The Most Googled Questions About God — Episode 1: Can I Be Sure?
Jesus said, “You shall know the truth” (John 8:32). That settles the matter. So why is it that many believers think we can never be sure about our faith until we get to heaven? Some call it a “leap of faith”— an expression that is not in the Bible. Others think certain verses in the Bible teach that we can’t know the truth; we can only hope that we do.
This thinking is becoming more common. Our age is called the period of postmodernism of which skepticism is a key element. It is in public education, especially on the university level. Young people are being taught that nothing is absolute and everything is relative.
The church has been influenced by this teaching. So if you’ve wondered why the faith of some has grown cold, this is one of the reasons. But this episode will show that God didn’t leave us in the dark. He made us and He revealed Himself to us so that we can know Him and His will.
Read about this subject
- Scripture: I Timothy 2:4; Hebrews 11:1; II Corinthians 5:7
- God at a Distance
Listen to more on this subject
Transcript
Kerry Duke: Hi, I’m Kerry Duke, host of My God and My Neighbor podcast from Tennessee Bible College, where we see the Bible as not just another book, but the Book. Join us in a study of the inspired Word to strengthen your faith and to share what you’ve learned with others.
In the last few episodes, we’ve looked at Bible verses people are searching for the most on the Internet. In this episode, we begin a miniseries on the questions people are asking most. And just to give a personal observation, I’ve been preaching and teaching for well over 45 years, and some of these questions surprise me and others don’t. For instance, it doesn’t surprise me that one of the top questions people are asking about God and religion is: why does God allow evil and suffering? It’s usually the “Why?” questions that give us trouble. And that question has even puzzled saints of God, from the prophets in the Old Testament to the martyrs for Jesus in the book of Revelation.
But some of the questions on the top 10 list do surprise me somewhat. It’s not because they’re unimportant. In fact, three of the top five are foundational pillars of Christianity: Does God exist? Is Jesus the son of God? Is the Bible the inspired word of God? The reason it surprises me to see people asking those questions so often is because in previous generations, those questions were settled in the minds of most people here in America and in other countries as well. But more and more those three fundamental beliefs of Christianity are being called into question. That’s why you see more books and hear more sermons on those topics than you did, let’s say, 40 or 50 years ago. There’s more of a need to address those issues now. Parents and preachers cannot assume that those questions are firmly settled in the minds of young and middle-aged people, especially. And, even Christians who have a firm conviction about the existence of God, the deity of Jesus Christ, and the inspiration of the Bible need encouragement these days because those beliefs are under attack. Christians are being asked questions today that they’ve never thought about, and some of them are hard to answer. In fact, many times their children or grandchildren or other relatives are the ones that ask those questions. And, this change in the culture is a challenge for preachers. In previous generations, preachers didn’t have to say a lot about these issues because there wasn’t much debate about them. But now members of churches and visitors to those churches are asking some pointed questions about things like who wrote the Bible and how do we know the Bible is true?
So the research that has been done on these questions is beneficial. It reminds us that the world is changing. And it also takes us back to the basics. At the same time, there are some questions that are strangely missing from this list. According to research, here are the top 10 most frequently asked questions on the Internet about God and religion. The order varies depending the study, and the topics on the list may differ, but this seems to be the consensus:
1. Does God exist?
2. Why does God allow evil and suffering?
3. Does life have a purpose?
4. Is Jesus God?
5. Is the Bible true?
6. Can I know God personally?
7. Is Christianity exclusive?
8. What happens after death?
9. What is the Christian view of salvation?
10. Is there a conflict between religion and science?
These are good questions. We’ll be looking at some of them in episodes to come. But I was surprised that two or three questions were not on the list. For instance, I didn’t see the question “How can I know right from wrong?” Isn’t that one of the most important questions we can ask? Maybe it wasn’t on the list because people think they already know. Maybe it’s because they assume that what they’re doing is right because, in their way of putting it, “it’s right for them.” Whatever the reason, the issue of right and wrong should be up toward the top of the list, but it wasn’t . The same thing is true about salvation. The question of salvation is suggested or stated in a couple of the questions, but you would think it would be more directly stated and closer to the top. After all, that’s the question that we find people asking Jesus and the apostles quite often in the Bible.
But I also wondered why another question was not on the list. It’s the simple question: Can we know the truth? Can we be sure? That really needs to be addressed because how a person answers it will affect all the other questions. If we can’t know the truth, then that means we can’t be sure about any of the rest of them. But if we can know the truth, that means we have the assurance of the truth in our own minds and the right to tell others what the truth is and what it is not. And, it just so happens that this question is being answered in the negative more and more today. How many times have you heard someone say, “You can’t be sure about anything“? He may tell you that you can’t be sure that God exists because you can’t see Him. He may tell you that you can’t be sure what the Bible means because everybody interprets it differently. Now, sometimes a person like that is just trying to confuse you. He’s not serious about getting an answer. But there are other people that have been taught this in their home or at school. They’ve been trained to think like that. And there may be hope for them. But either way, we live in a world where skepticism is a more common problem than it used to be.
But there’s a practical side to this question too. Christians need assurance. We need encouragement. Young people that go to school, especially to college, are pounded with hard questions about their beliefs. It can be a frightening and an unsettling thing not to know how to answer a question about your beliefs, especially if those questions are about basic matters, like the existence of God, or the inspiration of the Bible. And, the Internet has compounded that problem. There is no teaching of Christianity that is not being attacked and denied on the Internet today. No matter what question a person enters into a Google search about God and religion, no matter what videos come up on the subjects, no matter what comments people post about them, there will be people on both sides of the issue. And if you read or listen to too much of this arguing, you can get discouraged and say “I don’t think anybody knows for sure.“
And even if you don’t have any doubts in your mind, it’s good to look at what the Bible says about this. Sometimes Christians grow weary of the battle and lose their confidence. Sometimes they feel inferior because they have trouble answering some well educated, well spoken person. And sometimes the struggles and burdens of life can lead us to doubt. So this episode will look at the question “Can l know the truth? Can I be sure?” from a biblical, logical, and common sense standpoint.
Let’s start with the Bible. What did Jesus say about this? Did He say we can know the truth and be sure? Some of you may be thinking about a verse of Scripture where He talked about this. It’s John chapter 8 verse 32: “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” There you have it straight from the son of God Himself. Jesus said you shall know the truth. Here’s a question: did Jesus tell the truth about knowing the truth? Of course He did. Why would any preacher or apologist deny that? How can they deny what Jesus said. If they say we can’t really be sure, that we can’t know the truth, then they’re saying Jesus lied about this. That’s how serious this is. This is not just some academic, hypothetical issue that’s been blown out of proportion. The view that we cannot know the truth undermines everything in Christianity.
First Timothy chapter 2 verse four says God “desires all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” That verse says God wants two things for us. He wants us to be saved, and He wants us to know the truth. Obviously, you have to know the truth before you can be saved. He’s not giving the order of the plan of salvation here. He simply stating the facts. But here’s what I want you to notice. God wants us to know the truth as much as he wants us to be saved. Now if what we’re being told is true, and we cannot really know the truth, then why does the Bible say God wants us to know it? Of course, not everybody will be saved. Not everybody will know the truth. But this verse says we can know the truth and be saved because God wants us to know the truth and be saved. It’s every man’s choice. It lies within every man’s grasp. Sure, sometimes it’s hard to figure out what a verse means. But in regard to your salvation, you can know the truth. Anyone who is willing to know the truth can know the truth.
Paul said in Romans one verse 20 that nature shows us God exists. And he was talking about Gentiles that didn’t have the written law of Moses. That means that a person can know that God exists, even if he doesn’t know anything about the Bible. All the person has to do is to look up or down or around him to see the hand of God. Anyone, anywhere at any time can see this proof. Romans one verse 20 says that we can “clearly see” and understand that God made all this just by reasoning from the creation. When someone tells you, “I’m just not sure that there is a God,” that person either hasn’t thought about it or is not being honest. Romans one verse 20 not only says that we can clearly see that God is the Creator of all this, but it also says there is no excuse for a man not seeing that God made it. Paul said he is without excuse. That reminds us of a verse in the Old Testament. The Bible says in Psalm 14 verse one, “The fool has said in his heart, there is no God.“
There is also every reason in the world to believe and know that Jesus is the Christ. Jesus said in John seven verse 17, “If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.” The prophecies about Jesus in the Old Testament show conclusively that He is the Son of God. Psalm 22 was written 1000 years before Jesus was born. But that section of Scripture foretells what Jesus said on the cross. It foretells what the Jewish leader said to Him when He was on the cross. It tells what the soldiers did with His clothes. It says they pierced His hands and His feet. It says that He would suffer humiliation, thirst, and excruciating pain. And Psalm 22 is just one of the many prophecies about Jesus in the Old Testament.
Then you have all the miracles that Jesus did that proved He is the Messiah. Jesus said His miracles proved who He was. He told the Jews in John 10 verses 37 and 38, “If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.” Did you notice that Jesus told these Jews they could believe and know that He was the Son of God? Sometimes people say, “You can have faith that God exists, but you can’t know it.” They also say, “If you believe it, you can’t know it, and if you know it, it makes no sense to say you believe it.” But Jesus didn’t agree with that. He said you can believe and know the truth. That’s what Paul said in First Timothy 4 verse 3. He talked about those who “believe and know the truth.” Belief in the Bible (in the sense of saving faith) doesn’t just mean you have an opinion. It doesn’t just mean that you have a strong feeling about something. It does mean you have strong feelings, but you also have evidence. You have proof. And that proof is what helps to give you assurance. Faith is not a leap in the dark. It is not a godly guess or a holy hunch. It is a firm and chosen conviction. It is the acceptance of the revelation God gives us in nature and in the Bible. A person can know the truth and not believe it. Many of the Jews responded to Jesus like this. Some in the Bible saw Jesus work miracles, and yet they didn’t believe in Him. John 12 verse 37 says, “But although He had done so many miracles before them, they did not believe in Him.” A person can know something and choose not to believe it.
Here are some other things the Bible says we can be sure about. We can know that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Peter wrote, “knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” This is not a verse about the interpretation of Scripture. It is about the inspiration of Scripture. And Peter says we can know it is from God.
And, contrary to what a host of people say today, we can know what the Bible means. Paul said in Ephesians 3 verses 3 and 4, “By revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ.” That doesn’t mean we’ll know what every verse in the Bible means. But it does mean that we can know what we need to understand to obey God and go to heaven.
This also includes knowing true teaching from false teaching. “If anyone wants to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority” (John 7 verse 17). Paul said, “Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil” (I Thessalonians 5 verses 21 and 22). We can know right from wrong. We can distinguish truth from error.
And here’s a practical, personal side to this issue. We can know if we are saved. “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments” (First John 2 verse 3). “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God” (First John 5 verse 13). Peter said to “make your calling and election sure” in Second Peter 1 verse 10. Now what do all these verses say about the idea that you can never be sure that you’re saved? Have you heard that before? Have you heard someone say that you can hope that you’re saved but you can’t be sure. That’s a misunderstanding of the word “hope”in the Bible. When the Bible says we have the hope of eternal life in verses like Titus 1 verse 2, that doesn’t mean hope like we sometimes say that word in everyday speech.When we say, “I hope so,” we’re saying we don’t know for sure but we’d like for it to happen. But that is not how the Bible uses the word hope. Hope in the Bible is confident expectation. And the Bible gives us the right to have that kind of hope. It’s sad that Christians who have sacrificed and endured hardship all their life and are nearing the end of their journey believe they really can’t be sure where they are going when they die because somebody told them they can never know. But thank God that’s not true. Thank God we can go forward in the Christian life with assurance. And, if you’d like to read more in the Bible about how to know that you’re saved, I would highly recommend the book of First John. And, I would recommend the books of First and Second Peter. In the book of First Peter, he says in First Peter 3 verse 21 that we are saved through baptism by the resurrection of Christ. He says in this book of First Peter to endure suffering. He teaches us to be subject to people who are over us. In the book of Second Peter, Peter himself knows he’s about to die soon. And he tells us to add the Christian graces to our faith—virtue, knowledge, self-control, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and love. And he said in chapter 1 verse 10 that we can make our calling and election sure. We can be sure about it!
But what about Second Corinthians 5 verse 7? That verse says “We walk by faith, and not by sight.” Many say this verse shows that we don’t know, but we do believe. So their interpretation is: “We know by faith, not by sight.” That’s not what the verse says. That’s not the context. He says we “walk by faith, not by sight.”
People on both sides of this issue quote this verse like it’s a contrast between faith and knowledge. But that is not what Paul teaches. It’s about the basis of the Christian walk, living the Christian life. He said we don’t live or walk according to sight. What is that sight in the context? Look back at II Corinthians chapter 4. In Second Corinthians chapter 4 verses 17 and 18 Paul wrote, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” The word “look” in chapter 4 verse 18 is the “sight” Paul mentions in chapter 5 verse 7. It’s not physical sight at all. He says in Second Corinthians 4 verse 18 that we don’t look at the things that are seen. That’s a play on words. To look at means to aim for, to long for, to set your hopes on something. We don’t set out mind on earthly things. That is not how we “walk” or live our lives. We live our lives by faith. We walk according to God’s Word. The Bible says “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10 verse 17). But that does not deny that know what we’re doing or where we’re going!
Second Corinthians 5:7 has nothing to do with the meaning of faith and knowledge in discussions about Christian evidences. This is a verse about the Christian attitude and the Christian life, not about Christian apologetics. It’s a practical verse about the mindset of Christians, not a statement about the nature of proof.
Here’s another verse that is often brought up in discussions about faith and knowledge. How many times have you heard that “Faith will end in sight” or “Faith will be lost in heavenly sight”? Where is that in the Bible? Some would say it’s taught in First Corinthians 13 verse 12—“For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.” The interpretation usually given is this: “For now” (in this life, on earth) “we see in a mirror, dimly, but then” (in heaven) “face to face.” It says we know “in part” or partially now, but we’ll know more fully in heaven.
That is not what Paul is talking about in the context. He is not discussing going to heaven. Look carefully at the words “in part” in verse 12. Now go back to verse 8. “Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.” Paul is explaining how divine revelation (the Word of God) was given by the Holy Spirit to the first-century church. He mentions three gifts in the early church that God gave for that purpose: prophesy, tongues, and the gift of knowledge. And, he said they would cease. Now notice the words “in part” in verse 9: “For we know in part and we prophesy in part.” This continues what he says in verse 8. When he says, “We know in part,” he is not talking about ordinary Christian knowledge. He means the kind of knowledge in verse 8—the miraculous gift of knowledge, the gift called “the word of knowledge” in chapter 12 verse 8. These gifts would pass away when the New Testament was completed as the final written revelation. Verse 10 says, “But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.” Notice again the expression “in part.” Then he gives the illustration in verse 11: “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” Then he says, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part,” (the temporary period of oral revelation) “but then” (that is, when the revelation is complete, when the New Testament books are delivered) “I shall know just as I also am known.” This verse has nothing to do with how we know God here in contrast to how we will know Him in heaven. Other passages like First John 3 verse 2 address that, but not I Corinthians 13 verse 12.
Besides, there are other verses that show this dichotomy between faith and sight even in this life is false. Paul said he had seen the Lord in First Corinthians 9 verse 1. Does that mean He stopped believing after He saw Jesus on the road to Damascus? Jesus told Thomas, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed” (John 20 verse 29). Thomas did not stop believing when he saw the risen Lord. His faith did not end in sight. His faith was revived by sight.
So how does Hebrews 11 verse 1 fit into this discussion? The King James Version and the New King James Version have “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Some have taken this to mean that faith is built on evidence. Faith is based on evidence, but that is not the point in Hebrews 11 verse 1. The The American Standard Version is a better translation of this verse. It reads: “Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen.” This verse is about the mental and emotional state of the believer, not the proof that his faith is true. It is not about the ground of our faith (like the King James Version expresses) but the nature of the faith that is built upon evidence—assurance and conviction about things not seen. Hebrews 11 verse 1 doesn’t address the question of religious knowledge but instead builds on it.
Please don’t think this is a silly argument about words. We’re living in a generation when it’s common to hear people say things like, “You have to take a leap of faith,” “The atheist has his faith and I have mine,” and “If you know it, you don’t believe it, and if you believe it, you don’t know it.” How can anyone believe that making statements like gives encouragement to Christians? If they’re taken seriously, they cause doubt. And here is something else to think about. Young people are hearing this a lot. They’re being told that they can’t be sure God exists. They’re even being told that even if there is a God, they can’t say for sure which one is the real God. Our young people have been taught that they shouldn’t say Christianity is the true religion and Jesus is the only way to the Father. Teachers at school and their friends are telling them that they can’t say things like homosexuality and transgenderism are wrong. Young people are being taught that nothing is absolute. Nothing is certain. No one belief is any better than another. Everything is relative. Of course, the people who preach this don’t practice it. They talk like their opinion about homosexuality and transgenderism is THE TRUTH. Their view is absolute. Their philosophy is certain. Their belief is actually the one that’s intolerant and judgmental. But all this springs from the mindset that has been instilled in the hearts of the American public for the last three or four generations—that no one can be certain about anything. And yet every time they speak they contradict themselves on that very point!
Christians are being told by everyone from so-called Bible scholars to people who have never read the Bible, “You don’t know your interpretation of the Bible is right because every person interprets it differently.”
And, if that’s not bad enough, there are Christian college professors who take this position. And some authors, debaters and speakers in Christian evidences and creation science say no one can really be sure that God exists, that Jesus is the Son of God and that the Bible is His word.
One book on apologetics says, “There is not enough evidence anywhere to absolutely prove God.” The writer was a professor in a Christian university! He said there is not enough evidence to “absolutely prove God.” We would ask, “Is there enough evidence to ‘absolutely prove’ that claim?”
Another book on Christian evidences states: “The Christian does not claim to be able to prove with 100 percent certainty that Jesus rose from the dead.” And again, we would ask, “Can you prove that statement with “100 percent certainty”?
Another author in his case for Christianity says “attempts to prove God’s existence” are “inconclusive.” He’s trying to convince people in the book that God exists and Jesus is His Son, but he says you really can’t know for sure. So why should anyone listen to him? According to him, you’re no better off that you were to start with.
But remember what Jesus said. “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8 verse 32). Remember that God wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (First Timothy 2 verse 4). That doesn’t mean you’re arrogant when you say you know the truth. It doesn’t mean you know everything. And, just because a person knows the truth doesn’t make him saved just because he knows it. There are a lot of people who know better than the way they live. The Bible talks about people who know to do good and do it not (James 4 verse 17). But at the same time, God has given us the privilege of knowing that He is, that Jesus is His only begotten Son, and that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. We don’t have to live our lives in doubt. We don’t need to be afraid of telling people the truth. And we sure don’t need to listen to people who say your truth may not be my truth and nobody knows anyway.
The world needs clarity, not confusion. Christians need confidence, not doubt. And you can be sure that God gives us the ability to have that assurance.
And, the Lord, willing, we plan to dedicate the next episode to the question that is at the top of the list of the most frequently asked questions in Internet searches: Does God exist?
Thank you for listening to My God and My Neighbor. Stay connected with our podcast on our website and on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever fine podcasts are distributed. Tennessee Bible College, providing Christian education since 1975 in Cookeville, Tennessee, offers undergraduate and graduate programs. Study at your level. Aim higher and get in touch with us today.