Latest / The Christian Podcast Community / Riddle that Leads to Jesus

Transcript

Riddle that Leads to Jesus · The Christian Podcast Community

• 0:00
  Hey, this is Eddie Roman.
• 0:02
  Before we start the show, I want to tell you about three big changes happening here.
• 0:06
  I am no longer working at Living Waters.
• 0:09
  That chapter of my life has closed.
• 0:12
  You know, I spent 16 years producing and directing the Way of the Master TV show and other projects and man learning a whole lot about evangelism from my good friend and mentor, Ray Comfort.
• 0:24
  It was the best school of evangelism possible.
• 0:26
  I couldn't have asked for a better place to learn.
• 0:29
  But the Lord has called me into full time ministry and that brings me to change number two.
• 0:35
  I have answered God's calling on my life and I am now doing evangelism full time.
• 0:40
  So you can think of me as a missionary to America, preaching the gospel and teaching Christians how to do the same.
• 0:47
  You know, Ephesians 4 describes the evangelist as one who equips the saints for the work of ministry.
• 0:53
  Now, I've been doing both evangelism outreach and teaching in my free time for the past 16 years, but now I get to do it full time.
• 1:01
  What a gift.
• 1:02
  You can learn more about my ministry street pulpit@streetpulpit.org and that brings me to the third big change.
• 1:12
  Street Pulpit will have a social media presence.
• 1:15
  So I've decided to take this podcast to video.
• 1:18
  So the episode you're about to listen to is on video.
• 1:21
  You can find the YouTube link at the top of my new website, streetpulpit.org and the link is also in the show notes of this episode.
• 1:29
  The new episodes will still be on audio as well.
• 1:31
  You can just keep on listening on this app if that's what you want.
• 1:35
  For those of you who've been listening to this podcast for years, I just want to thank you for coming along on this wild ride.
• 1:41
  By the grace of God, I believe it's going to get a whole lot better.
• 1:45
  So pray for Street Pulpit.
• 1:47
  Pray that God would use this ministry to reach the lost and help Christians to do likewise.
• 1:53
  Now, on with the show, Street Pulpit presents Roman's Road, the podcast that helps Christians reach the lost.
• 2:01
  I'm your host, Eddie Roman.
• 2:03
  Welcome to the first episode of Romans Road Video.
• 2:08
  I've actually been doing this podcast for quite a while on audio.
• 2:11
  You can find those on Spotify if you just put in Romans Road.
• 2:15
  Eddie Roman.
• 2:16
  I'm sure it'll come up.
• 2:18
  But yeah, this is the video one.
• 2:19
  Today on this episode, I'm going to be showing you guys how to use the riddle to get into evangelism conversations.
• 2:28
  Now, the riddle is something that was taught to me by my Friend Frank over at openair Campaigners, they've been using this for quite a while.
• 2:35
  And when I got a hold of this, I was absolutely surprised at how good it works, how effective it is.
• 2:43
  You know, I used to go out and do my paint board all the time and, and I love doing that, still do that.
• 2:48
  But what I found is that if I put the riddle up right when I get to a location, as I'm getting my paints ready and that kind of thing, if I just put the riddle up, well, so many
• 2:57
  people are going to come over and start talking that I've gotten through so many nights without even painting because I'm just talking to people the whole time.
• 3:07
  And what I love about it is if I take Christians out to who want to try to evangelize for the first time.
• 3:14
  The riddle really is a simple way for anyone to get into a conversation.
• 3:19
  You know, there's like a scale of hostility that gets aimed at you depending on what way you try to evangelize.
• 3:27
  So like, you know, if you hide a gospel tract, you know, underneath the sink in a bathroom or something in a public place, well, you're not going to get into any kind of argument.
• 3:36
  And then the next step up is like giving someone a tract and trying to get into a conversation.
• 3:42
  And then, you know, those things are very low on the I'm gonna hate you for being a Christian in public scale.
• 3:50
  Open air preaching.
• 3:51
  I would say it's up towards the top because when someone is walking down the street and they already hate God, they are just angry at Christians, period.
• 4:02
  And then they see the open air preacher and you get to be the target of their hostility immediately.
• 4:08
  You know, so open air preaching, that's kind of high up on the hostility scale.
• 4:13
  The riddle is very, very low.
• 4:16
  The riddle is more inviting and it just allows people to get into a conversation.
• 4:22
  And yet at the same time, there's nothing compromising about it.
• 4:26
  You know, there's some ways that we evangelize that are just super compromising.
• 4:30
  You know, this isn't one of them.
• 4:32
  So anyway, I'm going to show you guys how to, how to do it.
• 4:35
  Now, this is the riddle.
• 4:37
  And before I go onto the street and get into a conversation with somebody, I'm going to give you a chance to try to figure it out.
• 4:45
  Hey, I am cutting into this audio version to acknowledge the fact that you can't see this riddle because that's not how audio works.
• 4:53
  So I'm going to just tell it to you.
• 4:55
  This is the riddle.
• 4:57
  The man who made it didn't need it.
• 4:59
  The man who bought it didn't use it.
• 5:01
  The man who used it didn't know it.
• 5:03
  What is it?
• 5:05
  Say it again.
• 5:06
  The man who made it didn't need it.
• 5:08
  The man who bought it didn't use it.
• 5:10
  The man who used it didn't know it.
• 5:13
  What is it?
• 5:15
  That's the big question and that's the riddle.
• 5:19
  And if you're listening to this in 2026, you can see the riddle on the homepage of my website, streetpulpit.org just it's, I think it's the first picture up top on the left you can see the riddle.
• 5:33
  If you're listening after 2026, it might be there, but I can't see the future.
• 5:39
  So I'm not sure if it's going to be there for that long.
• 5:43
  But here's a little audio version bonus.
• 5:46
  Okay, this isn't going to be on the video version.
• 5:49
  This is just for you.
• 5:51
  If you want to use the riddle for your own outreach, contact me@streetpulpit.org There's a little contact link and I will send you a file that you can send to a printer and have your own 2 foot by 3
• 6:06
  foot or smaller.
• 6:07
  Have your own riddle board made.
• 6:09
  Okay?
• 6:10
  That's a bonus just for you.
• 6:12
  Just contact me, tell them you want the riddle, and I'll send you that file for free.
• 6:18
  See, the video viewers didn't get that.
• 6:21
  You're special.
• 6:23
  I've actually had people come up to me and say, you know what?
• 6:26
  My dad showed me this when I was a little kid.
• 6:29
  So this riddle has been around for a while.
• 6:31
  Well, time's up now.
• 6:33
  I'll set this up in a public place.
• 6:35
  People will walk by and inevitably someone's going to see it and they're going to look at it and they're going to try to figure it out.
• 6:41
  And this is what's going to happen.
• 6:44
  Is it like an emotion?
• 6:45
  Is it.
• 6:45
  Is it peace?
• 6:47
  No.
• 6:49
  There's a clue on the board down by the cross.
• 6:52
  It says death.
• 6:54
  So it has something to do with death.
• 6:57
  All right, so I'll give you a hint.
• 6:58
  So you can buy these things in stores?
• 7:02
  The answer?
• 7:03
  Yeah, you can buy it in a store, but it would be a specialty store.
• 7:07
  You couldn't get it.
• 7:08
  Would it be to buy this item?
• 7:10
  Like, is it like a store just for that specific item?
• 7:14
  Yes, it would.
• 7:15
  Yes.
• 7:16
  And it's about death.
• 7:18
  Yeah.
• 7:20
  So it's like a funeral kind of thing.
• 7:22
  Am I wrong?
• 7:24
  What'd you say?
• 7:27
  Is it a coffin?
• 7:28
  Or a casket.
• 7:29
  Yes.
• 7:29
  Good job.
• 7:30
  Thank you.
• 7:33
  But it sounded like you were getting it.
• 7:35
  Or did you get it?
• 7:36
  She said it.
• 7:36
  I was thinking.
• 7:37
  I was thinking.
• 7:38
  Coughing, her cat.
• 7:38
  I was like, okay, you can only.
• 7:40
  Buy from sweet spot.
• 7:41
  I'll give you the prize anyway.
• 7:45
  Yeah, you do, dude, everyone needs a prize.
• 7:47
  Thank you.
• 7:48
  So, so, so.
• 7:50
  See how fun it is to evangelize?
• 7:52
  Well, actually haven't got to the evangelism part yet, but as far as striking up conversations with people, this is so easy to do.
• 8:00
  You know, I'm not really a outgoing person.
• 8:03
  Person naturally, before I started evangelism, didn't really talk to people.
• 8:08
  Would have never thought to do anything like that.
• 8:10
  But you know, your love for the Lord can motivate you to the point where you will step out of your comfort zone and do all kinds of stuff you might have never done in the flesh.
• 8:20
  Alright, as you can see, there is now a gospel message in the palm of this man's hand.
• 8:25
  It's actually a Gospel of John put out by Living Waters.
• 8:28
  They're great.
• 8:29
  People love them and they keep them.
• 8:31
  And so if this was all I did, that would be good.
• 8:35
  If all you do is go out there and get to this point, you are now putting the gospel into someone's hand.
• 8:42
  And that's a great thing.
• 8:43
  So I would say that if you're not used to talking to people, just do this, just do this to start with.
• 8:50
  And then at some point after you're comfortable with this, then you'll go on to the next step, which is getting into a conversation with that person.
• 9:01
  Now here's how you get into a spiritual conversation.
• 9:03
  After taking someone through this riddle.
• 9:06
  They just said, or you just said, if you get tired of waiting for them the word coffin or casket, sometimes they'll say a tombstone.
• 9:16
  And I might say, yeah, that's close enough.
• 9:18
  You know, I don't really care about the answer.
• 9:20
  I'm just trying to get to the conversation.
• 9:22
  Right after the riddle part, the fun part.
• 9:25
  You'll notice that people now, they don't think you're crazy.
• 9:29
  They don't think you're a nut, they don't think you're some religious fanatic.
• 9:32
  They might in a few minutes, but at this point, you're just a nice person on the street having a little fun.
• 9:38
  And there's already just a tiny bit of rapport.
• 9:41
  If anything, he's having a good time.
• 9:43
  Now I'm going to show you how to go from the word casket into a spiritual conversation.
• 9:49
  I'm asking people, what do you think happens after you go into the coffin?
• 9:55
  What happens?
• 9:56
  Yeah, what happens?
• 9:57
  Do you think there's any kind of life after death or anything like that?
• 10:01
  I would hope so.
• 10:02
  I think.
• 10:04
  I think yes.
• 10:05
  Yeah.
• 10:06
  So what do you think happens?
• 10:07
  Like, what's your take on the afterlife?
• 10:10
  Do you think there's a heaven or hell or reincarnation or.
• 10:14
  What do you think goes on there?
• 10:16
  I like to think.
• 10:17
  Well, I'm Christian myself, so I think.
• 10:20
  All right, a few things I want to point out here.
• 10:22
  First of all, see how easy it is to get into a spiritual conversation.
• 10:26
  A lot of people are thinking about this stuff all the time, but we tend to think nobody wants to talk about this.
• 10:35
  Or even worse, we tend to think, if I open my mouth in public about God, someone's going to punch me in the lips, you know, and, sure, I guess that could happen.
• 10:45
  Maybe.
• 10:46
  I mean, I've been doing this for 16 years, plus, I never got punched in the lip.
• 10:51
  See how nice they are, you know, I've never gotten assaulted.
• 10:54
  There's been a couple of times when I thought it was gonna happen.
• 10:57
  There's been a couple times when it's come close.
• 11:00
  One was with a drunk guy.
• 11:02
  And, you know, there's not a whole lot you can do there except stop talking to the drunk guy.
• 11:07
  Another time, someone was just, like, super mad.
• 11:11
  You know, the Bible says a gentle answer turns away wrath.
• 11:13
  And so I did that as best as I could, you know.
• 11:16
  So again, 16 years, never been assaulted.
• 11:20
  It could happen.
• 11:21
  Sure, I guess it could happen.
• 11:22
  Hope it doesn't happen.
• 11:23
  Maybe I'll be posting a video of it happening at some point.
• 11:27
  But see how easy it is to get into a spiritual conversation?
• 11:31
  Now, I am at this place on an average of 2 hours.
• 11:34
  Every time I go.
• 11:35
  Whenever I do this, it's at least two hours.
• 11:37
  That's the commitment.
• 11:39
  Maybe the first 30 minutes.
• 11:40
  If it's a very slow day, maybe I won't talk to anybody.
• 11:44
  Maybe there'll be, like, a few people who might come and they might get into it, and the minute they hear God, they're, like, out of there.
• 11:51
  Maybe there's just nothing going on.
• 11:53
  Maybe there's no one around.
• 11:54
  Maybe it's a slow night.
• 11:55
  You know, who knows?
• 11:56
  All kinds of reasons where it might not be quick.
• 12:00
  But I'll tell you what, if you go to a busy place and put up this sign, most of the time people will come right up to it.
• 12:08
  If you're in a place where there's kind of like nothing to do, if it's A destination where people go to hang around and do nothing.
• 12:16
  Like a beach, boardwalk or a park or somewhere where there's not like a start time.
• 12:23
  You know, if you do this in front of a movie theater, you might get a little crowd for a minute, but as soon as that movie's about to start, they're gone, you know?
• 12:30
  And so it really depends a lot on just where you do it.
• 12:34
  But people are interested in spiritual things.
• 12:37
  Okay, that's number one.
• 12:39
  Number two, this guy just said he was a Christian.
• 12:41
  If I was to look at him and go, oh, cool, all right, have a nice day.
• 12:46
  That would be a mistake.
• 12:47
  Because so many people in America, at least they say they're a Christian.
• 12:52
  It's part of the culture.
• 12:54
  They got baptized, they went to church when they were a kid.
• 12:57
  They did some kind of, you know, their mom told them our family's Christian or whatever.
• 13:01
  So there's a lot of people that I meet all the time that will say they're a Christian.
• 13:06
  They might have some Republican Christian shirt on, you know, guns, God and whatever.
• 13:12
  And in their mind, they're thinking, I'm a Christian.
• 13:14
  I got the cross on my little necklace, you know.
• 13:16
  And so there's a lot of cultural Christianity.
• 13:19
  Cultural Christianity.
• 13:21
  I can't even say it.
• 13:22
  It's such a horrible thing.
• 13:23
  And basically means people who were brought up in a home where, for whatever reason, they just claim to be a Christian and they're not.
• 13:34
  It's crazy.
• 13:35
  It's sad.
• 13:36
  You know, there's one way to be a Christian.
• 13:38
  You repent and put your faith in Jesus Christ.
• 13:41
  You repent and believe.
• 13:43
  Being a Christian doesn't just mean, I believe in God, the demons believe in God.
• 13:48
  A lot of people will say, I'm a Christian, and then they're not.
• 13:52
  And so you don't want to stop there.
• 13:54
  You want to ask some questions.
• 13:56
  You don't want to be rude.
• 13:57
  You don't want to say you're a Christian.
• 13:59
  No, you're not.
• 14:00
  You know, just ask questions.
• 14:02
  I'd be very happy if this guy's a Christian.
• 14:04
  I want everyone to be Christians anyway.
• 14:06
  Ask some questions.
• 14:07
  If they're a Christian, they're not going to mind.
• 14:10
  If someone is in love with Jesus Christ, they're going to want to talk about him.
• 14:14
  They're going to want to let you know what church they go to or whatever.
• 14:18
  You know, it's a good thing to them.
• 14:20
  So someone says, I'm a Christian, go a little further.
• 14:23
  Well, I'm Christian myself, so I.
• 14:25
  There is a heaven or hell.
• 14:26
  Again, so I think we would all go to heaven hopefully, you know.
• 14:30
  Yeah, I think I've done good enough.
• 14:31
  I not I done good enough in the eyes of the Lord to okay, make it into heaven.
• 14:37
  But what church do you go to or do you go to church?
• 14:39
  Harvest.
• 14:40
  Harvest?
• 14:40
  Yeah, it's, it's by Rivers, I don't know if you.
• 14:44
  Like by Riverside.
• 14:45
  With Greg Laurie?
• 14:46
  Yes.
• 14:46
  Okay.
• 14:47
  Yeah.
• 14:47
  How long you been going there?
• 14:49
  Forever.
• 14:50
  You said something interesting.
• 14:51
  You said you, you'll go to heaven if you're good enough, right?
• 14:56
  Not necessarily if I'm good enough, but you know, I don't think it's about being necessarily good or bad.
• 15:02
  Just kind of being.
• 15:06
  Yeah.
• 15:07
  Just being a good person overall.
• 15:08
  Yeah.
• 15:11
  There's no way.
• 15:13
  So and so you've been going to harvest for a long time.
• 15:16
  Do you go, do you go pretty regularly?
• 15:18
  You're there every week?
• 15:20
  Not, not all the time anymore.
• 15:21
  Since I moved out of San Diego, I haven't been able to go all the time, but.
• 15:25
  Okay, I told you, you need to ask people two things.
• 15:31
  Two problems here with this Christian person.
• 15:35
  First of all, you.
• 15:36
  He says the reason he'll get to heaven is because he thinks he's good enough or he hopes he'll be good enough.
• 15:42
  That's bad thing number one.
• 15:45
  Bad thing number two is I go to church.
• 15:47
  I go all the time.
• 15:48
  Oh, wait a minute.
• 15:49
  I haven't gone a long time.
• 15:51
  So funny.
• 15:52
  So he doesn't go to church currently.
• 15:55
  Right now that's not necessarily a absolute sign that someone's not a Christian.
• 16:01
  Maybe there's something going on in his life, maybe he's moving, you know, whatever.
• 16:05
  That's not necessarily a automatic bad thing.
• 16:10
  But the combination of those two together, I'm going to go and say this guy doesn't understand what the gospel is.
• 16:16
  Because if you think that the way you get to heaven is by being good enough, then that's a problem.
• 16:23
  Now if this guy went to Harvest Greg Laurie's church for all those years and he doesn't know what the gospel is, he wasn't paying attention.
• 16:31
  I actually used to work for Greg.
• 16:33
  I did his TV show for a couple years.
• 16:35
  And he definitely knows what the gospel is.
• 16:37
  If you sit in his church for a whole lot of years and you go out on the other end and you don't know what it is.
• 16:44
  It ain't the preacher's fault all the time.
• 16:45
  Alright.
• 16:46
  I've actually heard Greg preach the gospel very much like Ray Comfort, where he takes people through the law and then shows them their sin and then presents the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
• 16:57
  So let's let the gracious interrogation continue.
• 17:01
  If you could be sure that you're going to heaven, is that something you would be interested in?
• 17:08
  Like, known for sure.
• 17:09
  Okay.
• 17:10
  And so what I'm going to do is I'm going to give you something I call the good person test.
• 17:14
  And it's a very easy way just to kind of see for yourself how you're doing as far as that goes.
• 17:20
  Okay.
• 17:21
  Now, in case you didn't catch that, I just explained to this guy what I'm about to do.
• 17:26
  And the reason I did that is because there is a chance that this next section in the good person test is going to get a little awkward.
• 17:35
  So I just want to let him know what's coming.
• 17:38
  I'm about to ask you some questions.
• 17:40
  I'm about to give you a little test.
• 17:42
  And so now he knows.
• 17:43
  Now, I don't always do that.
• 17:45
  It's not like a rule, but sometimes I do.
• 17:48
  So here we go.
• 17:49
  Would you consider yourself to be a good person?
• 17:53
  Yes.
• 17:54
  Okay.
• 17:55
  So I'm asking you some questions.
• 17:56
  We're going to find out if that's true.
• 17:58
  Right.
• 17:58
  I'm not going to judge you.
• 18:00
  You're going to judge yourself based on what the Bible says.
• 18:03
  Right?
• 18:03
  Right.
• 18:03
  It's like one of those wrong, like no wrong answer kind of thing.
• 18:06
  No, there's wrong answers and.
• 18:09
  Right.
• 18:09
  This is more for you just to kind of see.
• 18:13
  How many lies do you think you told in your whole life?
• 18:20
  Too many to count.
• 18:20
  Too many accounts.
• 18:22
  What do you call someone who's told that many lies?
• 18:24
  A sinner.
• 18:25
  Well, specifically, if you've told lies.
• 18:27
  Liar.
• 18:27
  Okay, so what are you?
• 18:29
  I'm a liar.
• 18:29
  Okay.
• 18:30
  Have you ever stolen anything?
• 18:33
  Yes, I have.
• 18:34
  Okay.
• 18:34
  And what do you call someone who steals things?
• 18:35
  Thief.
• 18:36
  Thief.
• 18:36
  So what are you?
• 18:38
  A lying thief.
• 18:39
  Right.
• 18:40
  Okay.
• 18:40
  All right.
• 18:41
  Have you ever used God's name in vain?
• 18:43
  Use God's name as a cuss word or to express anger, or just use God's name in a.
• 18:48
  In a unholy kind of way.
• 18:53
  Okay.
• 18:54
  All right.
• 18:54
  So that.
• 18:55
  That's called blasphemy, Right?
• 18:56
  Just taking the name of our creator and just dragging it through the dirt.
• 19:00
  Right.
• 19:01
  Have you ever looked at a woman with lust?
• 19:03
  Looked at pornography?
• 19:05
  Anything like that?
• 19:06
  Like, looked at.
• 19:09
  Look a little woman in that kind of way?
• 19:11
  Yeah.
• 19:12
  Whether it's looking at pornography or just, you know, looking at a woman's body.
• 19:17
  Way too long.
• 19:18
  Longer than your conscience tells you you should have?
• 19:21
  Yes.
• 19:22
  Yeah.
• 19:22
  I Mean, how old are you?
• 19:24
  I'm 18.
• 19:24
  18.
• 19:25
  Yeah.
• 19:25
  So.
• 19:25
  So pretty.
• 19:27
  Pretty normal temptations to fall into, right?
• 19:31
  So Jesus said.
• 19:32
  He said, you know, you're not supposed to commit adultery, but I say to you, if you've looked at a woman with lust, you've committed adultery in your heart, you've been going to harvest this long.
• 19:39
  You probably heard that before at some point.
• 19:42
  And then, last question.
• 19:43
  Have you ever hated someone or been angry at someone?
• 19:46
  I have.
• 19:46
  Okay.
• 19:47
  So another thing Jesus said was, you know, you're not supposed to murder anyone.
• 19:50
  But I say to you, if you've.
• 19:52
  Hated someone, you've committed murder in your heart.
• 19:55
  Right.
• 19:56
  And so what I've just done is.
• 19:57
  Taken you through five of the ten Commandments.
• 20:00
  And so this is what's known as God's law, God's standards, Right.
• 20:04
  There's a police car parked right next to us on the street, and the officer went ahead and just left his flashing lights on.
• 20:11
  I guess it's for security purposes maybe.
• 20:14
  But I love how it's just lighting up this guy's face, reminding him of the law.
• 20:19
  Another thing I want you to notice is the tone of my voice when we're talking about sin and judgment.
• 20:26
  And when you're confronting someone on the fact that they're a sinner, it can get very heated.
• 20:32
  And as the Christian, you can come off as being very judgmental.
• 20:37
  Well, the issue is we're not judging them.
• 20:39
  They're already judged.
• 20:41
  We're trying to guide them to the Savior.
• 20:43
  But regardless of that, people like to look at Christians as people who judge them because.
• 20:49
  Because we point out sin.
• 20:52
  And so because of that, we're known as the judgy ones, the judgers.
• 20:56
  And so right here, this is a place where this person could very well look at me and just go, don't judge me.
• 21:03
  Well, the issue is I'm not judging them.
• 21:06
  They're already judged by God.
• 21:08
  You can actually read about that in John chapter three.
• 21:11
  Men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil.
• 21:14
  They're already judged.
• 21:16
  So it's really important that when you're talking to someone, you want to be gracious to them.
• 21:20
  You want to talk in a way where you don't sound like you're judging them because you're not judging them.
• 21:24
  You're trying to help them.
• 21:26
  I actually had the awesome opportunity to stand next to Ray Comfort as he had hundreds, thousands of conversations.
• 21:34
  I got to get very used to someone laying down very hard truths, very serious truths, with a very gracious tone.
• 21:42
  Ray's just A great model for that.
• 21:45
  When you talk to someone, you want to make sure that even though your subject matter is serious, you don't want your voice to come off as being too harsh.
• 21:55
  And so here's where it's a little serious.
• 21:58
  If God was to judge you tonight, let's say tragically, on the way home, you get into a car crash, you die, and you find yourself standing before the Lord, your Creator, and he sees that you're a liar and
• 22:12
  a thief and a blasphemer and an adulterer at heart and a murderer at heart.
• 22:16
  Okay, If God was to see you in that way, looking at your whole life, would he see you as someone who's innocent or guilty?
• 22:26
  Guilty, yeah.
• 22:28
  And it's not because God's mean or strict.
• 22:31
  He's just looking at you and how you are.
• 22:34
  Okay, sir, so if God was to judge you and see you guilty, should he send you to heaven or should he send you to hell?
• 22:41
  What should he do with you?
• 22:50
  I would say that for me, I like to think of it like he just wants you to see you try.
• 22:58
  He wants to see you try.
• 22:59
  Okay?
• 23:00
  To me, that's what.
• 23:01
  Yeah, so God's going to let you into heaven because you're trying hard, because you tried harder, because you tried to be better than you are.
• 23:14
  You know, this is actually probably the most common answer I get from young people.
• 23:23
  This is so common, and I don't know where they got it from.
• 23:26
  I don't know if it's the whole everyone gets a trophy thing.
• 23:29
  I don't know where it comes from, but this is so common, so common.
• 23:34
  You'd be amazed at how common this is.
• 23:37
  This is like the answer I hear all the time.
• 23:39
  If it's not a religious answer, if it's not reincarnation, if it's not something like that, you know, it's this.
• 23:48
  People believe that the way you get to heaven is by just trying to.
• 23:54
  And you're not going to be perfect, but at least you're trying.
• 23:57
  Nothing about Jesus Christ, nothing about his death and resurrection.
• 24:00
  It's still really no different than be a good person, except, you know, you're not a good person, so at least you're trying to be a good person.
• 24:09
  But yeah, this really is the common thing I hear from young people all the time.
• 24:16
  All the time.
• 24:16
  You can go to church and read the Bible all you want, but if you generally don't put in the effort to try to make yourself into a better version of what God made you to.
• 24:26
  Made you to be in other words, you can.
• 24:28
  You're wasting your life.
• 24:29
  In other words, I think you're wasting all that potential and what you really could be.
• 24:36
  Okay, so.
• 24:36
  So I'm.
• 24:37
  I'm going to.
• 24:37
  I got a question for you.
• 24:38
  Okay.
• 24:40
  Where in the Bible does it say that?
• 24:42
  Doesn't.
• 24:43
  It doesn't at all.
• 24:44
  Right.
• 24:45
  And so.
• 24:45
  So does that concern you at all?
• 24:48
  That you.
• 24:48
  Your version of the reason that you would get to heaven or forgive you is based on your opinion and your thoughts rather than what it actually says?
• 24:58
  Does that concern you at all?
• 25:00
  No.
• 25:01
  So would you say that your opinion trumps God's word?
• 25:06
  Absolutely not.
• 25:06
  Okay.
• 25:07
  All right.
• 25:08
  And so I'm going to challenge you.
• 25:10
  And the reason I'm doing this is because I actually care about you.
• 25:15
  Right.
• 25:15
  Let me remind you of a couple other things it says in the Bible.
• 25:19
  It says that God, his eyes are so pure and holy that he can't even look upon evil.
• 25:28
  That no liar, no thief, no adulterer, blasphemer, will enter into the kingdom of heaven.
• 25:37
  Jesus says, do not be deceived.
• 25:39
  Those who do these things, practice these things, will not inherit the kingdom of God.
• 25:45
  So I understand what you're saying, that we all should try to be better.
• 25:49
  But the issue is that God is holy and he's righteous, and no sin will enter into his presence.
• 25:56
  And so no matter how much we try, it's kind of like this.
• 26:02
  Imagine.
• 26:03
  Imagine I was to steal this cop car right here because I really like it.
• 26:07
  The lights are nice and stuff, but I'm a really bad driver.
• 26:11
  So I only get halfway down the block and they catch me and they arrest me.
• 26:15
  And now I'm standing before the judge, and the judge says, what do you have to say for yourself?
• 26:19
  I say, you know, your honor, I really like that car, and you should be proud of me because I used to steal 10 cars a day.
• 26:29
  Now I only steal one a week.
• 26:31
  I really trying, really getting better.
• 26:34
  What's that judge gonna say to me?
• 26:40
  That judge probably wouldn't have it.
• 26:41
  Probably wouldn't have it.
• 26:43
  And even though I might be genuinely trying, but the issue is, whatever I'm trying, I've broken the law and a price needs to be paid.
• 26:54
  And the same is true with us standing before a whole holy God.
• 26:57
  Like, if we understand that about a judge who's just a human and he's not perfect, he's not holy, how much more would the God of the universe, the righteous one over all creation, how much more would he care
• 27:11
  about righteousness and not allowing sin to just slide, right?
• 27:18
  So I got to be honest with you.
• 27:20
  Trying it isn't good enough.
• 27:22
  Right?
• 27:24
  And so let me ask you this.
• 27:25
  Does it concern you at all that if you were to stand before God tonight and he judges you that there's a pretty good chance that you wouldn't be going to heaven because of your sin, that you would be
• 27:36
  going to hell?
• 27:37
  Does that concern you at all?
• 27:40
  That's a good question, man.
• 27:41
  Wow.
• 27:42
  This is a good question.
• 27:43
  I really appreciate you.
• 27:44
  That's a good question.
• 27:45
  I really appreciate you thinking through this, man.
• 27:47
  It says a lot about you.
• 27:49
  And here's what it says.
• 27:50
  It says you actually do seem to care about God's word.
• 27:57
  Right?
• 27:58
  And that's really the issue.
• 27:59
  I talk to a lot of people.
• 28:00
  Out here, and most people are going through life either not thinking about God or whatever they think of him is based on their opinion, their experience, what they've seen, what they know, rather than God's Word.
• 28:16
  And when we look at God's Word, we.
• 28:18
  We're going to see a very different version of God and how we get made right with him.
• 28:26
  Right?
• 28:27
  And so it does seem like to me, like it at least concerns you a little bit.
• 28:32
  The reason I've done that, the reason I take you through the Ten Commandments, the reason I've laid this pretty serious on you, is simply to clarify how a person gets to heaven, okay?
• 28:48
  It has nothing to do with what we feel.
• 28:50
  It has nothing to do with how much we try.
• 28:53
  As a matter of fact, the Bible says that there's none righteous, not even one person.
• 28:58
  And so no matter how hard we try, we can never be good enough, righteous enough to stand before a holy God.
• 29:05
  That's why he sent a savior.
• 29:08
  When Jesus Christ died on the cross, it's like as if a legal transaction was made.
• 29:13
  You broke God's law.
• 29:15
  Jesus paid the fine before Jesus died on the cross and he was in the garden of Gethsemane.
• 29:22
  What did he say?
• 29:22
  He said, if there's any other way.
• 29:24
  Take this cup from me.
• 29:26
  In other words, if there's any other way a people can be saved without me having to go through this pain, then let's do that.
• 29:35
  But there wasn't.
• 29:36
  There's no other way a person can get to heaven other than putting their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, his death and resurrection, Right?
• 29:45
  That's the issue, okay?
• 29:47
  And so when the Bible talks about repenting, that means to turn away, turn away from your sin.
• 29:55
  It also means to turn away from whatever it is you believe in.
• 29:59
  Your Mind that's incorrect about how to get to heaven.
• 30:04
  So before I believed in Jesus Christ, I was a Catholic.
• 30:08
  So I used to believe that if I do all this stuff, go to church enough, do all these rituals and be a good person, then I'll get into heaven.
• 30:17
  And it was all based on me and how good I am.
• 30:21
  And when I turned away from that incorrect belief and put my trust in the death of Jesus Christ, where he paid the price for our sin and his resurrection, where he proved he overcame death, where he proved that
• 30:36
  he was God in the flesh and everything he said he was, when I began to trust in him, I became righteous before God, not because of my own goodness, but based on his righteousness and what he did.
• 30:50
  That's what it means to put your faith and trust and belief in Jesus Christ.
• 30:54
  It's not just that you believe that he died and all this stuff happened.
• 30:58
  It's not just that you believe that God exists.
• 31:00
  You are trusting in him.
• 31:02
  You no longer trust in yourself and in your ability to save yourself.
• 31:07
  You trust in Jesus Christ, his death and resurrection.
• 31:10
  Does that make sense?
• 31:11
  Yes, sir.
• 31:12
  Okay.
• 31:13
  Now, is that something that.
• 31:18
  That was a lot of good question.
• 31:19
  That was.
• 31:19
  Yeah.
• 31:20
  Yes, it was.
• 31:21
  It was awesome.
• 31:21
  Yeah.
• 31:23
  That's good.
• 31:24
  So let me ask you this.
• 31:26
  Is that something you want to do?
• 31:27
  Is that something you want to do?
• 31:29
  And that is stop trusting in yourself and you trying to be good enough, realize that you're not good enough, that you're a sinner, deserving of hell, Turn away from that and begin trusting in Jesus Christ, his death and
• 31:45
  resurrection on the cross.
• 31:47
  Is that something you want to do?
• 31:49
  Okay.
• 31:50
  So I would encourage you just to.
• 31:52
  To get before God and just pray to him.
• 31:56
  You know, we can go our whole lives going to church and even being around this stuff, but until we actually take a personal step and put that faith into practice, practice ourselves, we're just kind of being religious, you
• 32:12
  know?
• 32:13
  And so I'd encourage you to take your.
• 32:15
  Your years of going to church and put it into practice in a real way.
• 32:21
  Put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
• 32:24
  Is that something you want to do?
• 32:25
  I would.
• 32:25
  Yes.
• 32:25
  That would be awesome.
• 32:26
  Okay.
• 32:26
  Can I pray with you right now?
• 32:28
  Okay.
• 32:28
  Lord God, I just.
• 32:29
  Thank you so much,.
• 32:32
  Man.
• 32:32
  Praise the Lord.
• 32:33
  That is so good.
• 32:35
  I love it when God allows me to see someone repent and turn to him.
• 32:39
  It doesn't happen all the time, but it happens.
• 32:43
  If you do this regularly, Regularly.
• 32:47
  So my question to you is, where's your fishing hole?
• 32:51
  Where's the place you Regularly go to evangelize.
• 32:55
  Maybe you don't have anything like that.
• 32:58
  Maybe you don't even evangelize.
• 32:59
  I would encourage you to step out in faith and do it.
• 33:03
  You know, this video, it's not for your entertainment, Watch some Christian evangelize.
• 33:08
  No.
• 33:08
  I'm hoping that it'll encourage you to see how easy it is, see that it's not always a battle.
• 33:15
  People actually are interested in spiritual things.
• 33:18
  So I would encourage you to find a place near your house.
• 33:21
  Maybe it's on your lunch break.
• 33:23
  Maybe it's once a week.
• 33:24
  Whatever it is, just go there and look for someone to talk to.
• 33:28
  If you've never done this before, just go there and pray.
• 33:31
  Just start praying and just see what God would do.
• 33:35
  So many people complain about how bad the world is and how horrible America is and how this world is going to pot.
• 33:42
  I'm in California and so many people are saying, let's get out of California because it's falling apart.
• 33:48
  Well, I would say that the darker it gets, the more opportunity the light of the gospel has to shine.
• 33:55
  So wherever you are, remember this.
• 33:57
  There's someone in your town who needs to hear the gospel.
• 34:01
  Pray that God would use you to present the glorious gospel.
• 34:05
  So get out there and be part of the Great Commission and I'll see you next time on Romans Road.
• 34:12
  If you like this episode, please let us know.
• 34:14
  Leave a review on your podcast app, then come over to streetpulpit.com and click around for a while.
• 34:20
  Street Pulpit is a 501c3 nonprofit ministry.
• 34:24
  Our outreach is dependent on the Lord's provision through his people.
• 34:28
  Please consider partnering with us.
• 34:30
  You'll find the partner link in the show notes or@streetpulpit.org we'd be grateful to have you as part of our support team as we press on to fulfill the Great Commission.
• 34:39
  God bless you.