Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Good morning, everyone.
Happy Sunday to you. If you haven't been at this church in a while, or maybe you haven't been at church for a while, let me just lay out a little bit about what to expect right now. We have been. If you haven't been with us for a while, we have been journeying through the Old Testament. We started in Genesis and we've been doing the survey. And last week we looked at the book of Micah. And I thought today we should do something a little bit different or we would have been here for Nahum. Anybody up for Nahum?
You all should say yes. Come back next week and you'll be here for an Amen. I promise it'll be a good, good time. But today we're gonna take a pause from that series and think about something a little bit different. This morning, as you can see in your outline, I titled the message today, does it should say, does Jesus? As it says, does Jesus as Lord make logical sense? And I'm gonna unpack that some more as we go through our time together. But that's the question that, that we are going to answer today. And it's rooted in, as you can see there, 1st Peter 3:15. We are going to be all over God's word this morning looking at different passages, but that's kind of the root passage for us.
Before we dive into this, I want to pray, ask God to just speak through me. The things that I say would be from him and also guide our hearts. So if you would bow your heads and pray with me, Lord, as we just sung moments ago, we celebrate this morning how great your love is for us.
We're grateful to you for that love.
Knowing this morning and even every day from what your Word says, that that love that is so great is not a love that you feel at a distance far from us, but a love that you brought near to us in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Thank you, Lord, that you are not just a God who is infinite, but also intimate, close to us, desiring a personal relationship with us, we also know that you are a God who is holy and just, a God that is faithful and true.
As we spend time this morning looking at your word, unpacking this subject, Lord, I pray that you would open our minds and our hearts to the truths that we see here and that we would be changed, perhaps our thinking would be changed, our belief system would be changed, or that you would move us closer to you because of what we see in your Word. In Jesus name, amen.
If someone asked you and maybe you've been asked this question before.
Why are you a Christian?
It's important to be able to give an answer that that is not just rooted in your experience, but also in reason.
The court system uses a term, perhaps you know this phrase beyond a reasonable doubt.
But you hopefully are not in court giving a reason for the faith that you have. Though many of our brothers and sisters around the world have been in situations like that.
Perhaps you are asked this question as you are sitting next to another parent watching your kids play soccer.
Perhaps you are talking with a friend or a family member as you're making Thanksgiving dinner one day.
Or perhaps while you're having coffee with a friend, somebody asks you, why are you a Christian? Now you could say, well, because I was raised that way.
Or perhaps you could say something like, it gives meaning for my life.
But you don't feel like that truly answers the question right.
You know, there's more than that. But how to say it clearly and without sounding like a Bible thumping, hell condemning Christian? You don't really know how to answer that question.
And so perhaps you hem and haw your way through that answer. Wishing, wishing you could answer that question with reason, answer that question in a way that makes sense to the person that's listening and that isn't full of a bunch of religious words. Have any of you been in a situation like that before where you're just wishing, perhaps, have I had some more structure? Well, today we're going to journey through, and you can see this on the back of your bulletin, the outline that we're going to journey through here today, we're gonna journey through five points, simple points that answer that question.
And so in the time that we have, 35 minutes or so, we're gonna. And maybe in the conversation that you're having with somebody, as you're sitting at a coffee table with somebody, and maybe that's a longer than 35 minute conversation, maybe it's shorter than that. These five points, these five reasons will help guide you and give you structure in how to answer.
Now, perhaps you're here today and you would like an answer for that question.
Maybe you're not thinking, oh, I'm the Christian and I want to be able to give an answer. Maybe you're here today and you're thinking, I'm not the Christian and I'd really like an answer for that question. Why are all of these people, or why is my friend that invited me, why are they a Christian?
Well, well, today I want to answer, or at least touch on an answer for that question.
And the answer won't be because it gives me purpose or because I was raised that way. Though for me, both of those answers would be true. Today we're going to walk through these five logical reasons. And there's many more than just five for why I, and perhaps many of you, follow Jesus and not just believe in him as God, but follow him as Master and as Lord of your life. So that's where we're going today. All right, you ready? Let's look at this. Let's unpack this in greater detail.
Does following Jesus as Lord make logical sense? And I want to make the case to you today this Christianity is. Is not divorced from logic.
It's not divorced from logic. Rather, logic supports it. Following Jesus is not just a blind. What's the phrase, a blind leap. It is the most reasonable response to the evidence that God has given us. And I admit to you, I am biased.
Many people assume faith and reason are enemies, but the Bible never asks us to, as the phrase goes, to check our brains at the door.
Rather, God invites us to examine evidence.
Isaiah 1 puts it like this. He says this, come, let us reason together. And so, church, I'd like to invite you to come and reason together with me.
You might have already chosen to follow Jesus. You're that person here today. And if that's you, maybe this will just give you some clarity.
First Peter, chapter three, verse 15, 14, 15 says this. Maybe your Bible's already open there. If not, I'll just read it. This is the foundation of what we're looking at here today. Here's what it says.
But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, you will be blessed. Peter is speaking to Christians. Have no fear nor be troubled. But in your hearts, honor Christ as Lord, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for the reason, for the hope that is in you. Yet do this with. Maybe you know this verse, but do this with what?
Gentleness and what respect. In other words, don't be a jerk about it. That's Peter's way of saying it. That way, do this with gentleness and respect.
And the phrase here that we want to lean into is to be able to make a defense against. I used that defense word is like the court system, right? Beyond a reasonable, what doubt. So here we're gonna make a reasonable logical argument that leads us towards trusting in Jesus and following Jesus as Lord. Now, if you like to write things down, you can write many things down here that we talk about, but you can write down the. Fill in the blanks there, point one on your outline.
Here's what it is. It's this.
Nature necessitates a creator.
Nature necessitates a creator. Now the first step, if I'm gonna use this stool over here and I'm gonna kind of go back and forth to this, the first step that we're gonna do is I'm sitting here with my friend.
Let's say we're at the coffee table, we're sitting in my house, whatever it might be. We're having this conversation about faith. The first place that I'm start, if somebody says, well, why are you a Christian? I'm gonna start this argument if in this way, if you will. Argument is maybe not the best word. This reason in this way. The first step in building this case begins with looking at the world around us. And for me, that's where I would start. It's something that all people can do. And yes, even blind people can do this as well. Look at the nature around us. Look at the beauty and the wonder and the power of the world that we live in. It's realizing this truth.
The universe displays design, right order, fine tuning, beauty. This is not just my opinion. Anybody could look around and see the order and the power of the world that we live in. Even the complexity of the DNA of our bodies, the laws of physics. Creation points to something beyond itself or nature points to something beyond itself. Now, does the Bible support this?
Yes, all over. Here's a couple verses on the screen.
Psalm 19:1. The heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaim his handiwork. This is saying, look at the world around you. And God clearly desires to be seen as the creator of all this. Romans chapter 1, verse 20. God's invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world. Look at the world around us in the things that have been made. So they, that is people. Humanity is without excuse. Now I get I am not the smartest person in this room and I'm definitely not a scientist, but many people smarter than me have studied this way beyond. I can begin to even fathom.
And when we consider science, it doesn't mean that we have to stop thinking logically, right?
When we engage logic in the area of the world around us, it's important that we think through things logically. So if we look at the world around us, one principle of science says, and we won't get into some of the terminology, it's the second law of Thermodynamics, it says that things are going to break down. Orderly. Things are going to what?
Break down. So when I look at the world around me and I see order, the second law of thermodynamics says that things are going to break down. So I would ask this question. If things are breaking down and it's this ordered now, doesn't that mean it would have been more ordered before?
Right. Logically, that's how that works. Somebody nod their head, right? Okay, so I'm just having this conversation at gallery or whatever and I'm talking with someone, I'm like, look at the world around us. Things are breaking down. According to what science says, things are breaking down. But look at how beautiful everything is. That means things must have had started somewhere perfect, or at least a lot better than where they are.
Here's an analogy. If you see this old grandfather clock that's still working and it's been wound up and it's working and it's functional, it's telling time, you wouldn't assume, because you know how, for example, a wind up clock works, let's say you would not assume that that clock has been going on forever and is going to last forever. Right? You would have to assume that because the way this is designed, it's going to run out or a battery, it's not going to last forever. It needs to get charged. You would look at this battery and say, or this clock and you'd be like, well, it's going to run out.
And if it's going to run out, it probably had a beginning, it probably had a full charge.
Well, if we look at the universe, then we would imagine it must have had some beginning that was orderly.
Because if things are breaking down, there must have been some beginning. Beginnings is where in many ways we look at kind of science and the world around us and say, where did it all begin? And science says in some contexts, in some conversations they say, well, it began with a big bang, right? It all banged, God spoke and bang. There was the world. As Christians would say, there it was.
But where did that thing come from?
Here's a movie quote for you.
Sound of Music. Really dating myself here.
There's a song in it. Nothing comes from nothing. Nothing ever could.
There you go, science right there in that movie.
So if there's nothing and then there was something, we're like, how does this work? Logically, nothing comes from right? So which means something must come from something. And if it's an orderly something, then it probably came from something more ordered. This is not like complicated things. This is just basic logic.
No one looks at a clock on the ground, right? Another argument, I didn't come up with this another argument. No one looks at a clock that's sitting there on the ground that that's functioning and says, you know what? After millions of years of nothing being there, something showed up and millions of years later there was a clock that works, right?
You would be like, no, somebody must have made that clock.
Not just that the universe around us and the very material of our body is made of more profoundly complex things than a clock.
Write this down somewhere complex and highly functional. Doesn't happen by accident.
It demands a creator. So here's the logical implication that we're going to make from this point and then we'll go to point 2.
If there is a creation that is order in nature, if there is a creation, and complex at that, there is a creator and wise, that random chance cannot adequately explain the order, the ordered reality that you and I observe. So there's an argument for God around us.
The second point that we're going to look at is, is there a logical argument for God not just around us, but within us? And this is the second point that you could write down. Morality demands a director.
Morality demands a director. There's a term out there, it's called the moral law. And I'm going to appeal to, if you will, a non biblical source to define this moral law. And you'll see where we're going with this in a moment. A moral law is a system of ethical principles and rules of right living that guide human conduct based on what is, get this here, objectively right or what wrong independent of written state legislation. Now here's my question as I'm sitting at the coffee table somewhere with somebody, here's my question. When we bring up the moral law, they're like, yes, I agree that there's right and there's wrong. Here's my question.
Where did those laws first come from?
Where did that system of organization first come from? Did it evolve? And if so, didn't we already establish in point one that things break down, they don't get more ordered?
So even if things started very orderly in a moral sense millions of years ago or even thousands of years ago, we should be a pretty terrible society right now, much worse than where we are now, and there would be no laws and system of organization there. So how did our organized system of principles come to be?
How did that happen?
I would make the case as I'm sitting here with my Friend, I would make the case that the Creator who made me put inside of me a moral compass. Right.
I could make that argument.
Scripture also validates this argument in Romans 2:15. Here's what it says. They the Gentiles is the word here. Also the rejecters of God is another way. We could say that here to be applicable to this text. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts when, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them. Here's what we learn.
That people, for some reason, in some way, shape or form. You don't have to teach a little kid what is right and wrong necessarily. They know right. You tell them to obey and then they don't. Do they know they're disobeying?
Yeah, yeah, they do. You could ask all sorts of people, is it right or is it wrong to kill or to steal. They would say that it is wrong. And you'd be like, well, why do you think that I think it's right? They're like, well, still, I don't really care what you think about that. Don't take the money from my wallet. Like that's wrong.
Well, according to what the Bible says, there is a moral compass that exists in all of us. Now I realize there are some objections that people will make to that right. For example, there are tribes out there that do despicable things that we would never do in the United States.
And I would say, yes, that is true, but that doesn't mean that they don't have a moral compass and that there are things in their culture that are not particularly allowed. There are also, yes, psychopaths and serial killers out there dealing with all sorts of internal brokenness.
But that's a different subject altogether. We can still make the case that inside of you and I, there is this draw. I know that there is a right and there is a what wrong. Where did that come from?
Where did that come from? This is what sets mankind apart from, if you will, the rest of the animal kingdom. Our ability to step back and look at what we call objective truth. That was the definition that we saw, wasn't it? From the dictionary, not just from the Bible. So if there are, here's the case that we're making. If there's is an objective moral law out there, then there has to be an objective moral law giver, someone who says from outside of all of us. This is what's right and this is what is wrong.
Where did this moral law come from? And how are we all somehow Having it inside of us. Well, we can make the case that our creator put that inside of us, can't we?
Because I could look at my friend who doesn't believe in God and say, but you somehow believe that even though your mom or dad or whatever the context was of them growing up didn't necessarily have to teach that to them.
What is this law? It's a standard beyond us. Where did this law begin? It makes logical sense that it came from our Creator.
Here's the logical inclination that you can write down somewhere. Morality is not merely a social construction or evolutionary byproduct. It points us to a director who defines good from evil.
So we have a case to make for the world around us, saying there's probably a Creator. We have a case to make as we look inside of us for a moral director for humanity.
My question is this.
Where can we learn most about, about this creator and moral lawgiver?
Where can we learn more about this particular creator?
What tool do we have to help us engage most robustly to the answers above that we've already talked about and also to the questions within us? And I want to make the case to you today that it's this. God's word, the Bible, and this is point three that you can write down on your outline. It's this. The Scriptures provide sound answers. The Scriptures provide sound answers.
Now, I don't know if you knew this. Perhaps you did.
Did you know the Bible is the most sold book of all time?
Most sold from as long as we've been like trying to count how many books are sold, maybe the last even 1500 years or so about. And this is unknown because some of this, I mean, Bibles have been smuggled all over the world, have been taken all over the place. The estimate number is about 5 to 7 billion copies of the Bible have been sold. The next in line is 3 billion of this particular book called the Quran.
Now why is. And we won't spend a whole lot of time talking about the Quran right now. You can do your research, we can chat later.
Why is the Bible then so special?
It's the most sold book of all time. Why is it so special? And that's not my opinion as a Christian that I say, well, the Bible is very special. Literally, objectively, it is the most sold book of all time. Why?
The Bible is not a collection of just ancient writings. It is a unified story across centuries that answer man's deepest questions. Questions like this, where did we come from?
Regardless of your religious background or context or country that you live in that question people are asking over and over again, where did we come from? What is wrong with the world?
And now that we've identified something's wrong with the world, what is the solution?
And what is our ultimate destiny? What's going to happen to me when I die? These questions, these are the logical questions that people ask as they go through life.
And I see here, because we've seen what 5 to 7 billion copies sold, the answer is not far from us.
It's found here in God's word. To all of those and many more questions, we don't have to look hard to look hard or look very far to find the answer.
The Bible is the most. And here's something you gotta stack somewhere in your mind somewhere is this. The Bible is historically accurate, prophetically reliable, archeologically sound. And that sets it apart from all of these other books, these religious texts that are out there. When we look at the Bible externally, we can reach a logical, sound conclusion that its internal message is, is worth our attention. Now notice what I said there is worth our attention. We start there. So as I'm sitting at the table with someone and maybe I have a Bible with me, maybe I don't, I can sit there with them and say this, I'm here, I'm holding my Bible.
I'm saying, like when I look at the things here, what do we know? What do I know about this? I know that it was written over about 1500 years, about 40 different authors, written on three different continents. And all the things here, from, from Genesis to revelation, in all 66 books, they tell one main story.
How did 40 different people over 1500 years tell one unified story that doesn't contradict with each other? How does that happen?
And I would make the case, and I would encourage you to do the same, because even though there was 40 different people that penned it, there was actually just one author.
And one author knows how to tell a cohesive.
And he used people, yes, he used people that were. Some of them were laymen, some of them were religious people. He used Isaiah, who was a prophet, he used Ezra, who was a priest. Matthew, who was a tax collector, John, who was a fisherman, Moses was a shepherd. Luke was a doctor. Despite being this book being penned by many different people, we see all of them not only tell one unified story, but it points to one hero, one main hero.
Who is that hero?
Jesus Christ.
So if all of that, even externally and internally we see is cohesive, this demands us to pay attention, to pay attention to what's written in it. Now, if we look internally, we also see that Scripture says these things are written by God. Yes, penned by man, but written by God. We see this in 2 Timothy 3:16. It's on the screen. It says this. All scripture is, is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness that the man of God may be equipped, complete, equipped for every good work. We see this in second Peter, chapter one. Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from one's own human interpretation. It wasn't some guy who said, I had a vision from God or an angel talked to me in a cave somewhere. And then I went and told 22 of these scribes that were my buddies and told them all to write stuff down. That's not how this came to be.
That's how another major book in the world came to be.
Verse 21 of 2 Peter 1 says this. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but spoke from God as they were carried along by who?
The Holy Spirit? So what's the logical case that we can make?
If the Bible accurately diagnoses here it is the human condition. It contains no historical, factual or archaeological errors and consistently points to one person as the answer. Logically speaking, we should pay attention to what that one person has to say, right?
That makes the most sense. And so as I'm sitting here with my friend in the coffee shop or wherever that might be, we're talking about this, I'm like, look at the things. Like, we can't find an error. Many people have searched this book looking for errors, and they keep finding Jesus, and he's not an error.
So let's examine the things that Jesus has to say. Let's examine the solution that Jesus has for us.
So that's the fourth point on your outline.
Jesus submits a solution, a solution to the problem of hope, the hope of mankind, a solution to the problem of the unknown future, that we have a solution to the problem of sin around us. Jesus submits a solution. And so as I'm sitting there, as you're sitting there with your friend, we go, okay, let's look at Jesus. Now. They might say, well, I don't believe that Jesus ever existed.
And this is sadly an argument that some might make, but is a really weak argument because we can look all over the place outside of, if you will, outside of this book and find that Jesus is actually a historical figure.
He existed in history. And other people who did not put their faith in Jesus and Follow him as a Christian believe that Jesus was real. There was a professor at Purdue University who was an extra bit. He was a professor of Jewish history. And here's what he said. He said the Jewish rabbis who did not like Jesus or his followers, they accused him of being a magician and leading people astray, but they never said that he didn't exist.
This is like not a Christian guy saying that. There's many other authors and historians that speak to this as well. If you'd like a deep dive on this, you could read Lee Strobel's Case for Christ, for example. So if we were to point ourselves particularly to four books that unpack the life of Jesus in the most clear and robust way, we could look at. What are those four books called? The Gospels. What do the Gospels have to say about Jesus? Here's a few things. It says that Jesus is the son of God in Matthew 26, that he is the giver of eternal life. In John 10, he is one with the Father. Also in John 10, he. He is one who forgives sin. In Mark 2, he is the good shepherd. In John 10, he is the light of the world. He is the future judge. He is the door of salvation. He is the Savior. And more and more and more. So this is what the Gospels say about Jesus, that he's a significant person worth paying attention to. And Jesus had significant claims as well.
I'll look at just three verses with you two passages. One of them is in John, chapter three, verses 16 and 17. Here's some significant claims that Jesus makes.
This is Jesus speaking for God.
He loved the world. He so loved the world that he gave his only son a capital S. Because that's Jesus.
That whoever, not just a select few group of people, whoever believes in him, should not. What that means, be separated from God, but have eternal life. Well, if perish is death, that means separation from God. Life then would be connection with God.
So he says, trusting in Jesus is the solution.
What else is the problem? Verse 17. For God did not send His Son, that is Jesus, into the world to condemn the world. But what.
But in order that the world might be saved through him. So what is he saying? Jesus says, I see there's a problem. You see there's a problem. I see I am the solution to the problem.
Trust. Believe in me alone and you can have a solution to this problem. The problem of where you're going. The problem of what's wrong inside of you. Jesus says, I solve that problem.
And many, many more.
Well, we might say can't there be other people that solve that problem?
Can't there be other people? I mean, some people could probably look at Jesus and say, okay, so cool, you have a solution.
You all have run into problems before and there's multiple solutions to the same problem.
Jesus makes the case in John 14 that there is no other solution to the problem of sin.
He says it like this. In John chapter 14 he says this. I am the way. Not a way, not one of the solutions, the solution, the way and the truth. There is other truth, things that are there that you might like to believe, but all truth originates with me. And if you want to be someone who finds objective truth, you have to go through me and the, and the life. You may want to find life out there that's good. A lot of people want to have life. They want to live for a long time or they want to know that when they die something good is going to happen to them. That's great. There's only one way to get there though, and that is through who?
Through me. So this is the case that Jesus is making. He says, all right, I see the problem. You see the problem, I am the solution and I want to offer that to you. I intentionally used the word submits as in like offers this because Jesus does not force people to do that. He doesn't force people to believe in him. He says, here's the solution, believe in me. He calls people to himself and says, come believe in me.
Now this is probably one of the biggest hangups with Christianity and conversations that you and I might have with people. And I get it right. I'm sitting here with my friend and he says, well, that seems really narrow minded of you to say that Jesus is the only way to get to heaven. I've been, he says, a really good person and I think that God should let me in.
That would make sense. He's saying, look at all of the things that I have done. And you're saying that because I don't believe the things that you believe, that I'm not going to go to heaven. And here's what you can say, and I can say as we sit there is, I'm not saying that Jesus is.
And it's not that I don't want you to. I want you to.
Here's an example. Let's say you asked me for directions to my house and I tell you, this is how you get to my house.
And then you say, I don't want to go that way.
I would like to go this way. And I said, you can go that way, but it's not going to end up at my house. Well, that's really rude of you. That's narrow minded of you. I think all roads should lead to your house. And I would be like, well that'd be cool. But no, that's not actually how it works. And that's not me trying to be a jerk to the person that I'm talking to. I'm just saying I like Jesus says, I'm going to my Father's house. I would like you to come with me. Here's the directions.
And then we then have the choice to. Or my friend here has the choice to say, I'll do it that way, I'll follow those directions. And then I would say, cause I need to tell the truth. Following these directions means that you get rid of some of the other things that you're doing because some of the other ways that you would like to do life isn't gonna get you there. You can only trust in Jesus. Jesus is the only way. It's not Jesus plus something else.
So what's the logical case that we're making?
If the diagnosis is correct, that we are sinners by nature and thus separated from God, standing condemned already, as John 3:17 says, then the solution Jesus offers Jesus though his sinless life, his substitutionary death. He died in our place as the bridge. Here's where, where mankind is, here's where God is. And Jesus says, I'm going to be the bridge. There's no other way for you to get from this side to this side without walking on me. That is the only way.
Jesus says, trust in me. That's the only way you can bridge that gap.
If the problem of sin is real and you see that, and I see that if Jesus is the solution, we then logically should listen to him.
But there's one more thing.
Not just with that claim of Jesus that he is the one, the only one who can get us to God, but with his subsequent call to surrender our whole life to him and to follow him.
Should we really follow this person who says, yes, you have to do it my way and also give me your whole life.
My question now logically is this. All right, cool. You say that you have a solution, but do you have the authority to direct my life?
Do you have that authority, Jesus?
You say you have a solution, that's great, but why should I submit to your way of doing all of my life? Because Jesus says, I don't wanna just be your Savior, I wanna be your Lord. I'm not just saying, here's the cross and then do whatever you want. It's, you were on one side, if you will, and your life reflected sin because that was the Father that you are a child of. He says, come over to this new home. Or the owner of the house that you were of, come over to this new home. And as a follower of Jesus, for you and I, what are we trying to do now? Through the power of the Holy Spirit, live like the owner of the home who is Christ.
So does Jesus really have the authority to direct my life? And if so, why?
Why?
This is point five.
The resurrection demands or demonstrates his dominion, particularly his dominion over your life and my life.
The resurrection demonstrates his dominion. Now, I don't usually do this. I'm going to show a video, it's like one minute long that makes this case, I think, better than I could, and gives credit to where credit is due.
What do you believe about miracles?
[00:35:56] Speaker B: The greatest miracle is this, that Jesus rose from the dead.
And because he rose from the dead, the resurrection of Jesus authenticates everything that he said and everything that he did.
Now, that's the most important thing. People often say, well, what about other religions? What about other philosophies? And I'm like, well, what about them? What about them? Listen, if you're walking down the street and you get to the end of the street and it branches into two and you don't know which way to go, there are two men lying there, one's dead, one's alive. Which one would you ask for? Directions.
The reason I'm a Christian is because Jesus Christ is alive.
[00:36:52] Speaker A: Amen. Amen.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ gives us confidence and reminds us that he truly does demonstrate dominion over your life and my life. And that's why when Jesus says things like this, take up your cross and follow me, he says this, come and follow me throughout the Gospels, Go and make disciples of all nations. Go and love your enemies. We see that he truly does have the authority to direct my life because I've chosen to submit my whole life to him. Because I firstly realize the problem within me.
And secondly, because I realize the problem within me. I realize Jesus is the one who can solve that problem within me. And because he died so that I didn't have to, I then logically owe him my life, right?
If somebody dies for you, you turn to the guy who died you or to the gal who died for you. And if they in some way shape or form were able to communicate with you, like, what can I do to honor you, Jesus looks at us and says, here's what you can do. Follow me.
Follow me.
He says that over and over to us.
So it's important that we know this truth. Christianity, though, is not about life insurance.
Christianity is about the assurance of life that we can have with God that starts today and lasts forever.
So the logical conclusion that we come to in all of this is this most clearly pointed out in that video we just watched. A dead religious founder who said he'd rise in three days is a liar who shouldn't be followed.
A risen Lord is worth our time and obedience. Amen.
The resurrection is, is the public historical validation of Jesus identity. And not just his identity, but his authority as well. Have any of you died and come back to life again after being dead for three days?
No. Did any of you predict that that could happen to you and then it happened? No, it could not. It did not happen to any one of us or anyone else in all of history. So thus, following Jesus the way that this is important, friends. Following Jesus the way that Jesus describes is not optional advice from a wise teacher. It's the logical response to the one who is Lord of all. It's the logical response to the one who is Lord of all. Now, the case for the resurrection is significant because if Jesus didn't really rise from the dead, First Corinthians tells us that our faith is futile. It's pointless. And it's not to say that we're trying to make up a resurrection so that we have meaning in our life, but rather the inverse. Because Jesus rose from the dead, we now can have meaning in our life and our relationship with God. That's why we're not just following a list of rules, but we're following a risen what?
A risen Savior. So in all conclusion, let's end with these three things for you to be thinking about as you think through this conversation that just took place between you and your friend. And maybe you're the person on this end of the table and you're the person listening.
Maybe you're the person listening here today. You've never thought through some of these arguments, these points.
I want to ask you this. Where are you getting hung up?
What point there? Those five points. Which one of those? You're like, I just can't get past this one.
I would encourage you to dive into that, to research that, to figure out answers to that particular point. Which of those five ones? When I look at nature, when I look at morality, when I look at the Bible, when I look at the personal work of Jesus, when I look at the resurrection, which of those five things, you're like, I just keep getting hung up on that point and work through that. Don't leave it in an unknown space for you. The second thing to be thinking about, the Bible and Jesus are clear about what they want from us.
Here's the question for you and I.
Are you willing to listen to what Jesus is calling you to do today?
It's not complicated in many spaces what he's calling us to do.
And maybe for you today, it's this repenting and trusting in him as your Lord and Savior.
Maybe that's the first step. There's no such thing as this relationship with Jesus that I have that doesn't first begin with me stepping out from myself and trusting him as my Lord and Savior. That's when the life with God begins. So what is he asking you to do today?
And then thirdly, and lastly, considering the day that we are in here, today is back to church Sunday across the country, thousands of churches inviting people. Maybe today you were invited.
Church, I realize, can be really hard, can be a really hard thing.
Maybe today is the first day that you've been back.
Perhaps you're, as the kind of saying goes, the phrase you may have heard is, I love Jesus, but not the church.
Maybe that's because you have been hurt by the church in some way, by the people in the church. Something happened, some experience occurred, and you said, I'm done with those sinners.
May I encourage you today to test out Christian community again and to work through a process of healing with other sinners.
And I would love to help you with that if that's you. And to be very clear, and this is the last thing I'll say, I know 100%, and you know this as well. I hope the church doesn't save you and going to church doesn't get you right with God.
Amen.
Only Jesus can do that.
But going to church can help you experience God in a powerful way.
It can give you an opportunity to practice loving other sinners who are also on the same journey of following Jesus.
And thirdly, it can allow you to be equipped to serve God in whatever context that he wants to send you.
Think about those three things. What do you need to research more? What's Jesus asking you to do? And are you willing to try out Christian community again? Let's pray together.
Thank you, Lord, for your love for us that you came and died in our place so that we could have a relationship with you. We are thankful for the work that you did that we could not do.
None of our good works could get us right with you or get us close with you. It's only through what Jesus did for all of us here today. Lord, I ask that you would speak to us in a powerful way, in a specific way.
Thank you for the opportunity of your spirit living in us as followers of you, to change us, to continue to form us into your likeness. If there's any here today that have never trusted in you as Lord and Savior, Lord, I pray that today would be that day they choose to submit to you and follow you the way you've asked us to, the way you've called us to, because you are worthy of our whole life. In Jesus name, amen.
