And Yet…Believed

By Pastor Chad

Though rare, there are still folks that believe the earth is flat. The so-called “Flat Earth Society” has annual meetings and conferences to discuss their theories and ideas. Despite the fact that knowledgeable individuals have known since Aristotle that the earth was round, there are obstinate deniers that reject the evidence. And the evidence is abundant! There are testimonials from those who have been to space. We have hundreds of photos taken from satellites. Anyone can see the earth's shadow on the moon, which is clearly circular. And we have several on the ground experiments that confirm the earth is indeed round. There is good reason to believe the earth is not flat. 

Given his skepticism in the gospel of John, Thomas gets a bad rap. Indeed, he is commonly called “Doubting Thomas.” Granted, some of the verbiage is warranted, but ultimately Thomas represents the fickleness of the human heart. The sin nature within us makes us skeptical of the gospel. It makes us skeptical of our Lord’s resurrection. There is good reason to believe in Jesus’ resurrection (see here). In fact, Thomas had very good reason to believe Jesus had risen from the dead. Over ten reliable witnesses testified to having seen the risen Lord. Despite these credible witnesses, however, Thomas declared, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” To me, it seems that Thomas set the bar too high. He wasn’t willing to accept the witness of his friends; he wanted more than was required.

Peter tells us that we should be ready to give a defense for the hope within us (1 Peter 3:15). The truth of the matter, however, is there are some so obstinately opposed to Christianity, it seems no evidence will do. For example, the outspoken and infamous atheist, Richard Dawkins, was asked what kind of evidence could be provided that would convince him of the existence of God? He answered, “Well, I’m starting to think nothing would.” Dawkins claims that even if he was to see the resurrected Jesus–in some Damascus Road type experience–he still wouldn’t believe. In such a case, he would assume he was having some manic experience. 

We shake our heads at Dawkins (and perhaps at Thomas), but we too were once just like them. Before salvation, we all are either skeptical, fickle, hardhearted, and/or obstinate. Sin doesn’t impede our ability to reason, but it does hinder our willingness to accept the truth of the gospel. All have good reason to believe Jesus rose from the dead, but most do not. Thus, non-belief isn’t just a problem of rationality. We cannot overlook the power of sin. It holds us captive and renders our hearts unyielding. Thankfully, we have a God that is not encumbered by our sin. He has the power to open hearts and minds to the truth of His resurrection. And He does so–constantly. 

Our job as Christians is to declare and pray. Declare the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, defending its veracity whenever objected. And we pray. Pray, as Paul did, that God will grant repentance to our lost neighbors, friends, family, and loved ones (2 Timothy 2:25).