John Piper - What if God doesnt exist?

hi John a lot of Christians and myself are trying to have Jesus our foundation for life and as the ultimate treasure in our life so how would we or how would you handle the doubt that the Bible is not true or that Jesus and the Gospels doesn't exist how do we handle that doubt when it creeps in how do we handle the doubt in our own hearts or when people that make those kind of creation are that's harder it's just it's real it's it's urgent it's painful when when your own when your own heart brings up fears and doubts concerning the fart of the word whether Jesus really said these things and you just give you layers of answers just bullet them layer number one is cry out to the Lord to open your eyes to the self-authenticating glories and beauties of Christ in the Bible I start there because if I started at the academic level and told you some three good books to read defending the Bible you know what that would do it there's a few of you who would run get those books and you'd be helped by them sort of meaning intellectual arguments I think are valuable and and supplementary to spiritual sight but the average run-of-the-mill human being I mean we're an educated lot right but you go to a part of the world where they don't they don't even go to third grade millions billions how are they going to know that Christ is real they can know they can know so how it will the same way you can know because historical arguments philosophical arguments apologetic reasonings can go so far but they don't settle these issues they don't settle the midnight crises of soul because historical arguments are always dealing in probabilities well what if that document was forged or what if or what if the soul can always COFF up what if now what do you do the arguments you can't do enough arguments to cover everyone if it's it's analogous to trusting your wife I have 110 percent trust in the faithfulness of my wife I never lose a minutes sleep over wondering if she's faithful to me now what if you came to me and said she could be faith faithless could all be a trick you've got your problems in marriage it's worse than you think it is you travel a lot you don't have any idea what she's doing you may be so hard hard she's getting her strokes from another guide on and on and on now what would I do with that that intellectual possibility house they don't think so and I'd like my my I'd lay my head down in the Hilton and go right to sleep right to sleep and she'd know he didn't even turn the TV on and suck that's how sharp he's cutting his hand off for me gouging his eye out for me there's what what what what's your answer to why I can do that just an absolutely deep subjective sense of eyeball to eyeball trust I know this woman that's the way we got to be with Jesus and and what you do then is you pray okay can open my Bible I'm letting shows God's Word pun open my Bible and I'm gonna pray God show me show me Christ let there be self-authenticating light shine off this page into my heart so that I know I think that's the bottom line I'm happy to recommend books on the authenticity the Gospels and our good evangelicals that are providing counter-arguments for the quest one quest to quest three and the denials of this and that yes let's keep the academic battle going so that there's parity out there and evangelicals are answering the arguments and giving good counter arguments yes but in the end in the church on the ground late at night heart-aching is it all real they won't carry the day the Holy Spirit bearing witness with our spirit through the Word of God will vindicate what's here here would be that the way it happens for me this is my own personal testimony I would say that I have spent um enough decades with the with the letters of Paul I know him and I trust him I know it he's not stupid he's not a jerk he's not insane he's not a maniac he has not lost his marbles when Paul writes Romans Paul is solid Paul saw the risen Christ on the Damascus Road he did not hallucinate if you say how do you know I said I know Paul it's like I know my wife or the second way it works is I read the Gospels and I read them over and over and over and I'll let Christ talk to me out of all these different situations from all these different angles that the Gospel writers give him and I say I know him this is not a fabrication people could not have made this up this way and he is not a lunatic and he's not a liar therefore he's Lord you know that would lure that's right that's valid so that's that's the way it ends for me and I'm not saying I don't have those late-night experiences where it usually takes the form not of historically as it falls but are you false are you doing this for the praise of man are you energized really by all this people come in to conferences and so this is really a game for you that's the kind of thought that breaks over my mind horrible horrible thoughts that I could be so deceived that I would actually do religion like this on a total ego trip and not be a genuine Christian I think that's a demonic thought I think straight out of hell and I don't resist it by saying it couldn't be I resist it by renouncing pride and trying to bring my life into more conformity to what's here to let the life itself be the denial of the accusation it came from the evil one

Channel: OFTHEFEW

Views: 111,971

Rating: 4.869616 out of 5

Keywords: John Piper, Doubt, Is God real?, Security, Faith

Id: aBPoF5nxdRA

Length: 7min 30sec (450 seconds)

Published: Fri Aug 27 2010