Will Nominal Christians Go To Hell?

            The Lausanne Movement [1] characterized a nominal Christian as, “…a person who has not responded in repentance and faith to Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour and Lord. He is a Christian in name only. He may be very religious. He may be a practising or non-practising church member. He may give intellectual assent to basic Christian doctrines and claim to be a Christian. He may be faithful in attending liturgical rites and worship services, and be an active member involved in church affairs. But in spite of all this, he is still destined for eternal judgment (cf. Matt. 7:21-23, Jas. 2:19) because he has not committed his life to Jesus Christ (Romans 10:9-10)” [2] (Emphasis Mine).

            Lord Jesus offered many examples of nominal Christians – foolish non-practitioner of the Bible (Matthew 7:26-27), five foolish virgins (Matthew 25:8-12), seed that fell on the rocks (Luke 8:13) etc. 

            Nominal Christians are everywhere - Protestants, Catholics and Orthodox included. (Ask these questions to know if you are a nominal Christian [3])

            The causes for nominal Christianity are [4]:

            Philosophical – Pluralistic tolerance for rational alternatives and materialism.

            Sociological – Availability of multiple choices and the anonymity of city life in tandem with postmodern intellectual environment.

            Ecclesiastical – When the church preaches grace without costly discipleship, encourages and tolerates nominality, and fails to satisfy the needs of its newly converted or nominal members.   

            Isn’t Christianity all about belief in Christ? Doesn’t belief in Christ as God and as the only way to heaven gain us eternal life in heaven?

            A nominal Christian who believes in Christ as the only way to heaven has intellectually affirmed Christ’s divinity and HIS perfect salvific sacrifice on the cross. But would a mere belief suffice? Wouldn’t his belief in Christ save him from hell?

            Nominal Christians may believe that Christ is God and that HE died to save mankind from sins. But they do not love Christ. They would not share a personal, loving, obedient and a growing relationship with the Lord. The Bible, in the life of these Christians, would be a mere book; not a Holy Scripture that should be read, understood and lived.

            Dr. Ravi Zacharias defines nominal Christianity as an absence of clear understanding of Christ’s teachings [5]. Nominal Christians would not endeavor to understand Christ. 

            A nominal Christian is:

            A. Christian in name.

            B. Believer of Christ intellectually.

            C. Regular to church and may be active in church ministries

            D. Outwardly religious.

            A genuine Christian, in contrast, is the Lord’s disciple who:

            1. Responds in repentance and faith to Jesus Christ as his personal savior and Lord

            2. Progressively loves and obeys the triune God and HIS Word with all his life

            3. Yearns to be like Christ through a constant endeavor to obey the Lord   

            4. Owns a distinct fruitful lifestyle (in private and public) that constantly grows in Christ to contrast an unredeemed person

            Hypocrisy is the key to understand a genuine and a nominal Christian. Nominal Christians could fake a holy lifestyle in public, whereas inwardly they could be utterly immoral.

            God knows if a Christian repented truly and accepted the Lord Jesus as his/her personal savior and Lord. God alone knows if a Christian loves the triune God and yearns to love HIM more. Only God knows if a Christian desires to be Christlike or not.

            Other than God, the Christian knows his personal state – whether he/she is a nominal or a genuine Christian.    

            What’s wrong if nominal Christians go to heaven?

            In order to answer that, we need to ask a leading question, which is, “What is the essence of Christianity?”

            Love is the essence of Christianity. Christianity is all about God’s love for man and man’s love for God.

            God did HIS part for man in full. God saved mankind by dying on the cross of Calvary. God has expressed and continues to express HIS love. God cannot be faulted for a deficient expression of love upon mankind.

            Man, on his part, ought to freely recognize God’s deed, believe, and love God with all his life. This is the crux of man’s responsibility towards God.

            The nominal Christian fails in this responsibility.  The nominal Christian relates to God as how he relates to a fuel station to fill fuel for his automobile. When he is in trouble, he will call upon God. Just as he forgets a fuel station when his automobile is fuelled, he forgets God when trouble disappears from his life.

            If Christianity is all about love for God, and if nominal Christians do not love the triune God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength, then they are lukewarm Christians. Isn’t heaven for those who love the Lord Jesus?

            Nominal Christians are lukewarm Christians. Being lukewarm is an extremely dangerous dwelling place (cf. Matthew 7:15-23;  1 Corinthians 15:34; Galatians 2:4; 1 John 2:19; 2 Peter 2:10-22; Revelation 3:15-16).   

            A word of caution is mandatory; God alone knows the identity of a nominal Christian. Christians would be wise to not brand each other as nominal for our observation is only in part and not in full. God’s knowledge of man is perfect, whereas our knowledge of each other cannot be perfect.

            Some of us unwisely and incorrectly condemn and disassociate with nominal Christians, “…you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people” (1 Corinthians 5: 11, NIV). This is an instance where a so-called Christian willfully disobeys the Lord through his sin.

            The church, in this instance, should graciously advise this Christian to renounce his sinful ways. If the sinning Christian rejects Church’s intervention, then this verse could be applied.

            Nominal Christians provide a good soil for evangelization and discipleship. The responsibility of the church is to evangelize and disciple nominal Christians. The church would fail to discharge the mandate of the Great Commission if it does not disciple the nominal Christians in its fold.  

            A critical threat to Christianity is if nominal Christians are at the helm of the local church leadership. This is a surefire recipe for disaster. Nominal Christians are Satan’s fertile soil to destroy the local church.

            How could a nominal Christian become a genuine lover of the Lord?

            By reading the Bible!

            Bible reading is mandatory for every Christian. Any earnest reader of the Bible will love God. (Yes, there are difficult passages in the Bible, but while treading through these difficult passages it would be wise to offer God the benefit of doubt, than blaming HIM.)

            A Christian who loves the Lord Jesus Christ will constantly and fervently desire to obey Christ, live for HIM, and glorify HIM. God cannot be separated from this Christian’s life. This person will greatly desire to serve the Lord through the means accorded to him. His entire life will revolve around God and God alone. He will see the world and every single activity through God’s eyes.

            Upon suffering, the disciple of the Lord will absolutely rely upon Christ to endure and overcome suffering. Suffering and pain cannot separate this Christian from God.

            May the nominal Christians grow in Christ and may this world be filled with lovers of the Lord Jesus and may we love each other with the love of Christ.

      

Endnotes:

[1] Lausanne Movement was founded by the much acclaimed Christian evangelist Dr. Billy Graham.

[2] http://www.lausanne.org/content/lop/lop-10#1

[3] http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/trevinwax/2010/09/15/are-you-a-nominal-christian-a-diagnostic/

[4] http://www.lausanne.org/content/lop/lop-23#2

[5] http://rzim.org/global-blog/ravi-zacharias-interviewed-in-baltimore-we-are-being-trapped-in-the-quicksand-of-the-absence-of-objective-truth

Cited websites were last accessed on 28/Sep/2015.

Is Reverence of Mary Justifiable?

Catholics Revere Mary

            Catholics claim they do not worship Mary but worship God alone. Catholics supposedly revere or honor Mary [1]. They justify their reverence through verses such as Genesis 37:7–9, 49:8; Exodus 18:7; Romans 13:7; 1 Timothy 5:17 et al.

            Catholic.com justifies reverence of Mary, “…there certainly can be no argument against giving honor to saints whose lives are done and who ended them in sanctity…” [2].  

            Mary’s statue is a familiar sight in Catholic Church. But Catholics claim that they do not worship statues, “The fact that someone kneels before a statue to pray does not mean that he is praying to the statue…” [3]. Catholics justify presence of statues in their churches through Numbers 21:8-9; 2 Chronicles 3:10-14 et al.

            Catholics believe in four Marian dogmas [4]:

            Immaculate Conception declares that Mary was conceived without original sin by the grace of God. This dogma has no Scriptural foundation.

            Divine Motherhood refers to Mary’s role as the mother of Jesus, who is God incarnate. This is the most acceptable of Marian dogmas.

            Perpetual Virginity implies that Mary never had sexual intercourse with a man and was a virgin till her death. Thus, her purity from original sin and personal sin is implied. This is a hotly contested dogma.

            The Assumption declares Mary’s elevation or assumption into heaven by God’s grace and power. Similar to Immaculate Conception, the Assumption has no Scriptural foundation.

Is Marian Reverence Justified??

            The Infancy Gospel of James (a.k.a. Protevangelium of James) offers the notion that Mary was a perpetual virgin. However, this apocryphal book is erroneous for the following reasons [5]:

            1. It was a late text written in the 2^nd century (140-170AD).

            2. The author of Protevangelium of James claims to be Christ’s half -brother (son of Joesph from a prior marriage) but appears ignorant of Jewish customs of 1^st century.  

            3. Textual critics claim that the author of Infancy Gospel of James could not have been James. This gospel takes much of its content from gospels of Matthew and Luke.

            Apostle James’ death at the hands of Ananias occurred in AD 62, whereas gospels of Matthew and Luke were authored after AD 62. Hence the author of Protevangelium of James could not have been James, the brother of Christ.  

            4. The Infancy Gospel of James was first mentioned by Origen in 3^rd century, who, in his commentary on Matthew, rejected this gospel as heretical and untrustworthy. (At one stage, in his homily on Luke 7: 4, Origen held to the view of perpetual virginity of Mary.)

            5. Pope Gelasius condemned Infancy Gospel of James in his 5^th century “Gelasian Decree” and advised Catholics to avoid this book.

            6. The Infancy Gospel of James contradicts the Bible [6].

             The Bible categorically states that Mary had sons and daughters other than Christ (Matthew 12:46-50, 13:55-56; Mark 3:32-35, 6:3; Luke 8:19-21; Acts 1:12-14; Galatians 1:19). However, Catholics dispute these verses by claiming that these siblings of Christ were not born of Mary but were Christ’s stepbrothers, stepsisters, cousins or distant relatives.

            The Greek words for cousin and relatives are “anepsios” and “suggenes,” respectively. These words were not used by the New Testament writers while referring to Christ’s brothers and sisters. Instead, Matthew and Mark used the words “adelphos” and “adelphe” terming them as Christ’s own brothers and sisters – born of Mary.

            Claiming that Christ’s siblings mentioned in the Bible were not born to Mary is to argue from silence. The Bible does not offer any indication to this effect. So the Catholic teaching that Christ’s siblings were not born of Mary is erroneous, and should be discarded.

            Significantly, perpetual virginity of Mary is unnecessary for her veneration by the Catholic Church. Christ’s brothers and sisters were born to Mary and Joseph within the sanctity of their marriage. Hence, Mary did not commit a sin while bearing her children.

            Perpetual virginity of Mary has a dubious reasoning and an invalid source. Mary was a mere subject chosen by God to bring forth Christ in human form.

            The dogmas of Immaculate Conception and Assumption are Catholic fabrications. These dogmas have no Scriptural foundations.

            The Bible neither mentions that Mary was preserved from original sin nor does it state that Mary was taken up into heaven à la Enoch and Elijah. The Bible does not accord a special place in heaven for Mary.

            The Catholic Church reveres saints and prays through them. The fundamental problem with the Catholic dogma is elevating human beings as mediators between God and man.

            The Catholics justify their reverence of saints by hermeneutically twisting verses such as 1Timothy 2: 1 - 4 and James 5: 16. These verses refer to people on earth and not those in heaven.

            There is a marked distinction between prayers with fellow believers and prayers through fellow believers. Prayers with fellow believers constitute Christian fellowship in the precincts of the Church. But prayers through fellow believers elevate people to a co-equal status with Christ, who is the only mediator between God and man (1Timothy 2: 5).

            It is a sin when man is elevated to status of God. Reverence for Mary or other saints cannot be justified. Therefore, Mary need not be glorified or venerated.

Conclusion

            Protestant churches are not pure in comparison to Catholic church. 

             Divisions within Christianity are not God’s intent but God’s sanction of man’s corrupt freewill. When we point one finger there are three fingers pointing at us.  So, at the most, this article is an instance of pot calling kettle black.

            Protestants should be well aware of the failures in the protestant worship system. Some Protestant churches worship in vacuum to lead believers away from Christ.

            False teachings are abundant. For instance, prosperity or health & wealth gospel is a dangerous phenomenon. Some churches teach that Christ is unnecessary for salvation and that the Bible need not be trusted.

            Worship songs in which Jesus, God, and Christ are never mentioned are sung in churches these days. How could these songs draw people closer to Christ other than the fact that these are sung in the church? These so-called worship songs if sung in the context of a Hindu temple or a mosque could well relate to their worldviews.

            Protestants strive not to commit similar errors as Catholics. This was the purpose of the reformation. But as sinful humans, Protestants commit novel errors that are equally deplorable. By no means is a Protestant worship more proximal to God than Catholic worship.

            However, a minority of Protestant churches remain true to Christ. Errors in worship, in these churches, are minimal in comparison to the other churches.            

            Our worship systems may have systemic inconsistencies and errors but every honest Christian ought to consider if he/she believes in Christ as the only way to heaven and if he/she remains in Christ to love, honor and glorify HIM. 

            God has given much to both Catholics and Protestants. HIS salvific mind, knowledge and future plan for mankind is adequately revealed in the Bible.

            So let us ensure that our worship is acceptable to God. This verse should ring loud in the ears of both the Catholics and Protestants, “…from everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked” (Luke 12: 48b, NIV).  

Endnotes:

[1] http://www.catholic.com/tracts/saint-worship, last accessed 21/Sep/2015.         

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resources/mary/general-information/the-four-marian-dogmas/, last accessed 21/Sep/2015.

[5] http://coldcasechristianity.com/2013/why-shouldnt-we-trust-the-non-canonical-gospels-attributed-to-james/, last accessed 21/Sep/2015.

[6] https://answersingenesis.org/bible-characters/is-the-perpetual-virginity-of-mary-a-biblical-view/, last accessed 21/Sep/2015. 

What’s Wrong If The Church Marries Gay Couples?

            Some Christian denominations marry same-sex couples whereas others do not [1]. Evidently, denominations endorsing same-sex marriages justify their stand through several methods; a common tactic is to misinterpret Scripture passages that condemn homosexuality.

            For instance, Genesis 2: 18-25 is misinterpreted. The word “helper” in this section is twisted to import an illicit understanding that Eve was a mere helper or companion to Adam. So anyone can choose anyone else as their helper or companion irrespective of their gender.

            Beware of “The Reformation Project” [2] – another recent deception of Satan masquerading as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11: 14-15). This deceptive venture is camouflaged as Bible-centered and Gospel-based to advocate endorsement of gay marriages from a Christian perspective, whereas in reality, they are far away from God and Bible.

            Many Christian denominations, being swayed by such false hypothesis, endorse same sex marriages at an alarming rate in the USA.

            However, certain Christian denominations refuse to endorse same-sex marriages. Pastors of these churches will either face arrests or pay exorbitant fines if they do not perform same-sex marriages. 

            Given this backdrop, a pertinent question is “What’s wrong if the church marries gay couples?”

            Bible unequivocally deems homosexual practice as sin. (Leviticus 18: 20-22, 20: 13; 1 Cor. 6:9-11; 1 Tim. 1:9-11 et al). So the teaching that same-sex marriages are biblical is a devious deception.

            Consider the misinterpretation of Genesis 2: 18-25. Deceptive teaching based on this passage conveniently conceals two most important facts:

            A. God intentionally created Eve as a female companion to the male Adam. (The chief function of marriage is procreation. The reproductive systems of male and female are created to complement each other for procreation.)

            B. Eve was created so that Adam and Eve would become “one flesh,” which denotes a lifelong marital union between the male Adam & the female Eve.

            Christ speaking from within the context of marriage appealed to Genesis 2: 24 to reinforce the teaching that heterosexual marriage is God’s only plan for marriage – “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” (Matthew 19: 4-6, NIV, Emphasis Mine).

            When God intended marriages solely between male and female, churches performing same-sex marriages disobey God consciously. No well-meaning Christian or Christian church would disobey God intentionally.

            The church obeys God by obeying God’s word – the Bible. God, through HIS word, revealed the sinfulness of homosexual practice. Hence genuine Christians and Christian churches would not marry same-sex couples.

            Disobedience to God is the primary problem when the church marries gay couples.

            Endorsement of sin is the other problem.

            The Bible mentions the sin of homosexuality together with sexual immorality, adultery, theft, drunkenness, etc (1 Corinthians 6: 9-10). When churches marry same-sex couples, the sin of homosexuality is blessed.

            When churches bless a particular sin, what prevents them from blessing other sins? If churches marry homosexuals, by implication shouldn’t the church bless adultery, theft, drunkenness and all the other sins?

            Sin removes people from God. When churches bless homosexual marriages, the church removes itself from God’s presence and leads others away from God.

            The face of the church is its pastor. Pastors know that it is easier to preach than practice.

            When popular culture opposes Christ and Bible through its affirmation of homosexuality, pastors will have to either stand for or against Christ. Pastors standing for Christ will refuse to marry same-sex couples. Thus they will be under intense scrutiny and persecution.

            These are difficult times for pastors aspiring to obey Christ. The threat is genuine. Fear of shame, imprisonment, and joblessness will be intense. Pressure from their families could destabilize these pastors to accommodate the demands of contemporary culture over Christ.  

            The dialogue between the serpent and Eve in Genesis 3 would become an intense reality in the lives of these pastors. The plaguing doubt in them would be the serpent’s question to Eve, “did God really say…?”

            Did God really say that homosexuality is a sin?

            Variant questions prompted by Satan into the minds of these pastors would be: what if homosexuality is not a sin? What if my understanding - that homosexuality is a sin - is incorrect? Have I misunderstood the Bible’s teaching on homosexuality?

            To stand firm or to doubt God’s word is the first temptation that should be overcome by pastors.

            Crisis situations should not alter our understanding of God’s Word. Our understanding of God’s word during peaceful moments of our life cannot change during moments of crisis.

            If we change our theological position during crisis or due to popular demands of culture, then we allow crisis and/or culture to supersede God. We sin against God when we relegate HIM to a secondary position in our lives.

            There surely is no merit whatsoever to doubt our understanding of God’s word during calamity and due to cultural demands.

            The second temptation that ought to be overcome is whether to live for Christ or ourselves. When suffering and pain is an imminent prospect, the disciple of Christ could selfishly protect himself than face the wrath of the world.

            When our lives are committed to Christ, our lives are surrendered to HIS Lordship. Selfishness cannot exist if Christ is the Lord of our lives. When a disciple backslides into selfishness, Christ’s Lordship reduces or ceases. A selfish disciple of Christ commits to being politically and culturally correct by denying Christ.

            If a pastor protects himself by denying Christ, he rejects the Lord and HIS calling in his life. This is another spiritually dangerous situation for the pastor to be in, for he trusts himself more than Christ, which is effectively to not trust in the Lord.

            To live for Christ is to deny the world. To live for Christ is to deny our material comfort and security. To live for Christ is to love the Lord our God more than anyone or anything else.

            It’s easier said than done.

            Not everyone will inherit the kingdom of God. Those who are en route to inherit God’s kingdom should “set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Colossians 3: 2, NIV). Therefore, we ought to pray for those pastors who desire to stand firm with Christ.

            Mere prayers would not suffice. Our constant physical support and our encouraging presence ought to be with them during their trials. This is the need of the hour.

            The Bible categorically asserts that our allegiance to God cannot be compromised, “If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us” (2 Timothy 2: 11-12, NIV).

            May the Lord grant us the strength to live for HIM and HIM alone.

Endnotes:

[1] http://www.pewforum.org/2015/07/29/graphics-slideshow-changing-attitudes-on-gay-marriage/

&

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/07/02/where-christian-churches-stand-on-gay-marriage/

[2] For a profound refutation of the “The Reformation Project” please read:

http://www.str.org/Media/Default/Publications/Aug%202015%20The%20Reformation%20the%20Church%20Doesn't%20Need%20Part%201-1.pdf

&

http://www.str.org/Media/Default/Publications/Solid%20Ground%209-2015%20Reformation%20the%20Church%20Doesn't%20Need%20Pt.%202-1-1.pdf

Is Christianity Fake? (Defeating Doubts)

            Doubt kills. Without a doubt, doubt has massacred individuals, marriages, families and their environment.  

            The title question is a religious doubt. There are personal doubts as well. Without entering into the exhaustive science of doubt, let’s endeavor to understand the cause and cure of this complex killer.  

            Author and social critic Os Guiness in his work God in the Dark defines doubt as a divided heart. Os defines belief and unbelief as being “in one mind.” The believer is in one mind about trusting something or someone as true; the unbeliever is in one mind to reject something or someone. So both the believer and the unbeliever are in one mind about their belief.

            The doubter is not in one mind. The doubter believes and disbelieves at once and so is in “two minds.” Hence the doubter’s heart is divided. Os Guiness adds, “at its most basic, doubt is a matter of truth, trust and trustworthiness.”¹

            The doubter doubts because he does not doubt his doubt. The doubter doubts because he believes his doubt. So a misguided belief is at the heart of the doubt.

            Why is there a doubt or a misguided belief in doubt? Os Guiness, through his appropriately worded subtitles in God in the Dark highlights the following as reasons for doubt:

            1. Ingratitude

            2. Faulty view of God

            3. Weak foundations

            4. Lack of Commitment

            5. Lack of Growth

            6. Unruly Emotions

            7. Hidden Conflicts

            8. Impatience

            9. Inquisitiveness

            So if we doubt the veracity of our Christian faith or if we doubt anything or anyone, it could well be due to some or all of the reasons stated above.

            How do we kill our doubts?

            Os Guiness reminds us of our own experience. We may, at some point in time, have been frustrated while striving to solve a jigsaw puzzle. While being frustrated, we may have been certain that the pieces do not fit the picture on the box i.e. we would have sincerely doubted the jigsaw puzzle. But upon rearranging the wrong pieces into the right places, we would have realized that the fault was with us and not with the picture.

            The fault is with the doubter. Blame ourselves; this is the most appropriate starting point to cure us of our doubts.

            As a case in point, let’s consider a religious doubt, “What if Christianity is false?”

            New Testament scholar Mike Licona offers four action points to defeat our religious doubts. ²

            1. Doubting is normal: The Bible is replete with instances of doubters. Abraham doubted God’s promise. The psalmist doubted God. John the Baptist and Thomas doubted Jesus. None of them were condemned for their doubts, although some doubts were rebuked as in the case of Job and Thomas.

            Sincere doubters who are open to reasonable answers grow during the process of their doubts. Job, Abraham and Paul grew in their faith through their doubts, “Religious doubt is very common and affects almost everyone at some time. It is not necessarily sin, nor must it be the opposite of faith. It can even produce some good results. But it can also lead to serious situations that need to be treated,” says Dr. Gary Habermas, Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Dept. of Philosophy and Theology at Liberty University.³

            2. Good Evidence Supports the Truth of Christianity: Resurrection of the Lord Jesus is the bedrock of Christianity. Apostle Paul asserted the futility of our faith if Christ had not been raised, “if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith” (1 Corinthians 15: 14, NIV).

            Strong evidence exists for Christ’s resurrection, “Without question, the chief verification of Christian theism comes from the resurrection of Jesus. This extraordinary event can be shown to be historical even when only a bare minimum of historical facts is used, each of which is both admitted by unbelieving critical scholars today, as well as being strongly attested by the known data…In the New Testament, both Jesus (Matt. 12:39-40; 16:4) and His apostles (Acts 2:22-24; 17:31) pointed to the resurrection as the chief sign that He was God’s messenger.”⁴

            3. Absolute Certainty is an Unreasonable Expectation: Be it religious doubt or personal, expecting absolute certainty is an unreasonable expectation. We could be absolutely certain of certain things in life but not everything.

            I am absolutely certain that I exist. You could be absolutely certain that you exist. Provided we meet, I could be certain of your existence and you could be certain of mine. This certainty is predicated on sight i.e. we see ourselves and others in action. 

            But in matters pertaining to religion, we cannot travel back in time to affirm the existence of Abraham or Jesus Christ. We should be content with reasonable explanations of that which cannot be seen. Therefore reasonable certainty is sufficient for a contented life.

            To live with reasonable certainty is neither abhorrent nor aberrant. We are quite comfortable to live in reasonable certainty.

            It is with reasonable certainty we believe in man’s excursions to Moon and Mars. It is with reasonable certainty we believe that 9/11 is an outcome of Islamic terrorism. It with reasonable certainty we believe in medical reports. We can go on and on. 

            Similarly, reasonable certainty is sufficient to keep us in Christ.

            4. Faith is a Commitment: Faith is not the absence of doubts. Faith is a commitment to the Lord Jesus, since we know HIM to be real. Despite our doubts, we should continue to believe in Christ.

            But how is it possible to continue to believe in Christ if we doubt Christianity?

            After having known Christ, where do we go to? Is there a better alternate to Christ and Christianity?

            Consider these verses, “From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6: 66-69, NIV, Emphasis Mine).

            The key to Peter’s response was his belief in Christ and his knowledge that Christ alone offers eternal life to those who believe in HIM.

            No! There is no better alternate to Christ and Christianity.

            Gary Habermas thus describes the uniqueness of Christianity, “Surprisingly, Jesus has no real challengers among the founders of the major religious faiths. None of the others even claimed to be God, let alone teaching that they were a unique, one-of-a-kind, divine manifestation of the Almighty. Buddha was very possibly an atheist! Confucius and Lao Tzu were teachers of ethics, not theologians. Abraham, Moses, and David never came close to teaching that they were deity. Neither did Mohammed, who is believed by the Muslim faithful to be Allah’s chief prophet, but under no condition to be compared to deity.”⁵

            Christians are in the best possible place that can ever be. There is none better and no place better than the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ.

            Finally, defeat your doubts by fervently seeking Christ. Outside of the triune God, there is no other means to defeat your doubts.

            You could follow the principles described in Philippians 4: 6-9:

            1. Pray (speak and listen to God)

            2. Give thanks and praise God

            3. Exchange anxious thoughts and doubts with God’s Word

            “To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy —  to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen” (Jude 1: 24-25, NIV).

Endnotes:

¹ God in the Dark, p14.

² http://www.reasonablefaith.org/dealing-with-doubt1

³ http://garyhabermas.com/books/thomas_factor/thomas_factor.htm, chapter 1

⁴ Ibid, chapter 5

⁵ Ibid.