Introduction:
A. Lewis Wallace lived from April 10, 1827 to February 15, 1905 and was an American lawyer, a Union general in the American Civil War, a governor of New Mexico Territory, a diplomat, an artist, and an author from Indiana.
1. Wallace’s journey of faith began with an indifference to religion.
2. He attended church sporadically but lacked strong religious convictions.
3. One day, General Wallace sat on a train with Colonel Robert Ingersoll, the famous atheist.
4. The two of them discussed how an interesting book could be written about Jesus.
5. Ingersoll encouraged Wallace to write such a book that would tear down the prevailing sentiment about Jesus’ divinity and paint him as just a man among men.
6. Wallace acted upon that suggestion and the result was Ben Hur, one of the best selling books of the 19th century.
7. Wallace immersed himself in biblical studies and historical texts, meticulously researching the life of Jesus and the world of first-century Judea.
8. This rigorous investigation led to a shift in his perspective.
9. The more he studied the life of Jesus, the more he was convinced that Jesus was more than a man, until one day, he was forced to declare: “Truly, this man was the Son of God.”
B. I believe that any person, like Lewis Wallace, who spends enough time looking at the evidence about Jesus will come to the same conclusion that Jesus is who He said He was, the Son of God.
1. Certainly, there are barriers to belief, but those barriers can be overcome through study, investigation, and reasoning.
2. Today, I would like to talk about some barriers to belief and how they can be overcome, but before we do that, let’s do a quick review of the things we have been exploring during this sermon series.
3. We started with the fact that people matter to God - He loves them and He wants to save them!
4. Then, we talked about the fact that reaching out to the lost is not easy and that there are costs involved, but the benefits certainly outweigh the costs.
5. Next, we explored a formula for outreach that includes – high potency (authenticity, compassion, sacrifice), close proximity (relationships and contact).
6. Then, we explored the many ways to be involved in outreach and that it’s important for each of us find the ways that best suit our personality and gifts.
7. Finally, most recently, we talked about how to clearly and concisely share the good news about Jesus.
8. Now, with all that in mind, let’s explore how to break the barriers to belief.
C. Let’s begin our exploration by journeying back in time to a scene just after Jesus’ resurrection.
1. This incident is recorded in John chapter 20.
2. Thomas was speaking to the other apostles - they had seen the resurrected Jesus, but he had not.
3. He said something like: “Stop trying to convince me that Jesus is raised from the dead! What do you take me for anyway, a fool? I’d have to push my finger into the wounds in His hands and His feet, and stick my hand into his side before I will ever believe that He was raised from the dead!”
4. Thomas continued, “So you can fantasize all you want about a resurrection, but what it looks like to me is that I have already wasted three years of my life. I’m not going to give up one more day on anything associated with Jesus. Don’t you get it? It’s over!”
5. Can’t you relate to what Thomas was feeling and saying? Don’t you think you might have felt the same way had you been in his shoes?
D. One week later, the apostles were huddled together again, still trying to make sense of what had happened with Jesus and what they were supposed to do next.
1. This time, Thomas with them.
2. Jesus suddenly appeared in the middle of the room.
3. He carefully looked around the room, as if trying to locate a certain person.
4. Then He locked eyes with Thomas.
E. Bill Hybils wrote that this scene reminds him of those old western movies where two guys square off in a saloon.
1. While they’re staring each other down, everyone else starts diving behind tables and chairs to protect themselves because they know that bullets are about to fly.
F. And so, I can picture Jesus squaring off with Thomas.
1. I can imagine the other disciples, who remembered Thomas’ tirade from a week earlier, felling like they needed to get out of the way.
2. I’m sure they were thinking: “Jesus is going to come down hard on Thomas. Thomas should never have opened his big mouth and expressed his doubts!”
3. Fearing the worst, they covered their eyes as Jesus walked up to within a foot of Thomas.
4. The room must have become eerily quiet.
G. To their surprise, Jesus said, “Go ahead, Thomas, put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” (John 20:27)
1. Jesus didn’t say what they expected.
2. They expected Jesus to say something like: “Thomas, I am so disappointed in you” or “Thomas, you are no longer welcome here.”
3. But rather than that, Jesus said: “Do whatever you need to do to overcome your doubts. If you need to touch me, then go ahead and touch me.”
H. Thomas and the other disciples learned an important lesson that day.
1. They learned a lesson that we need to learn, and one that many of our friends may benefit from.
2. What we must understand is that God isn’t angry or afraid of honest doubt from those who are trying to discover the truth about Him.
3. In fact, God invites any and all who have sincere questions to come, to seek, and to ask, because He wants to help clear up doubts and questions.
4. Jesus is very different from the wild-eyed religious leaders in our world who demand blind loyalty from their followers and who disqualify anyone who has the audacity to doubt them.
5. With deference to our human tendency to doubt, Jesus simply says, “Touch me. Do whatever it takes in order to find out that I am real.”
6. This should be welcome news to those with whom we are trying to share the gospel.
7. As many go through the process of considering a commitment to Christ, they’ll inevitably experience waves of uncertainty.
8. We must never try to shame them or hurry them through their confusion and doubts.
9. Rather we should patiently walk them through their doubts, empathizing with them, and offering answers when it seems appropriate.
I. Barriers To Belief
A. Let’s spend a few minutes looking at some of the stumbling blocks that keep people from faith.
B. The first kind of barrier we may encounter is: MISCONCEPTIONS.
1. Here is one of the misconceptions that people have about Christianity, they think: “If you commit your life to following Jesus, then you can take your freedom, your individuality, your sense of adventure, and any hopes you have for fulfillment in this life, and kiss them all goodbye. Afterall, you’re signing up to join a bunch of lobotomized, look-alike, act-alike losers who have nothing better to do with their lives.”
2. The irony, of course, is that this way of thinking is the exact opposite of the truth about the Christian life, and at a deeper level, the truth about the nature and character of God.
3. So, where does a misconception like that come from and what can we do to counter it and others like it?
4. Misconceptions can come from many sources: poor examples, bad teaching, and natural fears.
5. And what can we do about them?
a. First, we can let people know that we understand their hesitations, because we may very well of had many of them before we became Christians.
b. Second, we can live our lives as a model that shatters their stereotypes and gives them a new view of Christianity.
6. When it comes to bad teaching, the only effective antidote is good teaching; right learning.
a. Encourage people to study these matters for themselves, and they will find the truth.
7. And when it comes to their natural fears, it’s only natural to hesitate when any of us are considering a life-changing choice.
a. That’s the case whether we are thinking about buying a house or getting married, and it’s certainly all the more true when we are thinking about giving our lives over to God.
b. One of the natural fears that needs addressing is the misconception that they’re going to lose more than they’ll ever gain.
c. We will do well to help them see that being a Christian is not only a great way to die, but that it is also the very best way to live, and that we gain far more than we will ever lose.
C. A second kind of barrier to belief is INTELLECTUAL ROADBLOCKS.
1. We must never sweep these kinds of issues under the rug.
2. Our Scripture reading today from 1 Peter tells us to be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks us the reason for the hope we have.
3. But in reality, we won’t always have the answer on the tip or our tongues for every question.
4. In many cases, the best thing you or I can do is tell them that they’ve asked a good question, and that right now, you don’t have a good answer, but you will do your homework and then get back to them.
5. There are many excellent books available that address all kinds of intellectual questions.
6. And the internet has many good resources and websites dedicated to apologetics, and so many answers can be found online.
7. For many years, C.S. Lewis, John Clayton and Josh McDowell had some of the best resources for addressing science questions and other faith questions.
a. More recently, I have found great resources from Dr. John Lenox and Dr. James Tour who are both giants in their fields of mathematics and chemistry, and who are also great apologists of the Christian faith.
b. And there are so many other good writers who address intellectual roadblocks, like Lee Strobel, Norm Geisler, and William Lane Craig.
8. Some of the intellectual roadblocks we will face have to do with things like:
a. The historical accuracy of the Bible.
b. The logic of faith.
c. The problem of evil and suffering.
d. And the Christianity vs. Science debate.
9. All of these things can be addressed with a little homework or investigation.
10. It’s easy to be overwhelmed initially by some questions or arguments, but if we will confidently stand our ground and look for answers, then the roadblocks can be removed.
11. I like the story about the teacher who was using the “scientific method” to teach her class about evolution and was putting down the notion of God’s existence.
a. She said to a boy in the class named Tommy, “Tommy do you see the tree outside?” “Yes”, said Tommy.
b. “Tommy, do you see the grass outside?” “Yes.”
c. “Tommy, do you see the sky?” “Yes.”
d. “Tommy, do you see God?” “No.”
e. “That’s my point, Tommy. We can’t see God, and therefore he doesn’t exist.”
12. A savvy girl in class spoke up, “Tommy, do you see the tree outside?” “Yes.”
a. “Tommy, do you see the grass outside?” “Yes.”
b. “Tommy, do you see the sky?” “Yesssssss.” (Tommy was getting a bit irritated.)
c. “Tommy, do you see the Teacher?” “Yes.”
d. “Tommy, do you see the Teacher’s brain?” “No.”
e. “Then according to what our teacher just taught us, she must not have one!”
13. When we see people challenging the Christian faith on intellectual grounds, we need to help them realize the inadequacy of the competitors of the faith – whatever they may be.”
a. And we need to help them see by contrast the superiority of the biblical position.
b. It’s easy to look on the surface of the alternative positions and be drawn to them, but the closer you look, the weaker they become.
14. But the deeper a person delves into the evidence for Christianity, the more their faith will grow.
a. Some of the strongest defenders of the faith started out as skeptics, who while studying to disprove Christianity, became believers.
b. Because after studying the other options carefully, seeker after honest seeker have come to the conclusion that it takes more faith to deny Christianity than it takes to embrace it.
c. Dr. James Tour speaks on many college campuses and he challenges everyone to read the New Testament all the way through two times and says that if they will do that, it is likely that they will develop a faith in Jesus.
D. Before we draw this sermon to a close, let’s mention one more barrier to faith – MORAL MISGIVINGS
1. In truth, many people do have legitimate questions and honest intellectual barriers to their faith, but some just use those questions as a smokescreen or an excuse to keep from having to change.
2. When we sense that someone is putting more energy into finding questions than finding answers, then maybe we need to call their bluff and ask them if they really want answers or if they really want to avoid having to change.
3. We might be surprised by their answer.
Conclusion:
A. This process of breaking the barriers to belief may be short or long depending on the specific individuals, but God wants us to be patient with people and help them clear away the barriers one by one.
1. Along the way, we can encourage them by pointing out two things: a prayer and a promise.
B. The prayer is found in Mark 9, where a man had asked Jesus to heal his son.
1. Jesus told him it would be possible, if he would just believe.
2. To this the man replied, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mk. 9:24)
3. I find two interesting things about this incident.
a. First, Jesus did not put down the man for wavering in his faith.
b. Second, Jesus went ahead and answered the prayer anyway. (He healed the son)
4. That tells us a lot about God, and it gives us permission to approach God even with our doubts.
5. We need to encourage people to take whatever faith they can muster, as well as all the doubts they may be facing, and just talk to God openly about them.
6. They might say something like, “God, I’m not even sure you are there. But if you are, I’d sure like you to let me know. If you are real, then I want to know you.”
7. That is the kind of prayer that I think God takes seriously – “Lord, help me overcome my unbelief.”
C. Which leads us to the promise.
1. Jesus said in Matthew 7:7-8, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”
2. And in Jeremiah 29:13, God said, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
3. Although this verse in Jeremiah 29 was addressed to a certain group of people at a specific time in history, I think it teaches us something important about asking, seeking and finding.
4. Namely, that we need to do it whole-heartedly.
a. We must make it a front-burner issue.
b. We must realize that the ramifications of this decision are so great that it warrants top-priority.
5. If any person sustains that kind of all-out effort, they will break through all the barriers keeping them from belief.
6. It’s an incredible privilege to help someone through that process.
D. If you are listening to this sermon this morning as a doubter, then I want you to know that then rest that God wants to help you to overcome those barriers to belief and so do I.
1. Please know that God loves you, and that He is ready to forgive you.
2. Please know that there is nothing you or I have ever done that is unforgivable.
3. Also, know that there is no needed change in your life or mine that is impossible to bring about if we ask for God’s help.
4. Finally, please know that there is so much life and joy and peace for the person who has faith in Jesus and who walks with God.
E. If you have doubts or questions, then feel free to share them with one of us and we will do our best to help you work through your doubts and find answers.
F. Perhaps someone here today has been working on their faith and their understanding of God and His will and is ready to obey the gospel.
1. If you are ready to declare your faith and repent and be baptized, then come forward during the invitation song.
Resources:
• Becoming a Contagious Christian, Bill Hybels
