Several times in earlier blogs I’ve repeated one of my firmest convictions, which is this: You cannot, with an open mind, read the Bible twice in its entirety without believing in God and accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. I know this from my personal experience so I know it’ll work for you too. It’s important to keep repeating this truth to all unbelievers and challenge them to prove you wrong. Most people will come to God with one reading of the Bible but for those few who don’t start with an open mind. I’m one of the lucky people who have always instinctively believed in God because there is no other logical explanation in my mind for our existence. Studying God’s Word later verified what I already knew in my spirit.
But what about those unbelievers who do not instinctively believe in God and who have little faith? How do we reach the unbeliever who will not accept the personal testimony of others? How do we get through to the unsaved who have the gospel of Christ snatched from their heart by the god of this world (Satan) as soon as they hear it? The answer lies in repeatedly prompting the unbeliever to find the truth of God’s Word themselves by simply reading the Bible with an open mind. I won’t argue with unbelievers about my faith. Those with a closed mind must find God themselves so I simply challenge them with this question, “Have you read the Holy Bible all the way through?”
When they say no, as they invariably do, I tell them to go read the Bible and then let’s talk. Unbelievers go by what they’ve heard others say and not by their own experiences. Mind you, there are some unbelievers who will reject God even when they know the truth of God’s Word. But for the most part unbelievers do not believe in God because they have not read the Bible to see what’s in it. Our job as Christians is to witness for Christ if an unbeliever is receptive. If we determine an unbeliever’s heart is not ready for the gospel we can at least challenge them to read the Bible and discover God themselves.