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Vintage Popcorn BoxesI feel compelled to share something with you this morning. It’s simple, and not very compelling at first glance, but I hope you’ll take the time to consider this. I was never a practical, list-making type of person, but I was told that sometimes making a list of pros and cons can help solve a problematic decision. For me it did, and because so many of you are problem solvers yourselves, my hope is that this practical look at faith will help you too.
The Premise
There are four possible outcomes in our spiritual lives. No matter what path you take or what you choose to believe, there are four doors through which you will walk when you die. You can’t choose which door exactly, but you can choose a set of two doors, one of which will lead either to Heaven or hell. I’m not writing to get into a discussion of what Heave or hell might be, but only to tell you about the four doors.
Door #1
You choose notto believe in God’s word (the Bible) and it turns out that it was all FALSE.
In this case you’ve lost nothing because you lived as you wanted to and it turned out that there really was no life after death (although that is hell to some).
Door #2
You choose to believe what God promised in the Bible and it turns out to be FALSE.
In this door you find yourself a fool, but wait. If there really is no life after death, what does it matter? Who will be around to care what you believed while you were alive if when you are dead, there is only nothingness? By the time they find out the truth enough to gloat, they will disappear into nothingness as well.
Door #3
You believe God’s word and it is all TRUE.
This is the door Christians have their hope in. They believe with all their heart that God’s word is real and that their faith is what brings them through this door to Heaven because this is the only door which will get them there.
Door #4
You choose notto believe in God’s word and you find that you were wrong. God’s word is all TRUE.
This door is the one which terrifies me most. With all of the other doors there is nothing to lose, and with #3 there is everything to gain, but in this door you lose everything you knew. Your life as you knew it is revealed for the lie it was and it is done so in front of everyone you knew on earth – and billions whom you didn’t. What’s worse is that you have to face Jesus Christ himself and explain why you chose to believe he was just a nice man who lived long ago.
I won’t take this any further, because it’s best if you let your own mind take it and run with it. Listen to your instinct. If this post has made you angry, don’t take it up with me, but listen to what’s making you angry. I was there once too remember, so I know it’s something more spiritual happening. It’s a huge leap to trust God and believe that’s He’s real. It takes an incredible amount of strength and humility, but as you can see, you have nothing to lose by finding that faith, and everything to lose if you ignore it.
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The Promise
So what is it you need to believe? What’s the big deal? The book of “Romans](http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=52&chapter=1&version=31 is a great place to start. In that book you’ll find the most basic facts of salvation. Here, God promises his devotion to you in exchange for your promise of the same to Him…
The very basics from Romans
- EVERYONE has sinned (v3:23)
- The punishment for sin is death (v6:23)
- God saves us from that punishment with thegift of salvation and we never have to earn it (v6:23)
- God demonstrated his love for us by the death of his son (v5:8)
- If you say openly that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (v10:9-10) **Anyone* who calls on the Lord will be saved (v10:13)
So the first thing is to admit that your “mistakes” in life are actually sin. Then you understand that you deserve death for your sin, no matter how small or how great. You acknowledge that you’ve been saved from that punishment by Jesus’ horrible death on the cross and you thank him openly by verbally telling others what you believe. Most importantly, you believe it in your heart even when you’re not telling others, and you recognize that EVERYONE who does this is also saved, no matter who they are.
It sounds easy, but it’s a tough, gutt-wrenching thing to go through. I pray you find it easier than I did.
The “door” method of looking at things is something I’ve done for years. Unfortunately it’s probably the wrong way to look at things because it makes it sound like “I’ll ‘believe’ so I’m safe rather then sorry.” For those of us that already know better, it’s pretty irrelevant and can act as a good reminder and reinforcer. However, I sometimes use it to try to explain my faith to others since it’s what will probably hit home most with non-believers, but without proper context and understand it just sounds bad.
Side note: Love your site and your message (slogan, whatever =)
God Bless.Eric
Eric – I’m glad you brought that up because it’s something that held me back for a long time. I specifically chose not to believe because I didn’t want God to think I was believing in him just because I was afraid not to. Looking back at that place I was in at the time, I honestly don’t think it matters why you believe or what brought you to the belief. It only matters that you do.
The Left Behind series was huge in this area. A lot of people came to believe because they were afraid of all the end times turmoil and didn’t want to be left at the Rapture. I can’t say the books didn’t effect my coming to Christ either, but I don’t think any of that really matters. All that matters is that I did make that decision, and whether it was fear or geniune longing that brought me to God, I’m here, and it’s longing that keeps me here now.
Too many people don’t believe because they think the time isn’t right or the circumstances are wrong; they’re too deep in sin, or too immature in their understanding of faith. All those things can be fixed later. Believing it, or having faith that it’s true is most important. The maturity, right living, removal of fear, all of that can come later.
I remember when I was a new Christian and I was faced with the communion tray of crackers and a cup of juice. I passed it on because I wasn’t a mature believer to fully understand what communion meant to my faith. I don’t think that made me less of a believer; the important thing was that I believed, not that I understood my faith.
You’re right, it does sound bad to think about submitting to faith out of fear. It’s a tough place to be in and Satan is going to play it for all it’s worth. He’ll tell people they can’t come to faith until they are living right. He’ll say they can’t believe out of fear because it’s weak and God would see through it. The truth is, God already knows our weaknesses and just wants us to admit them. Fear is healthy if it keeps us from making the wrong decisions. Fear keeps us from crossing the street when a car is coming. It keeps us from speeding when a cop is near. Fear keeps us safe and out of trouble. It’s not unhealthy at all but a natural instinct built in to help us make the right choices.
… sounds like Pascal’s Wager. :)
I’ve never heard of that. I’ll have to look it up. Thanks, Shawn!
When I first became a Christian, for the longest time I didn’t want to think about life after death. It really wasn’t about that for me, it was about experiencing God, in the here and now and living right.
I do like things like this, they break our faith down into manageable chunks, but as Eric says it shouldn’t be faith out of fear. God gave us free will to make our own minds up. A bit like the guy with the bullhorn standing at the corner of the street sometimes this approach annoys people.
That said, I liked, no, loved your point about this post making you angry, and getting people to address just why.
Keep up the good work, I always enjoy reading what you write.
Looking back at that place I was in at the time, I honestly don’t think it matters why you believe or what brought you to the belief. It only matters that you do.I probably should of reworded what I said. When I think about the scenario, I think of believing because you’d rather be safe then sorry as not actually believing. I see it as something you say you do, or acknowledge, just to be on the safe side. For those that actually believe, you’re absolutely right, the initial reasons are meaningless as true meaning will come in time.
He’ll say they can’t believe out of fear because it’s weak and God would see through it. The truth is, God already knows our weaknesses and just wants us to admit them.Exactly, faith is supposed to guide us through the tough times, and reward (happiness, etc) us in the good times. It’s not supposed to be some goal attain when we’ve fixed our life, it IS our life.
Interesting, as a failed Christian, door one and four almost describe the way I feel, but you have over-simplified things. I regard the Bible as very much Man’s words doing their best to use God’s words for their own purposes.
I believe in God and that I will be judged, but not that the Bible is all true.
Christian – that is interesting. I’ve never heard the term “failed Christian” before. I think I get what you mean by that though and I’m sad for you. I can’t imagine what it must feel like to have failed as a Christian to the point that you would call yourself that. I fail every day, but I have faith that God forgives my sin, even when I sin as a believer.
I do tend to over-simplify. It helps me because I find the more complicated things become the more likely I am to lose that drive I had when I first began to look at the thing, whatever it is. I believe people over-complicate things in general in order to detach from them, and part of what I’m doing here is to break things down to the “standards” – to get people to think more simply and not cloud their judgment by over-thinking things. It’s the same with web standards. The more people argue over every little thing, the more likely they are to miss the big picture… the simplicity of what this is all about.
You may be right that some of the Bible is not ALL true, but the more you focus on those things you can’t believe the more Satan will use that thinking to convince you the important parts aren’t true either, like Jesus, the cross, salvation, etc. Have FAITH that it’s true and maybe God will point out some things that will help you see things more simply.
Very, very nicely written. I myself chose door three a long time ago. And I still am inside of door three.
Faith in God will take you anywhere.
Natalie and Christian,
I’m always curious how people can think that not all of the Bible is inspired, and yet still believe parts of it. The moment you start to believe that some Scripture isn’t Divinely revealed, you bump into a fatal problem of simple reason: how do you tell which parts are the Divine parts and which aren’t? This is an impossible task, because no two people could go through the whole book and agree with certainty which parts are true and which are false.
Any religion that is concerned about absolute reality (absolute truth) must have some interpretation of that reality provided from an objective source (i.e. God). Truth isn’t evident enough from within the system; if it were, everyone would believe the same thing, or at least all the intelligent people would. If we don’t have that completely objective source (and we don’t if parts of the Bible are in error), then the Christian Bible holds no more relevance than any other religious book – it’s all men deciding what they will and won’t believe.
If God did not preserve for us a completely inspired and perfect revelation in the Scriptures, then He has put us to an impossible game of hide and seek that will end in our own demise. In the end we believe not Divine ideas, but our own, and Christianity is a failed religion. That’s simply the logical outcome.
Believe all of it or believe none of it, but for goodness sakes don’t go half way. It’s a lose-lose situation.
-Nate
Thanks, Nate. You’re right about believing something all the way. That was my underlying point and for those not paying attention… I believe all of it. ;) “Christianity is a failed religion. That’s simply the logical outcome.” For you that is so, for me it is not. Although, you may be right about religion in general as being failed. Christ and holding on to Him is not, though making a religion out of salvation and life with God is where Christianity (as a religion) has been destroyed. I don’t believe in religion, only Christ.
Excellent post. It does seem oversimplified at first, but in reality, we deal with business and web design here, etc. So, following those same ideas… this is a great “Elevator Pitch” to get your point across. Then if they are interested, they might sit back and let you explain further. If they are not, they will go on about there lives with a question to ponder and a seed planted that might be ripe for learning more when it has had time to grow.
That’s what it was for me… just a seed. There wasn’t much that convinced me, and honestly nothing would have made me say, “Wow, I’d never thought of that, now it all makes sense.” For me, as with many, I suppose, it’s just a series of 10-100 or so little seeds that get planted over the years until one day you wake up and you suddenly get it, and you wonder why you didn’t see it before.
As someone who committed themselves at a very young age and has grown up in the environment for such a long time, it is something that you just have to finally wake up and “get it”. I have lived as a Christian much of my life and yet I think people who grew up under a different set of standards seemingly were able to really and truly get it, whereas I noticed I was going through motions a lot.
It was kind of eerie. In high school I hit my peak, I understood things, I knew what was going on, I knew what my life was like having accepted Jesus as my savior, I went to a mission trip in the heart of Mexico. I went to an oklahoma youth getaway I was riding high and out of nowhere the other seed finally started to grow in my life. The seed of doubt. I grew up with the lifestyle and found myself finally buying into the seed planted by the rest of the world. I began to believe more of door 1&2… that no matter what happened, the ultimate result would be the same. Nothing.
I have finally pulled myself back to believing, but it definitely is always a constant struggle (as with all Christian) to keep the right frame of mind.
I really have no idea where I was going with that, but it seemed relevant that every little seed planted will always have some effect down the road.
Hey Bradley, you reminded me just now of a song… Fifteen by Greg Long.
Thank you for the kind words Natalie, Nate, I truly admire your faith.
I’m afraid I’m too cynical re the role of the Church over the last 2000 years and the history of the Bible(s) we have today. There is truth within, I know, but discerning the words of Man vs God, is to me central to it’s relevance to the world today.
It’s not matter of wanting to pick and choose parts that suit, instead it is managing to reconcile the contradictions and the inevitable history of manipulation over the centuries. It’s easy to forget that it is only recently that the “common man” let alone “common woman” was allowed to read the Word of God.
This is not meant to be a snipe at you Natalie, but I think you’re oversimplifying it. I know that keeping it simple is a good thing, but only to a point. I know that the vibe of this site is Christian, but in your post you said, No matter what path you take or what you choose to believe… So in that case there need to be doors for other religious viewpoints. The four doors you have fit Christianity perfectly, but say we’re talking about Judaism. Then you need a fifth door: believing in the “Old Testament” and G-d, but perhaps not Christ. And then when you take even more religions into consideration, you just open up more doors.
That’s why I, another “failed Christian” if you will, have such a problem sometimes. When you try to find a path through the myriad religions out there you have to keep in mind their viewpoints, their specific mindset. That mindset may be that there’s no possible way Christianity could be the right way, much as our mindset says their way of death and rebirth cannot possibly be right. This means the doors change. It’s very subjective. It’s not all black and white when you take other viewpoints into account.
First, Michael, you took that quote out of its context. What I said was, “No matter what path you take or what you choose to believe, there are four doors through which you will walk when you die.” That means no matter what you choose, your only option is one of these four doors. You can try to find other doors, but the Bible (NT included) says that you either spend eternity with God by accepting Christ (doors 3 & 4) or you spend eternity without God (doors 1 & 2) by choosing some other path.
I recognize that not everyone will agree with that, but that’s just how it is. You have the right to disagree. God allows that right, but at some point, He has the right to ask that everyone follow His way, through His door. It really IS that simple. Other viewpoints are just viewpoints. This is truth. I’m sorry that seems harsh, simplistic, black and white, biased, intolerant, etc. It is. He is.
You have to find God on your own. I’m not pushing anyone to the right conclusion, just planting seeds, water them or trample them. God is pro choice when it comes to your salvation. It’s entirely up to you.
From the Wikipedia
“Pascal’s wager suffers from the logical fallacy of the false dilemma, relying on the assumption that the only possibilities are:
1. the Christian God exists and punishes or rewards as stated in Christian theology, or
2. the Christian God does not exist.
The wager does not account for the possibility that there is a God (or gods) who, rather than behaving as stated in certain parts of the Bible, instead rewards skepticism and punishes blind faith, or rewards honest reasoning and punishes feigned faith, or does not punish belief or disbelief at all.”
Yeah, I read that too, thanks.
yep, Pascal’s wager, it is a good piece of discussion fodder for Unitarian Universalists eh? heard a nice sermon on it – related to gambling, and the gamble god takes, or doesn’t take in us, at Memorial Church last month (harvard). loove your blog
Natalie,
I was not claiming that Christianity is a failed religion. I was claiming that if we in any way invalidate any part of the Scriptures, THEN Christianity is a failed religion. I believe more than ever that God has inspired and preserved the Scriptures through the ages. I am a Christian.
Christian,
I’m a cynic too, so I can certainly empathize with your position. I have little love for most of the Church’s history, or even where Western Evangelicalism has gone in modern days (though I do think finding a good local church is important for the Christian).
It sounds like your view of God is that He is a far off God. Meaning, that He might have created and/or governed for a time, but now people are left to their own devices and can, for instance, muddy up the Scriptures. My take is very different, especially as I read the Old Testament and see Him interacting and speaking to His people. God is a very “hands-on” kind of God, especially where His name and His renown is concerned. Therefore, while I have no love for the corruption that has plagued the public church through large portions of its history, I do believe that God is able and willing to preserve His revelation. And that is the only reason I can believe that the Scriptures are untainted. Because God’s name rests on the validity of His Word, He will go to the greatest lengths to preserve it.
That’s my 2 cents anyway,-Nate
I have never heard anyone help me understand the situation of how/what/why to believe than Ravi Zacharias. He is amazingly helpful in understanding what different religions believe and why he has chosen Christianity after growing up a devout atheist. Just type in his name in iTunes to download his talks. Really good….