Answers for the Skeptics of God

Personal Experience

This is part two of a three-part series on whether or not God is real. Personal experience plays a huge role in what we believe. We are taught what we know through family, friends, school, church, and by our life experiences. We are influenced by everything, from what we gain from our family values to what we observe on the internet. Some individuals may have had negative experiences with a church, a pastor, other Christians, or otherworldly factors that may have led them to question the existence of a loving God. Others may simply have never had any personal experiences that would lead them to believe in a higher power, and as a result, they choose not to believe.

“How is Christianity credible when it’s full of hypocrites and evildoers?”

I hear this all of the time. In fact, I have said it, especially prior to being saved, but also in my earlier years of being a Christian. I still ask our own congregation a slightly different version of this question which is, how can we expect anyone, especially non-believers, to have the desire to come to our church if we, as seasoned believers, are hypocrites? But I have come to understand that you can’t focus on the hypocrites. You have to work on your own relationship with God and learn from those whose lives are faithfully aligned with Jesus’. There are good people who do bad things, just like there are bad people who do good things. Being a Christian doesn’t make you a good person, we are still sinners in the flesh. But if we are following Jesus in the context that we should, then our morals and values should align with what a good person is defined by. Read the book of Romans, which gives fantastic truths as to how a Christian should live.

Not all Christians have Jesus first in their heart, and those are the Christians who can confuse you and cause you to be deterred from being faithful to the Lord. We see it all the time, even in church. People come to church on Sunday and later that week, if not that day, we see a few of them acting in a hypocritical way. We have thieves, liars, addicts, idolaters, cheaters, and those who carry hate in their hearts sitting in the pews among us. But Jesus says in John 8:7, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone”.  The fact is that God gave us all free will. It is up to each individual to choose how they live their lives and how they follow Jesus. I don’t recommend being any of those things for three reasons. One is that you will have to answer to God someday for all the sins you have committed. Secondly, when you move through life with God at the forefront of all your decisions, you allow God to guide you down the paths most desirable to Him. The reward for that is the lessons learned throughout that process and then ultimately reaching the destination you were destined for. Lastly, you would be setting a horrible example for non-believers. In order for others to see the works that God has done in your life, you cannot act hypocritically. People will sniff that out from a mile away, and you will be labeled as untrustworthy. Let God do the work, be faithful to Him, and then let others see how He has worked in your life.

In many situations, Christians appear to be judgmental. Many non-believers are afraid of being judged. Perhaps they have had negative personal experiences where some Jesus freak chastised them for doing something they disapproved of. That is because we, as Christians, can sometimes tend to feel like we are better than others. This is as wrong as you can get. Matthew 7:5 says, “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” We should live a lifestyle pleasing to God, which means living by His word. Nowhere in the Bible are we encouraged to make it our job to point out the faults of others. We are encouraged to love everyone as God loved us. We are not to judge others because we have all made mistakes. There is a difference between setting an example and encouraging others to live by the morals we are taught in the Bible and pointing out everyone’s faults and attempting to humiliate or chastise them. In the end, God will be the only judge, so don’t try to do his job. Rather than make personal attacks or judge others, try treating them like human beings, that is, with love and respect.

At the end of the day, the credibility does not lie with individual Christians. It lies with Jesus. So do not allow your view of Christians who still sin regularly sway your own personal relationship with Jesus.

“If God provides, why does the church always ask for your money?”

This is a typical misinterpretation of the biblical text. God does promise to provide, but what you define as provisions may not line up with God’s. The Bible tells us to have faith, and He will provide. I can personally tell you that there were many times in my life when I couldn’t afford my bills, gas, transportation, or food, but in the end, God always made sure that I had what I needed.

But most churches operate completely off donated funds. Even a very small church takes close to 80k-100k a year just to operate minimally, and that is assuming the pastor has no paid staff and accepts a rather humble income that most of us would refuse. A lot goes into running a church. They are not exempt from paying electricity, water, and gas, which depending on the building size and usage, could be fairly significant. In addition, funds must be raised for the basics such as Bibles, Hymnals, Sunday School material, Wednesday night kids’ church or Awanas, musical instruments, maintenance, staff, office supplies, the holiday festivities, and the food that most churches gladly provide.

 It costs money to do these things, and just because they are a church does not mean they operate for free. I have been to churches that rarely ask for tithing, in fact, the church that I currently attend doesn’t even pass an offering plate. Other churches go as far as preaching an entire series of sermons about tithing and all but demand that you tithe at least 10%. In Matthew 23:23, Jesus says, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices–mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law–justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.”

I try to be a good person; shouldn’t that get me into heaven?”

I am happy that you are trying to be a good person because the world needs good people. However, the answer is no, being a good person will not get you into heaven. John 3:5 Jesus clearly states, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.” And later, in John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

I don’t understand why so many are so skeptical of God. No one on the planet has ever been lying on their deathbed and said, “I wish I wouldn’t have been a follower of Jesus.” Not even those who were brutally tortured and eventually murdered for following Him ever mentioned regret for following Jesus. Why? Because Jesus tells us in Matthew 10:28, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Conclusion

If you are a non-believer, don’t let people who are not following Jesus and not reading His word teach you how to be a follower of Jesus. Likewise, if you are a believer, set an example so that others can see how God has truly been working in your life. The worst thing you can do as a Christian is cause others to stumble in their faith or their potential to realize their faith. You may be toying with their salvation! When our eyes are on God and our life revolves around God, there is a clear difference in seeing how He is guiding us. You can’t see Him if you are not looking for Him. At the end of the day, just read the Bible, and believe me, it carries the answers you are looking for. As always, if you have questions, please reach out to me via the “Contact Us” page. God Bless!