Atheist symbol (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A man came to me to fight a war of reason.  He came to do war with the Gospel of peace in Christ Jesus.  He presented an argument which, at the surface, appears to be a valid questioning.  He asked, “How is it that your God will consign millions of people to hell simply because they worship Him under different names and ways of worship?”  In his question he assumes that those people worship the Living God.  And he assumes that his answer has a perfect right to be asked.  There is a difference between ignorant worship of what is false, and worship filled with understanding by the Holy Spirit of God in Christ Jesus.  And he assumes that their earnest ignorance is equal with innocence.  And he assumes that his lips have a right to be heard, and his ears deserve to hear the answer.

While we talked I found the only answer I could give him was that he was being arrogant, full of pride and pomp.  He did not approach me to understand but to tear down and destroy.   But now with reflection, prayer, and a searching out of the matter, I have come to understand the answer with clarity.

We read Abraham’s words: “Will not the judge of the whole earth do what is right?”  When God judges a man fit for the kingdom of heaven He does so by His eternal wisdom and understanding. With humility, we leave such judgments of ignorant men to the wisdom and understanding of God.  Who are we to know the answer to a question that should never be asked without humility?  Regardless the answer God might give for any one man of ignorance, we can be sure that there is an innocent ignorance.  And there is also a proud ignorance; that which a man holds dearer than the wisdom of God (arrogance).  Which do you determine will find favor with the Lord of Life?

It is folly which judges the Most High God in His Holy ways.  It is rebellion, hatred, envy, greed, lust, and an unholy madness to call the Lord of Life to judgment by our own limited understanding.  Who are we to know what is right?  God saw fit to present His Son with Greatness.  Man is part of that Glorification for God’s Son, in that God allowed us to kill Jesus.  And should we then judge His decision?

The one who asks such things, for the sake of self-justification, is not looking for what is good or right.  That one is looking to find fault in the God of eternity, and to do harm to God’s people.
Had he been looking for righteousness the question would not have been spoken.  There would have been humility and a willingness to understand what has been given to man to know.  There would have appeared a desire to know the basic things of Jesus.  He would have earnestly desired to know if worshiping Jesus produced that “something better” that the worshipers of false gods could not find.

Had there been a sincere concern for the state of those who do not know the Lord Jesus, he would have been asking for help to come to know the God we serve, so that he too could help them avoid certain death.  Instead, he used the hapless unbelievers to make an accusation toward Jesus.  His folly was perceived, and is now made plain.

He had not grasped the basic concept of The Holy God.  That man did not consider that God has always been active in the affairs of man.  He assumed that invisible is equal to ineffective.  How then would he grasp what follows?  All men are without excuse and steeped in wickedness.  If they did not know this there would be no religions on the face of the earth.  But there is a great variety of religions.  So we see that men know they are full of fault and we see them attempt to right their plight.  The one who accuses is a religion and a god in his own mind.  And he will be shown for what he has allowed himself to become and continue becoming.

All men come from various backgrounds and traditions.  And they are quite able to see the “fruit” of what they are being taught.  And every one of them, if they were honest, could point to a meager harvest from their labors.  It is they who allow themselves to be fooled into a sleep of false religion.  For every man perceives his own short comings.  Even in society and among the things of this world, every man can see the destruction he brings by virtue of what is within him.  There is, bottom line, an awareness is present, that we have not attained a clear conscience.  We perceive that a clean conscience will produce a radically different man.  Yet they continue in their way without considering the end result of false religion.  All their life they cry out to things that do not produce what they are looking for.  But for fear of rejection and comfort they continue in their way.  This is a testing of the heart for all men.  And, rest assured, God is watching to see who will admit their folly and lift their hands in despair.  This is true of every false way, and it is true even of Christians.  It is not just the false religions which will end in utter destruction.  We are told, and it is plain to see, that many who consider themselves Christians walk through their lives as enemies of the Cross of Christ.

You who judge the validity of Jesus’ claims are in a false religion of your own making.  It belongs to you and it is false.  You accuse without knowledge.  You lift up your voice to condemn the God who made you.  And you will certainly answer for your self-made plight of folly.  There is an emptiness of humility in the accuser’s words.  There is a lack of wisdom in his way.  Instead of asking, “What must I do to be saved?”  He accuses Righteousness because he himself is full to over flowing with wicked thoughts and desires.   No accuser will not stand on the day when The Righteous One calls men to account for their lives and words.  For you turn away from every possible help today.  You scoff at God.  You deny His right to judge.  And He will judge all men regardless of their recognition of His Holy Court

I will add this final point.  Today has been given to man to prove his heart to the Living God.  Men have been saying that the coming judgment will divide those who have done “mostly right” from those who have done little or no righteous things.  How absolutely false this is.  None of man’s righteous acts, those things done without the leading of the Spirit of God, will enter into the pleasure of the Most High God.  The pride of man will be crushed.  And only faith in Jesus, born in humility, will be rendered a favorable decision.

If you want to secure a knowledge of safety, do so now by accepting the message of the Gospel of God in Jesus.  He will come to you and show you how to please His Father.  There is no other way to prepare for the coming judgment of all men.  God has spoken it on an oath He took by His own Glory.