Why People
Refuse to Believe
By Josh McDowell and Don Stewart
Christians
are now and have always been in the minority. Most of the people presently
living have not trusted Christ as their Savior. This however is exactly as
Jesus 
said
it would be. “Straight is the gate and
narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life and few there be that find it”
(Matthew 7:14 KJV). This has been the case throughout
all of history. There are several reasons why a large part of humanity has
rejected Jesus as their Savior.
Ignorance
One
reason people do not become Christians is out of ignorance. This is not
ignorance that there is a God or a person named Jesus Christ, but rather
ignorance to the facts validating Christian faith. Many times this ignorance is
self-imposed. Some people are not even bothering to consider the claims of
Christ, while others are actively refusing to believe.
Many
people claim they have intellectual problems with the Christian faith, when
usually what they have are intellectual or emotional excuses. We are aware of
many people who, after having been presented the facts of Christianity, have
readily admitted that they know Christianity is true, yet they still refuse to
become Christians.
This,
therefore, is not a problem of the mind, but of the will. It is not that they
cannot become Christians; it is more of a matter that they will not become
Christians. The Bible teaches that
humanity is attempting to suppress the truth of God “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness
and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;” (Romans 1:18, KJV). People are ignorant of the credentials of Jesus, by and
large, because they want to be.
The Simplicity of the
Gospel
Another
reason is the simplicity of the gospel. It is so simple to become a Christian
that even a child can do it. In fact, to enter the kingdom of heaven, Jesus
taught that we must become as children, “…And
said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little
children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3, KJV) In simple faith, we must place our trust in Christ whether we
be college professors or people who have never finished grammar school.
The
Apostle Paul said concerning the simplicity of the gospel, “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after
the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the
foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak
things of the world to confound the things which are mighty…that no flesh
should glory in His presence” (1
Corinthians 1:26, 2, 29, KJV).
Paul
taught, as did Jesus, that Christians would never be in the majority, and that
not many prominent people would believe in Jesus. Although there have not been
many great men and women in history who have trusted Jesus, there have been
some.
Life Will Be Boring
Further,
people don’t become Christians because of the mistaken idea of what really is a
Christian. Many think Christianity is a religion with a set of negative
commandments saying, “Don’t do this and don’t do that.” They get the idea that
when you believe in Jesus, you resign yourself to a life of unhappiness,
restrictions, and boredom.
Since
no one wants to live that way, they write off Christianity as something to
which they don’t want to commit their lives. It is a sad fact that some
Christians give the impression to the world that their faith consists only of a
group of negative commandments. Nothing could be further from the truth.
When a
person trusts Jesus as Savior, he becomes truly free. Jesus said, “If the Son therefore shall make you free,
ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:36,
KJV). Jesus Christ is in the business
of setting men and women free from things that have them in bondage so that
they can be the type of people they were meant to be.
As
believers we are free to do what we want to do and not do what we don’t want to
do. The Christian life is anything but boring, because there is the daily joy
and excitement of knowing the living God and experiencing all the good things
He has in store for us. “Delight thyself
also in the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart” (Psalm 37:4, KJV).
Guilt
Some
people don’t become Christians because of guilt feelings. They have lived lives
in which they’ve committed many ugly acts and crimes, and they don’t believe
they can be forgiven by God and that a decent life can be given to them.
However, the Bible clearly teaches
that anyone without exception, who seeks God and desires to be forgiven of his
sins will be forgiven. There is no sin that’s too great to stop someone from
going to heaven except the sin of unbelief. If a person refuses to believe in
God’s provision for his sin -- the person of Jesus Christ -- then there is no
hope for him. Jesus said, “Him that
cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37 KJV).
The Bible says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16, KJV). You and I are included in that “whosoever.”
If you
will come to Jesus, He has promised to forgive you of your sins, and He will
allow you to start over again with a clean slate, no matter how corrupt you
have been.
Love of Sin
Many
people love their sin to the point that they will miss getting into heaven. To
become a Christian, a person must repent (change his heart and mind) of his
sins, and this many people are not willing to do even though Jesus said, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise
perish” (Luke 13:3, KJV).
Self-Centeredness
In
addition, people refuse to believe in Jesus because of self-centeredness.
Someone has said correctly, we believe -- that Christianity is the EASIEST
religion in the world to believe, and it is also the most DIFFICULT religion in
the world to believe.
It is
the easiest because God has done everything for us that needs to be done, and
it is impossible to add to the work of Christ. It is the most difficult because
we have to admit to ourselves and to God that we cannot do anything to save
ourselves. Our pride does not like that, since we want to work out our own
salvation our way. Human nature desires that we dictate our own terms, but God
will accept us only on His terms, and this fact keeps many people out of the
kingdom.
There
are many reasons why people reject Christ, but there are no good reasons.
Josh McDowell and Don Stewart
are co-authors of the best-selling books Answers to Tough Questions and Reasons Skeptics Should Consider Christianity.
