Hello Dear Listeners, welcome to overcoming temptations. My name is Oyisi Okatahi. Today our topic is titled: I believe in God. Our Bible reading is taken from Hebrews 11:6. It says But without faith it is impossible to please God: for he that comes to God must believe that he exists, and that He rewards them that diligently seek him.
So to be able to receive any blessing and reward from God you have to believe in Him, because without faith it is impossible to please God. I was sharing with a young friend and he told me that he does not believe there is a God and that religion or faith in God is just something people use to console themselves. We had a lengthy discussion so let me summarize his opinion and my response. He said I should not quote the bible because he does not believe in the bible.
So 1. He said God did not create the world but evolution. My response – science seems to now incline to the biblical story of creation. For instance the law of biogenesis states that only a living thing can produce a living thing, so stone, sand or gas cannot just translate to be a living thing as suggested by evolution. Also the second law of thermodynamics states that order cannot arise from disorder, this further defeats the evolution theory and finally the fact there is a creation it means there is a creator, things do not make themselves.
- Another question he asked was that if there is a God, then why is there so much suffering in the world. My response. Man has free will and a choice and when we choose to disobey God we cannot hold him responsible for our actions. God did not want to create robots but people who will voluntarily serve Him.. Suffering in most cases is a result of the disobedience of man to the commands of God. However in situations when innocent people suffer then God has a purpose for them, to bring about the best in them, to reveal his power, love and mercy in their lives, because even in suffering good things can come out of it.
- Another point he raised was that Christians are hypocrites they also do wrong things. My response. This is a wrong general assumption. Yes some Christians could be hypocrites but there are others who truly obey and serve God. We are not all perfect but trust God to make us better each day. We are saved by grace and not by works. Moreover the fact that fake money exist does not make real money not to exist. So if there are fake Christians it means real ones exists.
- Will a loving God send billions of people to hell. My response. True love does not mean that you permit everything, that you love your children does not mean they should do anything without correction or discipline. God has given us all free will, some people choose to do evil and wrong and do not care about the consequences, for instance people kill innocent people and don’t care. So God will hold everyone accountable for their action.
- How about people who never heard about Jesus, will they go to hell. My response. God has put an internal check in all men which is called conscience. Although some people have killed their conscience by continual rejection of what it tells them. So even if people did not hear about Jesus. They had a conscience that told them what is right or wrong and God will who is a just God will judge them fairly.
- Another point he raised. He said I do not need God to be successful or happy in life. My response. It depends on your definition of success. The webster dictionary defines success as the favourable or desired outcome. So if you have all the riches, fame and pleasures in this life but do not have eternal life with God, is that a favourable outcome. Then it can’t be said you have succeeded because the soul of man is immortal. So total success is guaranteed in God.
Finally I believe in God because I have experienced him and he rewards those who diligently seek Him, I hope you too will believe in God, you have nothing to lose by doing so and everything to gain. Have a blessed day.
