Hard to Believe

12/23/18          Scott   (see video here)

Do you WANT to believe the Gospel?

While shopping at Target, a man named Scott graciously shared his beliefs about the Christian faith he had grown up in, saying he wanted to believe but the doubts are just too overwhelming.  I told him up front that I want to believe also, yet I’m not filled with doubt the way Scott is.

So what is different?  We both WANT to believe, and later Scott assured me he probably wants to believe the Gospel as much as I do, but his doubts hold him back.

In our case I think the reason is in how differently we understand the Gospel.  I asked Scott how he believed he would be judged if he died and found himself standing to give account before God.  What would be the standard he would be measured by?  Scott focused on his many doubts, and didn’t feel it would be fair to be condemned for not believing the Gospel.  After all, there are plenty of people who have never heard of Jesus, or had access to a Bible.   Why should anyone be judged for what they believe?

This is a common misunderstanding.  The most well-known passage of the Bible, John 3:16, seems to say exactly that if we continue reading to verse 18:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

Instead of the good news of salvation in that passage, Scott and many others like him focus on the bad news that people are condemned for not believing in Jesus.  This is so unfair, they say, that it makes the Gospel hard to believe.  No wonder they are filled with doubts!

But is that really why we are condemned?  Jesus said that whoever does not believe “stands condemned already”.  This means we are condemned and in need of salvation before we even have a chance to respond to Jesus.  There must be some other basis by which people are condemned.

And there is.  Jesus goes on to say that the reason He is rejected is because of our evil deeds:

“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.”

In this explanation to Nicodemus, a “teacher of Israel”, the assumption is that the world is already condemned for the sin and rebellion that began with Adam and continues in each of us personally.  Jesus came to rescue us from the law of sin and death, and to blame our condemnation on lack of faith in Jesus is like blaming a parachute when what will really kill us is the law of gravity.

We are all sinful people, falling headlong toward destruction.  Why would we not want to believe the good news that there is a “parachute”?   And why would we not want to share it with others?

As a Christian, then, wanting to share this good news, maybe my focus should be on helping others WANT to believe.  And many would tell me that carrying on Gospel conversations while shopping at Target isn’t the way to go about doing that.  Why would anyone want to be a Christian if it means being as weird as that?

But the main reason for believing the Gospel goes far beyond proving that Christians are nice, loving people who don’t bother others while out shopping.  It goes beyond proving that we are hip, relevant, or prosperous and successful.  We are called by Jesus to be salt and light in this world, and sometimes salt can sting and light can burn.

Why should we want the Gospel to be true?  Because we are lost in sin and need a Savior.  I’m pretty sure there’s no cool or hip way to present that truth.  But without it, the good news that Jesus saves means little to those who believe they are already saved because of their good deeds.  This is why I needed to share some uncomfortable truths about his sin with Scott right there in a grocery aisle at the Target store. 

Scott had to leave before I could talk much about the good news of the Savior, but with his church upbringing I know he has heard it plenty of times before, and, besides, I’m trusting the bad news of his sin and condemnation will help him WANT to believe the good news of the Gospel.

Thanks to Scott for allowing me to record our conversation!  It can be seen HERE