Betting on the existance of God

New Zealanders often enjoy a bet. On the first Tuesday in
November many offices would have held sweepstakes for a horse race that is not
even run in this country. As a nation we like to gamble and at this very moment
there are many gambling on their salvation.

For some people a stumbling block to believing in God and the
deliverance offered by Christ is the absence of proof. The problem of waiting
for the evidence is that by the time it arrives it may be too late. For others
they have simply lost the wonderment of life. Preoccupied with stock prices,
sports results and celebrity pregnancies they have forgotten that we are
miraculously floating in space and God put us here!

At some stage we must all, think about the future
consequences of rejecting God. The act of living makes it impossible to avert
the issue. People who are seeking confirmation of Gods existence may in fact be
asking the wrong question. Their time could be better spent on considering the
outcome of the race.

Belief in God is not a decision. You cannot declare that this
morning I will believe in God. You either believe or you do not believe. The
decision is whether you are going to act in a manner that will lead to believing
in God, for example by becoming born again and living according to the
principles espoused by Christ. The person who follows these principles is
betting that God exists. The person who cannot be bothered or rejects salvation
is betting that God does not exist.

If you are asking is there a God? You are faced with two
simple choices. That an outcome in which God exists is preferable or more
valuable than an outcome in which God does not exist. Using this insight we have
a choice in which the value of the outcome and the likelihood that it may occur
will differ because the consequences of the two outcomes are different.

If God does not exist then whether you live a Christian life
is immaterial. But suppose that God does exist. Then if you bet against the
existence of God by refusing to accept the salvation offered by Christ you run
the risk of eternal damnation; the winner of the bet that God does exist has the
possibility of eternal life. Even the most hardened skeptic would have to accept
that life is far more preferable to damnation.

The only sure call is "Heads Christ wins - Tails Satan
loses"

" For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life." John 3:16

The writer acknowledges "Against the Gods" by Peter L.
Bernstein as the inspiration for this article.