Published: 07-05-2021 - 10:14 || Rev.: 14-06-2022 - 22:56
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Category: Apologetics, FAQ
Tags: Eight, Evangelism, Geloof, Salvation, Society, Mission

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Eight Reasons Why People Won’t Accept The Gospel

Conclusion – They have proven Boston’s points

Intro

The conclusion of why people won’t accept the Gospel:

They have proven Boston’s points

Introductory video

The first video was an introduction to this series. And yes! Right away I made a mistake. Not a huge one, but I did misrepresent Calvinism by stating that Calvinism says that ‘it is all predestined thus we don’t need to evangelise’. A good thing that a brother from my home country pointed out that this is actually called hyper-Calvinism, which is by no means mainstream among the Calvinists.

Anyway, I didn’t even start talking about the reasons Boston gave, but some already felt the urge to comment in a way that gives away their dislike of faith. One viewer said:

“There is only one reason needed to reject religion… Not needing your emotional needs met by fantasy & delusion.”

It is a rather funny way in which the little chat went it’s way, but you can read that for yourself. Nevertheless, the comment made one thing clear. Many unbelievers mistakenly assume that following Jesus, who is a divine Person, is the same as following a religion, which is a system. Then, also the assumption is that someone who believes in Christ basically does so because it feels emotionally good. This last thing might be true for Christians who don’t have anything to fear but how about those who follow Christ, knowing that it can cost their lives? Do they do that because they like to feel all fluffy inside, or do they actually have good reasons? I’ll let you decide about that.

There was another interesting comment:

“I really don’t understand why Christians say non-believers feel guilty or just want to keep sinning. That is absolutely nonsensical to me how someone who doesn’t believe in a divine creator, would for some reason still believe in the rules set by that creator.”

So, now the questions arises who actually decides right from wrong? If it is dependent on humans we are in big trouble! That would be the end of our civilisation. Look at the past what happened when humans started to decide what was good and what not. So, the moral giver need to be above the rules. It needs to be someone who is mighty enough to ultimately enforce the rules. Sounds like God to me. An unbeliever who still obeys these moral rules is thus simply obeying God without him or her realising it. This comment came from someone who was very honest about his or her past. He or she used to be a believer and read the whole Bible but could not get satisfying answers on hard questions. The result is sad, and I feel sorry for this person.

Overall, a very interesting start of a series. There were many very positive comments as well. Let’s conclude this one with the comment given by Grumpy:

“All we can do is strive to live our lives according to Christs teachings. Share the message of salvation and pray for all mankind, believers or not.”

Video 1 – No due sense of spiritual want

Boston in essence stated that humans are inherently in love with their own belongings and that they believe they have enough. That what they have might help them in the here and now, and because of this they think they don’t need anything else. In fact, an unbeliever doesn’t have a clue about that what he or she is missing. They don’t see that they lack the treasure of eternal life and the spiritual richness that comes with it. In other words, they don’t know what the miss.

Among the comment there was one from a fellow Dutch man. It is written in Dutch, but I will translate some interesting points.

“When I read the Bible I get the overarching feeling to stay away from this figure [God]. Plagues, infanticide, drowning everybody, and at the end the only comfort one gets is for not being tortured for eternity.”

After this he says something about my behaviour and that I am not on the right track to receive the salvation I preach. I leave that bit aside because I never received an answer when I asked him about it. The first part, that bit about the horrible God, is what I call a typical Dawkinian move. Richard Dawkins is doing this all the time. He portrays the God of the Bible as a horrible being, not worth any worship.

Two things wrong with this approach. Firstly, the god who’s being portrayed like this doesn’t sound like the real Biblical God. So, together with apologist John Lennox, I don’t believe in the god as described by Dawkins. It is just a wrong picture of the Biblical God and indeed, such a god doesn’t deserve any praise. This approach can be categorised under the logical fallacies, and it is called the straw-man fallacy. Secondly, when I tell you about emperor Nero you would be a bit bonkers to say that he didn’t exist right? However, if I follow the line of the argument given, I would say that Nero was crazy, a murderer and complete lunatic, so you should not believe he existed at all. Well, I hope it is clear that this line of argument doesn’t work. Neither does it with God. Even if God is like my fellow Dutch man says He is, it doesn’t make Him disappear or go away. He still exists, whether you like it or not.

I would also read this comment:

“Which religions are the wrong ones and how do you know?”

I can be short about this one. I’ve already made a video about this question, you’ll find the link in the description below.ⁱ

Video 2 – No true sight and sense of their own sinfulness

Reason two given by Boston is the lack of correct self reflection among many unbelievers. They have no clue about the terrible state their in because of their own sin. Many are masters in sweet talk away their own bad behaviours.

“Oh yes, I do lie so now and then. Who doesn’t? We all lie but that doesn’t make me as bad as Stalin.”

“Sure, I have done wrong things in my live… But that doesn’t make me the same as a serial killer!”

As long as the unbeliever thinks he or she is doing fine, they don’t see the need of a Saviour.

In the comment section this one made me laugh:

“Christianity was a way to destroy our culture and Pagan Gods which were part of our tribe/genetic heritage. Christianity is communism, ill pass.”

Christ did not order us to destroy cultures and the rituals that comes with it. Actually, He came to set us free from oppressing belief systems. Changing cultures is not the task of an evangelist. Christ can be worshipped in many different settings and in many forms. The rural Africans can worship Him with their drums and dances and the ‘stiffer’ European can remain seated while singing. It doesn’t matter because God wants to be worshipped by people who do so with all of their hearts. For those who are interested, I’ve written an article about this topic. You’ll find the link in the description below.ⁱⁱ

Then, to say that Christianity is communism… O boy! Someone needs to get some history lessons here. Communism is all about abolishing religions, especially those nasty followers of Christ. You know, these people who want to give away their money to the work of God instead of to the work of the communist party. Those people who want to teach you that you are created in God’s image which means you are an individual and not just a link in a society that needs to produce. Also, what sets communism apart from Christianity? Right! Freedom of speech. Christians have always challenged regimes concerning freedom of speech. Again, you’ll find a link to a video about this in the description.ⁱⁱⁱ

Video 3 – They have no idea about ‘the clouds of wrath which are hanging over their heads

Many unbelievers seem to be at ease with their world-view. Seemingly relax, they live their lives. Not nervous about the things that are coming. They believe that this life is all there is and that they need to make as much as possible out of it. If they only realised that the anger of God is as real as can be. God’s anger about all the wrongdoings has been satisfied by Christ’s offer. The solution is there, but many unbelievers just don’t realise they need His offer to avoid being under God’s wrath.

Many nasty comments on this video and also many very encouraging comments as well, which is nice. How about this comment:

“And the reason people do not believe in god now is because most people can read, lol. (well, it’s a main reason, most people are becoming atheists… they are atheist because they read the bible, finally).”

To say that people become atheists because they can read is ludicrous. We live in a rural setting on Madagascar and I know many people who can read… When I ask them to proofread some of my translation work they hesitate. Why? Because they read, but they have a hard time understanding. Just starting to read the Bible without having a clue about the historical and cultural setting in which something has been written, is akin towards misunderstanding. We can find an example of this in Acts 8. An Ethiopian official bought a scroll with the writing of Isaiah 53. On his way back he is reading it aloud and Philip hears this. Apparently the Ethiopian had no trouble reading different languages. However, when Philips asked him whether he understood what Isaiah was saying, the Ethiopian had to admit he didn’t. So, Philip explained him about the Messiah and short after the Ethiopian knew enough and wanted to be baptised.^iv

Also, I found that one who reads the Bible and uses atheistic sources to have explained to him or her what they just have read, tend to lose their faith more easily. Do I say that the Bible can not be understood without a proper teacher? No, not at all. But there are parts in the Bible that demand a little more background information. People tend to become sceptical when they read about the Old Testament laws or about the Israelites who needed to conquer Canaan. And without a proper guide toward these writings one may end up totally confused about God. I will put a link to an article about the so-called genocide episodes in the description below.^v

Video 4 – They are strangers to their utter inability to help themselves

The unbeliever is under the impression they can help themselves. This video exploded! More than 4000 views and about 59 comments. Who am I to say that somebody is unable? And true enough, many of us are perfectly fine when it comes to help ourselves. We know how to repair our car, how to stand for our rights, how to make a good deal when buying a new washing machine. And so on and so forth. We’ve become so good at helping ourselves that we end up thinking we can help ourselves when it comes to salvation as well. And this last point is exactly where it goes wrong. When it comes to our salvation we are utterly unable. We need Jesus!

Now for the comments. Obviously I’m not going to read them all but I will highlight some parts in which people actually proof the fact that they are indeed unknowingly about the fact that they are utterly unable to help themselves.

“I have never relied on a sky-daddy to help me, and I’m only willing to seek help when I actually need it, specifically from people who exist and are willing. Atheists are much more likely to have financial stability, better health, and longer lives. That translates to taking better care of (our) children.”

This is precisely what Boston said. They believe they can do all things themselves and in the process they don’t need help. This person said he is only willing to seek help when he really needs it. Totally oblivious of the fact that he is in desperate need of salvation he continues by stating that atheists are mostly better off in live. This is quit a remark to make without giving any citation to a survey or investigation. But no worries, I did a quick search. Besides the numerous articles written by atheists, who all claim that they are much more successful than religious folk, I found a post in which someone actually did some proper research. The blogpost doesn’t seem to be online any more, but hooray for the WayBackMachine on Archive.org.

According to Sean Thomas, the writer of the post, religion is good for your mental health in a variety of ways. He states that believers tend to have better immune systems and lower blood pressure, and in some circumstances recover from hospital better. Not only that, but theists are happier and have more children.

You might want to discuss why this is the case, but that is besides the point. Fact remains that religion improves quality of life. In other words: being an atheist does not make sense even practically speaking. I mean, even if atheists are right and there is no God, they still tend to have worse wellbeing and less happy lives. Think about it, and atheist has nothing to gain except the possibility of being lost for ever, and the reality of poorer quality of life.

Even when atheists are right in their idea that there is no god, the theists will stay happier, healthier, more generous and more resistant against bad behaviour. Finally, the Christian would look at life with the hope that is within him. The hope in something lasting and meaningful, eternity in heaven.^vi

Because this video is the number one concerning the view count, I will respond on an extra comment.

“I am almost 70 now, couldn’t have gotten there without helping myself (very few helped me) unless you mean that my inability to believe in your biblical yarns makes it so in your book. I was born into christianity but when I grew up and started doing my own thinking I soon became an X-christian for what to me are obvious reasons. Do you know how big the known universe is… well the people who wrote all those yarns thousands of years ago with the help of the all-knowing had no idea or concept of it else they would have at least mentioned it. Instead, what we got was a flat Earth and a celestial dome sprinkled with bright lights.”

Well, age is of no concern of course. I know people who are well in their eighties and just accepted Christ. They walked around, all these years, thinking they could do without Him. Then I also know people who have been Christians from a very young age. They never left Him despite all the reading they have done or because they came to a point where they realised how big the universe is.

One cannot be born INTO Christianity. Imagen a chicken pen. What would have happened if your mother gave birth to you in that pen? Would that make you a chicken? You can only be a chicken when you are born out of one… Likewise, you can only be a real Christian when you are born again. Not out of your mother but out of God. You can read about this in John 3:1-18. Jesus said to Nicodemus “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” So, there should be a moment in your life where you make the decision. You cannot simply say that you are a Christian because your parents are, or because you go to church.

Finally, how on earth can you say that there is no God when you marvel at the universe. To say that the writers of the Bible had to mention it is actually betraying a lack of knowledge of the Bible on the part of the commentator. The Bible is cramped with references to the fastness of the universe. The flat earth idea is nowhere to be found in the Bible. It was Washington Irvings who wrote a book about Columbus in 1828. He said that the church fathers warned Columbus that he could fall of the earth when he would sail too far. It was absurd what Irving wrote in his book.^vii Both Columbus and his competitors knew that you could sail west to India. Not a flat earth but the sturdiness of the ships where questioned. They simply did not know for sure whether their ships could handle such a large distance. The myth of a flat earth was most popular between 1870 en 1920, because mostly the anti-religious folk (such as Darwin and Leyll) used it to discredit the Biblical narrative.

What’s more, Eratosthenes, a mathematician and astronomer from Alexandria, who live in the third century before Christ, already calculated the circumference of the earth.^viii Many early church fathers just believed that the earth was a round ball^ix and in the Middle Ages almost every scientist said that the earth had to be round.

So, by all means, stay sceptical if you like. I don’t mind if you call yourself an atheist or whether you think of yourself as being very bright! But if you really want to be serious you should stay away from the typical slander. These arguments have been disproven time and again, and using them doesn’t really help your case…

Video 5 – they do not feel their need of Christ

So why do unbelievers don’t feel their need for Christ? Boston said that’s because many of them are so full of themselves that they think they’ve got it all. What more, than that what they already have, can Christ offer them? And because they have a very high esteem of themselves they have a hard time to understand that their abilities do not qualify to save their lives. If the unbeliever begins to realise that they need salvation because they sin and have sinned in the past and that they will sin again tomorrow, he or she might start to grasp the huge problem they are in. No amount of good works can save them from eternity without God. That last bit is also part of the Gospel, you know! The Gospel does not only talk about heaven and eventually the new earth. No, it also explains precisely what it is going to be like to live for eternity in the place without God’s presence. Traditionally we call that place ‘hell’. Jesus used the name of the biggest rubbish dump near Jerusalem, the Gehenna. We, as Christians, should not be ashamed to share the whole Gospel. True, some will ridicule you, but others might actually listen and start to realise that they are in need of a Saviour!

So how about the comments on this video? Well, that’s easy! It is like my Canadian brother @KC9UDX said:

“The comments are peaceful on this one. Blessed be the Prince of Peace, the LORD most high, for ever and ever[…]”

You might want to read the comments made by @AceTheologicalCompanyComments. He or she explained nicely what the cross is standing for. He or she… Is doing so by quoting several Bible texts and in his own words:

“I suggest you put on your sunglasses when you read these verses — they are that bright”

Video 6 – They see not their own unworthiness of a Saviour’s help

At first, I had some difficulties to understand Boston’s idea on this one. But after some thinking it dawned on me. It is all about the way many think. Many, and not only unbelievers, think in terms of rights. I have the right to be happy, to have food, to have a job, to go to heaven…. Uhh, hold on! Says Boston! Nobody is worthy enough to even come close to God. Let alone to go to heaven.

Imagen this, last year you have beaten someone and robbed him from his money. You left the guy half dead behind. It took this person, your victim, 6 months to find you. Did he come to punish you? No, he wanted to bring you a gift and with the gift comes forgiveness. Would you feel like being worthy receiving that gift and the person’s forgiveness? I think you would feel very small and wouldn’t have much to offer except a thankful heart.

As long as the unbeliever cannot understand his low position towards the Creator of the universe, he is in a bad situation.

In the comment section my friend from Canada was sharing again. This time he said:

“It is Sunday morning; I am awake before everyone else, watching your video as the sun rises. This is becoming a satisfying routine […]”

O boy! I don’t even dare to say that I would do the same… Sunday morning! Normally I am always the first to get up. I set the table, make tea and coffee. Then I wake up the kids and when everybody is having his breakfast, and I, my coffee, my brain begins to work. No, I am still not a morning person. For many that’s a surprise because my first career was that of a bread baker. But I am happy to hear that others are more active in the morning.

Video 7 – They have no anxiety for the supply of their soul-wants

Look around you. How many people do you know who spend all of their time on spending more money. They are very diligent. They look at all the stuff they have, or they look at the wonderful traditions they have build into their lives. Likewise, they are by no means worried about that what they really need, salvation! There is always time to work on that right? It is like those five foolish virgins in the Bible. They did not take care or their future and when the big moment finally came they weren’t ready! So, to all my followers and people who are watching this video. Please do not ignore that voice inside of you which is telling you that you need to be saved! It is the most important decision you need to make in your entire life! That feeling of anxiety isn’t there to annoy you but to warn you! Don’t neglect the moment.

A good way to conclude this section is by quoting @AceTheologicalCompanyComments’s comment:

“Keep in mind… That one day… Every knee will bow… and every tongue will confess. To the glory of God”
[Philippians 2]

Video 8 – They are not content with Christ but on terms of their own making

The last video is a bit of a shocker. At least, that is what I think. It hasn’t been online that long yet, so it doesn’t many views and comments yet. Still, I believe this reason is very real, and I’ve seen it all the time. Most unbelievers will flat out deny this reason. What reason am I talking about? The fact that many will look at the price it will cost to be saved, and, if the asking price is too high, they will go without. In other words: Many unbelievers do realise they need the Gospel, but they have a fixed price of what they are willing to pay for it. When it demands a little more than that what they want to give, they will willingly go without it. Is following Christ telling them not to look at other women any more? To bad, they can do without Christ. Does it mean that they need to chance their lifestyle? Giving up their beloved secret habits that our not honouring God? No way! If getting saved means giving up certain behaviours and following Christ on the narrow path, then they can do without. Without any shame they even brag about it, telling other that they are fine on their own.

This is the sad truth and belief me, I’ve been there! It takes courage to give up that what you think you have and start following Jesus. Maybe, just maybe, that’s the whole point. Isn’t God looking for people who are really courages. People who dare to trust in Him. People who know that they can only be the person God wants them to be, when they accept Christ’s salvation and start living life without fear, full of the Holy Spirit.

I am already looking forward to the comments… Might be a lot of fun to read them.

Speaking of comments. I just received one on this video:

“Reason #1: I’m an adult, and I am not going to live my life believing in fairytales.”

He is an adult! Yes, that might be a problem indeed. Many adults already have a fixed idea about life. They are willing to learn new things as long as these things don’t disturb their tranquillity. So, studying the things that concern eternity is per definition disturbing for many adults. Imagen changing your life! So, they rather just tell you that they are really smart and just can’t believe in a fairy-tale like you do. End of discussion. No disturbance of their nice and cosy lifestyle. Then they walk away, proud about the super smart comment they just have made, and thinking that they leave you behind as the dumb one.

But really! If that’s the only reason one wants to use to avoid having to follow Christ, then they have proven Boston’s points all together. This is exactly what the apostle Paul already said in Romans 1:18-20. I will read it from the Amplified version for clarity:

“¹⁸For [God does not overlook sin and] the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who in their wickedness suppress and stifle the truth, ¹⁹because that which is known about God is evident within them [in their inner consciousness], for God made it evident to them. ²⁰For ever since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through His workmanship [all His creation, the wonderful things that He has made], so that they [who fail to believe and trust in Him] are without excuse and without defence.”

This is the end of this series called ‘Eight Reasons Why People Won’t Accept The Gospel.’

I fully enjoyed it myself because many of Boston’s point were eye-openers for me as well. The videos received a lot of attention and many commented on them.

I am still thinking about what I going to discuss in the next videos. I always wanted to make a little series about Romans 13. You know, the part of the Bible that seems to teach us that we need to obey the government. That’s the part that has been used by the most oppressing regimes to tell their subjects to behave.

I am also thinking about a series about the strongest apologetic arguments. There are some pretty sturdy arguments to be used but at a first glance they can be a bit overwhelming in their complexity. It might be a nice job to explain them and to break them down in a way they are easy to understand.

Anyway, I still have some time to think about it. Let me know what you think in the comment section. That might help.

God bless you and be strong in the Lord!