“Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, did God really say, ‘you must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
Genesis 3:1
There are many people today who question God’s authority and design. Sadly, many of them also claim to be Christians and followers of Christ. God’s authority refers to His sovereignty over all things and all people. God’s design refers to His creation, including people, and how everything is supposed to function according to Him and His Word.
Regarding God’s authority, in the beginning, it was Satan who questioned God’s authority and convinced Eve to do something she knew God had explicitly told her not to do (Genesis 3:1-3). As a result, sin came into the world and has corrupted it and all people ever since! To fix this problem, God sent His one and only Son, Jesus, into the world to take upon himself the penalty and judgement for that sinful act, and all human sin, once and for all! Christians today acknowledge that fact when they place their trust in Jesus for their salvation.
Secularists and non-Christians do not believe in God and therefore do not submit to His authority. They challenge God’s authority all the time and are free to do so since they do not believe in Him. They maintain that they have authority over their own lives. They often also confront Christians in the same way the serpent did in the garden of Eden by challenging them on God’s authority in their lives. And the unprepared Christian can then be swayed by human arguments and cultural norms if they don’t know the Bible and what it says or doesn’t say.
Regarding God’s design, He created the earth and everything in it (John 1:3). He created humans as male and female to reproduce (Genesis 1:27) and to take care of the world and have dominion over everything in it (Genesis 1:28-30). He created marriage between the male and the female and that family structure as the basis for all society (Genesis 2:24). Secularists and non-Christians assert that sexual preference, gender identity, and nature management are human choices apart from God. As a result, they will not submit to God’s design either and will challenge it at every opportunity. They put themselves above God!
So, why do so many Christians today act more like secularists and non-believers by doubting God’s Word and challenging God’s authority and design? I believe that there are three reasons for this. First, they lack a relationship with God. Second, they succumb to worldly pressure. And third, they act in their own self-interest. Let me explain each one.
First, since God created us, He desires to have a relationship with us (John 3:16). After all, we are made in His image (Genesis 1:27). But He also gave us the freedom to choose to have a relationship with Him. If we choose to do that, we will draw near to God and He will then draw near to us (James 4:8). And the more we know God through reading His Word and prayer, the stronger the relationship we will have with Him. Relationships are built by spending time together! And the strength of that relationship is what produces trust in Him and faith in His Son Jesus. A weak relationship with God and His Word produces doubt and a lack of trust in His promises, which leads us to question or doubt what God really said. When we fail to spend time with God, we can be easily led away from Him through the same words Satan used to deceive Eve!
Second, because of sin we live in a fallen and corrupt world. We must live in the world, but not be “of the world”. 1 John 2:16 says “For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world.” In other words, the world (sinful man) is against God and will try to separate us from Him and His son Jesus. This is typically done through cultural influences and what people and nations believe to be normal and acceptable behavior and practice. But if we become a friend to the world, we become an enemy of God (James 4:4). So, Christians must be on their guard from false teaching and people who question what God’s Word really says. We must know the Word and then trust God and not the world!
Third, most people live according to their own interests and desires. It’s in our nature to be self-centered and rely on what we think or know or have experienced ourselves. But God challenges us to submit to His will, design, and purpose for our lives because it is what is best for us. Unfortunately, we humans think we know better and often choose our own way instead of God’s way. We would rather trust in our experience and knowledge than risk trusting in God and His promises. In doing so, we fail to receive the blessings He wants to give us and instead prefer to live a less abundant and safer life (John 10:10). We don’t believe in His Word when he says, “Delight yourself in the lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalms 37:4) Yes, God really did say that!
We live in a time and culture that seeks to remove God and His Word from our world. Whether it is persecution of Christians through imprisonment or death, marginalizing or limiting the voice of Christians, or influencing Christians to question their faith through the twisting of God’s Word, they are all attacks on God and His people, the heirs of His Eternal Kingdom. As Christians, we must put on the full armor of God so we can resist the attacks of Satan and the world (Ephesians 6:11-12). We must know His Word, trust His promises, and put our faith in His Son, Jesus!
Did God really say… “Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”?
Yes, He did!! (Galatians 6:8)