Whether your response to the gospel is one of ridicule, mockery, avoidance, or anger, the fact is the time will come when you will breathe your last in this world and go to meet the One "who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matt. 10:28b) No culture, tradition, or religion will have any power whatsoever to protect you from the penalty exacted by your sins, "for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it." (Matt. 7:13b) The One who taught these things also said, "No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6b)

Perhaps you want to dismiss the gospel because you think the person who declares it to you lacks credibility or is somehow inferior and therefore in no position to make such assertions. Perhaps you think the gospel itself should not be believed due to a supposed lack of evidence. Perhaps you think it has been disproven and that those who believe it are ignorant and misguided. Perhaps you have prospered materially just fine without believing the gospel, and therefore you have concluded that it isn't relevant to you, and that such a thing is only for those who cannot face the realities of life and need a crutch to get through it. Perhaps you think that your view of the gospel doesn't matter as long as you "live a good life." After all, you may reason, if you are relatively good compared to most people, surely you will not suffer eternal punishment. Besides, how could a good God sentence anyone to everlasting torment? How barbaric, you may say.

If you are one who discounts Christianity because some of its alleged adherents are hypocrites, you are only cheating yourself of the truth. Suppose we consider the cases of the Crusades and the Inquisition, for example, where many people, including professing Christians, were brutally tortured or butchered--all supposedly in the name of Christianity. To pass judgment on Christianity because of these things is, however, fallacious reasoning.

Let me illustrate this. Sometime when I visited other countries, I bore witness to actions of American citizens that almost made me ashamed to be an American. I did not want that for which America stands to be judged based on the actions of some of its citizens. Unfortunately some Americans greatly misrepresent the values which were incorporated in the founding of the nation.

If someone who you view as somehow inferior to you declares the gospel, just remember that the person declaring the message of the gospel is not the author of the message, and therefore your view of the person is irrelevant in determining the credibility of the message. The credibility of the message itself must be considered.

Perhaps you may genuinely think you have a scientific basis for rejecting the gospel. Maybe you think that since we are in the age of scientific "enlightenment", any belief in the supernatural must be rejected immediately. Perhaps you have concluded that you must observe something in order to believe in it. You may be convinced that it is impossible for miracles to occur. If we understand that a miracle is not something "magical", only an event in which an outside force or power acts such as to counteract what would normally happen under the laws of physics, for example, we have no reason to deny that miracles could have happened. Neither does our lack of observation of a miracle prove that none has occurred.

Has "science" disproved the Bible? If you think this is the case, what makes you think this? True, many religious leaders have been proven wrong at one time or another, such as the case when ecclesiastical authorities rejected Galileo's claim that the earth was not the center of the universe. It is equally true that many scientific leaders have been proven wrong at one time or another. For years archaeologists scoffed at the existence of the Hittites as described in the Bible, until discoveries were made which confirmed that they did in fact exist. The teachings of mere human beings ought not to be confused with the words of Scripture, which have never been proven to be in error.

Some people think that a good God could not exist due to the presence of evil and suffering in this world. Such people fail to realize that these things are a direct result of our rebellion against God in the first place, and that we have no natural righteousness in ourselves that would make us deserving of His favor. They also are in no position to pass judgment on the Creator and sustainer of the universe since they perceive only a tiny portion of reality, and since they do not know the final outcome of anything that happens.

If you are materially prosperous and do not feel you need anything from anyone else, just remember you have wealth only because the Sovereign Lord of the universe has allowed you to have it, and that it is only useful in this short life. It does not have the power to remove the guilt of your sins. Only the gospel has such power, and this power, unlike your material wealth, cannot be removed or destroyed.

If you assume that you have no need of the gospel because God "grades on a curve", and you assume you will compare favorably with most people and therefore have nothing to fear, you are tragically mistaken. We read in the Scriptures that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), "[f]or the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23a), and "'[t]here is none righteous, no, not one.'" (Romans 3:10b) Only those who believe the gospel will escape the wrath that is to come, for they will not have their own righteousness, but "that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith." (Philippians 3:9b) The Supreme Lawgiver has declared His standard for righteousness, which is a standard of absolute perfection, not good intentions.

I am persuaded that if you examine the issues carefully, the only rational response to the gospel is to consider the evidence, and to consider it with an open mind. If you find the evidence to be compelling, the Sciptures promise that "those who seek me diligently will find me." (Proverbs 8:17b) And remember, "now is the day of salvation." (II Cor. 6:2)

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