I had a conversation today that I wish you could have
eavesdropped on. It was that precious. I was preparing for the show
about an hour ago at my home and I heard a knock at the door. There was
a gentleman who had something to sell. Fortunately, it was a bona fide
product, it had genuine value to me. He wasn't knocking on my door
offering me some lousy chocolate so that he could go to Disneyland and
not spray paint my wall. No, it was the real McCoy. In fact, it was a
product I had used in the past and I thought it was great, so he got
three sentences into his presentation and I said, "Hey, how much is it
and where do I sign?" I had him come in and wrote him a check right
then.
I had been lecturing two nights before at the Evangelical Free
Church in Corona, talking about tactics in defending the faith. One of
the questions that was asked in the Q & A afterwards had to do with
boldness and getting out there, getting involved and actually using the
things you are learning so you can hopefully win people to your faith
in Jesus Christ.
I know a lot of times it is easier to sit in a
class and learn about evangelism and defending your faith than it is to
get out there and do it. That is why I always encourage people to take
every opportunity they can to get out and mix it up, even if they don't
think they are up to snuff on answering the questions and the issues. I
will tell you, quite frankly, I don't always feel up to snuff myself.
There are many circumstances I go into that I just don't feel up to,
either emotionally or intellectually.
You might think, "How can
that be? He's been doing this for years?" It's because there is a lot
to know. Every time I step out, I still have to trust that God is going
to use me and will work in the circumstance in just the same way that
you have to do. My encouragement to the folks during the Q & A that
night is to just step out and mix it up. Just get into the fray.
Begin
by asking questions. Find some way into the conversation such that
spiritual issues become a topic of conversation. Maybe you get beat up,
maybe not; but it is the way to learn. It's the way to begin having an
impact. You've got to start somewhere.
Today, as this gentleman
came in, it just flowed very nicely. I saw a great opportunity to take
ten minutes, which is all I had with this man, to tell him something
about Jesus Christ. I didn't know how I was going to get into it. I
didn't know if I was going to run into objections or obstacles. But it
was wonderful the way it all turned out.
As I was filling out my
check, he asked me something about sports and if I was watching the
football game. I said no, I was studying.
He said, "What do you do? Are you in school?"
I
said, "I'm in school, I teach in school, I run an educational
organization, I host a radio show, and that is why I'm studying."
"What school is it?"
"Simon Greenleaf University, a Christian school. I teach Apologetics. Do you know what that is?"
"No, I never heard of it."
He was sitting on my easy chair in my living room. I'd already given him the check. He was looking at me.
"Apologetics
is a field in which we defend the Christian faith. People ask
questions, challenge Christianity, they think Christianity is mindless.
My point of view is that if you are really mindful, if you use your
mind and your reason, you will become rationally obliged to become a
Christian. The evidence is that good."
It wasn't anything fancy, in fact that is about all that I had to say.
He
said, "Let me ask you a question. What mystifies me is that there are
so many different religions in the world, there are hundreds of them,
and everybody has a different idea about God. How could it be the case
then that there is only one way to God?"
This is a classic
question that's asked of Christians often. It seemed to him that the
fact that many people believe different things was evidence that no one
thing could be true.
He followed up with the comment, "When I die I believe I will meet the God I believe in."
I asked him a simple question, "If there is a God and there is one God, then when we die we will meet somebody, right?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"How
is it that believing that God is Allah, for example, makes God into
Allah when I die and meet him? Or if I believe he is Jesus, how does
that make God into Jesus when I die? In other words, my belief before
death doesn't cause what God is going to be after it. He is going to be
what He is. The real question is whether my view of God is accurate or
not."
He nodded and said, "I guess that is the question."
I
said, "And if you understand that to be the issue, I guess that answers
your question. How could there be so many religions? Easily, because
people have different opinions. But it certainly doesn't follow from
that, that all those opinions lead to God. In fact, either God is
personal like the Christians describe, or He is a floating cosmic
battery cell, some impersonal power or force in the universe. But I'll
tell you one thing, He can't be both. If He can't be both, that means
there are a whole lot of people that are simply mistaken in their
belief. Now, the question you have to ask yourself is, is your belief
about God correct?"
He nodded in understanding. That's when I
made the switch, because I didn't want to leave it, especially in a
short encounter like this, just talking about philosophy and
apologetics, or just talking about answering his questions. There was
something more critical he needed to know about. This is not just an
intellectual argument. I wanted him to understand about Jesus.
I
will tell you a secret. I'm not always excited about getting to the
Jesus part. Sometimes it is a lot easier for me to talk about ideas.
Why? You can talk about ideas and get different opinions and, even
though there are differing views, it seems somewhat safe. But when you
start talking about Jesus, that gets personal. It is awkward even for
me. I admit it. But I needed to get to Jesus. Why? This man wasn't
going to be saved by my ideas. He could only be changed and influenced
and forgiven through Jesus, so I had to get to Him.
I think
Jesus had some things going for Him. Jesus said that He was God and
that He understood spiritual matters. He said the choice you make about
Him will determine where you spend eternity. It's one thing for a
person to claim such a thing, it's another thing for someone to back it
up. Look at Jesus. He gave the greatest moral teaching the world has
ever seen. He worked miracles. He healed people. He raised people from
the dead. When people practice His principles, they transform society
for good. In fact, Jesus even predicted His own death, and in fact,
died and self-consciously raised Himself from the dead. There's a guy
who has some credibility.
What about Buddha? He's still in the
grave. What about Mohammed? He didn't work any miracles. What about
Krishna? It is not even clear that he even existed. But Jesus did and
He changed the world. It seems to me if you are going to put your bets
on some spiritual option, it is best to go with Somebody and listen to
Somebody who has credibility. That is Jesus Christ.
He looked around my library and said, "Gee, you've got a lot of books here. Guess you've got a lot of learning to do."
I
said, "Yeah, there are a lot of things to learn. It is a life-long
process. But the simple gospel is very simple. I'll tell you what that
is. The simple gospel is that you have sinned before God. You are a
sinner. You know it."
You might think, "Boy, that's kind of
bold." But we were having a friendly conversation and I was telling him
the truth and I wasn't being nasty about it. I wasn't condemning him. I
was telling him something true about himself that he already knew. By
the way, this is called the "back of the book" tactic. Everyone has a
sense of guilt. I know that because I've read the book that talks about
everyone.
I said, "You know it," and he nodded his head. "Jesus
has come to make it possible for you to be forgiven. God is responding
to your guilt with an offer of forgiveness. Now, you can receive the
forgiveness that He offers through Jesus, you can bend your knee, you
can ask Christ to forgive you, and then follow Jesus with your life. Or
you can ignore Him, shine Him on and turn your back on Him, and then
you stand before God when you die, guilty for your crimes and you will
have to pay for them."
He paused for a moment. I said, "There is
a lot to know but that is the beginning point. Everything else after
that is learning. You learn how to apply this. How does this affect my
life? How does this affect my marriage? How do I apply this in raising
children? How do I apply this in my business? How do I understand these
verses? How do I live before God? How do I know God? All of that comes
and that is the lifelong process. But the basics, the fundamentals are
very simple."
That was my opportunity to tell him very clearly,
very directly and very personally what this is about. Having removed
his smoke screen, I answered a question he had about people and God and
the person of Jesus. That's the same for me and you and everyone else.
That is the real question that makes all the difference in the world.
That is the only ultimate question that matters.
He said, "Why is it that people reject that?"
I
said, "Well, I think it really comes down to one thing. It is not
cultural. I've been in 23 different countries and it seems the same
everywhere. The questions may be different, influenced by the culture,
but the issue is still the same. The issue is man's heart. Men don't
want to bend the knee. They want to be captain of their own ship. They
want to be master of their own fate. They don't know who they are or
where they are going, but they think they can run things pretty much
themselves. They don't want God sticking His nose into their business.
They don't want God sticking His nose into their bedroom. They don't
want God in their checkbook. They don't want God in their business
life. They don't want God in their dating life. They don't want God
anywhere. In fact, the only time they want anything to do with God is
when they want something from God, or they want to complain to God for
something bad that has happened to them. That's it. Other than that,
get rid of God."
That is the appeal of a lot of eastern
religions. Low on responsibility, high on individual freedom. You don't
have to bend the knee.
I ended with this, "Why do people reject
that? That's a question you can answer yourself. I don't know you. I
don't know what your background is. Only you can answer whether Jesus
Christ is the most important thing in your life, whether you are
seeking to love Him and obey Him with your life. I suspect not. If
that's the case, then my question to you is your question to me. Why do
you reject Him?"
He chuckled and said, "I was asking myself the same question."
Well,
that's the question and that's the question that I left him with. I
gave him a copy of Clear Thinking , gave him a business card, and I
hope he's listening.
If you are, I really enjoyed our talk
together and I hope that it stays with you, and I hope you spend some
time pondering the only question that really matters. Why don't you
bend your knee to Jesus Christ and follow Him? You can walk away from
Him. You certainly are capable of doing that because God gives you that
right. But there will be a day of reckoning and He will hold you
responsible for your decision. I hope you make the right one. |
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This is a transcript of a commentary from the radio show "Stand to Reason," with Gregory Koukl. It is made available to you at no charge through the faithful giving of those who support Stand to Reason. Reproduction permitted for non-commercial use only. ©1995 Gregory Koukl
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