Overcoming Unbelief: The Heart's Resistance to Truth

Devotional

Sermon Summary

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips


I have two main responses to this question the first is that historically speaking, the text of the New Testament the Greek text of the New Testament, which is the written accounts of first century witnesses to Christ is spectacularly reliable that's number one I'll come back to it explain why a minute second, the obstacles that hinder warranted belief. [00:01:54]

The obstacles that hinder warranted belief, justifiable belief, in the truth of those first century testimonies are the same obstacles that people experienced who were looking Jesus right in the face and did not believe in spite of all his signs. In other words, the root problem today and then is not and was not absence of evidence. [00:02:27]

Terry asks why did God not provide more handwritten accounts now I wonder if people who ask that have any idea what they are saying Caesar's Gaelic Wars was written about 50 BC and there are 10 surviving manuscripts. Livy's History of Rome has 20 surviving manuscripts. Tacitus histories and annals written about 100 A.D has two manuscripts. [00:03:10]

According to the Institute of New Testament textual research in Minster Germany there are 5,800 manuscripts or fragments of manuscripts of the New Testament, not two not ten not twenty not eight it is a spectacular wealth of hand written accounts of what was originally written and hundreds of them are older than anything we have for those secular histories. [00:04:09]

The science of textual criticism that handles these thousands of manuscripts is able to compare those manuscripts and determine with astonishing accuracy what the original manuscripts actually said here's FF Bruce he was from the previous generation he was alive when I was studying as a Seminary Student he wrote this if the great number of manuscripts increases the number of scribal errors. [00:04:39]

The remarkable fact is that most historical Scholars today, liberal or conservative, believe that the Greek text that we have in the New Testament are really what the authors wrote near the time when the events actually happened which also means, for example, that when your Muslim friends tell you that the New Testament we have is not the New Testament that was originally written. [00:05:54]

The crucifixion of Jesus is one of the most historically certain events of the first century The View that it didn't happen is highly eccentric from a historical standpoint, so let me turn now to my second response which I think is probably existentially the most significant part of Terry's question the obstacles that hinder Justified belief in the truth of these testimonies today. [00:07:01]

The root problem is not the absence of evidence you remember the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16 the rich man and the poor man Lazarus died Lazarus went to heaven in Abraham's bosom and the rich man went to torment and in the torment he says across this Chasm to Abraham I beg you send Lazarus to my father's house. [00:07:50]

If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead now that's amazing what it means is that the same inner condition of heart that keeps a person from believing the Old Testament prophets also keeps them from submitting to the evidence of actually seeing someone rise from the dead that was true then and it's true today. [00:08:52]

More than once people demanded a sign from Jesus even after he had done so many compelling signs already and here's what Jesus said to them in John 10 24. the Jews gathered around him and said how long will you keep us in suspense if you are the Christ tell us plainly and Jesus sent to them I told you and you don't believe. [00:10:00]

The problem of unbelief is not mainly a lack of evidence, but a deep heart resistance to God and his will, changing that heart condition is a great work of God, we are utterly dependent on it in our evangelism so let's not be deterred in our evangelism by anyone who says there's not enough evidence to justify belief in Jesus there is enough evidence. [00:11:18]

No one spoke like this man the self-authenticating glory of God shines in the gospel of Christ so let's tell the good news tell it everywhere tell it all the time tell it as compellingly as we possibly can and lets pray let's pray earnsly all the more earnestly that God would Open the Eyes of the blind. [00:11:48]

Ask a question about this sermon