Excuse to Doubt or Reason to Believe?

In this age of information, the irony exists that men have more excuses than ever to doubt.  Conspiracy thrives on the internet and all manner of media with unrelenting force.  People will believe what they want to believe, and it's not hard to find people with all sorts of opinions.  Truth has become a virtual cornucopia which allows the freedom of opposite and conflicting opinions to carry the same weight.  Evidence is open to wide interpretation - if you have the luxury of actually possessing it.  Personal opinion is often the strongest evidence most people's beliefs are founded upon, about as stable as oil and eroding sand.  If we hear it enough, we can be convinced two plus two equals five.

The world changes, but people stay the same.  We are naturally parrots upon whom the conspiracy vultures prey.  Conspiracy and doom are big business with books, DVDs, and conferences raking in millions annually.  Funny isn't it, that people who stumble upon this "secret" information are willing to bare all for a few bucks?  A topic cools down, and ten more pop up from nowhere.  Even after these self-proclaimed prophets and insiders are proven wrong because of incorrect "facts," two or three more documentaries from the same group are already in the works to tie up the loose ends and take it a step further.  If someone is wrong once, they can be wrong again.  If a prophet speaks in the name of LORD and the thing does not come to pass, they are not to ever be heeded again.  Unlike leopards, men change their spots.  But God and His Word never change.  They are the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Because God loves His people, God sent prophets to warn them of the certain negative consequences of their sin.  One of the prophets was named Ezekiel.  God directed him to do all sorts of strange and bizarre things to capture the attention of the people and illustrate what the future held.  Although Ezekiel faithfully warned the people about the coming judgment, famine, sword, and captivity, they did not believe him.  He lamented in Ezekiel 20:49, "Ah, Lord GOD! They say of me, 'Does he not speak parables?'"  Instead of believing the sober words of Ezekiel, the people chalked up his words as merely symbolic, a story they could explain according to their own dictates.  They didn't like Ezekiel's words, so they made up a meaning to suit themselves they were comfortable with.  They rolled their eyes at this loon and ignored his pleas to listen.  God certainly wouldn't let them be judged by Babylon!  Ezekiel must be mad!  Month after month, year after year, Ezekiel continued to warn.  Ultimately all he said came to pass because God does not lie.  The people had reason to believe, but they made excuses to doubt.

God has given everyone many reasons to believe.  He has given every man a conscience which agrees with His moral law.  He has sent Jesus Christ in fulfillment of scripture, who died and rose again from the dead.  He has sent the Holy Spirit to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment.  Unfortunately, not everyone is pleased with what God has to say.  2 Corinthians 4:3-4 explains, "But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, ⁴ whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them."  The Bible says that a day is coming when every man will be judged according to God's Law.  It is appointed to man once to die and then comes the judgment (Heb. 9:27).  The only hope for man to be saved from eternal wrath is to receive Christ through the Gospel.  But Satan has blinded the eyes of men and prejudiced their hearts against the truth, to the point it seems like foolishness to them.  The natural man cannot receive the things of God.  It is only through the power of Jesus and the Holy Spirit that blind eyes can be opened and the dead raised to life.

God warned His people in Isaiah 1:18-20:  "Come now, and let us reason together," says the LORD, "though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. ¹⁹ If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; ²⁰ but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword"; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."  Truth can bear examination.  Have you ever considered the historical and geographical evidence, the fulfilled prophesies, and the flawless perfection of God's Word as reasons to consider and believe the claims?  Do not comfort yourself with "The Bible is full of mistakes" without having read and studied it yourself!  I have never met someone who made this claim except out of admitted ignorance.  The Bible is not just another book:  it is the Word of God without flaw.  In it we find the words of life which point to Jesus Christ as the Saviour of the world.

No drowning man would refuse a life-preserver because the orange colour doesn't match his shirt, yet many people will not even open the Bible that explains how to have eternal life.  If man will give anything to prolong a miserable existence on earth a couple years, of how much greater value is his eternal soul!  What rational excuse does man have to ignore the claims of the Word of God?  Maybe the Bible does contradict your life.  But what life do you have beyond your fleeting existence upon this planet?  Without Christ, there is no life at all:  only death.  He is the Way, Truth, and Life (John 14:6).  Three days after being crucified and dying on a cross, Jesus rose again and was seen by hundreds of eye-witnesses!  Isn't that alone reason to believe Him?