Latest / Brandon Fogal Evolution / #316 - Could You Be Wrong About Jesus? John Lennox Faces Tough Questions on Diary of a CEO
Transcript
- 0:00So John Lennox, he got asked by Stephen Bartlett on Diary of a CEO,
- 0:03could you be wrong regarding Christianity?
- 0:06Have you ever thought about this? If you're a Christian, if you're not,
- 0:10could we be wrong about Christ?
- 0:12John Lennox gave a very thoughtful, very good answer, I thought,
- 0:16that it doesn't matter how much we intellectually know about Jesus,
- 0:20believe about the Bible, believe about the New Testament.
- 0:22Really, we're never going to experience it unless we kind of jump into the water,
- 0:27unless we put ourselves out there. We're never going to find out for real.
- 0:31And I had no firsthand experience myself that that is the case.
- 0:35But he asked him point blank, could you be wrong? And what do you think about that?
- 0:40When you say to me, could you be wrong? My academic mind says theoretically,
- 0:44yes, but practically no.
- 0:47Could I be wrong? It would be like asking me, John, you know,
- 0:50you've been married to Sally for 58 years.
- 0:52Could you be wrong that she loves you? Well, theoretically, yes.
- 0:56But actually the evidence all points
- 0:59in the other direction and that's what i would say that i have built up in my
- 1:03life and i'd love you to ask me that question when you've read that autobiography
- 1:08why would you think because i i think what i relate there is enough evidence
- 1:12for someone outside who's skeptical to say there may well be something in that
- 1:16but in the end you won't know.
- 1:19Until you step into the water and then you find the trice is there to catch
- 1:23you and what did you find in the water when you stepped into the water?
- 1:26Well, I was very young. You see, my parents taught me quite clearly that I wasn't born a Christian.
- 1:32You become a Christian by trusting Christ. That's to have somebody born or made
- 1:37a Christian by some ceremony is absurd to my mind. And,
- 1:41And that's exactly the truth. I remember before I became a Christian,
- 1:45I had been going to things, Christian events, and I was asking a lot of questions.
- 1:50The person that led me to Christ, looking back, I was annoying her because I
- 1:56couldn't get over certain things.
- 1:58And even when I was confronted, I would always have something that would keep
- 2:01me back. I had something in my life I didn't want to let go that I fully jump in.
- 2:06But once I got past the intellectual thing, I was almost to the point of desperation.
- 2:12I just found myself giving my life to Christ.
- 2:15But it really isn't until you give up, until you surrender and give in,
- 2:19that you actually find out that it is real.
- 2:22And that's like, I don't know if that's a word for it. I don't know. You can't find out.
- 2:28But you're not going to really have true faith unless you repent.
- 2:33So it's like it's two sides of the same coin.
- 2:36I just know that some people you have to get past the could this have actually
- 2:40happened but then you're brought to a point like,
- 2:44I got to make a decision. I got to do it. But then even underneath the surface
- 2:47of that, I believe that God is the one who gives us the faith.
- 2:50He gives us the ability to even do it.
- 2:53I've just found that no matter where you're at, nobody likes to be just preached
- 2:58at and just, you know, you got to believe, you know, turn from your sin and
- 3:01all that. Like that can just drive people away.
- 3:04I think just presenting someone the clear evidence of Jesus, that's all you can do.
- 3:09You can just tell them about him, tell them about the, you know,
- 3:13how he's changed your life, but every person is going to have to make their own decision.
- 3:17They're going to have to change their own life, you know? And it's,
- 3:21I think it was just a breath of fresh air that like to John Lennox,
- 3:26he's just so soft-spoken.
- 3:28This guy knows so much, has so much knowledge and wisdom, has dealt with his
- 3:32whole life, and he still has that childlike faith.
- 3:35And he just understands because it is just this relationship.
- 3:38It's really, once you actually jump off the cliff, Once you actually jump into
- 3:42the water, I know jumping off the cliff, it seems extreme, but it kind of is
- 3:45because you really can't experience Jesus until you turn away from everything.
- 3:50You have to let go of everything. You lose your life.
- 3:53That's why Jesus said you've got to count the cost before you come.
- 3:57You count the cost. And then because if you don't, you're just going to be halfway in, halfway out.
- 4:02And if you're halfway in, you're going to bounce out because you really never were in.
- 4:07And so it's it's like this weird thing but like i
- 4:10think i just almost just fell into christ like i i
- 4:13did not know what i was doing and if i probably if
- 4:16i knew what i was doing i probably wouldn't have done it something would
- 4:19have helped me back i mean i was in desperation i just but once
- 4:22i did do it once i did cross that line i found out he really is there and that's
- 4:26like i think what all believers find out and it's like you're just trying to
- 4:30tell everybody about this person that is really there but it's like and they're
- 4:34just on the outside looking and because i was on the outside and I'm sure you
- 4:36were on the outside looking and you just have all these questions.
- 4:40But it's, we can only do so much and tell somebody about Christ.
- 4:43They have to take the leap of faith. They have to, you know,
- 4:47if they step into the dark, if they step in, and the dark is the opposite.
- 4:51If they step into the light, which it seems like the dark for us on the side
- 4:55when you're not with Christ, but on the other side, on when you open that door,
- 4:58he really is there. And I don't know.
- 5:00I thought it was just awesome hearing from John Alenox. He, I love listening
- 5:04to him and him being on Diary of the CEO,
- 5:06Steve Bartlett, he, he's just coming closer and closer, asking the questions
- 5:10that I think any person that's just ripe for the harvest is asking.
- 5:16But God is the one who has to change the person's heart before they'll embrace him.
- 5:21We'll leave it at that. Let me know what you think. Drop a comment,
- 5:23and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. See y'all.