How do you know if God exists? How can you know if the Bible is the Word of God? Is Jesus really the only way to heaven? Is morality objective or does right and wrong simply depend on the individual, culture or situation? If God exists, then why do so many bad things happen? What is the meaning of life?If you have never pondered questions like these, you probably know someone who has. For the doubters, skeptics, and questioners let me quickly say: your questions are legitimate. To the Christian let me also say: do not feel that you are an apostate when you ponder questions like the ones above. One of the ways that we love God is with our mind. Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). How do you love God with your mind? It’s quite simple: dedicate your mind to God by way of using it for His glory.
If God exists and is omniscient, omnipotent, and ultimately benevolent then the believer has nothing to fear from “tough questions.” Why? Because sound reasoning and empirical data can never, if understood correctly, cast doubt upon the existence and attributes of God. Loving God with our minds means dealing with the often uncomfortable questions but the fires of intellectual struggle will yield a faith that has been tested and found to be reliable. I have found that one of the greatest blessings with wrestling with the problem of evil, the existence of God, the exclusivity of Christ, and many others, is a new-found zeal for the awesomeness of the Lord Jesus whom I met by “grace through faith” (Ephesians 2:9). Furthermore, it has given me a confidence to help guide others to a knowledge of the truth that Jesus is “the way the truth and the life” (John 14:6).
It is our prayer that this section strengthens the faith of believers and assists unbelievers in their search for answers.
Pastor Jeff
