In talking with agnostics and atheists about my faith over the years I have learned a great deal about my own hope in Christ. Their honest and open comments and questions have helped me clarify what I believe and why. One of the comments that clarified my relationship with Jesus revolved around the exclusivity of Christ and the way a person gains access to heaven.
The problem many unbelievers have with Christianity is that Christ is considered to be the ONLY way to God. They would prefer that Christ be a way and that the severity of hell not exist for those who do not believe. Agnostic E.O. Wilson complained about hell and Christianity’s claim that Jesus is the only way to heaven in his book The Creation, which I would not recommend, “And that is just the beginning of how long condemned souls will suffer in hell – all for a mistake they made in choice of religion during the infinitesimally small time they inhabited Earth” (p.6). His point is that eternal hell is a ridiculous outcome for a brief life that mistakenly chose a religion or system of life that was not right.
I understand what he and others who hold his view are saying and I agree. That a person would be sentenced to an eternity of suffering for a mistaken belief system is unthinkable to me.
I am thankful that my relationship with God is not built merely on my mental capacity to understand God and choose to do right, but on my love for God. If salvation and an eternal relational bond with God are created by having and believing the right facts about God, then all the demons of hell and the devil himself would be redeemed. James 2:19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. Their sound theology does not save them or make their relationship with God right.
So how then is a person’s life saved from sin and death? Romans 10:9-10 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. It’s not enough to know the facts about God. You must believe them in your heart.
The heart is the seat of emotions. The heart is where we feel what we believe. Those who are saved and are united with Christ are those who love God.
The real question that must be asked and answered is, “Do you love God?” It is not enough to say you believe in Him and in what He has done for us in Christ. In order to be saved a person must love God. This is much more difficult than believing a bunch of facts, saying a prayer, signing a card, and belonging to a church.
To truly love God means that God must matter more to you than yourself. To truly love God is to trust Him. To truly love God is to surrender all that you are to Him.
This is not something a person does naturally. In our natural selves none of us can love God. We love ourselves too much. We love being pleasured and empowered. Being able to define our destiny and discover our dreams are much more appealing than looking to God for direction and serving Him like a slave. But that is exactly what a person does who loves God. Serving others like a slave and forfeiting our anger, our pride, our agenda, and our rights is what we do when we love them. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8Love never fails. Love is hard, if not impossible.
So how do we come to love God? 1 John 4:19 We love because he first loved us. God must first love us before we can love Him. Thankfully, God has loved us. John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. In Christ God has shared His love with us. This love, like all love, came at a great price. It cost God His son.
What overwhelms me is that God loved us and gave His son for us even though we rejected God and despised His Son. Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. God did not love us because we honored Him and His Son. Even though we did not love God, He loved us. Even though we believed God was wrong and we were right and we did not want God to have a say in our life, God loved us.
If we receive the gift of His love and love Him with the love He has given to us, then we are saved. Yes, to love Him you must understand something of who He is and believe in what He has done. But it is not enough to merely understand who God is and what He has done for us in Christ. We must love God.
We can know that we love God by our actions. Jesus said “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15). If we love God, we will obey his commands. And what does He command? What are His greatest commandments? Matthew 22:36-40 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
The real question is not do you believe in God and the Christian faith system. The real question is, “do you love God.” That is the question. We would do well and serve our world well to stop talking about God as though He were not in the room. God is there. God is here. God is everywhere. He is not an it or a religious choice. He is God and He is either loved or not loved.
Maybe unbelievers, atheists and agnostics could be more open to the truth claims of Christianity if they knew and we lived as though the issue was not facts and systems, but the real issue was love. Because the real issue is love.
The problem many unbelievers have with Christianity is that Christ is considered to be the ONLY way to God. They would prefer that Christ be a way and that the severity of hell not exist for those who do not believe. Agnostic E.O. Wilson complained about hell and Christianity’s claim that Jesus is the only way to heaven in his book The Creation, which I would not recommend, “And that is just the beginning of how long condemned souls will suffer in hell – all for a mistake they made in choice of religion during the infinitesimally small time they inhabited Earth” (p.6). His point is that eternal hell is a ridiculous outcome for a brief life that mistakenly chose a religion or system of life that was not right.
I understand what he and others who hold his view are saying and I agree. That a person would be sentenced to an eternity of suffering for a mistaken belief system is unthinkable to me.
I am thankful that my relationship with God is not built merely on my mental capacity to understand God and choose to do right, but on my love for God. If salvation and an eternal relational bond with God are created by having and believing the right facts about God, then all the demons of hell and the devil himself would be redeemed. James 2:19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. Their sound theology does not save them or make their relationship with God right.
So how then is a person’s life saved from sin and death? Romans 10:9-10 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. It’s not enough to know the facts about God. You must believe them in your heart.
The heart is the seat of emotions. The heart is where we feel what we believe. Those who are saved and are united with Christ are those who love God.
The real question that must be asked and answered is, “Do you love God?” It is not enough to say you believe in Him and in what He has done for us in Christ. In order to be saved a person must love God. This is much more difficult than believing a bunch of facts, saying a prayer, signing a card, and belonging to a church.
To truly love God means that God must matter more to you than yourself. To truly love God is to trust Him. To truly love God is to surrender all that you are to Him.
This is not something a person does naturally. In our natural selves none of us can love God. We love ourselves too much. We love being pleasured and empowered. Being able to define our destiny and discover our dreams are much more appealing than looking to God for direction and serving Him like a slave. But that is exactly what a person does who loves God. Serving others like a slave and forfeiting our anger, our pride, our agenda, and our rights is what we do when we love them. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8Love never fails. Love is hard, if not impossible.
So how do we come to love God? 1 John 4:19 We love because he first loved us. God must first love us before we can love Him. Thankfully, God has loved us. John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. In Christ God has shared His love with us. This love, like all love, came at a great price. It cost God His son.
What overwhelms me is that God loved us and gave His son for us even though we rejected God and despised His Son. Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. God did not love us because we honored Him and His Son. Even though we did not love God, He loved us. Even though we believed God was wrong and we were right and we did not want God to have a say in our life, God loved us.
If we receive the gift of His love and love Him with the love He has given to us, then we are saved. Yes, to love Him you must understand something of who He is and believe in what He has done. But it is not enough to merely understand who God is and what He has done for us in Christ. We must love God.
We can know that we love God by our actions. Jesus said “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15). If we love God, we will obey his commands. And what does He command? What are His greatest commandments? Matthew 22:36-40 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
The real question is not do you believe in God and the Christian faith system. The real question is, “do you love God.” That is the question. We would do well and serve our world well to stop talking about God as though He were not in the room. God is there. God is here. God is everywhere. He is not an it or a religious choice. He is God and He is either loved or not loved.
Maybe unbelievers, atheists and agnostics could be more open to the truth claims of Christianity if they knew and we lived as though the issue was not facts and systems, but the real issue was love. Because the real issue is love.
12 comments:
the reason we marry the one we love dearest who is OF earth in His church and under His name is because we are to pattern our married relationship with our spouse from the relationship the bible demonstrates we are to have with God. Your words "Love is hard, if not impossible" are often forgotten in BOTH relationships. It is said that a child looks for the relationship with a spouse that he/she was accustomed to with his/her parents while growing up, whether good or bad...so, if we are treating our spouses as we treat our eternal Father, is there any doubt why we have the divorce rate we have???
What a great blog Jason, it sure is an eye opener to me for how I should live out my relationship with God AND with my wife. I'm probably not the first to admit I tend to take advantage of both of them with my own selfeshness...
Jason,
A great lesson on loving God and our relationship to Him-much more than just the head knowledge, but the heart knowledge AND relationship that is often overlooked. Thanks for taking the time to share these thoughts today.
Mike Hubbard
Thanks Jason. I don't know how many conversations I've had about this very topic with people who say they are turned off by Christianity.
My next-door neighbor comes to mind.
Thanks for the insight and perspective.
Jason, We thank God for this wonderful opportunity given to us to continue to reach out to one another (his children). I look forward to many more of these blog postings.
The following prayer is from Our Daily Bread devotional November 2006 "Been Thinking About" by Mart De Haan
Father in heaven, forgive us for saying more or less than You have revealed. Thank you for assuring us that You take no delight in the death of those who reject you (Ezekiel 33:11). Help us to lovingly warn those who still have an opportunity to accept Your mercy. And when we are overwhelmed with concern, please help us to remember that everything You do in judgment is right, and necessary, and good. — Mart De Haan
Awesome Blog!! I have a few college freshman in my class that claim to be atheist. The students I spoke with claimed this choice based upon past hurt and anger towards God, or in all honesty they just didn't know why. I consistently prayed for them to see God's love through me and that I would not just share my faith--but Show It! God kept telling me to love them, listen to their hearts, and be humble when reaching out to them. I learned I didn't have to worry about finding the perfect words, or the greatest bible verse. I just trusted God to the details:) Afterall, it's all about being Intentional, Relational, and Making a Kingdom Difference:)---Emily Carder
Jason
I am completely amazed by your words and God's awesome work. Just this past Saturday, I spoke with a friend from high school whom now claims to be agnostic. As she told me the disappointing details of her new found beliefs, I kept praying, asking God to give me the right words. I considered our conversation "To be continued" and your words will help me greatly in future conversations with this friend. Thank you for your encouragement and wisdom!
Jamie Russell
You did an excellent job explaining how necessary and life changing it is to love God. I for one, need it laid out for me in simple terms and steps to follow. Thanks you for your ministry and living it out in front of us.
Eddie Winkenhofer
I had a conversation about this very subject with a college student a couple years ago. He said that he didnt feel it was fair to be punished eternally for finite sins. My response was that the nature of the sin must not be measured by the duration of its effects, but by the being it offends. That is, our sin (=hatred toward God) is infinitely heinous because it is directed at an infinitely wonderful God. By failing to love what is supremely lovable, we live lives that are due infinite punishment.
I think this helped him to see why the issue is not about accepting or rejecting a system of beliefs, but rather about loving or hating the God that has shown infinite love to you on the cross.
God did not love us because we honored Him and His Son. - Jason, I'm a bit confused on this statement. Maybe it's a typo, but I just wanted to make sure I was understanding this correctly. This was a very important message since no one had ever really explained in detail this to me. Thank you for the insight!
Stephanie,
You read it right. God does not love us because of anything we do. In fact God loves us despite the fact that we disobey and dishonor Him by sinning. Everytime we sin we in essence say, "God I believe you are wrong and trying to keep me from good things. I don't trust you God. I believe I am right and you are wrong."
Despite the fact that we dishonor God, He still chose and chooses to love us. Christ died for us, even while we were turning our backs on Him as sinners.
Amazing Grace isn't it?
Pastor Jason Pettus
It's always interesting how atheists and agnostics can clarify your faith and what you're getting wrong. These days one thing I keep getting from all my friends who are either atheistic or agnostic is demonstrated in the song "Where Is The Love?" by the Black Eyed Peas.
"People killin', people dyin'
Children hurt and you hear them cryin'
Can you practice what you preach
And would you turn the other cheek
Father, Father, Father help us
Send some guidance from above
'Cause people got me, got me questionin'
Where is the love (Love)"
While the Black Eyed Peas may not be theologians, they see something that has gone wrong in the church-our definition of loving God. I think somehow, we've forgotten the aspect of loving God that involves loving the things He loves-the hungry, the poor, the oppressed... etc etc.
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."
God loves the world, that's why He sent His son. When was the last time the Christian community came together to make an effort to help end poverty or AIDS or something like these things. The world judges us by our love since we profess that God is love. The moment we stop loving others like God loves them through His common grace, people don't want to listen to us and consider us hypocritical because we don't even take into account reflecting the common grace that God shows through outreaches to help the AIDS crisis or the starving children in Africa. I know I've done a pretty poor job of this myself, but lately I'm beginning to see where I need to work on this. Living hope does a great job with stuff like Angel Tree and One Great Day and Kids Blitz, but why is it only limited to stuff we do? Why don't we help with things in our community like the salvation army and the march of dimes more often?
I don't know, maybe it's just me, but it makes sense why the world is begging an answer to the question "Where is the love" instead of it being so obvious that the love is the Church. Where is it and why isn't it obvious?
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