The Practical Conclusion - Mere Christianity Book 2 Chapter 4 - Episode 12

This episode we talk about what C.S Lewis calls The Practical Conclusion of our investigation of what best explains reality.

...Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who ask you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect...

1 Peter 3:15

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:12

Hello and welcome back to the Reason Why podcast. I'm Dana, and I'm so glad you're here. We are learning about what Christians believe, why, and whether we can know if it's true or not by going through C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity one chapter at a time. We have spent the last few episodes zeroing in on what reality truly points to, where the evidence leads us, and specifically who Jesus was and is and what and how he actually does what he claimed he did. Lewis has brought us to a point where we see that given the options of liar, lunatic, or lord, the most reasonable fit for Jesus is the title of Lord. We quickly but sufficiently covered theological terms of repentance and atonement to understand better what Christians mean when they say that Jesus died for us and his blood saves us. And today, as we finish book or part two of Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis finally arrives at the decision points, the climax and culmination of all the evidence he himself wrestled with for years. He wants to lay it all out, open everything to discussion and examination, and then he asks something of us. But first, there are just a few more things that he wants to address, clarifications and objections that came to his mind, and maybe they've come to yours as well. So let's talk about those things before we hear his question. In my reading of this chapter, I've clocked three main things that he walks through. And the first one, it gets a bit dense. It's somewhat involved, but I'm gonna break it down for you. You know, I like to keep things simple around here, or it goes over my head. He opens the chapter with examining what comes next in the heart, mind, life of the person who has accepted that Jesus is in fact Lord, God, and Savior. They've surrendered their life, what we call repentance, and accepted what we learned last time is called Jesus' atonement for us. And I'll go ahead and say this. The next bit is one of those areas where Christians can sometimes disagree on the details. He's slightly stepping out of the hallway he talked about in the introduction, and maybe just peeking into a room or two. He says, what is next for the Christian to understand and take part in is three things. Continue in that faith that caused them first to believe, and also partake in baptism and holy communion. This isn't the series for delving into the particulars of these things. I personally love these discussions, but for this episode and this book, I want us to stick in the hallway. Mere Christianity, right? So I'll touch on these topics and leave the deeper conversations for another time and place. Baptism and Holy Communion are both physical and spiritual acts that Jesus himself tells us to partake in. And they, along with growing in our faith, Lewis says, is how this new Christ-fueled life that we have is communicated to us. And while we might not totally understand the how of these things, Lewis says that we can trust that this is what we should be doing because it's what Jesus told his followers. And we know he told them these things because we have a historical written record of it. Lewis takes a moment to talk about authority here. He wants us all to be on the same page and understand that we trust written records all the time in science, history, medicine, when the sources that documented them for us are credible. And while that can get hairy sometimes, like if the source is unreliable, a lot of times it is perfectly sound and reasonable to trust something that we have plenty of historical evidence for. Whether that's scientific discoveries like Einstein's theory of relativity, or historical events like wars, the fall of Rome, or inventions like the printing press, or biological processes like cell replication or how viruses work. There are a ton of things that we can rightfully believe because a trustworthy authority left us accurate documentation of it. That's what we have in the Bible, among other things. The Bible contains eyewitness accounts and early testimony of the life and teachings of this massively documented man, Jesus. Testimony that would hold up in courts today. So one of the reasons we say the Bible has authority is because of clear historical validity and accurate eyewitness testimonies. Lewis wanted to make it clear too that living the Christian life is not a passive thing. If ignored and neglected, it will be useless and pointless. We can start to get into some theological debate territory here. So we will leave it at. And look for active discipleship, which simply means helping people learn how to actually live the Christian life with a biblical worldview. Moving on, Lewis's next point that he brings up is a question that gets asked a lot and for good reason. It's a question that's rooted in love and care for others. What about those who have never heard about God? How can they ever be saved? Just in the time since C.S. Lewis was alive, the gospel, the Christian message, has spread out to an enormous amount of previously unreached groups and civilizations. But this is still a relevant point. Lewis's response is first, while we do know that a person can only be saved through Jesus, God hasn't told us what his arrangements are for those people who've never heard of him, of God, Jesus, or the message of the Bible. I personally add to that that we know God is the absolute good and just one, so we can trust that he doesn't leave anyone abandoned or hopeless. But Lewis says, in the meantime, if you're asking this question or raising this objection because you care for and love others, then the most unreasonable thing you could do for them is to remain on the outside of truth and hope yourself. The most helpful thing we can do for others is bring them hope and truth. And we can't do that if we resisted ourselves simply because we don't understand all the answers just yet. Again, what I learned in my own life was that following and trusting the truth where it led brought me peace and hope and joy and completeness. And then over time, more and more answers came and unfolded. But all those answers were not the things that mattered most to me anymore. The truth mattered. It certainly mattered, it still matters. But what changed is that I surrendered to the truth giver. So if you want to help others, then let yourself first be brought into the body of Jesus, and then he will make your efforts useful to those that your heart breaks for. Okay, thirdly and lastly, why isn't Jesus coming back already? Wipe out all the evil, make everything perfect, and let's just be done with this broken world. There's so much evil, so much pain. This life is hard. I've struggled with depression. I've wanted to check out, call it quits, and just not have to be in this world anymore. I get it. And the reality of the pure, undiluted evil that happens in this world has weighed on my heart and mind so heavy that I cry out to the Lord, why? Jesus, please come back and make it all stop. And I'm not the first. I won't be the last, and I'm not the only one. The moment he ascended into heaven, we were ready and waiting for him to come back. So what's keeping him? If he were truly good, wouldn't he want to set it all right as soon as possible? Well, yes, but think about it. If Jesus had come right on back in the first century, where would you or I be? We wouldn't exist. Eternity wouldn't be an option for us. Lewis says, just as when the author comes on stage, the play is done, when Jesus comes back, it's all gonna be over. This world as we know it. We won't get into the nitty-gritty of the timing at the end, but the fact remains that once Jesus comes back to earth and reclaims the world that is rightfully his, it's over, and there won't be any more time for us to make our choice. He's delaying, as we see it, for us. Because he knows that there are more people that will make the choice to believe in him and surrender, lay down their arms and follow him. But the time will come when it will be too late. Once he returns and sets things right, time is up. He knows. He knows when, but we don't. It could be now, it could be tomorrow, it could be years, century, millennia away. The point is we don't know we don't know when our last breath will be. If you're listening to this and you haven't surrendered your life to Jesus, haven't believed, God is calling you to Him, calling you to the truth, calling you to abundant and eternal life. And you might not know what all of that means. You don't have to yet. Keep tuning in here. We'll get into all of that. But what you do know right now is that the God of the universe has made himself known to you. And now Lewis and I ask, what choice will you make? Thank you so much for tuning in this week. I pray that it was helpful and insightful. And if you've been blessed or challenged by it, then please share it with a friend because you know that the truth is worth knowing and sharing. God bless. I'll see you guys next time.