Transcript of John Lennox - Christianity is NOT a religion, it's a relationship.
Amazing Abundance
0:00The principle of the religion is0:05merit. And so you have to hope that with0:07all the teaching you've got and all the0:09experience that your good deeds will0:12outweigh your bad deeds and you'll be0:14accepted. And I find that by and large0:17most people say that's exactly what we0:21believe. And I say it's exactly not what0:24I believe. And they say of course you0:26do. You're a Christian.0:28You believe as well as I do that good0:32works are important. Yes. I say I0:34believe they're important, but they're0:36not the basis of acceptance. And they0:38say, but how can that possibly be? Well,0:41I say you think of that wavy line and0:44you're on that wavy line and you cannot0:47by definition be sure of acceptance.0:50It's like Birmingham University.0:54You get in, you do your A levels.0:56Wonderful. You're in. And then there are0:58nice professors like me teaching you,1:01but I can't guarantee you get a degree.1:03Why? Because you have to get through1:06finals. That's the day of judgment,1:08folks, isn't it? And many of you1:11remember it. And that is what the vast1:15majority of people think a religion is.1:18And then I drop a little1:20bomb into their minds and I say, "But1:24that isn't Christianity,1:27folks." In1:30religion, acceptance comes at the1:34end on the basis of an assessment of1:38merit. Well, if that's religion,1:40Christianity is not a religion. It's a1:45relationship and acceptance comes at the1:49beginning. That's1:51radical. And you know, I believe in our1:55country and in my original country, many1:58people have rejected Christianity. Why?2:01Because they've never understood2:04this. They don't realize that2:07Christianity is not a merit-based2:10religion. Because Christ came into our2:12world and he told2:16us that if we listened to him and2:21accepted his word and believed on him as2:24the savior, the son of God, we would2:27have in that moment eternal life and we2:29would not come into judgment. That's2:32utterly radical. So the acceptance comes2:36at the beginning.2:38And so, ladies and gentlemen, I don't2:41give lectures like this and discussions2:43like this to earn God's2:47forgiveness. I do them because I've got2:51it. That's radical. And you all2:54understand
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