That is another good
question. With the current prevailing attitude that "all things are
relative" and "whatever works for you is your ‘truth’," more and
more people are seeking various personal experiences (anything from legalistic
religions, to Transcendental Meditation, to ‘encounter groups’) as a means of
fulfillment and a sense of purpose.
However,
Christianity is more than a subjective experience – it is based on critical,
objective, historical fact – the resurrection of Christ. That event established
Jesus’ Deity and His power over sin and death. If the resurrection had not
occurred, then Jesus would be neither the Son of God, nor our Saviour. Christianity would be meaningless. As the apostle
Paul bluntly stated, if Christ did not rise from the dead, then "we are of
all men the most pitiable"(1 Corinthians
Christianity is not
down on experience, however. Jesus invites individuals to experience a unique
and personal relationship with Him. However, He encourages a commitment to Him
that is based on an absolute truth, an objective fact of history outside of
ourselves to which our subjective experience is joined. Moreover, that
commitment is more than ‘accepting Christ’ intellectually. Biblical faith is
‘trusting’ faith, and the one who receives Christ as Saviour
is exhorted to follow Him as Lord of their lives from then on, regardless of up
and down emotional feelings or psychological experiences.
What type of ‘faith’
will you choose to have? Will it be based on emotions, psychological
experiences, rule-keeping, or something else, rather than based on the
trustworthiness of God Himself and His authoritative Word?