People in today’s society have many questions about faith, and every question deserves an honest answer. If you’ve taken the time to think through exactly what you believe and why you believe it, you’ll be prepared to give people the answers they need to genuinely seek – and find – Christ. Here’s how you can answer the most common objections to Christianity:
* Make your responses theological, reasonable, and practical. Ask yourself: “Does what I have to say square up with the Bible?”, “Does what I say make sense?”, “Is it credible and factually correct?”, “Am I giving people truth in a way that they can understand and relate to?” and “Have I successfully bridged the gap from the ‘ivory towers of academia’ to the ‘real world’ where people live their day-to-day lives?”.
* Understand the questions behind the questions. Get to know why people are asking the questions they’re asking in the first place. Find out what issues are stirring their souls and motivating them to seek answers. Following are the first 3 of the 10 most common objections to Christianity.
1. “Why is there evil in the world? What about suffering?”
Understand that, while God allows evil because He has given His creatures free will, God never causes evil Himself. Recognize that humanity is to blame for the evil that has corrupted our natural world. Remember God’s promises in Scripture to handle evil in His way and timing, because He is in ultimate control. Trust in God’s love, power, and wisdom and notice all the ways He constantly uses suffering to accomplish good purposes in people’s lives. Know that the existence of suffering does not the reality of God. Rely on God’s strength to help you and others deal with suffering well and emerge better people as a result.
2. “Christians are all hypocrites. Why would I want to become one of them?”
Admit that all Christians, because they’re imperfect humans, sometimes fail to live up to the standard Jesus set. Understand that Christians don’t claim to be perfect – just forgiven – and that they’re all growing into better and better people, thanks to God’s grace. Focus on Jesus Himself and decide to believe in Christianity, despite the behavior of some Christians, because: God offers you Christ instead of Christians, Christian truth is not negated by human failures, all people are hypocrites in reality, and human failures make the need for Jesus all the more clear.
3. “What makes Jesus so different from other great men of history?”
Recognize that Jesus stands out above all people because of: His prophesied coming, His supernatural birth, His miraculous deeds, His distinctive teaching, and His actions that substantiated His claims. Understand that the greatest proof of Jesus’ uniqueness is His resurrection, which has been verified extensively, through evidence such as the testimonies of the empty tomb, the numerous appearances of Jesus after He was resurrected, the instant and powerful change in the disciples afterward, and the complete silence of Jewish and Roman authorities.
Next issue: “I don’t believe that God exists. How can anybody be sure?”