“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” (Romans 10:9). (To inquire more about belief, now or after reading this post, click here: Searching? Consider this…)
I’ve been in debates over Bible passages like that one, as well as John 14:6 and John 3:16, with people who seem opposed to believing. I often hear something like, “That Jesus-stuff is a myth. But since you’re the religious one, try to prove it as that burden lies with you.” I then try, but usually my Apologetics are not adequate for them. I admit, my apologetic ability needs refining. But, when my part of the discussion/debate moves beyond the tight window of what is considered allowable—pure scientific evidence, it is usually thrown out as non-allowable evidence for belief in God. There indeed is a lot of other, non-scientific evidence available to consider belief in God. Can’t it at least be considered rather than simply discarded as “myth?”
Moving on. I highlight one thing, with which I imagine we all can agree: responsibility and accountability before God ultimately lie with each individual. I write that, understanding that some of you who are my friends and who do not agree with “belief in God” will not necessarily disagree with that statement, but it will probably not be meaningful to you. Yes, effectively explaining Truth about God—or burden of proof if you want to call it that—is a responsibility of a pastor like me, and really, of every Christian called to be a witness, but ultimately, IF “God is” as described in the Bible, THEN every individual will come before Him and have to give an accounting to Him. The three parables in Matthew 25 are clear about that.
IT’S YOUR THING; BETWEEN YOU AND GOD. And, I imagine that’s really how we want it to be, right? If you say, “prove it,” that will be for another day/another blog post, because I realize the concept of faith can be complicated and nonsensical (Religious Nones are Growing) for many of us in this Post Modern Age.