Hey there. Thanks for listening to the Greg Laurie Podcast, a ministry supported by Harvest Partners. I'm Greg Laurie, encouraging you.
If you want to find out more about Harvest Ministries and learn more about how to become a Harvest Partner, just go to harvest.org. Recently, Jordan Peterson interviewed Elon Musk, and they came to the topic of faith. And Elon Musk made a really amazing, and I might say surprising statement.
Right. I would say I'm probably a cultural Christian. Okay, so he identified himself as a cultural Christian. And that is interesting because not long ago, well-known atheist Richard Duncan said pretty much the same thing. An atheist identified himself as a cultural Christian.
So what does that mean? These men are acknowledging the positive effect that Christianity has had in the world, the positive effect that Christianity has on a nation, and the positive effect that Christianity has on a person. So in a way, it's an acknowledgement of the reality of the truth of the Christian message, the truth of the biblical message, the truth of Christ. Now, of course, to be a real Christian, you must call out to Jesus Christ and ask him to be your Savior and your Lord and admit you're a sinner. But when someone says they're a cultural Christian, especially an avowed atheist like Duncan, or a man of such great influence and innovation and creativity as Elon Musk, I think it's a step in the right direction.
And I would encourage both of them and anybody else who identifies themselves as a cultural Christian to come into a relationship with Christ himself. That's what Christianity is. If you were to sum up all the other religions of the world, you could use this word, do. Do this, and maybe you'll go to heaven. Do that, and perhaps you'll reach nirvana. Do this other thing, and maybe you'll find inner peace. But if you were to sum up Christianity in one word, it would be done.
Done. Recognizing that Jesus paid the price for your sin when he died on the cross in your place. As I've often said, Christ came to pay a debt he did not owe because we owed a debt we could not pay. And on the cross, Jesus gave a one-word statement.
Tetelestai is the original word in the Greek, and it's translated to the phrase, it is finished, which means it is completed, it is accomplished, it is paid for. As that old song says, Jesus paid it all. All to him I owe. Sin is left a crimson stain.
He's washed it white as snow. Done. Forgiven. Now in a relationship with God. So being a cultural Christian, that's a good step in the right direction. Being a real Christian, which means having Christ in your life, that's the ultimate answer. Let's pray for these two gentlemen that they will find that relationship with God and anybody else that is truly searching for truth.
