Unbelief’s Assault upon Christians and their Beliefs

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Unbelievers’ often show misunderstanding and hostility toward Christian beliefs. Jews condemned the first Christians for not keeping Moses’ laws that they couldn’t keep themselves. Polytheists accused early Christians of being atheists because they didn’t believe in many gods. Romans said Christians were disloyal to the Roman Empire because they didn’t acknowledge Caesar as a God. Pagans thought Christian’s cannibals since they ate the body of Jesus and drank his blood—Lord’s Supper. Unbelievers called Christians fanatics, holy Joe's, hypocrites, Puritans and prudes all the while I grew up. Today they say far worse things.

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It seems our human nature just doesn’t like anyone including God telling us what we should and shouldn’t do. It’s been forever true since Adam and Eve enjoyed paradise with all their needs met but couldn’t resist eating the only one forbidden fruit knowing it meant death. Just as the sign says WET PAINT, we must touch it anyway to find out. It doesn’t matter even if it’s for our good, or it could cause us harm, injury, sickness, disease or death. It’s utterly irrational and contradictory but true. Let’s look at some of the more recent condemnatory words people call true believers in Christ as Lord and Savior.

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SELF-RIGHTEOUS. Although sometimes called self-righteous, the one thing a true Christian can never be is self-righteous--that would condemn him to Hell. According to the Bible, we can’t save ourselves by being good or doing good deeds before God. The Bible says we’re rebellious sinners unacceptable to a holy or perfect God and unfit for a perfect or sinless Heaven.

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“The righteousness of God (is) through faith in Jesus Christ . . . for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Rom. 3:22-23. "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us" Eph. 1:7.

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The flaw with self-righteousness is that it’s our sinful pride and not God-righteousness. God and Heaven are not JUST GOOD—they’re 100% PERFECT all the time, but we’re not even close.

“You shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:48.

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“There shall by no means enter it (Heaven) anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie.” Revelation.21:27. See also Romans 1; Rev. 21:8; First Corinthians. 6:9-10

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People universally believe we must be “good people” to be accepted by a “good God” and enter a “good Heaven”. So we must strive to be as good as we possibly can and hope we’re good enough. And we tend to find persons we think not as good as we are and feel proud that we’re better than they are. It seems so logical to think that way so everybody does. Ask anyone why God should let them into His Heaven and usually they say because of their good deeds. We never like to parade our imperfections when we think we should be good. But honest persons know they’re not perfect by anyone’s standards even our own.

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Now if God will accept tipping the scale to 51% of goodness to enter Heaven, then God is imperfect and allows Heaven to be corrupted with sin. How can we hope for salvation from an imperfect God and a corrupt Heaven?  Heaven will become as corrupt as earth or more so since we then know there can be nothing better.

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Any God imperfect in power, knowledge, wisdom, or goodness can never be trusted to save us and keep us. And only the Bible’s God is said to be perfect in all these respects. God’s way then is trusting Christ alone as Lord and Savior dying to pay for our sins and raised from the dead—that shows His perfect love and justice, so He’s our righteousness. No other world religion or alleged God can make such tremendous claims.

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NEGATIVE. Christians are told never be negative and that being positive wins friends and influences people. Negative statements make people feel guilty, insulted, rejected and discouraged. And insulted people may call us arrogant, self-righteous, mean spirited, and even unchristian.

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The problem here is that we can never tell anyone his or her deeds are wrong, harmful or have boundaries—that’s negative. But God’s Word says numerous acts are wrong or sin such as in the Ten Commandments, the Sermon of the Mount and numerous other lists of sins. And those who criticize still believe in laws, restrictions, limits on the things we do. Indeed, how can we even live together in community unless we impose restraints on harmful activities? Consistency would require we do away not just with preachers, but also teachers, politicians, judges, police, lawyers, doctors, guidance counselors, traffic signals. It would result in a state of lawlessness, chaos and destruction. It’s only in issues of Christ and Bible ethics, however, that unbelievers want to shut us up.  Do we understand what’s better for us than the all-knowing loving God who made us? God isn’t out to spoil our fun but to protect and provide us a better life (John 10:10).

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JUDGMENTAL. Christians are told not to be judgmental. Matthew 7:1-2 is quoted to substantiate this. This raises the same impossible problem of being negative as shown above. Further, the objector misinterprets the Matthew passage. It’s not condemning all judgment but unjust hypocritical judgment. In other words, the metaphor saying get the plank out of your own eye before removing the speck from another’s eye. Finally, the critic is himself judging the person he criticizes for judging. What would you call that?

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INTOLERANT. Christians who don’t accept whatever I want to believe and do are intolerant. As some atheists and pantheists will admit, if we deny the infinite personal ethical God of the Bible--anything goes. It leaves us subject to the limited, fickle, faulty, feelings and whims of our selfish, rebellious, depraved human natures.
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 Without the Bible’s God, nothing is ultimately right or wrong, good or evil, true or false. It’s just what each person wants to believe. Even then, we have to suppress our conscience or sense of right and wrong. Natural law or universal common sense teaches we can’t survive long on this planet without moral standards to guide us.
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Morality doesn’t make practical sense without a higher authority to hold us accountable after death. Our own hostile destructive desires destroy us. But God’s way is love, truth and salvation. Christianity says we’re responsible creations in God’s image; otherwise, we’re only perishing animals fighting for temporary survival (naturalism) or recycled energy waiting absorption (pantheism).

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EXCLUSIVE. Non-Christians resent Christians for saying Jesus is the only true and right religion. They feel slighted and think their religion is just as good for them if not better than Christianity. They claim Christians are arrogant, narrow-minded bigots.

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While it seems this charge is only made against Christians, the truth is it can be made against anyone who truly believes his or her religion is the only true and right way. Even to say all religions are equally good and essentially the same is an exclusivist claim.  It has to deny, undermine, or ignore the particular tenants of each individual religion. Different religions claim one God, two gods, many gods, no god, or the universe is god.  So how is that essentially the same? It’s a contradiction and a lie. Honesty and truth forbid such a claim.

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The crucial questions are these: Which if any religion gives visible empirical evidence its true. And which religion if any meets our most basic human needs. Biblical Christianity revealed in Jesus Christ, the incarnate God-man, visibly demonstrated God is real and loves us, life exists after death, and we are accountable to God for every thought, word and deed. Jesus provided the only basis for human dignity in God’s image. That further provides freedom, human rights, a standard of ethics, a purposeful life serving Him, opportunity of Heaven, and a better world in the here and now. No other religion can give such evidence nor meet these basic human needs. To reject the Lord Jesus as Savior is to choose Hell--period.

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I blame us Christians in large part for not courageously standing up and explaining our beliefs in a gentle, respectful and caring way to unbelievers. Even our churches taught for so long not to create waves, upset anyone or be forthright. Don’t argue was confused with calmly giving logical factual reasons for what we believe. So we’ve allowed falsehood and evil to overcome us. But enough is enough. The Bible’s gospel is our world’s only hope and salvation but its truth is upsetting to the pride and sin of man.

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Christians, don’t be intimidated by the accusations and hateful criticisms of unbelievers. Shout salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ from the housetops. Don’t be ashamed of the most precious love, hope, blessings, and righteousness we alone have in Christ. Give your life for Christ as He gave His for us. Be gracious, respectful, and loving as God tells us in First Peter 3:14-18. But tell people Jesus is humanities only hope for He alone can cleanse our hearts and lives of moral impurity, make us right with a perfect God, and assure us of a perfect Heaven.
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The risk of unbelief is too great. My friend, won't you committe to Jesus? Say with all your being, Lord Jesus, I've been wrong and a sinner. Now I'm trusting You as my Lord and Savior for now until I stand before You as Your follower. Thank You my Lord. Now you have a story to tell everywhere to everybody.

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This joyful hymn by H. Ernest Nichol conveys our Lord’s command and our Christian compassion and commitment.

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We’ve a story to tell to the nations, that shall turn their hearts to the right,

A story of truth and mercy, a story of peace and light, a story of peace and light.

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We’ve a song to be sung to the nations, that shall lift their hearts to the Lord,

A song that shall conquer evil, and shatter the spear and sword, and shatter the spear and sword.

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We’ve a message to give to the nations, that the Lord who reigneth above hath sent us His Son to save us, and show us that God is love, and show us that God is love.

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We’ve a Savior to show to the nations, Who the path of sorrow hath trod, that all of the world’s great peoples may come to the truth of God, may come to the truth of God.

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Refrain

For the darkness shall turn to dawning, and the dawning to noonday bright,

And Christ’s great kingdom shall come on earth, the kingdom of love and light. Amen-(so be it).

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