A letter to unbelievers

We have all been involved in a Religious debate at some point in our lives. Here are some objections/arguments I hear from unbelievers and atheists. My brief response follows their comments:

If there was a God, why is there so much suffering in the world? And why does he allow babies to die and little children to suffer?

God will allow nothing to go unpunished, as judgement has yet to come. A study of theodicy vindicates God and explains why he allows evil to temporarily exist.

Don't talk to me about religion, I was forced to go to church when I was young and I hated it! When I see people going to church on a Sunday, I just think they are all a bunch of loonies and hypocrites!

Using a bad memory of your childhood is a lame excuse for a lacking in faith. we also shouldn't judge others.

I don't feel the presence of any God, I just want to live the rest of my life and be as happy as I can!

Satan blinds the mind to the glorious light of the gospel (good news). The Lord is hidden and the unbeliever lives in spiritual darkness.

If I was God, I would do things a lot differently and make sure everyone got exactly what they deserved!

Everyone will get exactly what they deserve.! but you and I are not the Judge !

If there is a God I will be fine, surely he will see I'm a decent loving person. I'm not evil and never harmed anyone. I will be in his good books!

This is self deluding, we are all sinners in Gods eyes and just because we are loving and haven't hurt anyone, doesn't necessarily mean we are in his good books.

These are just a few of the points Ive witnessed in religious debates. Does the Unbeliever/Atheist have valid points and what do they believe in? The unbeliever usually lives a secular lifestyle, which means unconnected or uninterested in spiritual matters, and only concerned about the world and what they can see with their own eyes. The word God or devil to them is usually just a metaphor for something thats good or evil. The unbeliever/atheist will always use a scientific argument to try and defeat religion, pointing to what is real and what can only be proven, which in a way makes perfect sense to them. They don’t believe in miracles, or anything spiritual, so its no surprise that the Bible seems completely immaterial and out of date. Words such as salvation, sanctification or justification have no meaning whatsoever, and death for them is the end of the road with no hope of an afterlife.

Although the unbeliever is usually prepared to listen to spiritual matters as such, to them, most of it just sounds like gibberish nonsense and furthermore, the idea of a crucified God seems somewhat ridiculous! If I were to put my faith to one side for a moment and get myself into their side of the debate, I do understand, and I can see through the secular lens that they make a lot of very strong and valid points. However as an apologist, I myself have very sound beliefs and I will always find myself arguing against them and for absolute faith in God, as I believe the unbelievers debate is somewhat self defeating and just honest despair! On that basis, I would like to make way for honest hope and a strong and healthy argument for believing in God.

The first step to understanding Gods real character is to clear your mind of any worldly mysticism or religious junk thats been stored up for years. We shouldn't focus on world religions as these institutions only contain partial truths, and I’m pretty certain most people are only interested in the entire truth, a truth that can only be found in Christ!

No one can just say to another, ‘There is a God’ and just expect them to believe, and on that basis I would suggest that only God himself can change someone from the inside and if your prepared to take a small step towards faith, then the Lord will gladly do the rest.

What God can do for you.

God regenerates a person and gives them a new heart. From a heart of stone, to a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 11:19 He gives you a heart like Christ. The Bible says we must be 'born again' before we can see the Kingdom of God (John 3:3) all Christians will testify to this. When a soul is baptised by the Holy Spirit, God fills your heart with faith and wisdom so as you can properly understand his attributes and character . He fills your mind with a discernment so as you can differentiate between the truth and lies. He fills your heart with a mysterious love that has such a power of forgiveness and a power over evil. He overwhelms your mind with drive and curiosity so as the words of the Bible come alive and sing out like a beautiful melody. This is what its really like to be a Christian, and although Christians can get ill and suffer like everyone else, there’s a joy in their suffering because they know they now walk with Christ.

Its so important to realise now (In this life) that God has given each of us a special gift of freewill; At this moment in time as an unbeliever, you may be choosing not to believe, and that decision and responsibility lies with you alone. In simple terms, it means that on the day of judgement books will be opened and you will stand before the Lord and give a full account of your life. God will look for your name in the book of life, and if your name is not found, he will tell you to depart from him. Take a look at the following bible passage: And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. (Rev 20:12.) This may sound harsh, but this is what the Bible teaches us, and the Lord holds his word above the stars of heaven.

I believe that this responsibility lies with us and I can only imagine how terrible this will be for those that made a bad or flippant decision in their lives, those that had so much time and opportunity, but said in their hearts; 'this is not for me or I just don't believe in God'. But we shouldn't be under any illusion, as no one gets to say 'I don't believe' and just fades into a peaceful nothingness and never feels anything again, this is a lie that the enemy would have you believe. Every human being will be raised up from the dead and stand before the almighty and account for their life, and the Lord knows every thought and action in our lives. Even if you have lived as a decent person, if your not in a relationship with the Lord, you won't enter his kingdom. God will not force anyone into heaven against their own freewill. I pray this puts a godly fear in your heart, as I assure you, I say these things out of love.

No matter how good a person we think we are, all have sinned in he eyes of God.

But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away. (Isaiah 64:6.)

Only Christ can wipe away our sins which is why God put a plan of salvation in place; A new covenant in the new testament. We can only be made new and saved through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

God will hold us all responsible for the decisions we make in life. Even if we are being deceived. Deception is of course one of the Devil's most powerful tools, he lies to us and convinces us that because we are decent respectable citizens and we love our families that we will all get into heaven, or just peacefully fade into nothing. But without faith we cannot see God nor enter his kingdom. We are all being led up the garden path and have created our own sense of morality that suits our life styles! We need to think differently, we need a regenerated mind, a paradigm shift towards holiness!

Its been said that the Devil's greatest trick was to convince the world that he didn't exist, and so far he's doing a pretty decent job of it! We all need to wake up and realise he does exist and discern these truths before we meet the Lord and it's much too late.

If you still don't have a healthy fear of the Lord, and can't imagine a day of judgement, then try to think of the happiest time in your life and contrast that with the lowest and saddest point, which should give us a clearer understanding of the afterlife. The devil is scamming you in ways you cant see. He doesn't care about your wealth or health, he just wants your soul and identity. For those that believe a cruel God throws people into hell, we can see now that this decision lies with ourselves and the devil is lending a helping hand.

A Christian would rather die a thousand deaths in life than be condemned to a second death and eternal damnation. At the moment of judgement, the feeling of regret will be utterly unimaginable and the light and love of God will fade from their existence forever.

And these shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, (2 Thess 1-9) No one has ever come back from hell to describe its horrors, but surely it must be a place of constant torment anguish and despair! A place where your senses are tortured day and night. A place full of blasphemers and despicable souls that curse God day and night. Whatever sins you committed in life will continue in this place of outer darkness. However the difference is there will be no God to cry out to, God will not be listening anymore and there will be no more mercy ! Those souls suffering will realise this and that will just add to their woes.

The will of the unbeliever is to reject our Lord Jesus Christ and remain in their sin; God will honour your decision, and its consequences for eternity. However this doesn't have to be a story of gloom and doom as it’s not too late to repent. As long as you are alive you can ask God for his forgiveness and receive your salvation. Jesus said: I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10 Salvation means to be saved, saved from this world, saved from sin, baptised by the Holy Spirit, sanctified and welcomed into Gods kingdom. If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. (Rom 10:9-10.)

Its true that some may feel judged, please believe that this is not a judgement but rather the most intense and vigorous warning in life. God loves every individual and wants to save you, his love is greater than any knowledge, his power is incarnate and there is treasure in Heaven that awaits you. There is no grey area’s here, or waiting places such as purgatory, or somewhere you can go to purge your sins after you die. We all need to be in a proper relationship with God, not part time just on a Sunday, but full time Monday's through to Saturdays.

This exhortation doesn't just apply to unbelievers, it applies to those of a lukewarm faith and dare I say it, some church attending folks too! Many Church folks have a very superficial theology, and If you attend a church on Sunday and find yourself daydreaming and your responses to be somewhat mundane, then you need to question why you are there in the first place.! If you feel that you attend through guilt, and feel condemnation and you look forward to the end of the service, then spiritually you’re not in a good place. If your minister or priest or pastor preaches only a part of the gospel and never speaks on the subject of eschatology or quotes anything from the book of revelation, then you’re not receiving or getting the full benefit of the gospel. If you don't feel the power of the Holy Spirit in your church then I would strongly suggest you leave and find one that is spirit filled. I tell you the truth, your particular brand of Christianity is of no concern to God.

In simplistic terms, if your theology is somewhere in the mid ground and your belief is still cloudy, I would suggest you take your eyes off the world and disregard all religious clutter and look to the heavens with a clear mind. Jesus didn't complicate things, he didn't tell us to start a religion, or join any world religion nor fight and argue amongst ourselves or even judge others. He said: Love God with all your heart and soul and love your neighbour as yourself. He also said: go into a room, close the door and sincerely pray to your Father in heaven in secret , God who sees your heart shall reward thee. Matthew 6:6