Answering Objections: intro
“Good and good for you!” This general food slogan refers to good tasting food that also provides real health benefits. For those of us who like food, this best-of-both-worlds concept is a wonderful ideal to strive for, although daunting to habitually employ, because the unfortunate reality is that lots of ‘not so good for us’ foods actually taste delicious!
In the spiritual realm, there is an area of our personal witness that also contains a ‘good and good for you’ paradigm. It is a win-win proposition. “What is it?” you may wonder. It is the specific area of answering questions and objections people have regarding the Christian faith.
You see, as we are challenged to give a defense for why we believe what we believe, providing answers will support our witness to others while strengthening our own faith in the process. Now that’s “good and good for you!”
While providing answers is a healthy spiritual exercise, it may also be challenging. In fact, the fear of not having an appropriate answer is one reason some believers are reticent to discuss spiritual matters. Yet, providing answers is a critical component of our testimony. 1 Peter 3:15 provides instruction on the matter:
“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.”
We are called to be ready with an answer, but if you don’t have an answer on the spot, that’s ok. The important thing is to know where to get answers.
There is a plethora of solid resources, and may I recommend just a few. Josh McDowell’s Evidence that Demands a Verdict, Vols. 1 & 2 and Who Made God and 100 Other Difficult Questions Answered by Norman Giesler are two excellent books. If you’re looking for websites to support you witness, I recommend carm.org and gotquestions.org. Also, feel free to contact me, and I’ll be happy to assist you.
When thinking about how to answer objections, let’s establish some ground rules. First, we need to qualify a person, which means finding out if their inquiry or objection is sincere or insincere. The “$64,000 question” we need to raise is this. “Are you genuinely interested in getting an answer to their question and if so, are you prepared to deal with the answer?”
You see, there are consequences for anyone who engages in honest inquiry about Jesus and the Christian faith, with the most profound consequence being, “What will you do if you find out that Jesus is exactly who He claims to be?” In other words, “If God shows you the gospel is true, will you believe in Jesus?”
When someone raises questions or objections, as we noted, determine whether that person is sincere or insincere. The honest inquirer is searching for the truth. The insincere person may raise questions as sport because they want to blow you off or make you squirm. This is where listening and qualifying apply. For the insincere, there’s no need to waste your time scrambling for answers.
In the gospels we find Jesus dealing with both sincere and insincere inquiries.
An example of honest inquiry is Nicodemus going to the Lord in the middle of the night in John 3:1-21. In the gospels, a Pharisee going alone to Jesus was not the typical procedure for harassing Jesus. The Pharisees usually embraced the mob mentality when publicly opposing the Lord. After Jesus stated, “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God,” in John 3:2, Nicodemus responded with this inquiry: “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born” (John 3:3)? Following a further explanation of the new birth by Jesus in John 3:5-8, Nicodemus asked, “How can these things be?”
In insincere inquiry is illustrated in this classic interaction between the religious leaders and Jesus in Mark 12:
Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words. When they had come, they said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?”
But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test Me? Bring Me a denarius that I may see it.” So they brought it.
And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”
And Jesus answered and said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at Him (Mark 12:13-17).
I’ve often asked people, especially my Jewish people, this question: “Is there any possibility Jesus is the Messiah?” If they say “no,” we’re done. What can I do? I’m just a guy. If a person has already made up their mind, fine. If they say “maybe,” my next question is: “Are you interested in grappling with evidence and finding out for yourself?”
Find out if the individual’s question or objection is sincere. Do they really want to grapple with a response? If so, proceed. If not, there’s no need to press the issue. Rather, continue to love them and serve them, praying that God would soften their heart.
Additionally, when we think about answering questions and objections regarding our faith, it’s important to define terms.
Hebrews 11:1 states, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Therefore, faith is substantive and based on evidence. I have been accused many times of having blind faith. Many Christians have. Yet our faith isn’t blind, as God has given us many reasons to believe. First and foremost, the tomb is empty, and that truth claim upon which our Christian faith rests or falls begins with this historical fact.
In this series we will address common objections and questions to the Christian faith, providing initial responses and other resources to support your witness. As we track together, my hope and prayer is that you and I will become more equipped to deal with objections and questions, because they are coming! I also pray you would grow in your faith and grow closer to our Lord in the process.
Father, please help us grow in this area of our witness, to always be ready to give an answer. Amen.
“A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, and a word spoken in due season, how good it is” (Proverbs 15:17).