The Notes

We continue our message series called "6 Reasons" this coming Wednesday night, January 28, 2026, with the message: 

"6 Reasons the Second Coming is Getting Closer," or put another way - 6 Reasons to Anticipate the Return of Jesus.   Are we living in "the end times" as some people claim?   What are the "end times" anyway, and what does the Bible tell us?  Join us as we share answers about the state of world events from a Biblical perspective - in a positive and encouraging way.  Don't forget, we now meet for worship at 6:00 p.m. and would love to have you join us for a little mid-week encouragement for the soul.

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This past Wednesday nigh, January 28, 2026, was week 4 of our message series called, "6 Reasons."  This series is designed to answer common questions, cover current topics, and build our faith and maturity as Christians.  This week's topic was on 6 Reasons in Defense of Christianity.  

More and more people are leaving faith and religion behind.  they have doubts and questions, and there is not a lot of positive discussion happening.  But  Peter wrote in 1 Peter 3:15 – “Always be ready to give an answer when someone asks you about your hope.”  So we share answers tonight that we can offer when you these topics arise.  And they will!

But keep in mind - how we answer matters.  When we engage in a discussion with a skeptic, it requires kindness and respect.   We can't just say, that's stupid or nonsense.  We can't just dismiss someone as a fool or idiot.  We have to plant seeds for God in a kind and sensitive way because people has usually had thoughtful questions that weren't answered before, and the Holy Spirit is the only thing that can bring someone into faith in Jesus.  So we can do our part in sharing faith, and then we have to leave it to God.

Here are 6 reasons on which we can defend our faith:

1. Followers of Jesus Are Hypocrites.

Many people have abandoned church (a place for answers) because of hypocrisy.  They see hate, not love.   Rejection, not inclusion.  Judgment, not grace.  I believe Hypocrisy comes in 2 ways: inconsistency and/or immaturity.

Inconsistency is knowing what’s right, but not always doing it.  Every Christian & every person in the world suffers from this.  We’re on a die, but we cheat.   We believe in healthy living, but we skip the gym.  We support the country, but will burn the flag or storm the capital in protest.  We value honesty, but will tell "a little white lie."  That's inconsistency, a common trait among all human beings.

Immaturity is acknowledging that we walk by faith, but stumble pretty often.  We try to do the right thing, but have a lack of insight.  We believe in love and forgiveness, and wrestle with forgiving someone who has hurt us.  We deal constantly with new areas that God shows us we need to improve.  For example, we are better with patience, but then realize our actions or comments have been rude.  We know about loving our neighbor, but one day realize that we've had bitterness against someone that has never been forgiven.   Truth is, the Holy Spirit convicts us of the ways we still need to be refined to be more like our Heavenly Father.  It's a constant process.  Christian Maturity is not just learning more about God, but learning more & more that we’re still being refined.

So the hypocrisy argument is flawed because it ignores that all people are flawed.  None are perfect; we all have inconsistent actions and immature wisdom.

2. The Problem of Evil and Suffering

Another atheist argument is that the existence of widespread suffering in the world is incompatible with an all-powerful, all-knowing, and benevolent God.  This ignores the fact that all people have free will.  We are not puppets.  Every person is given a choice in how to live, what to believe, and how to respond.

The Bible puts it this way in Joshua 24:15 - "choose this day whom you will serve."  That means we have a choice.  And Moses wrote in Deuteronomy 30 – “I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse.”  We choose which path to follow.

People make choices that bring either good or suffering, and that can't be blamed on God because people make those choices, not God.  God's wish is for good; his desire is for love.  And that brings us to another point, there is God, but there is also an Enemy.   We have both good & evil because Satan is the fallen angel who wages war against the goodness of God.  Eph. 6:12 – “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”  That is the explanation for why problems of evil exist in a world created by an all powerful God.  He is powerful, but He created people with free will.  People cause the suffering we see around us, not God.

3. Science vs Faith

When science is the argument, it usually means someone is struggling with the Big Bang Theory vs God’s creation.

Big Bang - a naturalistic expansion from an extremely hot dense point which took billions of years.  But in Genesis - the first book of the Bible - describes a supernatural creation by God in six days, with a distinct order of creation.  Creation begins with water and land, not a fiery explosion.  And it certainly doesn't have man evolving from apes.

There are 3 points to make here.  First, science measures time by the way it knows – it asks how long it would take for something to be this old by using the usual process.  But God is not usual.  He’s extraordinary.  Adam was created immediately as a man, not a baby who grew into a man.  

And scientific measures and concepts related to the Big Bang theory keep changing because science itself realizes it is not sufficient to explain all that happened.

Second science says Earth is 4.5 billion years old.  That is calculated from first measuring the decay rates of moon rocks & meteorites to establish a baseline.  But earth was created on day 3, before the moon and other heavenly stars on day 4.   Not the same measurement.  But even more important, the Bible says in 2 Peter 3:8 – “do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” God’s creation happened in God’s "day."  It was not necessarily our 24-hour day.  Genesis gives us more information about the Creator than exact facts about creation.

Third, a chaotic, random explosion cannot account for the design and order we see in creation.  So many things are dependent on other things to survive; that doesn't happen by accident or without plan.  And finally, this chaos explosion is lacking one fundamental premise.  In science, something cannot come from nothing.  So what caused the bang in the first place?  No answers to that.  The truth is - humanity will never be able to answer every question that we have.  Some things must await gaining the ultimate knowledge we will gain in heaven.  

4. Lack of Proof that God Exists.

Some want proof of God, so they set up a hypothesis as in natural science, and attempt to test empirically for God in the same way they test other hypotheses.  Unsurprisingly, the “God hypothesis” fails such tests, so scientific atheists conclude that the hypothesis is false and that belief in God is unwarranted and irrational.  This ignores the reality that things exist that are not directly observable.  We have atoms, electrons, protons, and neutrons; we know they exist but can’t be seen.  Science doesn't doubt that.  We have many other things around us that science accepts: a bluetooth signal.  Radio waves.  Sound waves.  Oxygen.  Odors.  Tastebuds.  UV and Infrared rays.  The wind – we see it’s effects, but not the actual wind.   Just because you can’t see something doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.  Jesus performed miracles to give people proof that God exists and that He was the Son of God.  Miracles still happen today.  We need to talk more about the miracles in our own lives as proof that God exists and is still at work.

5. Proof that Jesus Was Resurrected

Some doubt that the resurrection story could be true.  But let's look at what is documented about it.  First, one argument is that Jesus came out of the tomb three days later alive because He was never dead.  But eyewitnesses saw Jesus executed, and put in tomb.  Centurions of that day were experts in death; they checked Him to make sure Jesus was dead.  So yes, He was really dead.

Second, the tomb was guarded by Soldiers (more than one!), had a very large stone rolled in front, and was placed with a seal that could not be broken accept under penalty of death.  It would have been impossible to open the tomb and steal the body under the circumstances.  And if someone stole Jesus' body, they would’ve presented it to say, “He was a fake.”  That didn't happen.  A rumor came that someone must have stolen the body, but that was from Jewish leaders who bribed soldiers to say so - there was no proof of such a plan.  Third, you have to ask yourself if the Disciples were all willing to die for a lie?  Before seeing the resurrected Jesus they ran away, they hid, and they deserted Him because of fear.  Peter denied Him.  So could they suddenly have been brave enough to tell stories of a resurrection Jesus that they claim to know?  Doing so would be blasphemy and subject them to the same fate as Jesus - crucifixion.  What changed them and made them bold?  The Resurrection.   That moment changed them  - to see the empty tomb changed everything.  And we have testimonial proof in addition to the empty tomb.  And in every day life, testimonies support jury verdicts every day!

6. Handling Doubts

Doubts and questions are common.  Doubts happen because of the Enemy, and doubts occurred within the first few chapters of the Bible.  Recall that the serpent said to Eve – “did God really say you can’t eat from any tree?”   He was planting seeds of doubt, one of his favorite tools.  Abraham and Sarah had doubts.  So did Zechariah, and his son,  John the Baptist.  Thomas had doubts, but so did Peter & John - that's why they ran to the tomb after Mary reported it was empty.  It's common to have doubts every now and then.  But use your doubts to dig deeper and build your faith.  And when talking with others who are struggling with doubts, keep Jude 1:22 –“you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering.”  And when you are merciful to those who doubt, it means to be merciful even to yourself.  Remember the man who said to Jesus, “I do believe . . . help my unbelief.”  (Mark 9:24).  Jesus was patient with him, and healed his son.  God is patient with us.  He understands this trick of the enemy, and if you are willing to open your heart to Him and trust God - you can receive a stronger faith.  Jesus said: “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”  Jesus was saying we have to  trust Him; that's what faith is.  Accept it and stop questioning everything; let down the walls and the peace of God can come in.