In previous bulletin articles we’ve been looking at common objections to Christianity. This week I want to look at the objection that Christianity is no longer relevant.

When told about Christianity, people may agree that it was helpful for those in the past, but they claim that it is no longer relevant for them. They believe that times have changed and the Bible is an old book that doesn’t speak to people today.

To answer this objection it must firstly be understood that times have not changed. Ecclesiastes reminds us: ‘What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, “Look! This is something new”? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time’ (Ecclesiastes 1:9-10). And if you read some history and then look around you, it is quickly clear that humans have not changed. We still inhabit the same bodies that are still susceptible to sickness and death. We still crave the same things that people before us craved and sin in the same ways that people in the past have sinned. Humanity has not changed.

Therefore the Bible still has relevance for us today. Just as man is still stuck in his sinful habits and destined for hell, so God is still graciously offering salvation to all those who will accept it. Thus the person who repents of his sin and believes that Jesus died for him is destined for heaven just as much as someone who repented and believed in times past.

And it is not only concerning salvation that Christianity is relevant today, it is relevant in teaching us how to live. If someone becomes a Christian they are changed into a better person. They begin to behave differently. They are more loving toward those around them. They have a joy that no one can stifle. So if someone carefully examines the life of a Christian, they should quickly realise that Christianity is still relevant as they witness the impact that Christianity has made on a sinful life.

So do you consider Christianity to be old news that is no longer relevant? Or do you recognise that humanity hasn’t changed and nor have God’s timeless truths? If yes, do you live out those truths so that people can see in your life that Christianity is still relevant?             

Joel Radford.