How does the Bible answer common objections that you might have ?
I don’t believe God exists, how can anybody know for sure?
No one can scientifically prove the existence or non-existence of God. By definition, a Creator God must exist beyond our understanding of natural science. If you honestly seek God with humility and an open heart, however, God will make himself known to you personally in unmistakable ways. The Bible says if you seek God with all your heart you will find Him. Once you have experienced knowing God you will believe in Him by faith in your own experiences. Is God calling out to you now? Is that why you are taking the time to read this?
God has already given all of us the rational ability to see the existence of God through what we see in the creation around us. We know this creation could not have come without an original cause. Even a “big bang” requires a cause.
Romans 1:19-20 “… since what may be known about God is plain, because God has made it plain. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities - His eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”
How could a loving God allow so much suffering?
First, the vast majority of the horror in our world is not from God but comes from man’s cruelty and inhumanity to man. God absolutely hates this! He will remember and will bring His judgment on all in HIS time.
Second, this world is not what He had wanted it to be because WE are not what we are supposed to be. God’s word, the Bible, tells us that He has promised to one day do away with the wickedness in this world and recreate it as it was originally intended. All those who have acknowledged Him and put their faith and trust in Him in this life, however, will share this new world with Him. It is a free gift and available to everyone, but He won’t interfere with our free choice to not seek him and to not accept or acknowledge Him in this life. This He leaves it up to us to make our own choice freely.
If he just made everything perfect in this world then He would necessarily have to violate this freedom He has given. He won’t do that, but He has promised to rescue all who accept Him and usher them into a new eternal world of peace and happiness. There is so much more to understand about Him, but he won’t force himself on you. He waits with great hope that we will all reach out to Him through His word and prayer. Please consider taking Him up on His promise to you.
I don’t think I’m a sinner, I’m not so bad.
God’s word, the Bible, tells us that we are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. Who can do this? Anything less than this is what the Bible calls sin. Our willful and continual sin is what creates our separation from God because God is perfect and holy and cannot be in the presence of sin.
When we sin and give up our communion with God, we give up our privilege to have the abundant life to the full that He offers us.
Romans 3:23 “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Psalms 14:3 “All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.”
Sin is anything we do, think, or say that is not of God’s perfection. Sin comes from within our hearts. Sin is rebellion against God and His position of authority as the Creator and Provider. You may ask, “How do I sin against you, God?” Here are a few examples of the sins of ‘commission’: treating others in a shameful way, putting ourselves above God and other people, greed, power lust, disrespecting God, violating marriage vows, sexual lust, cheating others, lying, malicious gossip, false rumors, bigotry, pride, malice. Here are a few examples of the sins of ‘omission’: not helping others, not honoring God, neglecting His word, putting worldly priorities above His, not being humble or coming to Him in prayer, not confessing our sins, not sharing our faith with others.
The more we become aware of our own sin, the more we understand that we need a savior. A savior is someone outside of ourselves who can intervene on our behalf before God. Is there such a someone?
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave us His only Son. That whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life”
Would you like to have eternal life?
Aren’t there many paths to heaven? How can Jesus be the only way?
Jesus says in the Bible:
John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
God is who He is. He is not some figment of our imagination or whatever we think He is or want Him to be. We don’t get to decide who God is. God has a definite personality. God is who He is, whether we accept Him or not.
Jesus gave us ample evidence of His divinity as being one with God. He was foretold in prophecy, He commanded nature, He healed the sick, He raised the dead, He performed many miracles in direct sight of the people, and most importantly, He was resurrected from the dead and showed Himself to over 500 people afterward. We are left only to decide whether Jesus was a lunatic or whether He was who He claimed to be, the true Son of God.
Jesus willingly went to a tortuous and brutal death to save us from our sins by paying the penalty for us on our behalf. He told us this was the only way for us to be restored to the Father. If there was any other way to the Father, then surely Jesus’ death would have been for naught. God has offered up His only Son as payment for our sins to those who believe in what Jesus has done and accepts Jesus as their Lord and Savior. After this, there could be no alternate way to God. Will you take His free gift for yourself?
How do I know the Bible is really true?
2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Ancient copies and portions of the Bible that have been archaeologically found far outnumber those of any other ancient work.
The Dead Sea Scrolls, dating about 150 B.C. were found to be in textual agreement with what previously had been the oldest known copy, from about A.D. 900, despite the 1,000 year difference.
The New Testament has been preserved and corroborated via more than 24,000 discovered manuscripts. No other document equals the New Testament when it comes to the preservation of manuscripts, both in terms of number and closeness in time to the original autographs.
There are 40 separate writers of the Bible over a period of about 2,000 years.
More key reasons to trust the Bible:
Fulfilled Prophecies
Historical accuracy
Scientific accuracy
Durability and indestructibility
Unique structure
Universal influence
Life-changing effect
With all of the historical and scientific evidence to support the trustworthiness of the Bible, it is only true if it is true for you. Take it, read it, try it, apply it, and seek the Lord through His word. As you do so honestly and sincerely, He will reveal Himself to you. Will you do so?