AGNOSTIC

Acts 4:13—When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

According to the American Heritage Dictionary, an agnostic is "One who believes that there can be no proof of the existence of God but does not deny the possibility that God exists." There are two kinds of agnostics—those who have no interest in God and see no compelling evidence to change their minds, and those who have not found Him and consequently have no reason to suggest He exists.

The mistake we make with agnostics is to become defensive. The hair on our neck stands at attention and every brain cell goes on alert to fight. We don't want to be wrong. We want the skeptic to see the light. But what agnostic sees evidence of God in the arena of argument? If the focus is conversion, will the doubter see Christ or our need to win?

The Bible commends us to be prepared when questioned about our faith (1Peter 3:15). It commands us to go and make disciples worldwide (Matthew 28:19). It compels us to pray for the lost (Acts 26:29). It contends that our primary motivation towards people must be love (Mat.22:37-39). But underneath everything we do is the fundamental truth that God reveals Himself to people through His Holy Spirit (1Corinthians 2:12-14). Without the Holy Spirit we cannot understand God let alone believe He exists. Therefore, the challenge for us is not to fulminate against the faithless, but rather to live so that His impact on our behavior is unmistakable evidence of His invisible presence.

Our message is not to be predicated upon wise and persuasive words but rather on God's power (1Co.2:4,5)! Conduct is an awesome orator. Our obedience before God is what the agnostic needs modeled! If a picture is worth a thousand words, godliness is worth a million movies. Perhaps a sadder phrase than "I cannot accept" is the phrase, "I’ve not seen . . ." Every society has its agnostics. If only every society had disciples of Jesus inflamed with love for the Lord Who is alive and makes every breath worth taking!

Inspiration

An agnostic says, "I cannot accept anything about deity; I can accept only facts about human nature." If you tell him he must accept the fact that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, you will never get near him; but if you go on this line—"Do you believe that Jesus Christ was the best, the holiest Man who ever lived?"—he is obliged to listen.—Oswald Chambers in Bringing Sons Into Glory