Assessment and Faith

Introduction

I don’t know what you envision when you hear the story about Thomas, but I think it is a dramatic story. For whatever reason, Thomas is not present with the other disciples when Jesus appears to them after his resurrection. Who knows where he was. Maybe it was just too painful for him to be with the others and he was staying with some friends. Maybe he was just taking a break. It had been an emotionally draining past few days. Wherever he was, one thing we know for sure—when he is told that Jesus is alive, he doesn’t believe it. And it’s more than “you’re joking” kind of remark. This is clear and concise. “There is no way he can be alive. The only way I will believe is for me to see him with my own eyes and touch the wounds with my own hands.” If seeing is believing then Thomas needed more than just seeing; he was going to have touch, hear, smell—the whole gambit of information was going to have to be given to him. He was going to have to experience Jesus for himself.

Can you imagine what the room must have been like the next time Thomas was with all the disciples and Jesus appears? Jesus appears. The disciples are excited and then begin to move away and make a path from Jesus to Thomas. The spotlight is on just the two of them. Jesus locks eyes on Thomas and refuses to let his gaze move. Thomas is both shocked and humbled. He knows who it is in front of him. What kind of expression does Jesus have on his face? Is it stern; sad; smiling; passive. I think it is an expression which portrays this—“look at me Thomas; take it all in; come and believe. I will not hurt you. You are mine and you must have your proof.” And so Jesus steps toward Thomas. “Touch me Thomas. Don’t doubt anymore and believe that I am alive.”

The tension in the room must have been thick and heavy. What was Thomas going to do with Jesus? My imagination sees Thomas at Jesus’ feet face down and with tears streaming down his cheeks—tears of joy mingled with fear. And his voice is barely above a whisper as his throat tightens from the emotion of the moment. “My Lord and my God.” And with that not only is the tension broken but the moment gives way to a statement signifying the importance of faith. “Blessed are those who have not seen me and yet believe that I am who I claim to be.” Whenever we speak with others about Jesus, Thomas’ response may be what we may receive. “I don’t know about all this Jesus stuff. If I could have some proof then I might be willing to listen.” We should anticipate resistance when we teach about Jesus. So how do we handle it?

Reactions

Throughout scripture, God calls on people to make a decision about him. But often those decisions are coupled with life changing experiences. Jesus during his ministry welcomed discussion and thoughts. As people struggled to make sense of Jesus’s claims and trying to make all the pieces of the puzzle fit together, Jesus allowed questions and doubts to be expressed. When he performed miracles even if no one else believed, the one who was the recipient of the miracle believed. It is hard to deny your own experience. So God is willing for people to ask hard questions as they come to faith. Truth has nothing to fear from difficult questions and objections. Such questions cause us to become more committed in our faith.

So what kind of reactions can we anticipate from those who are willing to listen to the story of Jesus. Remember these are our friends not strangers.

First, a reference to poor examples. The words may not be exact but something will be said about hypocrites or being mistreated by Christians or in some way that from what they have seen they don’t want to be a part of Christianity. So how do you handle this?

    (1) Verbalize your own past concerns about Christianity. Help them to understand that you had similar experiences. Remind them gently that poor experiences do not mean that you give up on the whole thing.

    (2) Make sure that your life and your words are consistent. Model for them true Christianity. It is hard to negate something when there is a good example in front of them. As a part of this, invite your friend to experience other solid Christians. This may be experienced in your home or in an informal Christian setting.

Second, there may be a reaction to poor teaching. Some of our friends will have had prior experiences in churches. In such cases, they remember things from the preacher which made God to be a bad god. Perhaps all they ever heard was that God was mad at them; thus, their view of God is one of deep resentment and bitterness. Or perhaps they heard more “don’t” teaching rather than grace. So their image of God is of a policeman. These images are not easily overcome. How do you handle this?

    (1) Without being cute, encourage your friend to discuss their image of God. Say something like this "Tell me about the God you don't believe in. Maybe I don't believe in him either."

    (2) Suggest good reading material. J.B. Phillips "Your God Is Too Small" or Lee Strobel's book "The Case for Jesus or The Case for Faith."

Third, there may be natural fears about Christianity. Such a monumental decision as our friends are being asked to consider should cause some hesitancy. To decide for Christ means giving up some things. We have to be willing for people to count the cost.

    (1) Remind your friend that God is more of a giver than a taker. Whatever they may give up will be replaced with God's great love. In conjunction with this remind them that God is not a cosmic killjoy. He is not interested in making life hard, but in bringing real life to those who want to know him. (John 10:10)

Fourth, there might be some intellectual problems. These objections and questions must be taken very seriously. There are some who want to know how they can trust the Bible much less Jesus. This can be one of those areas that are particularly intimidating to us. We may not know a lot of the scientific and theological background to the Bible and so these kind of questions and objections can seem formidable. We have some very qualified folks here who can help answer some of those questions. So don’t ever give up on them. Answer honestly, “I don’t know the answer to that question, but I will do some study and get back with you” and then do so. Again there may be some other ways to handle such questions.

    (1) Good reading from Josh McDowell, Ravi Zacharias, C.S. Lewis, R.C. Sproul, and Norman Geisler may all be helpful.

    (2) Second, be ready to confront. In a kind way we must help our friend realize that two completely different views cannot be held about Jesus and both be true. They may both be false but they both can't be true. To say that Jesus is just one more god among all gods is not the same that Jesus is Lord of all. One or both of those views are wrong. So we must encourage our friends to come to faith just as Thomas did.

Finally, some will react defensively to your attempts to help them to faith. They may use any of the above reactions to throw you off track. But the real dilemma may be in what they are not saying. The truth may be that your friend likes his life just as it is and does not want to give up what he or she is doing at the present. Their attempt may be to keep you at arm’s length. How do we handle this?

    (1) First, state the truth. Tell your friend that you sense a reluctance to seriously discuss spiritual matters. Then ask, what are you afraid of? If you have made a true friendship then that person might be willing to tell you what they don't want to give up. So you then assist them in a cost basis analysis. Take their moral problem and help them list the benefits of such sin and then list the benefits of God's plan. In this way you are keeping the important thing at the forefront—your friend's relationship with God.

Our job in this whole process is to help our friend to know Jesus. There is no room for arrogance. There is no room for rolling the eyes. Any question is a serious question and any objection should be handled with care. Just a couple more important things that you need to be doing.

Pray every day for your friend. Let them know that you are praying for them and if it seems appropriate help them to pray too. I believe God takes such prayers very seriously.

Don’t take the questions and objections personally. You are not the one on trial—God is. He can handle the doubts, fears, and questions. If he can handle them then don’t take them as your own. You are trying to lead your friend to God’s side. And if their objections offend you, then you may think this is all about you rather than about God. Don’t forget your purpose—to lead another to the will of God.

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