https://youtu.be/8hl17EtPpmc

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as pastor john piper finishes up his

travels through the Middle East during

the month of November were going back

and listening to a few ask Pastor John

recordings from years past and a few

years back he was asked this question

what are some ways we can know

Christianity is true here's what Pastor

John had to say you can come at the

truth of Christianity through several

angles of apologetics or of reasoning

let me mention a few and tell you the

one that that is most extension real for

me one would be historical I think

arguments can be mounted that are solid

and compelling first for the existence

of Jesus and then for the death of Jesus

and for the resurrection of Jesus to

give an account for why the Apostles

were the way they were after his death

so that the arguments that pondan Berg

has developed or evangelicals have

developed for the resurrection of the

dead who moved the stone type tike

arguments as something of a book are

strong and have helped many people get

over the barrier because if Jesus has

been raised from the dead never to die

again and ascend into heaven then we

should take very seriously and credit

when he said about himself so that's

that's one line of evidence a second

line of evidence would be what what

would be called presuppositional that

without God as an assumption without the

Bible as an assumption all of our

reasoning processes or all of our

perceiving processes are not possible in

other words every time we start thinking

and every time we start perceiving

something is happening in our heads

which soon something and if you're going

to have any kind of credible

conversation about what you're thinking

or about what you're

then you are assuming certain laws of

logic certain laws of causality certain

laws of existence which can't have any

bearing of absolute significance unless

they're rooted in in God so everybody's

talking nonsense but hardly anybody will

say we're all just animals talking

nonsense even those who are total

secular naturalistic evolutionists don't

like to be treated like animals when a

dog barks I don't assume he's writing

poetry but when a man puts poetry down I

assume he wants me to take him seriously

as a human being who has serious meaning

there and he's not he doesn't like

because they always but just treat

chicken scratch so he's assuming

something unbelievably profound about

the significance and the basis of what

he's doing which he can't unless there's

this Christian construction of God so

that's that's the presuppositional angle

here's the third one and the last one

that is most significant to me how do

you when you want to decide if a

testimony a witness that somebody has is

true you weren't there there were no

videos there was no recording and you

have to decide whether what he's saying

happened happened so that's when I when

I read this book that's the way I feel

I'm reading Paul say 13 letters of the

Apostle Paul and he's telling me he saw

the Lord Jesus he's telling me that he

was knocked off his donkey on the

Damascus Road saw the Lord Jesus was

commissioned by the Lord Jesus and now

is inspired by the Lord Jesus and then

he interprets all of that in terms of

the gospel not I've got rekked with Paul

are you a a lunatic are you a liar or

are you telling the truth that's usually

used with Jesus you know you lunatic

liar or Lord I think it's a good

argument and I use it for the writers of

the New Testament not just for Jesus

because that's

I know that I've got Paul right here in

my head I've got Paul right here in my

and I wanna know are you crazy

so when I'm reading the Bible whether

it's the Gospel of John or whether it's

Romans I'm asking the question how can i

credit what's here both the testimony of

the man and the portrait of Jesus and I

think there is a light that stands forth

from the text of the truthfulness of

Jesus that is self authenticating and

there is a kind of character for the

writers that stands forth that is

authenticating of their solidity there

their truthfulness not that they're not

lunatics and they're not liars and I I

would find it if somebody said to me

today okay just give me in 30 seconds

why you're a Christian I would say the

one the portrait that I see of Jesus

Christ in the Gospels is self up

indicating to me I cannot meet this man

and have him speak like no money nobody

else spoke and not believe him he wins

my trust and then if they say yeah but

but how do you know that that person is

not being created by somebody else and I

would say well then the person that's

creating him is just as phenomenal and

they win my trust and if they win my

trust then they're not lying to me the

Apostle Paul is not a lunatic

I cannot read the thirteen letters of

the Apostle Paul and think he's crazy or

think he's a liar so those two things

the self up indicating portrait of Jesus

Christ that I find in Scripture and the

character endorsing way that the

Apostles write their books and reveal

their own trustworthiness that was

pastor John Piper thank you for

listening to this podcast we will be

back soon with all new episodes so

please continue to email your questions

in to us at ask Pastor John at desiring

God org and you can visit us online at

desiring guides org defined thousands of

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resources all free of charge from

Piper I'm your host Tony ranky thanks

for listening

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