Answering Objections - The Bible is Full of Errors

When you are out talking to people about Jesus and the Gospel it is not uncommon to come across questions and objections. Some are valid objections and an honest answer will help prepare the person's heart for the seed of the gospel.  Others are just smoke screens that people hide behind because the truth of God's existence and our accountability to Him for our actions would throw a wet blanket on their current lifestyle.

So, I wanted to address a common objection that you might come across along the way and offer some potential answers that I have found helpful when trying to respond. The next time you are talking with someone about the Bible and they throw an argument out there like: "the Bible is full of errors" here is a potential way you can respond.

1. Challenge them to show you 3 supposed errors by asking "Can you show me in the Bible some of the errors you are referring to?" Chances are they won't because they are just parroting out what they heard in some classroom, blog, movie, radio show, etc. If they give you something tangible and you don't have a good answer for it, go here to learn about supposed Bible Difficulties and how to respond to them. If you do not have an immediate explanation, then your starting assumption that the Bible is true must take precedence, and you just have to learn more. In every case, there is a logical explanation— we just have to clear up our own ignorance. The idea that God made an error is never a possibility.
2. Since they are affirming errors in the Bible ask them some questions to see how familiar they are with the Bible. If you can show that they don't know some of the most basic truths about the Bible then their argument will lose any credibility and you can counter with some positive truths about the infallibility of Scripture. One way to do this is to say "oh, so you are familiar with the Bible?" If they say no, then you can just say "well why should I believe you when you tell me there are errors if you yourself are not familiar with it." If they say yes they are familiar with the Bible then ask them some basic questions that anyone remotely familiar with the Bible should know.
1. Question 1: How many books are in the Bible? Answer: 66.
2. Question 2: What is the first book in the New Testament? Answer: Matthew.
3. Question 3: How many Gospels are in the New Testament? Answer 4.
4. Question 4: Who wrote the letter to the Philippians? Answer: The Apostle Paul
5. Question 5: What is the 2nd book of the Bible? Answer: Exodus
6. You really could ask any number of basic questions. The idea is to really see if the person is at all familiar with the Bible. If not, call their bluff and tell them that since they don't really know the Bible it makes no sense for me to take anything they say about the Bible seriously. Then you can reason with them from the Scriptures about why the Bible is reliable, trustworthy and true. See the following link for examples: Can we trust the Bible?
3. If they are sharp enough, they might call you out and say well how do you know that all other religious books and beliefs are not true, are you familiar with all of them? Below is a helpful response to this challenge thanks to my friend Tony over at Systematic Evangelism.
1. Your answer should be no, that's unnecessary and impossible, and here's why:  If I know that 1 + 1 = 2 and only 2, I do not have to check to see if 3, 4 , 5 or any other number are possible answers.  By knowing the correct answer and knowing that there is only one right answer, I can know for sure that all other answers are false.  In the same way, by knowing that Christianity is true, I do not have to investigate every false religion under the sun.  If Christianity is true, all other religions are false. And here are just a few of the reasons why I know Christianity is true...( see Can we trust the Bible?)

Hopefully, you find some of this information useful. The most important thing to remember is that you must be respectful and gentle when responding to any objection (1 Peter 3:15-16). Remember, lost people are deceived (2 Cor 4:4) therefore we should have compassion on them and pray for them. Our hope is that by answering intellectual objections it will help soften their heart to the truth of the Gospel. But don't spend all your time addressing their intellect, remember that it is the Law, not our arguments, that is the school master that will ultimately lead them to Christ (Galatians 3:24).

Do You Know Who Adolf Hitler Is?

"Do you know who Adolf Hitler is?"

That is the opening question to the 180 Movie - a shocking documentary that compares two holocausts, the WWII holocaust and a holocaust that is taking place today.

In response to this question, several college students openly admit that they do not know who Adolf Hitler was. Some of them have never even heard of him...I was shocked and reminded of the common saying:

"Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it." Unknown

Well, history IS repeating itself, and it's happenning right in our own backyard. How can we possibly let something as horrible as what Hitler did happen right here in our "civilized" American country?

Whatever your thoughts are about abortion, whether you are pro-life or pro-choice, you owe it to yourself to find out what this documentary is all about.

Go to 180movie.com to watch the documentary online for free.

Third Street Promenade

Third Street Promenade

 1 Corinthians 3:7: So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 

Recently, I teamed up with my friend Tony from Systematic Evangelism at Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, CA. In 5 hours we were able to spread the gospel message in many different ways. We did some open air preaching using the sketchboard evangelism technique from Open Air Campaigners Ministry, interviewed people on camera, engaged people in one to one conversation and passed out hundreds of gospel tracts. I am amazed at the amount of people that can be reached by only two people in a relatively short period of time on a Friday night. Please pray for the gospel seeds that were planted in the hearts of the people we encountered.

Be encouraged. You can make a difference for eternity simply by being obedient to Jesus' command to "go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." (Mark 16:15). That is our job. It is God's job to change hearts. God bless you!

Interview at El Camino College

Part 1:

Part 2:

Our Mission on Earth

 Luke 19:10 "...for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."

If God’s primary purpose for the saved were loving fellowship, He would take believers immediately to heaven, where spiritual fellowship is perfect, unhindered by sin, disharmony, or loneliness. If His primary purpose for the saved were the learning of His Word, He would also take believers immediately to heaven, where His Word is perfectly known and understood. And if God’s primary purpose for the saved were to give Him praise, He would, again, take believers immediately to heaven, where praise is perfect and unending.

There is only one reason the Lord allows His church to remain on earth: to seek and to save the lost, just as Christ’s only reason for coming to earth was to seek and to save the lost. “As the Father has sent Me,” He declared, “I also send you” (John 20:21). Therefore, believers who are not committed to winning the lost for Jesus Christ should reexamine their relationship to the Lord and certainly their divine reason for existence.

Fellowship, teaching, and praise are not the mission of the church but are rather the preparation of the church to fulfill its mission of winning the lost. And just as in athletics, training should never be confused with or substituted for actually competing in the game, which is the reason for all the training." John MacArthur

God is a Trinity

I recently started a study called The One True God by Paul Washer and the first chapter of the study is God is One and deals with the topic of God is a Trinity. Going through this study, I found some Scriptures that further support the fact that Jesus is God, which is a particular area of conflict when dealing with cults such as Mormonism or Jehovah’s Witnesses.

The first verse I wanted to share with you is Matthew 28:19:

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost…”

 Notice here that the word “name” is singular yet it refers to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It does not use the word “names” because the three persons of the Godhead are all One. That is awesome!

 Also, 2 Cor 13:14 states:

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.”

 The literary structure here denotes absolute equality. Notice that the Son is here mentioned even before the Father. If the Father were above the Son as the JWs or Mormons claim, this would be blasphemous. However, this shows that they are co-equal with the Father.

Other Scriptures which denote the same sort of literary structure showing equality between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are:

1 Corinthians 12:4-6:

Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.

Ephesians 4:4-6

There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

1 Peter 1:2

Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

Also, compare the following verses from Isaiah with Titus 2:13. Notice in particular the use of the terms “God” and “Savior” in the Old Testament and how in the New Testament the same terms are used in regards to Jesus Christ. Hat tip to my friend Jason for the Isaiah verses.

Isaiah 43:3

For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

Isaiah 43:11

I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior.

Isaiah 45:15

Truly, you are a God who hides himself, O God of Israel, the Savior.

Isaiah 45:21

Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me.

Titus 2:13

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

Watch "Did Jesus Exist?" on YouTube

Sharing Your Faith Without Fear

This past weekend I had the privilege and responsibility to help teach a class on the subject of evangelism at my church. It was a three hour class that focused on the who, what, where, when, why and how of evangelism. The goal of this class was to help equip, encourage and exhort our local church body to actively pursue and evangelize the lost in their daily lives. After the class, three of the class attendees and myself went down to the Redondo Beach Pier to practice some of what we had learned.

As we set out, the first two groups of people we encountered all seemed to be very hard hearted and self righteous. After the second witnessing encounter I had to stop and pray because my heart was very heavy. It reminded me that every time we go out and talk to the lost about Jesus Christ, it is the last thing the enemy wants us to do and we are entering right into the front line battle for peoples souls. Even more, the last thing the enemy wants is for evangelists to equip and exhort more Christians to enter into the ministry of evangelising the lost. For this reason, I think the battle was particularly strong that day, trying to discourage both me as well as the people who were out there for the first time.

Praise be to God, we continued on and shortly thereafter we encountered a family of 5. At first, it seemed as if nothing we were saying was registering with them, but they told us at the end that they wanted to repent and trust Jesus Christ as Lord. My brother John, who was with me for the first time, was able to talk to them about how to do that. John was also able to speak with other people we encountered that day and at the end of the day we were all very encouraged and were looking forward to future opportunities to share the gospel.

Once the four of us met back up at the end of our time down there, one of them mentioned how important it is for all Christians to go out and preach the gospel, not just those who are "evangelists". All Christians are all called to evangelize and be fishers of men. Fishermen go to the fish and don't wait for them to come to them. When he said this, I realized something important. That morning, when I was helping teach my brothers and sisters about evangelism, I was being an evangelist. However, that afternoon, when we were out there at the pier we were just being normal Christians. It occurred to me at that point that an evangelist is simply someone who helps teach and encourage other Christians to simply be Christians. The reason people see it as radical or abnormal is because so few Christians actually witness the way we see the disciples and early church witness in the Gospels and the Book of Acts.

As for the hard hearted and self righteous people we encountered at the beginning, only God knows what seeds were planted. I hope and pray that they consider the things we discussed and that God's kindness would lead them to repentance and they would trust Jesus while He has given them time.

Free Witnessing Tool! Make the most of every opportunity!

Ephesians 5:15-16: Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 

Free Witnessing Tool Here

Chances are you have had a Jehovah's Witness knock on your door at some point in your life. Most likely, this has happened on more than one occasion. I used to think of these moments as interruptions in my day but now I see them as opportunities to share the gospel. I mean, how often do people knock on your door wanting to talk about things of God? You don't even have to leave the comfort of your home to witness to these people, God brings them right to you! If you are a Christian, you should make the most of every opportunity and ask God to use you to share the true gospel next time someone knocks on your door wanting to talk about spiritual things.

Thanks to a friend of mine who loves the Lord and the lost, a great witnessing tool is now available to help you when witnessing specifically to Jehovah's Witnesses. It was created out of love for Jehovah's Witnesses, to share the true gospel with them so that they are not deceived and led astray by false teachings. It addresses 4 main essential doctrines that JW theology gets wrong including: 1. Jesus is God, 2. Salvation is by Faith alone, 3. God is a Trinity, and 4. The reality of Hell.

The link below will take you directly to the tract which you can print and redistribute as much as you would like. Please take a moment to print this out and keep it near the door of your home. You can also contact me if you would like professionally printed 4.25 x 11 copies. Then pray and ask God to use you next time a Jehovah's Witness knocks on your door. For His Glory Alone!

JW Evangelism Tract