The Most Important Question
Introduction
Section titled “Introduction”Have you ever been in a conversation with someone that started as a very open and connected two-way conversation, then as soon as you begin to share anything about your Christian faith, then the conversation changed in an instant and they begin to get closed off and disinterested or even a little hostile? Has that ever happened to you?
For me, when this happened I would freeze up. And that’s when God lead me to what Frank Turek calls “The Most Important Question”.
The Most Important Question
Section titled “The Most Important Question”If you sense a person is becoming uninterested, disengaged, checked-out, or even hostile to talking about Christianity, you can ask this question to decide if there is a reason to continue the conversation, and that questions is:
“If Christianity were true, would you become a Christian?”
If the person hesitates or answers “no”, you may be wasting your time offering evidence because, most likely, they don’t want Christianity to be true and no amount of evidence will convince them.
Mind vs Heart
Section titled “Mind vs Heart”The problem isn’t in their mind, the problem’s is in their heart. They don’t want it to be true. They don’t want there to be a God, because they want to be God of their own lives and God gets in the way. They’re not on a truth quest, they’re on a happiness quest; and they’re only going to follow what make they happy.
And here’s the problem. You can make yourself happy over the short term by doing a lot of stupid things, but over the long term it’s a disaster. Some of you may know what I’m talking about. I know this because this is what happened to me. I was on a happiness quest that only ended up in unhappiness.
Review and what to do
Section titled “Review and what to do”So when trying to share evidence about the truth of Christianity to those that are not open or become hostile to talking about Christianity; ask them “If Christianity were true, would you become a Christian?”. If they hesitate or say no, you realize the problem isn’t intellectual. It’s not a problem of the head. It’s a problem of the heart.
So, what do we do if they say no? We Pray that God’s Spirit will work on their heart, we love them, then we dust off your feet and move on. Maybe at some point, after enough seeds have been planted, or something dramatic happens in their life, then perhaps they will be ready to get more information. When the student’s ready, the teacher will appear.
This is the most important question. Thanks, Frank.