I am not the only one
who doesn't want you to end up in Hell. The person who gave you this tract cared
enough to give it to you and risk your rejection, and God Himself is not willing
that you perish. To make clear what an incredible thing He has done for you in
the Gospel, let's look again to civil law: You are standing in front of a judge,
guilty of very serious crimes. All the evidence has been presented and
there is no doubt about your guilt. The fine for your crime is $250,000 or
imprisonment, but you haven't two pennies to rub together. The judge is about to
pass sentence...he lifts his gavel, when someone you don't even know steps in
and pays the fine for you. The moment you accept that payment, you are free
to go. Justice has been served, the law has been satisfied, and what's more, the
stranger who paid your fine showed how much he cares for you. His payment was
evidence of his love.
That's what God did for
you, in the person of Jesus Christ. you are guilty, He paid the fine 2,000 years
ago. It is that simple. The Bible puts it this way: "he was bruised
for our iniquities...Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the Law being made
a curse for us...God commended His love toward us, in that while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us."
It was no small thing
for Jesus to die for us. The only thing that would satisfy the demands of
Eternal Law was the suffering death of the sinless Son of God. What
love God must have for you! He suffered unspeakable agony, so that you
wouldn't have to be punished for your sins. His sacrificial death and
resurrection mean that you need no longer be in debt to the Law, and God can now
grant you everlasting life if you obey Him—death no longer has a legal hold
upon those who belong to Jesus Christ.
Two men were offered a
parachute while seated in a plane. The first man was told it would improve his
flight, but the second man was informed he had to make a 25,000 foot jump. when
the flight struck severe turbulence the first man took his parachute off because
as far as he was concerned it didn't improve the flight. but during the same
violent turbulence, the second man clung tighter to his parachute. Each man's motive
for putting the parachute on determined whether or not they would keep it on. In
the same way, the reason you should "put on the Lord Jesus
Christ" shouldn't be to find peace, joy, true happiness, to have your
marriage healed or your problems fixed, etc. (to have your flight improved), but
it should be to escape the jump to come—because of the fact that you have to
pass through the door of death. Then, when the flight gets bumpy (when problems
come) you won't fall away from the faith.
What should you then do?
Simply repent and put your trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. Don't
put it off until tomorrow.
Would you sell an eye
for a million dollars? How about both for $20 million? No one in his right mind
would. Your eyes are priceless to you, yet they are merely the windows of your
soul. Your life (your soul) is of such value, Jesus said that you should despise
the value of your eye compared to it. He said that if your eye causes you to
sin, pluck it out and cast it from you, for it is better to enter Heaven blind
than to go to Hell seeing. In other words, of all the things you should
prioritize in your life, it's not your health, your vocation, etc., it's your
eternal salvation.
Think of a man who has
committed adultery. His faithful wife is more than willing to take him back, so
what is the attitude in which he should approach her? It should be one of
tremendous humility, asking for forgiveness, and determining in his heart never
to even think of committing adultery again.
That's how you should
approach God. If you are not sure how to pray, read Psalm 51 and make it your
prayer. Then put your faith in Jesus Christ in the same way you would put your
faith in a parachute. You don't just "believe" it will benefit you,
you actually trust yourself to it by putting it on. Then, once you have made
peace with God, read the Bible daily and obey what you read.
Romans chapter three
says:
no one can ever be
made right in God’s sight by doing what his law commands. For the more we know
God’s law, the clearer it becomes that we aren’t obeying it.
But now God has shown us a different way of being right in his sight—not by
obeying the law but by the way promised in the Scriptures long ago. We are made
right in God’s sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And
we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done.
For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet now God in
his gracious kindness declares us not guilty. He has done this through Christ
Jesus, who has freed us by taking away our sins. For God sent Jesus to take the
punishment for our sins and to satisfy God’s anger against us. We are made
right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life
for us. God was being entirely fair and just when he did not punish those who
sinned in former times. And he is entirely fair and just in this present time
when he declares sinners to be right in his sight because they believe in Jesus.
Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No,
because our acquittal is not based on our good deeds. It is based on our faith.
So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.
{paraphrased}
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