Christian Apologetics
~ Evan. T. Damkhothang
Main Bible Verses: Mark 5:15; Psalm 33:13-15; 2 Corinthians 10:5; Proverbs 14:12; Psalms 14:1
The Bible verse, Mark 5:15, is one of the best verses that apply to life even after being a born-again Christian. It ia what inside that bears out fruit that is visible. This is often exaggerated by alcoholics who claim that it is not the wine from outside that defiles, in order to justify their behaviour. In the so called Christian society of ours, there still exists certain people who doubt the existence of God and those who believe are often shaken about it. The saying, "It's my life" is common among us and even children have started using this, which is totally against God who is the sovereign who directs our lives.
In Psalm 33:13-15, we see that the eyes of the Lord is upon man, which is beyond what the CCTV can do. God clearly sees us from above. In 2 Corinthians 10: 5, Paul mentioned that his work was to cast down every argument that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.
From the past to this day, there exist various notions about the existence of God. While there are endless questions about God, the fact of His majesty be rather discussed. Many people who denied the existence of God ended up in unfavourable situations. One of the most infamous is the life of Voltaire, who, later in his life, suffered a serious disease, to the point that he had to sell his land and property. After a long wait for sale, it was none but the Gideon’s International who bought his property, and, in the very house of the man who denied that the Bible is the Word of God, the Bible is being printed daily. The last words on his death bed were ‘Jesus, it’s so hot!’. The nurse who took care of him said that she would never trade to look after a non-believer like him, even if she was offered half the world. Those who denied God, could not fully deny it till their death, as they realised what they knew was wrong. We are nothing without God and there indeed exists a life after death, which begins right after what we humans think is the ending.
Proverbs 14:12, says that there are certain ways which man thinks is right, but the end is death. In an American University, a young Christian evangelist proclaimed Jesus in the campus and that he is the only way. One of his notable answers to the question by people from other religion, “What if we all give up our God and seek your Jesus, don’t you think the wrath of our gods would befall us?” was, “ The wrath of your god would not befall you, but rather, the wrath of our God, if you choose not to believe in Him”.
Our existence itself, is a proof that God exists. The existence of a design proves the existence of a designer. A highly educated alcoholic once asked, “Prove God to me, then only will I believe in Him”. This sounded like a joke as the one to be proved is so magnificient compared to the one who would prove Him. The alcoholic, when asked to prove what exists in the middle of the loop made by the two hands, was clueless and finally admitted that God exists and cannot be proved in front of our naked eyes. What requires to be proved is already existent and does not need to be proved.
Certain notions denying the existence of God include:
- “There is no such being as God and is just a thought in humans”. Yet it is not so. It is God who created us and we humans simply exist because of Him.
- “God is violent and pours out his wrath through diseases or misfortunes when we could not satisfy Him”. If this were true, none of us, here, today, would be present in this church praising him, and we are all aware that we could not meet his standard.
- “God can be defined according to how we consider Him. We can decide to acknowledge His majesty and glory, or consider Him as some insignificant being or someone like humans. It depends on our choice”. Yet this is not true. The way you perceive God does not alter what He is. He is God, and it is but us, who live and dwell under His sovereignty.
- “God exists, but He is not bothered about humans as He is so magnificent”. It is undeniable that God, who exists and even knows about a mere sparrow (Matthew 6:26), would not be considerate upon you. There is simply no point saying that the God, who even knows about a mere sparrow, would not be bothered to take care of humans whom He created in His own likeness. Considering the gigantic universe that He created, God is a loving God, who still considers you, the least of all, and is bothered to send His Son to die for you on the cross.
- "God is all loving and would not dare put anyone in hell". The answer to this is, "If so, why would He dare pour His wrath on His only begotten Son?”. This firmly contradicts the above statement. His love is time bound i.e. "Grace Period" and there will be an end to this, when the time of His wrath comes.
Because of the presence of such thoughts about God, Paul, in 2 Corinthians 10:5, addressed the educated people of Corinth with such notions. Paul was also an educated man, educated in the University of Tarsus, studied law under Gamaliel, a Pharisee Doctor of law. If he had been in this time, he would have had atleast five doctorate degrees.
The words of the Bible have been exaggerated or defamed in many ways. One such incident was in 2009, where in a bus was pasted, "There is no God" - Psalm 14:1(b). Many people were misled and some even surrendered their Baptismal certificates to the pastors. But this was actually misleading as they had taken only the (b) part of which the full verse actually says, "The fool says in his heart, there is no God." In this way, the word of the Bible have been exaggerated and misinterpreted. One such example is, to get Baptized in the name of Jesus. This was said by Peter in Acts 2:38. This was addressed to the people who believed in God and the Holy Spirit yet denied the Son. Since their faith would not have been complete without the Son, they were coaxed to be Baptized in the name of the Son. Therefore, one has to see the context before interpreting texts of the Bible. According to Psalm 14:1, it is a fool who questions God's existence. Questioning the existence of God is like questioning the existence of your ancestors. The fact that you exist, already proves that your ancestors did exist!
God is eternal and holy. Why holy is being mentioned thrice, especially in Revelations (Revelation 4:8), is because it is incomprehensible by the human mind and addresses this imperfect human thought. You do not have to be so concerned about whether babies will go to heaven, as God who is all knowing, knows how to deal with these. It is not our concern, but the magnificent God's. This is simplified by an example of the organisation in our Church. The pastors under the Head Office, the Head Office Board of Directors, and so on.
The fact that God could create the whole universe in Genesis 1:1, already shows that He has already been there. Another example to justify God's existence: Even in humans, a baby would not be able to create a toy from a clay but an older child would be able to mould a toy or something of meaning from it. This proves the fact that the God who created the world is already as magnificent and great as he should be, even before he created them (Genesis 1:1) as in, 'mature' in human terms.
Psalm 102:25 says that God laid the foundation of the earth, and there is no imperfection in His creation that it still lasts till today. How great is our God! Even the things that we say belongs to us are God’s [Psalm 24:1]. We humans are nothing to question what God has done and whatever we may come across in our lives.
Psalm 74:15-17 shows how God is in control over every creation. We may claim our boundaries and land but all belong to God. He is the one who decides what is whose. The boundaries between countries are significant. Creation knows how to glorify God but it is only human who are not aware. Although a righteous man, in, Job 38:4-30, Job happened to whine about God. God answered that every creation is His and is controlled by Him. God talked about Leviathan [Job 41:1] the largest animal of all His creation, and questioned Job, whether he is afraid of it. If all creation is afraid of it, imagine the God who created it. Much more should we be aware of God's glory from what we see of His marvellous creation. In other Bible verses we see how God is in control over his creation. God sent the wind [Jonah 1:4]. Jesus with His disciples rebuked the wind [Luke 8:22].
From these verses, we see that it with be foolish to question God. We must rather confess our shortcomings and proclaim His glory. We humans are unique from all creation and the positions that human evolve from apes is not true. God puts His spirit in us that is of His own image. We see in Genesis 1:26 that God himself discussed and decided to create man, in a way which was different from the way He created other creations - from saying “Let there be” [Genesis 1:3].
That is why God loves us so much; the same image that He had created as Himself. This is why we humans are nothing without God. The moment our spirit leaves our body; we become useless and of no value [Genesis 2:7]. The spirit that belongs to God shall return to God, to profess of life on earth. Then, can man live without God? James 4:14 says our life is but like vapour that appears and vanishes within a short while. We do not know what tomorrow will bring. In this short life, let us be sober lest we forget our God, as the past can never be reframed.
An inspiring Bible verse is, Psalms 39:5-6, that tells us about how short the human life is. Psalm 94:11 says God knows all the plans of man. Psalm 127:1 says all things done without God will not prosper. We are but dust [Genesis 2:7] and to dust will we return [Ecclesiastes 12:7]. We may be busy with our daily life, but they will not last for eternity. It is but nothing. Kurt Cobain, the lead singer and the guitarist of the band Nirvana, who committed suicide had said the worst lie he have ever told the world was as acting as if he had 100% satisfaction with his life.
Therefore, there is nothing to be proud of, as we are nothing without God. In this 2020, instead of standing against God and questioning his existence which is undeniable, let us learn to hold on to our faith and proclaim the glory of God, that He is the true God, name above all names and worthy of all the praise and glory.
Gamchiam | Jan 26, 2020 Sermon Video Sermon Audio Photo Gallery
