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The most important question you will ever be asked · Fifteen Minutes With Fritz - Where Scripture Meets the Sidewalk

• 0:11
  SPEAKER_01: Good morning everyone and welcome to Fifteen Minutes with Fritz, where Scripture meets the sidewalk.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_01: Currently we're studying the book The One Hundred Most Asked Questions About Heaven, Hell and the Afterlife.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_01: Let me begin today's podcast with a bold blanket statement.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_01: It might sound morbid, but it is a fact of life.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_01: And that blanket statement is this everyone eventually dies.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: I can say this with one hundred percent certainty because in all of history everyone who has ever lived has died.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_01: Well, there's actually a few exceptions.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_01: Enoch walked with God according to Genesis five twenty four, then he was no more because God took him away.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_01: So Enoch never died.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_01: As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: So the prophet Elijah never died either.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_01: But that's only two out of about thirty billion people who have ever lived.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_01: This fact of death begs a very important question.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_01: Why do we die at all?
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: Why can't we just live forever?
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_01: No one has ever yet, but why not?
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: If we turn to science there are several theories about why this is.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_01: Evolutionary biologist Thomas Kirkwood proposed the idea that the body has a finite energy budget.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_01: Once that budget is depleted, the body dies.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_01: Leonard Haflich developed the Haflick limit, claiming that cells can only reproduce about forty to sixty times before they permanently stop, resulting in death.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_01: I found this interesting quote from the National Institutes of Health.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: Human longevity hits a glass floor around one hundred and fifteen to one hundred twenty five years.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_01: At that stage the synchronized structural decline of multiple organ systems makes further survival physically impossible.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: So according to the NIH, man can live about one hundred and fifteen to one hundred twenty five years and then they will inevitably die.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: This is a pretty remarkable conclusion given what God said way back in the book of Genesis.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: Man's days will be one hundred and twenty years.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_01: Seems it only took sixty five hundred years for science to catch up with God.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_01: Now, regardless of the why of death, the fact is that man is mortal.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sure the internet is full of opinions as to why this is true.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_01: The Bible, however, provides the only dogmatic absolute statement that tells us why man doesn't live forever.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_01: Long before modern science tackled this issue, the apostle Paul hit the nail on the head, giving us the real reason why life ends in death.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: In his letter to the Romans he wrote this The wages of sin is death.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_01: I love it when the Bible makes these blunt truth statements.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_01: These six words leave no doubt as to why death exists.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: It is because of sin.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_01: And because Paul used the common metaphor of a working man, this concept is easy for everyone to grasp.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_01: When I do work for someone, it is an accepted fact that they are obligated to pay me my wages.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_01: Paul links that well understood concept to the topic of death.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_01: Because I am a sinner, I am doomed to die.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: And because Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, in other words, because they sinned, mankind forevermore became mortal.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_01: Now this isn't just my idea.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: Listen to the apostle Paul again.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_01: Just as sin entered the world through one man, Adam, and death through sin, in this way death came to all men because all sinned.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think I don't think things can get any clearer than that.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_01: Death is inevitable for all of us because we are all sinners.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_01: So everyone dies.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_01: Opinions differ as to why, but there is very little disagreement that everyone dies.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_01: Where things go off the rails, however, is when it comes to the topic of what happens next.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_01: About thirty percent of the Earth's population believes in a cyclical view of life.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_01: They believe that once they die they will be reincarnated.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_01: They will return to life, getting a second chance to improve on their performance in the first life.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_01: This process is repeated multiple times, with the goal being to achieve nirvana a glorified state of perfection.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_01: In other words, mankind achieves goodness when given enough chances to get better.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_01: About sixty percent of the population thinks that life is linear.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: This group believes we have one chance at life, one chance to get things right.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_01: After that we die and face the inevitable reward or punishment, depending on how we lived our lives.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_01: The remaining ten percent don't know and don't care.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_01: So again, let's turn to scripture and see if it covers this topic as well.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: We find another blunt truth statement in the book of Hebrews.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_01: Listen to what it says Man is destined to die once and after that to face judgment.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: This straightforward statement eliminates any notion that man will return to life to give it another go.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_01: No, according to this verse we have one chance, and once that chance is over, we will face judgment.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_01: Now to be honest, there have been a few exceptions to this statement.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_01: Jesus raised Lazarus back to life, and he also brought Jarus' daughter back to life, and a widow's son.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: Elisha raised up a widow's son, Peter brought Tabitha back from the dead, and Paul restored Eudicus to life when he fell asleep after a long, long sermon and fell out of a third story window.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_01: While these were all resurrections from the dead, all of these people experience death a second time, and they will face judgment just like Hebrews nine twenty seven says.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: Now we covered this concept of judgment in the afterlife during the last couple of weeks.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_01: To review, some people when they die will face God's wrath at the great white throne judgment, and they will end up in the lake of fire.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: Others avoid that judgment and will get the opportunity to receive rewards for what they did during their lifetime.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_01: This judgment is called the judgment seat of Christ, and we talked about it last week.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_01: Which judgment each one of us will face is based on our answer to a single question.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_01: It's a simple question, but it is the most important question you will ever be asked.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_01: This question was first posed by a completely unexpected character from the New Testament, one who would never be associated with a discussion like this.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: Let me set the stage.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_01: It's springtime, and the cold rains of winter are over.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_01: The almond blossoms and wildflowers are blooming on the hillsides, and the air is filled with the sweet smell of jasmine, citrus blossoms, and fresh pine.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_01: It's early in the morning and a crowd is gathered in front of the governor's mansion.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_01: There is a feeling of tenseness and apprehension as the governor emerges from his mansion to address the crowd.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_01: Just before he speaks, the governor is handed a note requesting that he put off the decision in front of him.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_01: You see, he's facing a very real dilemma.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_01: He has to choose between two options, both of which have significant consequences.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_01: Whichever way he decides to move forward, large groups of the people he governs will be disappointed.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_01: He ignores the request and begins to speak to the crowd.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_01: In a clever display of political savvy, he puts the crowd on the spot, asking them to decide and to make the decision, hoping they will choose the path he would prefer to follow.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: The location of this story is Jerusalem, and the governor here is Pontius Pilate.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_01: It's the Passover celebration, and he has to decide on the fate of Jesus Christ, who was brought before him by the Jewish rulers.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_01: Pilate wants to free Jesus because he considers him to be innocent of any crime, but the crowd is clamoring for his crucifixion.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_01: Frustrated, Pontius Pilate speaks these faithful words words that will change forever the course of humanity.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_01: He poses this question to a crowd of angry Jews, but they actually form the most important question ever asked of anybody ever.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_01: What shall I do then with Jesus who is called Christ?
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_01: Now each of us listening today has to answer this very same question.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_01: It may not be set before us verbally by a pastor or a friend, but it is before us nonetheless.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_01: And we have to answer the question, whether we want to or not.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_01: What shall I do then with Jesus who is called Christ?
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_01: In his book Mere Christianity, author C S.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_01: Lewis suggests there are only three answers to this question.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_01: Some might conclude that Jesus was a liar.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_01: He made all these claims to be God when he knew it wasn't really true.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_01: As such, he deliberately deceived his followers.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: Others might think that Jesus was a lunatic.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_01: He really believed he was God, even though he really wasn't.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_01: His teachings came from true conviction, but in reality he was just insane.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_01: Still others would call him Lord.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_01: He was exactly who he said he was, the Son of the Living God, and therefore we should bow down and worship him as Lord.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_01: Which of these camps do you find yourself in?
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_01: Was Jesus a liar?
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_01: Was he a lunatic?
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_01: Or was he in fact who he said he was Lord?
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_01: If it's the latter group, then you also believe that God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_01: And you would also recognize that all of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_01: You would accept the fact that God demonstrates his own love for us in this that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_01: And you would embrace the truth that all who received him to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_01: Let's pray.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_01: Our gracious, loving, heavenly Father, without Jesus we have no hope.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_01: Without his willingness to endure the cross, our destiny would be sealed forever.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_01: Without his resurrection we would be dead in our sins, and without your love we would face eternal separation from you.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_01: But thanks be to God, your Son allows us to overcome our own shortcomings, our own sinfulness, and enjoy the beauty of a life spent in full obedience to your will.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_01: You are not a liar, you are not a lunatic, you are the Son of God who takes away the sin of the world and gives us life.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_01: How grateful we are.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_01: In Jesus' name we pray.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_01: Amen.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_00: Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_01: This is the end of our podcast, but it's not the end of our story.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for listening.