How To Answer A Skeptic

From the Love Worth Finding studios in Memphis, Tennessee, I'm Byron Tyler, here with Kerry Vaughn, the CEO of Love Worth Finding. Kerry, today Adrian Rogers addresses how to answer a skeptic. You know, Christians are instructed to keep the faith, but also give it away.

And we must be ready to give an account for what makes us different. That's something that sometimes gets challenged by skeptics. God has done in our life. Nobody can argue what God has done in our life. I mean, that's a simple plan, and I think he spells it out perfectly in this sermon. Well, Adrian Rogers does say whether a person believes in the Bible is the Word of God, or whether he doesn't, the Word of God still has power even with an unbeliever. I love that.

Absolutely. And many times your faith will be caught along the way as much as it is taught. Well, something else I always remember Adrian Rogers saying when addressing skeptics, remember that you're not trying to win an argument.

We don't need to be defensive in the sense that we are intimidated or that we're ugly or even argumentative. Nobody has argued into the kingdom of God. God called us to be witnesses, not lawyers.

Lawyer argues a case, a witness tells what he's seen and heard. And yet, on the other hand, if we are his witnesses, we need to be informed witnesses, we need to be accurate witnesses, we need to be bold witnesses and verbal witnesses. So Christians need to be informed about their faith and what they believe and why they believe it, and most of all, what Jesus Christ has done for them personally and recently. You know, there's an old saying that says, hey, preach the gospel and when necessary, use words.

But you know, Byron, we need to use words sometimes. We need to build relationships. We need to earn the right to tell people what God has done. And don't forget to use your testimony. We are witnesses of his existence.

I remember Dr. Vance Habner once said, a Christian with a glowing testimony is worth a library full of arguments. Amen. Amen.

We may be the only Jesus that somebody sees. And that's a big responsibility. Kerri, it's our joy as always to hear from our listeners.

And here's one who says, We receive those testimonies all the time. It's wonderful when we hear the fruit and when we see the fruit of the ministry. And I tell you, that's why we're always trying to point people to LWF.org, because everything is there at their fingertips and they can be a part of this ministry 24-7. And what I love about that story, Kerri, is here is a mom telling her daughter, and that's the best way to get the word out, is to have someone tell others about LWF. Hey, it's 50 friends telling 50 friends about LWF. Well, with today's message, how to answer a skeptic.

Here's Adrian Rogers. If you go to the modern universities in this city or any other city, you're going to be faced with an hostility toward your faith. If you go to a university philosophy class, by and large, your faith is going to be ridiculed.

Well, how do you respond to this skepticism in this day and age in which we live? Well, thank God, the Bible tells us. 1 Peter 3 verse 10, The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, and who is he that will harm you if ye be followers of that which is good? But, and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye, and be not afraid of their terror, neither be ye troubled. Now, here's our key verse, But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear, having a good conscience, that whereas they speak evil of you as evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. For it is better if the will of God so be that ye suffer for well-doing than for evildoing. Now, verse 15 says, You are to be ready to give an answer to everyone that ask you of the hope that's in you. Are you ready? Do you know how to respond to a skeptic?

Do you? Well, I want to give you four basic ideas, propositions today. I pray God, the Holy Spirit will just emblazon them in your heart and in your mind. There are four things I want you to remember as you respond to this skeptical age, and people want to know what makes you tick, what makes you different, what is the reason for the hope that you have in you? In verse 15, okay? Number one, Forgo the folly of fools. Some skeptics are fools. Not all skeptics are fools, but some skeptics are fools. Now, when I say a fool, I don't mean a person who is mentally deficient. When the Bible uses the word fool, it doesn't mean someone who is mentally deficient.

It means someone who is morally depraved. For example, the Bible says, The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Now, my dear friend, when you come to a fool and he shows himself to be a fool, don't argue with him. Give him the mind of God.

Tell him what God says and go your way. Now, the Bible makes it very clear. In Proverbs chapter 26 and verse 4, the Bible says, Answer not a fool according to his folly. Don't get in a debate with a fool. Now, you may witness to him, but you just don't answer him. To answer him means to get into an argument with him.

Oh, you witnessed anything that moves. But the Bible makes it very clear, answer not a fool according to his folly, and here's the reason, Lest thou also be like unto him. You'd be surprised how many people I have who challenge me to debates.

I don't get in debates like that. If a person wants to know and a person wants to be reasonable, I'll reason with a person. But I have a philosophy that you never argue with a fool because someone standing around is not able to tell who's who.

That's exactly right. That's what this scripture says. Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like him.

Now, the Bible speaks of these kind in chapter 3 and verse 16, having a good conscience, whereas they speak evil of you as evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. God says that you're not going to be able to do much with these kind of people. Just forgo the folly of fools. Number two, learn the limits of logic. You see, logic can carry you only so far. Now, there's nothing wrong with logic. You can be logical. Our Bible tells us that we are to reason.

Isaiah 1 and verse 18, our God invites us, Come now, let us reason together, saith the Lord. So logic is a valuable tool, but learn the limits of logic when you deal with a skeptic. For example, logic can only take you so far.

We've used this illustration. Suppose you want to go to Europe, you get in your automobile and you drive to New York City and you drive to the ocean, New York Harbor there. There's no bridge that crosses that great Atlantic. You park your automobile there and you get on an airplane and you go the rest of the way on an airplane. Now, the automobile is good, but it can only take you so far.

And then, dear friend, you have to take some other conveyance. Logic is like that. Logic is good, logic is wonderful, but it will only take you so far. And when you come to a chasm that is so wide that logic can't leap, then faith must fly.

But there's nothing wrong with logic. And there are some logical reasons that we ought to give to people. And so what are some reasons for believing in the God that we believe in? Well, for example, creation. I mean, creation is a good reason.

Put in your margin Romans chapter 1, verses 19 and 20. The Bible says, that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath showed it unto them. God is not trying to hide himself. God has showed it to them for the invisible things of him, that is, that God, the invisible great unseen creator, the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made. Everything that is made has this stamp on it, made by God. Now, dear friend, this is logical, that out of nothing, nothing comes. If we have a creation, we must have a creator. Now, Robert Jastrow of the founder and director of NASA's Goddard Institute of Space Studies, that is a man that is really high up, he said this, a sound explanation may exist for the explosive birth of our universe, but if it does, science cannot find what the explanation is. The scientist's pursuit of the past ends in the moment of creation. The scientist, you have to feel sorry for him.

He only studies what? He never knows why. He never knows why. If you walk into the kitchen, I walk into my kitchen and the water is boiling and somebody says, why is the water boiling? I say, well, the electric elements in our stove are transferring heat to the bottom of the kettle, which is a good conductor, and it's agitating the molecules of water that are causing them to expand and dance around, eventually turning that liquid into gas or steam, which is forcing its way by expansion out through the nozzle of that kettle and making a whistling sound. And you ask Joyce, why is the kettle boiling?

She says, I'm making you some tea. The scientist may explain what, but he never knows why. He says, this is all happening. God is the why, my dear friend. God is the why. And the scientist can't explain how. He can't explain why.

He only knows what. The argument for God just simply comes out of creation. And then the argument for God comes out of design. Not only do we have a creation, but what an infinitely complex creation we have. And when you have design, logic says that a design means a designer.

If you, dear friend, see a painting, a beautiful painting, you would believe in an artist. When you see a creation, that this creation has design, you see you believe in a designer. And the more complex the design, the greater the designer. For example, if you see a dam built by beavers, that's kind of a simple dam. But if you see Hoover Dam, as some of us have seen Hoover Dam, you'd say that Hoover Dam was designed by someone more complex than a beaver.

And the more complex the design, the more complex the designer, the greater the designer, and we see that God is a great God because he has made it all. Oh, my dear friend, what I'm trying to say to you is that when we present our case, whether you be in a college philosophy class or anywhere else, you don't have to sit in the back room sucking your thumb. You don't have to be intimidated. Don't be terrified by your adversaries.

Be bold. Creation says there is a God. Design says there is a God. And the very moral law of the universe says there is a God. Well, that's all well and good, but, dear friend, logic has its limits.

Let me tell you something. If anybody comes up to you and says, prove there's a God, don't ever try because you can't prove there's no God. Or there is a God. Or you can't prove there is no God. Somebody says to me, prove there's a God, I just simply say I can't. And then I just turn back to them, I say, prove there is no God.

And if he's honest, he'll say he can't. And he says, well, you're just a credulous person because you believe there's a God. I say, that's right, I'm a believer. And you're a believer, too. I believe there is a God, you believe there is no God.

You say, I have faith that there is, you have faith that there isn't. You see, listen, what we believe is reasonable, but it goes beyond reason. Now, dear friend, forgo the folly of fools and learn the limits of logic. Just learn the limits of logic. What we believe is rooted in logic, but it goes beyond logic.

What we believe is not unreasonable, but it is supra-reasonable. Now, here's the third thing as you respond to a skeptic. Remember the resource of revelation. Remember the resource of revelation. If you're to know God, if I'm to know God, God is going to have to reveal himself to us.

The finite can never understand the infinite unless the infinite explains himself and reveals himself to the finite. Now, you're in 1 Peter. Just turn to 2 Peter here, chapter 1, for a moment and see what Peter has to say about revelation. Look, if you will, in 2 Peter, chapter 1 and verse 19. Peter says, he's talking about an experience he had with Jesus on the mountaintop when Jesus was transfigured, and then he says in 1 Peter, chapter 1 and verse 19, we have also a more sure word of prophecy. Now, he's talking here about God's revealed truth, what we would call the Bible, a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto you do well that you take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts, knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Now, three things I want to say about the Word of God out of that passage.

First of all, the inspiration of the Word of God. Look in verses 20 and 21. Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. Now, what does that word private mean? Well, it's used 114 times in the Bible, and it means of its own, of its own.

All right? Now, look at it. It is not of any private interpretation. What does the word interpretation mean here?

It comes from a Greek word which means to untie or unfold or loose. That is, what Peter is saying is this, that no Scripture is of its own unfolding. That is, it's not like any other book.

It's not like any other book. How did the Scripture come about? Well, look in verse 21. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, that is, it's not of its own unfolding, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

Now, the word moved by the Holy Ghost is a term from the sea, that when the wind would blow upon the sails of a ship, that ship would be moved along. And what Simon Peter is saying is that the writers of the Scriptures had the sails up, and the Holy Spirit of God just bore them along, carried them along, and this is what we call the inspiration of the Scriptures. Now, it's not enough that we have the inspiration, but also we have to have illumination because even if the Scriptures are perfect, and they are, we have to be able to understand them, and God knows that. So look, if you will, in verse 19 of this same passage, and it's such a blessing, for we have a more sure word of prophecy, where until you do well that you take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place until the day dawn and the day star arise in our hearts. Now, this Scripture that is inspired, the inspiration of the Scripture, also illumines. Now, it shines into our hearts. It gives light. Now, look at the word dark here. You see it in verse 19? It shineth in a dark place. It doesn't mean dark like the kind of dark where you turn out the lights, but it has a meaning of being squalid, or murky, or dirty, or filthy.

It shines into a squalid, murky, dirty, filthy area. All right, now, look, if you have the idea here, it says until the day dawn. Do you see that? And the day star arise in your hearts? He's not talking about the second coming of Jesus here. He's talking about the sunrise of the soul. That dark, squalid, murky, filthy place is your heart, and the Word of God, inspired, shines into your heart, into that dark place, and reveals the Lord Jesus. You see, what happens is the Holy Spirit takes the curtain of your skepticism, and he pulls it aside and pins it with a star of hope, and floods your heart with gospel light.

He did that for me, and he did that for you. You have the inspiration of the Word of God. My dear friend, you have the illumination of the Word of God, and you have the confirmation of the Word of God. Look, if you will, in verse 19 of this same chapter, it says we have a more sure word of prophecy.

More sure than what? Well, Simon Peters just told about what he'd seen on the Mount of Transfiguration, and Peter then says, I've got something more sure than what I saw and what I heard. It is the Word of God. It is the Word of God, the confirming power of the Word of God. Friend, you don't believe because you've seen miracles. You don't believe because you've had experiences.

You don't believe because someone has proved anything to you. God has revealed himself in this book, and you need to telescopic that, that the Bible is the Word of God. It is the inspiration of the Word of God, the illumination of the Word of God, and the confirmation of the Word of God.

I'm trying to say, dear friend, whether a person believes the Bible is the Word of God or whether he doesn't, the Word of God still has power even with an unbeliever. It's a two-bladed sword. If it doesn't cut him in salvation, it'll cut him in judgment. Be careful how you grab that blessed blade. It is the Word of God. It is the saver of life unto life. It is a saver of death unto death.

So what have I said? Listen, forgo the folly of fools. Learn the limits of logic, but remember the resource of revelation. Remember, dear friend, when you're dealing with somebody that God has given you the Word.

It is quick. It is powerful. It is sharper than any two-edged sword even if he says he doesn't believe the Bible. The Bible still has incredible power.

Now here's the last thing I want to say. Fortify the force of faith. Fortify the force of faith. Notice again in our original text where we're talking about in 1 Peter 3, verse 15, the Bible says, Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason, now watch this next phrase, the hope that is in you. I've told you before, I want to tell you again, to quote Dr. Vance Habner, a Christian with a glowing testimony is worth a library full of arguments. The hope that is in you.

Fortify your faith. You see, Joyce, for our Thanksgiving dinner, made an incredible pumpkin pie. I mean, out of a real pumpkin. She didn't get it out of a can. I mean, she made it out of a pumpkin.

I didn't know people did that anymore. Took a pumpkin and made a pie. I want to tell you it's good. I had it and I had a second piece.

There's one more piece and I've got my eye on it. Now, listen. Suppose after I've eaten that piece of pie, somebody comes to me and they say, I don't believe in pumpkins. Much less I don't believe in pumpkin pies.

And I don't believe in cooks and ovens and all of the rest of it. And all this time I'm eating pie. And dear friend, I have enjoyed it. And you tell me there is no such thing as pumpkin pie. Friend, I've got the witness in myself.

Isn't that right? The Bible says, taste and see that the Lord is good. Taste and see.

Oh, listen, listen, friend. How do you answer a skeptic? Forgo the folly of fools. Learn the limits of logic. Rely on the resource of revelation. But fortify the force of faith. Let Jesus be real to you. Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. Be ready always to give an answer of the hope that is in you. Do it with meekness and fear.

Don't be a smart aleck. Your faith will be as much caught as it will be taught. Oh, dear friend, we need to hold our heads up high in which we live. And today, if you have questions about who Jesus is or what He means to you, how to receive the forgiveness He's freely offering you, go to our Discover Jesus page at lwf.org slash radio. You'll find resources and materials that will answer questions you may have about placing your faith in Christ. Again, go to lwf.org slash radio and click Discover Jesus. Well, are you prepared to give an answer for the hope that's within you? When Jesus is real to us and is sanctified in our hearts, we can answer skeptics with meekness and fear. Thanks for studying God's Word with us today. Join us next time for more profound truth Simply Stated right here on Love Worth Finding.