I'll Take a Stab at it!

Today begins the first post of a new series I will be writing about once weekly on my blog. I previously eluded to this in an earlier post but, have since decided to change the name of the series from “Know What You Believe” to “I’ll take a stab at it!”. It’s a little catchier, don’t you think? Anyways, here is the scoop….Have you ever heard someone else ask a question and say, “That’s a great question!” Well, that is what this series is all about. In my own words I would like to answer some very good questions about Christianity that I have been asked or have heard of….some of these I even asked myself. Answers are in my own words, based on the Bible, sermons, and commentaries that I have listened to. My motto is “I’ll take a stab at it!”. Here is my disclaimer:

DISCLAIMER: These posts are not answers for someone who is coming to poke holes in Christianity. For those questions, there are great authors out there who can answer your more in-depth thoughts regarding theology and the need for evidence:

Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem
The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel

In my responses I am giving 2 options. You can either read the entire, in-depth response, or just read what I have at the bottom in the GET TO THE POINT section (if you don’t feel like reading all of it). :)

Okay. Here is Question 1:
Why doesn’t God just give me a miracle or a sign to show me he is real? You know, make the phone ring right now, make lightning strike that pole right now, perform a healing before my eyes, etc. etc. ….then I will be able to believe in him.

Great question. Jake was asked this one just this week. Jesus has been asked this question before too….let’s take a look. We’ll start in on a conversation between Jesus and the Pharisees (religious leaders of the day):

Matthew 12:38
Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.”

Jesus answers them by saying, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here.” (Matthew 12: 39-41)

To understand Jesus’ answer, we need some more background on the Pharisees and the people of Nineveh. Let’s start with the Pharisee’s question. There is a problem with it. If you look back just a few verses before this conversation you will find Jesus healing a man’s shriveled hand while the Pharisees stood by and watched: (Matthew 12: 13-14 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus. ) The Pharisees had yet another sign from Jesus right before their question to see a miracle. In verse 22 Jesus healed a demon-possessed man and restored his sight & speech. The Pharisees response? They claimed that Jesus was driving out demons by the help of Satan (v. 24). Through these verses we see that the Pharisees had already been given at the least, 2 miraculous signs.

As for the people of Nineveh, to be brief, Nineveh was an Assyrian city of the Old Testament. It was often called the ‘City of Blood’ and known for its wickedness, cruelty, and warlike fighting. BUT, when God sent Jonah to Nineveh to preach his message, and tell of his prophecies, the people of Nineveh listened to Jonah, repented of their sin, turned from their evil ways, and believed (for more on this, read Jonah, it is very short).

Now, we are in context. Bottom line? The Pharisees didn’t have an eye problem….they didn’t need to see yet another miracle in order to believe, they had a heart problem. We can see this from their responses to the first two miracles. They were not sincerely seeking to know Jesus. They did not need any more proof to convince them…they just needed to open their hearts to all the evidence they already had. Even the evil people of Nineveh were able to do this just by hearing the preaching of Jonah, and yet the Pharisees stood face to face with Jesus who was the one ‘greater than Jonah’ and refused the miracles already given to them.

OKAY…GET TO THE POINT:
Those of us who ask God to see a sign or miracle in order to believe in him don’t have a sight problem, we have a heart problem. Our hearts are too hardened to see the miracles & signs God has surely already performed in our lives, just like the Pharisees mentioned above. We are telling God that our motto is ‘Seeing is believing’, which is a motto of worldly influence. God’s teachings are often in direct contrast to what the worldly culture tells us….to our motto God says, ‘Live by faith, not by sight' (2 Corinthians 5:7) Instead of asking for a sign, let’s ask God to open our hearts and remove the scales from our eyes so that we can see how he is already moving in our lives….and let us look back on our past and see all that he has already done. If we still find ourselves doubting that God is real, it is reassuring to know that others in the Bible have felt this way too. Even the great John the Baptist (who, while baptizing Jesus heard God’s booming voice from heaven proclaim that Jesus was his son) asked of Jesus “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Luke 7: 18-19). Let us go to God with our doubts and ask him to help us believe. Shall we pray?

Dear God,
Help my unbelief. This world is full of different religions and beliefs and opinions…how will I know what to believe in? Reveal the truth to me, and help me clearly to see lies and false teachings and to turn from them. Give me the strength and wisdom to read the Bible and understand what it says. Let your words be a light for my path, and a lamp for my feet. Remove my doubt, and replace it with a heart that is open to hear what you have to say. Open the eyes of my heart. I want to see you. Amen.