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Is your faith so strong it can't be shaken? How can
you avoid being
caught off guard by atheists, cults, and skeptics?
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10.
Troubleshooting Cults, Atheists, Skeptics
If you know the Lord, nothing will shake your faith. It
is true that the man with an experience is not at the mercy of a man
with an argument. Take for example a little boy who is looking at a
heater. His father warns him that it's hot. The child says, "O.K. I
believe it's hot." At that point, he has an intellectual belief that the
heater is hot. When his Dad leaves the room, he says, "I wonder if it
really is hot?" He then reaches out his little hand and grabs the heater
bar with his fingers. The second his flesh burns he stops believing the
heater is hot. He now knows it's hot! He has moved out of the realm of
"faith" into the realm of "experience."
In comes a heater expert and says, "Son, I have a B.A.
in the study of heat. The heater is definitely not hot. I can prove it
to you." The child would probably say, "Mr Expert, I don't care how many
B.A.'s you have. I know that heater is hot -- I touched it! I'm not in
the realm of belief, I'm in the realm of experience. Goodbye."
If you have touched the heater bar of God's love and
forgiveness, if the Holy Spirit has "born witness" that you are a child
of God (Romans 8:16), if you have received the Gospel with "power, the
Holy Ghost and much assurance" (1 Thessalonians 1:5), you will never be
shaken by a skeptic.
When cults tell you that you must acknowledge God's
name to be saved, that you must worship on a certain day that you must
be baptized by an elder of their church, don't panic. Merely go back to
the Instruction Manual. The Bible has all the answers, and searching
them out, will make you grow.
If you feel intimidated by atheists -- if you think
they are "intellectuals," read the book,
God Doesn't Believe in Atheists.
It will show you that they are the opposite. It will also instruct you
on how you can prove God's existence, and also prove that the "atheist"
doesn't exist.
Finally, the way to prevent sporting injury and pain,
is to keep yourself fit. Exercise. The Apostle Paul kept fit through
exercise. He said, "Herein do I exercise myself, to always have a
conscience void of offense toward God, and toward men" (Acts 24:16). Do
the same. Listen to the voice of conscience. It's your friend, not your
enemy. Remember the words of Solomon:
"Fear God and keep His commandments: for this is the
whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with
every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil"
(Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).
Keep the Day of Judgment before your eyes. On that
Day, you will be glad for the cultivations of a tender conscience.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope the
principles expounded have been helpful, and that any knowledge you have
gained from it, will some day save you some pain. |