Tag: God

Don’t mistake winning an argument for winning a soul

Published on by Texas GospelLeave a comment

DAVID INGRAM

If you’ve spent much time defending the Christian faith online or in person, you’ve probably noticed a familiar pattern. It has become so common that it’s almost predictable.

Someone confidently declares, “There is no God.”

When you ask them to support that claim, the response is often, “The burden of proof is on you because you’re the one who believes God exists.”

At first, that may sound reasonable. But think carefully about what has happened.

The statement, “God exists,” is a claim. The statement, “God does not exist,” is also a claim. Both are assertions about reality. The only position that avoids making a claim is, “I don’t know.”

A common mistake in reasoning is to assume that only one side has a burden of proof. This is known as shifting the burden of proof. It occurs when someone makes an assertion but insists that only the other person is responsible for providing evidence. If a person claims there is no God, they have made a claim just as surely as the person who says there is a God. Neither side should be exempt from defending what they affirm.

As Christians, we should never be embarrassed to acknowledge that we are saved by faith given as a gift from God so that no one may boast. To be clear: I believe the Bible tells us that our faith is not something we manufacture on our own or that stems from our own ability to understand.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
— Ephesians 2:8-9

We do not hide our faith because it is God’s gift, not our achievement.

What should concern us is when someone confidently declares there is no God while insisting they owe no explanation for that conclusion. That is not skepticism. It is simply another belief being asserted without defense.

Yet even this is not the heart of the matter.

Christians can become so absorbed in debating logical fallacies that we forget why the conversation matters in the first place. We begin treating apologetics as though our mission is to outthink the unbeliever.

It isn’t.

The deepest reason people reject Christ is rarely intellectual. Scripture says the problem is spiritual.

“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.'” (Psalm 14:1)

Notice that Scripture does not say the fool has examined all the evidence and reached an unavoidable conclusion. The issue begins in the heart.

Paul explains that humanity already has sufficient knowledge of God through His creation, yet suppresses that truth.

“For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them… So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him.”
— Romans 1:19-21

The Bible teaches that unbelief is not caused by a lack of information. It is a suppression of truth. Sin affects not only what we desire but also how we think.

This does not mean every objection to Christianity is dishonest. People often have sincere questions that deserve thoughtful answers. We should always be prepared to give a reason for the hope within us, doing so “with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).

But we should never imagine that the right argument alone can produce saving faith.

Paul wrote,

“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
— 1 Corinthians 1:18

And again,

“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him… because they are spiritually discerned.”
— 1 Corinthians 2:14

No one is argued into the Kingdom apart from the work of the Holy Spirit.

That should change the way we engage unbelievers.

Yes, expose faulty reasoning when it appears. Correct logical fallacies when necessary. Defend the truth faithfully. But do not mistake exposing an error in logic for addressing the real issue. A person can lose every argument and still reject Christ. Another can ask difficult questions and, by God’s grace, come to faith.

Our confidence should never rest in our ability to corner someone intellectually. Scripture warns us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).

Don’t work so hard to open the door of human reason that you neglect the door only the Holy Spirit can open.

Winning an argument is not the mission.

Leading people to the Savior is.

When God is denied life loses its meaning

Published on by Texas GospelLeave a comment

TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

In every generation, humanity wrestles with the question of God’s existence. Some insist that belief in God is unnecessary, while others maintain that without Him, life itself loses coherence. I say that when God is removed from human thought, confusion soon follows and morality becomes uncertain.

Friedrich Nietzsche once declared, “God is dead.” He did not mean that God had literally died, but that society had chosen to live as if He did not exist. Nietzsche warned that when humanity erases God, it also erases the foundation that gives life direction. Without belief in something higher, he said, people lose any sense of what is truly good or evil. His words, though meant as observation, in a way became prophecy: Where God is denied, despair and moral confusion soon take root.

When people claim that evil exists, they assume the existence of good. But to recognize good and evil, there must be a moral standard. How do you know the difference? Without God, that standard disappears. Morality becomes a matter of opinion, shifting with emotion or culture. What one person praises, another condemns; and without a higher authority, neither can claim to be right. Even the most honest atheist struggles to explain why anyone “ought” to do good if there is no eternal reason to prefer it. The reality of evil itself points toward a moral lawgiver beyond humanity. Atheism offers no empirical evidence upon which to judge good or evil.

If life has no Creator, it must be the result of chance; that is, matter moving randomly until, somehow, consciousness appeared. Some find this idea freeing, calling it “liberating” to think there is no divine plan. Yet liberation without purpose is emptiness. How can meaning arise from accident? If all we are is the product of blind forces, then love, justice, and beauty are illusions created by chemicals in our brains. But deep down, every human heart knows that meaning cannot be invented out of nothing. The longing for purpose, the desire to live for something greater, points to the existence of something greater.

Without God, even hope begins to vanish. People suffer losses and tragedies that reason alone cannot comfort. I read a web post once that described a man in Iraq who said that before help came, his people lived in constant pain; afterward, they still had pain, “but now we have pain with some hope.” Hope gives life strength to endure suffering, to believe that tomorrow holds something more. When God is removed, nothing guarantees that justice or peace will ever come.

The very existence of the universe also points to a Creator. Everything that exists depends on something else for its being. The chain of causes cannot stretch back forever; there must be one eternal cause that depends on nothing. That uncaused being is God. The order and precision of nature further reveal design: the balance of physical laws, the complexity of DNA, the harmony of systems that make life possible. Chance cannot explain such intricacy any more than an explosion could produce a symphony.

But the question is not only whether God exists, it is whether He has made Himself known. The Christian faith declares that God entered history through Jesus Christ. In Him, the deepest needs of the human heart are met: truth, forgiveness, and love. At the cross, justice and mercy meet; through the resurrection, life triumphs over death. Christ revealed that the God who made the universe is not distant, but personal. And He is one who knows, loves, and redeems.

Human beings are not machines. We think, feel, and long for eternity because we bear the image of a personal God. Without Him, life is a sequence of causes without meaning; with Him, every moment gains eternal worth. The world without God is a silent void; the world with God is alive with meaning.

for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His descendants.’

Acts 17:28

The Steady Gift of Hope

Published on by Texas GospelLeave a comment

CHERYL QUIGG

Hope can appear in quiet and simple ways. It can rise in moments when nothing else seems certain. Here’s a short story as an illustration. Two men were out at sea when one of them was thrown overboard. Alone in the dark water with no life jacket and no way to call for help, he had every reason to believe he would not survive. Yet he found a small idea to hold on to. He used his boots as makeshift flotation devices and waited. Hours later, after long searching, rescuers found him alive. What kept him going was a faint but stubborn belief that help could still come.

A lot of us know this kind of waiting. Hope can be a flicker of light when everything feels heavy. Now, in the season leading to Christmas, many people reflect on hope in a deeper way. This time teaches that hope is not only an emotion but also a promise. It connects the past, the present, and what is still ahead.

A well-known account from the first chapter of Luke shows how hope can come to people who have waited for years. Zachariah and Elizabeth lived faithfully, yet they carried the pain of not having children. They were older now, long past the age when change seemed possible. Still, they lived with steady devotion. Then, on an ordinary day, everything changed. A message came announcing that their long prayers had been heard. They would have a son, and his life would prepare people for the work of the Lord.

Their story reminds us that hope does not expire. It may take time before it becomes clear. It often grows slowly, shaped by patience. Many generations before them had longed for God to complete his promise. People faced times of peace and times of struggle. Yet through all of this, the promise of a coming Saviour stayed alive.

Prophets spoke of this future. They described a child who would bring peace and justice, one who would carry the very presence of God. These words carried forward through hundreds of years.

When the message finally came to Zachariah, it renewed the hope that people had held onto for generations. Though he struggled to believe at first, the news spread quickly among the people. Their waiting was not wasted. Their hope was not empty.

Today many people still wrestle with hard questions. What does hope mean in illness, broken relationships, financial strain, or deep loss? What does hope offer when answers do not come quickly? The message at the heart of this season is that hope is not based on perfect circumstances. It is rooted in the presence of God, who stays near in the darkest places.

Scripture shows that God meets people in their fear, pain, and loneliness. There are moments when hope feels far away. Many people sit quietly with fears they never speak aloud. But hope is still offered. It comes through Jesus, who entered this world not simply to inspire, but to save. He came to restore what sin has broken and to bring life that does not end. The hope he gives does not depend on how strong we feel. It depends on who he is.

For those who have never placed their trust in him, hope begins by receiving what he offers.

Stepping into a new life shaped by trust

Published on by Texas GospelLeave a comment

MATTHEW JONES

Old and new forms of lighting, IRS Images, 2025

Light has always pushed back darkness, but the way people have lived with light has changed over time. Long before electric bulbs, homes were lit with kerosene lamps. They worked, but they were smoky, messy, and at times unsafe. When electricity arrived, some people resisted it because they could not see the power behind it. Others felt it was too bright or unnecessary. Yet once people accepted it, entire communities changed. Electricity did not simply improve the old system. It offered a completely different way to live.

This picture helps explain how many of us respond when God brings something new into our lives. We may ask for change, but when the change arrives, it often feels uncomfortable. We pray for new chances, and God gives new duties. We ask for peace, and old hurts rise to the surface so that healing can begin. We ask for open doors, and God prepares our hearts before opening anything at all. Growth often feels like shrinking and stretching at the same time. Before God expands our life, He works on our pride. Before He sends us outward, He shapes us inward. Every new season calls for a new version of who we are becoming.

We sometimes pray for joy, and God uses discomfort to expose what needs attention inside us. We ask Him to fix situations around us, and He starts by working on our reactions, habits, and patterns. We pray for purpose, and God sends interruptions that pull us out of our routines. We want His work to fit our old rhythm, but His new work does not sit well with our old ways. There is a pull inside each of us between what feels familiar and what leads to growth. At some point, what is familiar can get in the way of what is fruitful.

This tension is clear in the story found in Mark chapter 2. People questioned why Jesus’ followers did not fast like others. Fasting was not wrong, but the timing was wrong. They were trying to fit a good practice into a moment where it did not belong. Jesus used this to teach that He is the one who defines what is new and when it arrives.

He then gave two images. One was a torn piece of clothing. Sewing new cloth onto an old garment makes the tear worse because the new cloth shrinks. The other picture was of wine skins. New wine was still expanding. Old wine skins were stiff and could not stretch, so they would burst. The lesson was simple: new life from God needs a willing and flexible heart.

Have thine own way, Lord!
Have thine own way!
Thou art the potter,
I am the clay.
Mold me and make me
after thy will,
while I am waiting,
yielded and still.

In these images, “old” does not refer to age but to attitude. Old means unwilling to change. New means willing to be shaped by God. Some people who have lived many years remain open and teachable. Their hearts can stretch. Others, no matter their age, can grow rigid. A rigid spirit cannot hold the fresh work of God because His movement brings expansion. His question to us is simple: If He pours more into us, will we stretch?

Many people can look back and see how God has stretched them through responsibility, challenge, or service. These moments push us toward prayer, toward Scripture, and toward deeper love for others. They form new patterns inside us. When God stretches us, He is not punishing us. He is preparing us.

Jesus does not attach new life to old habits. He gives a new heart and a new spirit to those who receive Him. For anyone who has not placed their trust in Him, the first step is to admit the need for Him, believe in His life, death, and resurrection, and confess Him as Lord. This is how a person becomes able to carry what He wants to give.

For those who already follow Him, there is still a warning. It is possible to walk with Jesus for years and still become rigid if the relationship fades into routine. When prayer becomes an afterthought, the heart grows stiff. Prayer keeps us soft, teachable, and ready. It opens the door for God’s shaping work. It keeps us flexible enough to hold what He wants to pour into our lives.

Practicing simple daily prayer can help with this. A short morning surrender. A pause before reacting. A quiet moment to listen. Praying Scripture. The invitation is the same for all of us: to be willing, flexible, and open. To let God shape us so we can carry what He wants to give.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

2 Corinthians 5:17

God’s Perfect Wisdom in Every Circumstance

Published on by Texas GospelLeave a comment

FLOYD ROGERS

God’s wisdom has no limits. In every situation, He understands what is truly best for each of us. Because God loves His people and always acts in ways that are right, He must also have perfect wisdom to know what that is at all times.

Unlike people, God never needs advice or a group to help Him make decisions. He does not seek counsel from angels or hold meetings to figure out what to do. Every decision comes from His flawless, endless wisdom. There is no uncertainty with God. He knows what should happen in every moment and situation.

Even when life feels uncertain, believers can be sure that God’s choices are made through perfect understanding.

Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!

Romans 11:33