People of the World Dr.Robert C Newman
Cherrydale Baptist Church BiblicalTheological Seminary
Hatfield,Pennsylvania
THEGOD OF THE BIBLE ON TRIAL
Why doesGod permit evil and suffering?
One of major objections to belief in God is:
If God is all powerful, and God is perfectly righteous,
how can He allow evil and suffering?
if all-powerful, He can stop it
if perfectly righteous, He certainly would
Another alternative:
PerhapsGod has a perfectly good reason for permitting evil and suffering
What might the reason be?
Analogies of God as novelist, parent vs God as hotel keeper
God himself suffers with us
Is itpresumptuous to say that Jesus is the only way to God? What about sincere people in otherreligions?
This is what Bible says about Jesus
John 14:6: I am way, truth, life...
Acts 4:12: salvation in no one else...
(Relative) sincerity is not good enough
Prov 14:12: way seems right, end is death
The person and work of Christ
OnlyJesus among worldÕs religious founders is pictured as uncreated God as well ascreated human.
OnlyJesus could volunteer to become a creature, and thus his obedience could begiven to others.
Don'tthe Bible and science contradict each other?
Certainlysome interpretations of the Bible and nature are in conflict; some theologiansand scientists disagree.
Thebelief that natural phenomena will account for all of reality is certainly indisagreement with biblical teaching.
Thebelief that the Bible teaches the earth & universe are only a few thousandyears old certainly seems to disagree with scientific evidence for billions ofyears.
Thesebeliefs (naturalism, young earth) are not as solid as their proponents thinkthem to be.
How canmiracles be possible?
Is the universe a closed system of cause and effect?
Analogy between actions of human minds and miraculous
Certainly miracles can be possible
Question is: what is evidence for a particular miracle?
Isn'tfaith blind and irrational and a psychological crutch?
Some faith is blind and irrational
blind when you don't know who or what you are trusting
irrational when you do know but object is unworthy of your trust
Faith as a psychological crutch
perhaps all faith functions this way
questionis: do we need a crutch? will thisparticular crutch hold us up when we really need it?
Isn'tbeing good good enough?
Yes, if you're good enough!
Ten commandments: Jesus explains them in Sermon on Mt
Two commandments: do you love God w/ all heart, soul,
mind? Do youlove your neighbor as youself?
Only Jesus was good enough
Only Jesus was kind of being who could transfer to us His
righteousness, take upon Him our sins
Whatabout those who have never heard?
There aren't any!
all have heard God's general revelation
in nature: God exists, is good, powerful
in conscience: God exists, is good, we aren't
all are sinners
all can cast themselves upon God for mercy
He can only have mercy on the basis of Jesus' work
How much do you need to know about Jesus?
perhaps nothing
e.g., people before Jesus came
but God would not have given NT revelation if not
needed
Mustnot be depending on own goodness or on assurances of various (unauthorized)teachers.
Mustnot be presuming upon God's forgiveness even as you continue going your own way.
Isn'tthe Bible just a matter of anyone's interpretation?
No;the main message of the Bible is sufficiently clear that anyone who reallywants to understand it can do so by reading and studying it.
Drasticdifferences in understanding the Bible are due to various other forces at work:desire to have it come out your way; pressure of tradition, institution; humanand superhuman sin.
Can't prove this for you; you need to read and study ityourself
Isn'tthe Bible full of errors?
The Bible reports many errors: "Fool has said... thereis no God."
Manyerrors have been alleged, especially when statements are taken out of context.
Bible disagrees with many well-loved human ideas.
Bible occasionally uses paradox to get us to think:
Prov 26:4-5: Do not answer a fool acc to his folly...
Matt 19:20: first last, last first
Few thinkers have found this to be a major stumbling block.
How canI believe with all the hypocrites in the church?
Ifthere weren't hypocrites in the church, the Bible would be in error! Acts 20:29-30; Rev 3:1.
Thepresence of hypocrites doesn't keep you from going to parties, sporting events,classes.
IfXy is true, there won't be any hypocrites in heaven; better to spend a fewyears with them here than forever with them later.
Wherechurch discipline is properly administered, this problem is substantiallyalleviated.
Doesn'tfaith give a peson a license to sin?
Manypeople think so, both among those who reject biblical Xy and those who professit.
Aperson who thinks that profession of Xy gives him/her a license to sin merelyshows that they have not had the change in inner nature that comes with realsalvation.
How canI be sure I can go to heaven?
Depends on what you mean by "be sure."
If"know beyond any shadow of doubt," no humans know anything at thislevel, and we only deceive ourselves to think the contrary.
If "know for certain, even ifthe Bible is false," then this is not biblical Xy we are talking about; ifwe believe a false religion, there is no reason to suppose we will gain itspromised benefits except by accident.
If "know, given that the Bibleis true," the Bible gives us sufficient information that we need not be indoubt.
What does the Bible say?
God exists, is all-powerful and perfectly good.
We by our own choice are in rebellion against God.
Wewill not win against Him, but He is graciously offering us pardon if we repent.
Heis able to do this and still be righteous by having paid for our sins Himselfin the person of His Son Jesus Christ.
Do we really want to return to Him?
If so, pray to Him, confessing your sin, asking for Hisforgiveness, turning your life over to Him, and He will freely receive you.
Ifwe don't want to return to Him, to really come to know the God who made theUniverse, then we wouldn't be happy in heaven anyway, and hell is the onlyalternative consistent with God's justice and mercy; we won't be happy thereeither, but there is no final happiness apart from God.
ForFurther Reading:
God et al. The Bible. Frequentlytranslated and reprinted. Try it;you'll either like it or hate it. But don't knock it until you've read it for yourself. It's better than its disciples.
John W. Montgomery, ed. Evidence for Faith: Deciding the GodQuestion. Probe Books/Word Publishing, 1991. Twenty-two chapters by Cornell grads onevidence for the existence of the God of the Bible.
Norman L. Geisler and William D.Watkins. Worlds Apart: A Handbook on World Views, 2nd ed. Baker Book House, 1989. Seven major approaches to reality compared and contrasted,with modern proponents, strengths and problems.
Herbert Schlossberg. Idols for Destruction: Christian Faith and its Confrontationwith American Society. Thomas Nelson, 1983. Various replacements for God in ourmodern society, and the distortions and disasters they bring to our lives.
James Sire. Scripture Twisting: 20 Ways the Cults Misread the Bible. Inter-Varsity Press, 1980. One of the reasons there are so many views of what the Bibleteaches is that it is often mishandled. Are you a Scripture-twister?
R. C. Sproul. The Psychology of Atheism. Bethany Fellowship, 1974. Is God a projection of the minds of Christians? Or are the atheists the ones doing thewishful thinking?
C. S. Lewis. The Problem of Pain. Macmillan, 1978 reprint. A classic discussion.