Discovering truth - relationships versus search engines (Part 3)
“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.”
As discussed in the previous blog, the risk associated with any search for truth is a function of the answers to three important questions concerning the information unearthed. First, is it factually accurate? Second, to what degree is it biased by opinion? Third, and most important, what are the consequences if it is true or untrue?
In this blog, I will address the third question regarding consequences. In subsequent blogs, various objections concerning the facts supporting the Christian worldview as well as the accusation that these are presented in a biased manner to promote an untrue narrative will be considered.
In the search for truth, the consequence of not believing in Jesus (see the opening quote) is life-changing. The following biblically-based assertions provide the reason for God’s judgment on non-believers:
God, the Creator, is the prime reality and His nature is spiritual. By contrast, everything in the created order including us is derivative; that is, it is not the prime reality. And, unlike God’s nature, ours is physical with a spiritual dimension.
According to the Genesis account, God created everything that came to be including all of space, time, energy, and matter. Thus, God is incomprehensibly powerful.
Moreover, as the cause of creation, God is not part of it. He is the uncaused cause who is invisible and immaterial. He dwells in an uncreated non-temporal realm called eternity that has existed forever.
Motivated by His incomparably great love, God made us for the express purpose of being in an intimate relationship with Him.
However, being utterly indifferent to God's plans and purposes for our lives, we have each gone our own way. Though we may say we believe God exists, we live as though He doesn’t. Our rebellion is labeled sin, which separates us from God, since He cannot abide sin.
To solve this problem, Jesus, the eternal Son of God, entered his creation and lived a perfect life. Thus, he was able to bear our sin on the cross and to suffer God’s justified wrath against sin in our place.
The catch: we must admit to going in the wrong direction our entire lives, receive Jesus’ forgiveness, and commit to follow his lead. If we don’t, we face God’s justified sentence of eternal conscious separation from Him together with unending torment.
From an article published by Crossway and written by Jon Nielson, “…the Bible teaches that hell will be a place where no one will experience the grace and love of God toward his people. Those in hell will know God’s presence in a way, but they will be experiencing the wrath of God against sin without any of his grace and love. So, there is also a very real sense in which hell will be eternal separation from God—from all of his goodness, grace, and love. Even those who do not know Jesus in the world today cannot fully imagine an existence without some experience of God’s grace and presence…”
The bottom line: truth is found in a relationship with Jesus. Only in this way will we be spared eternal separation from God.
No other choice carries such life-changing consequences!
Photo by Edho Pratama on Unsplash
