Richards Scott - Answers For The Skeptic

When Luke wrote the message of the gospel to Theophilus, he declared that his desire was to set forth in order a declaration of those things that are most surely believed among us. Luke desired that Theophilus might know the certainty of those things in which he had been instructed.

We seem to be living in a day of spiritual confusion. Paul wrote to the Ephesians that they not be as children, tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine by the slight of men and the cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive. Because of all the confusion in the church today, and the many winds of doctrine that continue to blow through the body of Christ, we felt that it would be good to have various pastors write booklets that would address the issues and give to you the solid biblical basis of what we believe and why we believe it.

Our purpose is that the spiritual house that you build will be set upon the solid foundation of the eternal Word of God, thus we know that it can withstand the fiercest storms.

Pastor Chuck Smith

Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa, California

No doubt you've experienced the feeling before.

Perhaps it was the time you walked into class without a care in the world, only to see everyone else doing a last minute panic study session before the big exam that you thought was set for next Tuesday. Maybe it was the time your teacher called you to work out a problem on the chalk board, proving to everyone watching that you and algebra hadn't had the pleasure of meeting just yet. Perhaps it was the time the deeply intellectual look of a deer caught in the headlights came over your face as the toughest final exam question in the history of mankind smiled up at you from a quiz sheet.

Lost. Clueless. In over our heads. We all know what it's like to feel that way in school. But few of us ever expected to be put in the same position because we placed our faith in Jesus. But just like a harsh math teacher (with a frown frozen on her face), the unbelieving world has a tough pop quiz prepared for Christians, with your name and mine written across the top of the page!

As believers in Christ, we must face the fact that we will be called on to provide answers to some pretty intimidating questions. And the people asking usually won't take, "Uh, can I get back to you later on that?" for an answer.

"Why in the world do you believe that God exists in the first place?"

"C'mon! Everybody knows the Bible is full of mistakes!"

"Sure, Jesus was a good teacher, but you really don't believe He is God, do you?"

In all honesty, few of us look forward to facing these moments in the spotlight. But would it surprise you to learn that God wants every believer to be prepared for this ultimate exam?

Consider some advice from a man who knew a thing or two about being put in the spiritual hot seat, Simon Peter. In his first letter, he wrote:

"Sounds like good advice," you might be saying, "but how can I be ready to defend my faith when the going gets tough? When someone asks me hard questions about God, all I find myself doing is mumbling, or getting mad!"

If that's how you feel when you are called upon to give a reason for the hope that is within you, God has good news for you. There is a better way of dealing with tough questions than running from conflict or railing at those who may have some problems with faith.

In the next few pages, we will discover key biblical principles that can help us not just to survive, but thrive in the spiritual hot seat. The Lord desires to lead us with the discernment, confidence and power necessary to hold our own when we are called to share the reason behind our relationship with God. We'll discover:

When to Answer: How to know the difference between those who have sincere questions and those who simply want to shut us down.

What to Answer: Direct, scriptural and powerful answers for the most commonly raised objections to faith in Jesus.

Why to Answer: An often forgotten goal in spiritual discussions that can cause our defense of the faith to count for all eternity.

After ministering on college campuses for over fifteen years, I have seen faith in Christ attacked by a wide variety of opponents, ranging from serious minded skeptics to certifiable crazies. It is my conviction that God doesn't want us to be satisfied with a shaky faith that we fear will fail under fire. Let's discover why the Word of God has been called an anvil that has worn out many hammers. Let's allow the Lord to strengthen both our knowledge and confidence in His truth that we might see God's promise in Daniel 12:3 fulfilled in our lives:

When Paul was sharing the good news of Jesus in Athens, word of his teaching made its way to a gathering of deep thinkers that met regularly to "kick around" the latest new ideas.

Intrigued by the concept of a resurrection from the dead, they made Paul an offer he could hardly refuse:

Here's a quick quiz: How would you have felt if you had been standing in Paul's shoes? There before you were the brightest and best minds of the entire known world. All eyes were glued on you with two simple questions behind them - what do you Christians believe and why do you believe it?

Truth be told, most of us would have been scared to death. The most natural thing in the world would be to stuff our hands in our pockets, kick at the dirt and mutter something along the lines of, "UhWellI'd really like to tell you about JesusButAhThat's not my spiritual giftThat's it! I just don't have the gift of evangelism. Why don't you ask my pastor instead?"

What happens when we give in to this amazingly common temptation? We walk away with the nagging feeling that a great opportunity to be used has fallen by the wayside. Our mind becomes clouded with condemning thoughts like, "Wowwhat an on-fire Christian I turned out to be!" Instead of being a source of joy and excitement in our lives, the idea of sharing the love of Jesus begins looking more and more like a colossal drag!

And so we carefully structure our lives in such a way that we never have to face that kind of moment again. We either insulate ourselves so that the only people we interact with are 100% pure members of the holy huddle, or camouflage ourselves so that even if the unbelievers around us have questions, they'd never think of asking us in the first place.