As I was listening to a Christian radio station, they interviewed a random
woman on the street who said, “I think the writers of the Bible just made it up
to get people to follow them.”
And I laughed out loud at the thought of that. I wanted to ask her if she
ever really read the Bible, if she knew what it teaches. Because if she
did, she would have to wonder why anyone would make up some of
the things we find in the Bible and think it would cause people to go,
"Oh yeah, that sounds great to me!"
If you were going to make up a religion and try to get followers, you certainly
wouldn’t tell us that . . .
1. We are sinful
and cannot rescue ourselves.
(How judgmental, discouraging and
helpless sounding is that?)
2. We need a
Savior to rescue us.
(How humbling!)
3. Some of the
early leaders of the faith were persecuted and killed for it, and we also
should expect to be persecuted and hated by the world.
(Who in their right mind
would want that? Stephen was the first recorded martyr, stoned to
death. Daniel was thrown to the lions, yet miraculously spared.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the furnace, yet also
spared. John the Baptist was not spared but was beheaded. As
history teaches, Peter was not spared but was crucified upside down. John
was banished to the island of Patmos to live out his time. Paul was
beaten and stoned and left for dead. Christians were fed to the lions and
used as human torches in Roman times. Even today, they are being beheaded
for their faith. (God bless them and their families!) And even Jesus,
the One on whom our faith rests, wasn’t spared. He was mocked, whipped,
and crucified, even though He was innocent. Yet what makes Him different
from the leaders of other religions is that He rose from the dead.)
4. We cannot live
sexually immoral lives and we must keep sex within marriage, with marriage
being between one man and one woman.
(This would strike terror and anger
in the hearts of most people nowadays in our sexually-promiscuous culture, and
it’s certainly not a way to get followers.)
5. We are to take
up our cross and follow Jesus, meaning that we are to “die to self,” to pursue
the Lord’s plans and desires instead of our own, to constantly clean up sinful
areas in our lives, and to seek righteousness.
(Does this sound like something we
naturally desire?)
6. We cannot seek
revenge or hold grudges, but we must forgive instead.
(We are to turn the other cheek and
let God avenge all wrongs. This certainly does not fit with the natural
inclination we all have to “stick it to them” and “give them what they have
coming.”)
7. We are to love
our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.
(Seriously, does this idea appeal to
the people of the world?)
8. Some of the
prominent figures in the Bible made horrible mistakes. David had an affair with a married woman, got
her pregnant, and then had her husband killed in battle to cover up the
affair. Abraham was afraid God wouldn’t fulfill His promise so he slept
with the maid in order to produce the promised heir. All the disciples
fled in fear when Jesus was arrested. (Not so faithful now, are they?)
(Why report the biggest sins of some
of your biggest followers if you are trying to convince people to follow you?
The only reason to share these kinds
of mistakes in the Bible is because it’s the truth. And because it shows
how God still loves and redeems sinful people who turn their hearts to Him.)
9. We are
supposed to put others above ourselves, carry each other’s burdens, and humble
ourselves before God.
(So contrary to our sense of pride
and our natural desires to elevate ourselves!)
10. We are to give
money back to God, use our resources to help those in need and for God’s
purposes, and not let money rule us. We are to build up our treasures in heaven,
not on earth, working for invisible, eternal rewards that we won't get to
enjoy on this side of eternity. We are to seek God's Kingdom and
righteousness over material gain.
(This alone would keep many people
from following Jesus. It is harder for a camel to go through the eye of a
needle than for a rich man to get into heaven.)
11. Our weakness
is where God’s power shines. God draws near to a humble heart that cries
out to Him in pain and in need, but He is repulsed by a self-righteous heart
that doesn’t need Him. He is attracted to our neediness but repelled by
our self-sufficiency. The lowly will be exalted and the proud will be
brought low. The first shall be last and the last shall be first.
(Doesn’t sound logical or appealing,
does it?)
12. We need to be
willing to stand up for Jesus in the face of opposition. And we have to
be ready to die for our faith, if that is the position we are put in.
(Whoever denies Jesus before men
will be denied before the Father by Jesus. Whoever seeks to keep his life
will lose it, whoever loses his life for Jesus’ sake will keep it. Does
this sound like something you would “make up” to convince people to follow
you? Note: This is far different than a major world religion that
teaches their followers to kill for their faith. Christians, on
the other hand, are to be willing to die for ours, if it comes down to
it.)
Does this sound like the recipe for a religion that appeals to people? Is
this what you would fabricate in order to get a lot of followers?
Why include these kinds of things in the Bible? If this is what it
means to be a Christian, why would anyone in their right mind choose it?
Given the hard, “unreasonable,” and unappealing aspects of Christianity that go
against all natural human inclinations and selfish desires, why does anyone
choose to follow Jesus? (Not to mention the fact that the Bible records some pretty violent things that God does in His anger and wrath. Why write that stuff if you are trying to get people to follow you?)
The only real reason that I can think of for why this stuff is in the Bible is because it's not made-up at
all. It is the truth. And there's no hiding the truth. Jesus is the only way. He is the answer
that to all the questions we are asking.
In Him and in the Bible, we find our purpose. We are here to know God and
to find Him so that we can spend eternity with Him.
In Him and in the Bible, we find the truth about ourselves and our worth.
We are sinners, but we are so completely loved by our Creator that He would
send Jesus to die in our place (because sinful people can’t save themselves) so
that we could go to heaven. And all we have to do is accept His free
gifts of love, forgiveness, salvation and grace, instead of trying to earn
them. He’s already paid the price, we just have to accept the payment on
our behalf. The only other alternative is to pay for our sins ourselves,
which means eternal punishment. (For more on this, click here.)
In Him and in the Bible, we find the truth about where we are going and what
happens after this life. There is a heaven and a hell. And we will
go to the one we chose in this lifetime. If we chose Jesus, we will spend
eternity with Him in heaven. If we chose to live life without God, we
will get what we asked for – an eternity without Him. That is called hell.
In Him and in the Bible, we find the only hope that can really sustain
us. Life will be hard, but God walks with us through it and will help us
grow through it. And the pain won’t last forever. Someday, He will
make all wrongs right, will dish out final and supreme justice (and give the
people who asked Him to stay out of their lives exactly what they wanted), and
will reward the faithful who have chosen to follow Him in spite of persecution
and trials. Someday, He will restore all things to the way He intended it
to be. And those in heaven with Him will have eternal rest and peace and
joy.
This is why I follow Jesus! (He Reigns by Newsboys)
If man wanted to write the Bible themselves to make it sound appealing and inviting and draw as many people as possible to their "made up" religion, the Bible would look very different from what it is now. But these are not man's words. They are God's. They are truth. And they are the only real hope and salvation we have.
We don't get to decide what's true. We don't get to change truth just because we don't like it.
We just get to decide if we will agree with it or rebel against it. And we get to face the consequences that come with our choice.
The thing is, we all have faith in something. We all stake our eternity on something. But no religion or self-made version of God can compare to a genuine relationship with our Savior, Jesus Christ, and our Heavenly Father. There is no one else to turn to because only Jesus (only the Bible) is the truth. The only One worth believing in and the only One that will fill the hole in our hearts. I think the more difficult teachings of the Bible, of Christianity, are the very things that support the fact that it is true. Because no one in their right mind would make that stuff up and think that it would draw followers! Only the truth can do that!
(reposted from https://myimpressionisticlife.blogspot.com)
We don't get to decide what's true. We don't get to change truth just because we don't like it.
We just get to decide if we will agree with it or rebel against it. And we get to face the consequences that come with our choice.
The thing is, we all have faith in something. We all stake our eternity on something. But no religion or self-made version of God can compare to a genuine relationship with our Savior, Jesus Christ, and our Heavenly Father. There is no one else to turn to because only Jesus (only the Bible) is the truth. The only One worth believing in and the only One that will fill the hole in our hearts. I think the more difficult teachings of the Bible, of Christianity, are the very things that support the fact that it is true. Because no one in their right mind would make that stuff up and think that it would draw followers! Only the truth can do that!
(reposted from https://myimpressionisticlife.blogspot.com)