Faith: Are You Prepared to Answer the Tough Questions?

My junior year of high school, I was voted Brainiest Female for my graduating class. Why wouldn’t I be? I made High Honor Roll all eight semesters and graduated valedictorian. My peers classified me as “smart.” But the truth is, I wasn’t any smarter than the average person. 

I just knew how to study effectively.

Studying can make all the difference between a successful pass and an epic fail. But studying is not just for school kids. As Christians, we must always be prepared to answer the tough questions. And in order to do that, we have to study.

DID YOU STUDY FOR THE TEST?

In 1 Peter 3:15, our mighty Creator reminds us that we have studying to do of a different type:

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” 

Let’s get something straight right now: If you’re a believer and you live on this earth, you WILL be asked tough questions. And they won’t always be of the simple, “What do you believe and why?” type.

Are you prepared to answer—with gentleness and respect? How would you respond to these arguments when posed by an unbeliever?

There are many ways to get to heaven.

A God of love wouldn’t send people to hell.

Christians use prayer as an excuse to be lazy and neglectful when they should take action instead.

Science has proved that God cannot exist. 

Aren’t all religions basically the same?

What is the difference between something that cannot be heard, seen, or felt, and something that does not exist?

These are just a few of the questions you could be asked at any given moment, and you probably won’t get a lot of warning. Questions from skeptics and unbelievers are akin to a pop quiz.

So how do you prepare for a pop quiz in faith?

1) STUDY THE TEXTBOOK

What is a Christian’s textbook? You guessed it—the Bible. You can’t know chemistry if you never crack open a chemistry book. You’ll struggle with quadratic equations if you don’t study the examples in your algebra book. And you can’t explain what you believe if you never study your Bible.

Since I’ve already written extensively about the importance of daily scripture reading, I will direct you to these posts for more:

• Read Your Bible Every Day: A Feast for the Soul
• Help For Christian Teens Who Struggle to Make Bible Reading a Daily Habit

2) ATTEND CLASS REGULARLY

A good textbook will do you no good if you don’t understand it. That’s why schools hire trained teachers. 

And that’s why churches hire trained ministers.

Your minister can help you understand the parts of the Bible that make no sense to the untrained reader. But he’s not the only one. Don’t overlook the value of Christian mentors who have spent a lifetime studying the Bible. Spend time in worship every week and get plugged into a regular Bible study led by someone with knowledge of scripture.

For more on this:

• Trouble Understanding the Bible? Get Help!
• Why Young Christians Absolutely Need to Go to Church

3) TALK TO THE TEACHER

Sometimes, despite attending class every day and diligently consulting your textbook, you still need a little one-on-one with the teacher to understand a tough concept or difficult equation. For Christians, talking to the teacher is even more important. 

We call this prayer.

Some helpful blog posts to give your prayer habits a boost:

• How to Have a Richer Prayer Life
• The Remarkable Privilege of Prayer

4) DO FIELDWORK

If you’re a farmer, fieldwork means sowing seeds, tending the soil, and harvesting your crops. Fieldwork for Christians is similar. This is where you spread God’s word and get to know those who need to hear it most.

Those questions I posed above? How can you study up and prepare your answers if you have no idea what questions might be asked?

A popular and unfortunate trend is to shut out anyone who holds an opinion contrary to yours. Social media allows you to block or unfollow friends who contradict you or otherwise make you feel uncomfortable. While that can be a blessing, trouble appears when we try to do that in real life.

Yes, Christian friends are important, and maintaining fellowship with a group of believers is crucial to building strong faith. But you also need to go out in the world and listen. Instead of running from someone who declares Christianity is a farce, ask him why he believes that—and really listen to his answer. Become familiar with the popular arguments against faith and the existence of God, then study up so you can answer with love and gentleness instead of panicky harshness.

More Resources to Help You Answer the Tough Questions

For practical advice on what to do when you’re stumped by a question someone asks you, see my post How to Handle the Toughest Questions About God.

To get answers to some of the toughest questions about God (like, what about dinosaurs?), check out this book: Life’s Big Questions God’s Big Answers.

And of course, don’t forget to subscribe to my blog! I cover many of these topics right here.

The possibility for a pop quiz in faith won’t end until you’ve crossed the threshold between earth and eternity. So keep on studying!