Why Do You Believe That?

 “I’m an atheist; convince me to believe in your God.”

 I remember putting quite a few Christians in this position back then - when I hated God. It’s sad to say that none of them could give me a convincing argument. Now I, of course, didn’t help matters because I just didn’t want to believe. Not only did I not want to follow God, but I also did not want to believe what all those Christians were telling me about Him. See, it seemed to me that they were all just empty-minded people following a clown dressed as a pastor. They would believe anything that came out of his mouth, even if it was wrong. Even if historical facts would prove them wrong, they would still believe in what he said. This was my view as someone who had grown to hate the God I now love.

 We cannot force anybody to believe in God, only God can do that. In my life, for example, it was the Holy Spirit that really touched my heart after years of many people praying for me and trying to convince me. The part they got right was praying for me, but what kept me from finally surrendering to Him was their lack of knowledge. It appeared that none of them could tell me exactly what they believed or why they believed it. No one seemed to be able to answer my questions about creation, salvation, judgment, or Christian practices like tithing, baptism and church services.

 Sadly, 4 years and a conversion later, I still come across people in the above situation and it concerns me. After being involved in different churches for some time now I still see that many Christians just believe whatever comes from behind the pulpit. Instead of researching the Word to see if it’s accurate, we sit back on our padded seats and accept whatever is preached, believing it must be the truth. We hear it, believe it, and accept it as guidelines for living. Most, if not all, preachers base their sermons on the Scripture, but they’re not necessarily using it in the right context. So much has gone wrong since misinterpretations entered Christianity.

 This is not me judging and pointing my finger at pastors. I have relationships with some really great ones and I fully believe in the men God has called to lead us. Not all sermons are bad or misleading and I always appreciate a solid, biblical-based teaching. Rather, this is me telling you, as a believer, to perk up, search the scriptures and dig into your faith. Perhaps you will find things you never thought you would. In fact, a great resource for this, and a book and author I would highly recommend, is Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola. If we conducted church as the New Testament church was conducted, things would look much different than the way they do now. (Another great/short book on this: The Untold Story of the New Testament Church by Frank Viola). But I guess we’ll never know if we don’t research about it, eh?

 Question your faith for your own good and the sake of being able to defend what you believe. This way, when someone questions it you will know what to say. This is not just my opinion, God’s Word calls us to do this.

 People ask me, “Why don’t you tithe? Why do you have tattoos? Why do you play that music?” and other things. For all of these questions I have an answer according to the Scripture. But I love when someone asks me a new question that I don’t know the exact answer to because it prompts me to find out. It sends me to the Word of God, to godly counsel, and to prayer. It causes me to be led by the Spirit and trust Him at his words.

 At the end of the day, we need to know the Truth. It will set us free.

 “But in your hearts revere 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. But do this with gentleness and respect.” 1 Peter 3:15