The Man Behind The Case for Christ (Part 2)

Family policy matters in engaging and informative weekly radio show and podcast produced by the North Carolina family policy Council hi this is John Rustin, presidency, family, and were grateful to have you with us for this week's program is our prayer that you will be informed, encouraged and inspired by what you hear on family policy matters and that you will feel better equipped to be a voice of persuasion for family values in your community, state and nation.

Today we bring you part two of a two-part series with Lee Strobel renowned Christian writer and author of the best-selling book, the case for Christ. I will just yesterday the University and afterwards came up to me and one by one they would say also encouraging. This is a great reminder strengthens my faith. This reminds me that I'm not crazy out there is really good evidence for what I believe that the Bible is consistent with what we find in history and science and so I think you know they'd be apologetics or evidence for the faith is important to the believer, as well as reaching out to the nonbeliever, a safe place for people to start. Try having these kind of conversations might be happening. These types of discussions with people that they believe are Christians because I know sometimes we as Christians believe, very different things. Yes, there are a razor blade.

We can wonder is really a Christian authentically born-again followers of Christ or did I just think they are one of the great diagnostic tools that I like to use is the verse that my wife helped lead me to faith with which is John 112 and 112 is what I call the formula of faith.

John 112 says, but as many as received him that Debbie gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name, and so the formula is believe plus receive equal become so often. I thought I get the effect you believe, don't you, that Jesus is who he claimed to be yeah oh yeah I really do I believe you resurrected from the dead. I believe it's a son of God that's great, but that's not enough. John 112 says we have to receive.

How do we do that, that's when we repent of our sin, we confess that we turn away from it and we receive this free gift of forgiveness and eternal life that Jesus purchased for us on the cross when he died, as our substitute to pay for all of our sin.

And when we receive the free gift of his grace, then we become a child of God, and for some people that element that's missing. They have intellectual knowledge or intellectual agreement with Christianity, but they've never really humbled themselves surrender their life to Christ receive this free gift of his grace, and thus become a child of God's talk a little bit about how we can start some of these conversations. This type of discussion started well but what choice I mean I think even simple ways of conversation say while it's a beautiful out today. This is a great example of God's creation and it really got you believe in God or yeah I really do. It is just bringing up that kind of thing subtly to mention if somebody asked you what to do last week that you can say well it was my car and I went to a movie and I played around the golf or you can say I wash my car went to the movie, a playground, golf, and I went to church and while I really interesting talk about God. Would you be interested in hearing about the other question I like to ask is I asked people if you could ask anyone question in your new unit answer right now, what would you ask and that's a great question because it kinda gets to know both what may be a spiritual sticking point in that person's journey toward God and issue or question or doubt that's holding them up in their journey toward Christ now but 80% of the time when you asked the question you're going to get some permutation of the question of why does God allow pain and suffering, but 80% of the time people give us a wide is a loving God allow so much pain and suffering, but I don't follow that.

I don't then answer that question. I could not get my five point sermon on why God allows pain and suffering, but I don't do that. I ask a follow-up question and the follow-up question is while all the questions in the universe. Why did you ask that one and then it gets down say well because we lost the baby and childbirth. Five years ago. I want to know where God was with that happen or my wife has breast cancer and I want to know where Scott and Matt and now you're getting to really be emotional issue, and that often drives disbelief. We think people have a lot of intellectual problems with the Bible and intellectual problems with the faith. You know what the truth is a lot of those are smokescreens.

A lot of those are just excuses not to believe.

Often it is an emotional issue describing nonbelief anger at God or emotional issues like my father issue. If you look at famous atheists of history, Kim Bouchard, Nietzsche, Freud, Voltaire, Wells, Feuerbach, O'Hare. They all had a father who either died when they were young divorced her mother when they were young, with whom he had a very difficult relationship and often back in the lead down the road toward atheists because they don't want to heavenly father who dictation our burden just like their earthly father a moral issue would be that people enjoy their immorality, their sin and want to give it up and I'll admit, perhaps, who they really are social lots of reasons why people fend off faith and I think diagnosing that sometimes reuses data questions we can get to the real issues indeed discuss some of these con techniques but some of the strategies in all of the books or is there one in particular that you would direct people to what we did with my good buddy Mark Middleburgh called the unexpected venture 42 of these little daily readings that include a story from my life or Mark's life about how we try to share our faith successfully or not often that some principles we draw out from that Scripture and so it's kind of a fun way. You can read every day take 10 minutes to read the daily entries made over the course of the several weeks of reading this it it encourages you build your confidence to say what Dalia Strobel can do that I could do that.

And through that you can learn about various techniques and approaches to ask questions or to get into spiritual conversations that sometimes people can just mention castling conversation that they went to church and that this can help open up conversations so we just we don't talk we just let people know that were Christians and we wait for them to kinda bring up the topic and how do we know when that is. Yeah, I think it is helpful to plant trees to be able to let people know what your neighbors know that your Christian you can set mentioned casually.

I church last week, or for some interesting church last week. They may not pick up on it. Then tell you what two months later, their son gets arrested or or find out he's an addict or whatever they need. They need to go to someone and say I need some advice. I need some encouragement some help for Kelly. I know my neighbor.

He mentioned he goes to church maybe I'll talk to him. So just sometimes planting seeds to let people know that were followers of Christ can lead later to conversations when they're ready to have a conversation, but I have found that often it were the one to shrink back and the people are more interested in talking about spiritual matters and we think there is a good way to start is just asked them hey what's your what you think background did you ever go to church his kid and let them tell you and let them just ask questions what you believe what you believe about God.

What you believe about heaven and how do you know that's true and and just keep asking questions and ultimately turn the tables and what about you what you think what you believe and that gives you an opportunity to share your story of your faith journey and why you believe what you believe listening post weekly radio show and podcast family policy Council. This is just one of them anyway since he works to educate citizens across North Carolina about policy issues that impact families. Our vision is to create a state a nation where God is on religious freedom versus families and life's cherished more information about his family and how you can help us to achieve this incredible vision for our state and nation.

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We also love for you to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and my heart study say the other day that they often have an opportunity to share their faith and start talking about God by just asking someone. Can I pray for you. That's a wonderful way to do that sometimes a restaurant where the server will common the order is one of the things you know were Christians here and pray for a meal in a moment striping we can pray for you and I. Servers break down and cry right then and I've had others just so vulnerable, so you know what I'm a single mom.

I'm really struggling Dalia if you would pray for me. I really mean the world to me and I've never had people get angry or get offended if I asked you know me, I pray for you and the other thing to do was to have a resource there with you Kristi. Frankly, you may never see this person get but if you pray for them and then and there, appreciative, great to give them a copy Francis the case for Christ usually say by the way, here's a book I was listening to a guy. He was a skeptic, an atheist and investigated Christianity and became a Christian in his life was changed and God met his needs in ways he never would've anticipated. This is a gifted and see if you might enjoy it. That's a wonderful way to offer to pray for people to get into a spiritual discussion and you do not have to be in apologetics expert to do that. That's right. And this I say be willing to say. Great question. I don't know the answer but let's find it together. That also opens up the opportunity for another meeting in another conversation. So yeah, I think we can we can give them resources we can use are so many good resources these days many people have written wonderful books that they contain evidence for the faith. When I was an atheist and did my investigation back in the 1980s and set late 70s I had a hard time finding any good works there just wasn't much out therenowadays. There's a lot of good material approach. This is also important because if people feel like my gosh anyone ever supposed to talk about religion if we start talking about and I disagree with them.

They're never going to be my friend anymore, so there is an attitude that we need to convey right to to make people feel like were open to discuss this gentlest respectfulness to say to ourselves you matters to God validate them as a human being who was made in God's image.

God loves them to respect them as being on a jury, maybe not as far as I am, but that's okay. Maybe I can help them in their journey and to do more listening than talking, asking more questions and giving answers what you believe what you believe it.

Did you go to church when you were younger. What was your experience and just won't talk about it and it just opens up that spiritual conversation I often find once you start that you can't stop because people wanted to talk about spiritual stuff people are fascinated and when they see you as being authentic when AC was being gentle and kind, and the listener and someone who is empathetic to them. That is a great apologetic in itself, that is a bridge that makes people more willing to ultimately listen to what we have to say this project is people may be very interested in how that's can work, so it's the least Strobel Center for evangelism and applying apologetics in your at Colorado Christian University.

So tell us why this was created and what is motivating its mission when I was at Billy Graham's question was next Billy Graham and my attitude is millions of contagious Christians who are trained and equipped and motivated Sharon to defend their faith in a natural way. I think that's the next wave of evangelism in America is our new center exist to train people and to encourage people motivate people to do that very thing to understand why we believe what we believe and to understand the essentials of the faith in a way that we can share in a natural way of the Bible has at least half a dozen different ways that people share their faith like me. I don't have to do it like you.

You can be yourself and God can use you with your personality and your background and your temperament God can use you to be salt and light as Jesus says to influence people for him. We want to train people do that sort of the offering online courses so you can take them from wherever your located be for college credit if you want to get a degree will have degrees. Undergraduate degrees and masters degrees are offering but maybe just watching a few courses and will have certificates that you can get if you wanted to be.

For instance, evangelism, director at a local church.

You can take our curriculum on the act and be certified as a evangelism director local church with a lot of different things were good offer. So as we are as we ramp up over the next year so the first courses of the offered fall of 2020 people go to CCU.edu/Strobel Center and get all the information they need sunscreen. Least Strobel's thank you so much for not being afraid to dive deeply into matters of faith and reason course for bringing your story to us here today on family policy matters is important to have a two-part series with renowned personal Strobel. We hope you enjoy the show and plan to tune in again next week to listen to this program, Oman for your part one of the series on our website and see family.org that's in see family.org.

Thanks much for listening and may God bless you and your