The one thing Christians can count on when sharing their faith is opposition. Supposed biblical contradictions, human reasoning, erring believers (and/or hypocrites), and cherished sins have lead millions to war against their Creator. Among the many forms of resistance are the statements posited by skeptics and atheists that stump and even sway Christians who are weak in faith.
The questions they present seem insurmountable. But as Christians aware of the end times, we love these people and we don’t want to lose them. But what do we do about this supposedly invincible wall of gotcha questions between us and them?
The answer is simple: Nothing.
Now let me be clear: I am NOT suggesting we abandon our duty to spread the gospel to the unbelieving. But we were not divinely commissioned to engage in needless debating over “gotcha questions.” Jesus makes this truth plain in His Sermon on the Mount.
“Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.” (Mt. 7:6)
Say that one of your atheist friends asks you a number of gotcha questions and challenges you to answer them. Say that you answer them to their satisfaction. What are they going to do after that? Are they going to trample those Bible truths underfoot and come at you with more “gotchas”?
Pray and find out from the Lord if this battle is worth fighting. If He shows you that their hearts are not open to the truth, leave their gotcha questions alone.
Gotcha Questions vs Genuine Questions
“But what about those people who have legitimate questions?”, you may ask. Through the biblical account of the queen of Sheba, the Lord tells us exactly what to do: Answer them.
“And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to prove him with hard questions…she communed with him of all that was in her heart. And Solomon told her all her questions…And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon’s wisdom…there was no more spirit in her.” (1 Ki. 10:1-5)
There are people in the world like the queen of Sheba who have hard, but genuine questions. The Lord knows that answering them would bring these diligent seekers of truth closer to Him. So He leads them to men and women of God-given wisdom like Solomon and gives them their cherished answers.
Jesus and Gotcha Questions
Jesus encountered gotcha questions from unbelievers in His time, as well. The religious establishment hit Him with a barrage of seemingly impossible-to-answer questions.
“And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him….” (Jn. 8:3-6)
“Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men. Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?” (Mt. 22:15-17)
“The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother: Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. And last of all the woman died also. Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her.” (Mk. 12:18-23)
In His effectively answering them, Jesus taught us a few lessons about dealing with people that ask gotcha questions.
The Jewish leaders did not have a genuine desire for answers as Nicodemus in John 3 and the unnamed scribe in Mark 12:28-34. They asked these questions to find something that they could use against Him. They wanted to “entangle him in his talk.”
Moreover, it was the opponents of Jesus that went to debate Him. While the Lord used these moments to convict His opponents and teach His listeners, He never went looking to debate the unbelieving. Hisprimary focus was on ministering to the needs of others through teaching, preaching, and healing.
Lastly, despite satisfactorily answering their gotcha questions, the religious establishment still rejected Him as the Messiah. They chose to continue in the same path of hypocrisy and unbelief. Answering their gotcha questions did nothing for them.
Don’t Waste Your Time
Times have changed. So have the gotcha questions. But our mission to the world is still the same. Wasting time on answering gotcha questions will only keep us from ministering to those genuinely seeking the truth and us from growing closer to God. Making this mistake in the last days is fatal.
Had Noah been so distracted, he and his family would have been washed away by the Flood. Understanding this, let us avoid the gotcha questions and focus on finishing the work God gave us to do. We don’t have much time left.
“I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.” (Jn. 9:4)
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