“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
Luke 16:31 NIV
The parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man closes with the rich man asking Abraham to send Lazarus back to warn the rich man’s brothers so they could avoid his fate. Abraham replied that the brothers had Moses and the Prophets to give them a warning. The rich man replied that someone who rises from the dead would be more convincing and lead them to repent. An assertion that Abraham denied.
I have occasionally heard skeptics claim that if God performed a miracle for them with no possible natural explanation, they would believe in God. But would they? Abraham’s response to the rich man in this parable also applies here. The creation itself proclaims the glory and power of the creator. The Scripture reveals God to one who is open. And the lives of God’s people should bear witness to God’s transforming power.
The person who rejects all of that will likely not be convinced, no matter how impressive a miracle might be. They will always find some other explanation to justify their rejection of God and his claim over them.
But no matter how much they reject the truth now, there will come a time when, like the rich man in the parable, they will recognize the truth. But it will be too late for them then.
Don’t be discouraged by those who reject the truth found in Jesus. Be faithful to the one who has called you. And continue to bear witness to the truth. Especially in the way you live. Like unbelieving husbands (1 Pet. 3:1-2), the skeptic may be won over, not by miracles, and not by our words, but by the purity and reverence of our lives.
