"What is an experience of knowing Christ" by Kevin Rogers

It is often claimed that being a Christian means having a personal relationship with Christ, but what does this mean, how should it feel like, and do I have one? Within conservative protestant circles, assurance is often based on scriptural promises. E.g., we can know we are a Christian if we have put our faith in Christ, or ‘Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so’. However, although these statements are true, they do not go far enough. Both Jesus and Paul state that assurance goes beyond this, and Paul expects his readers to share in his own experience. Apologetics by reasoned arguments is commanded and is useful for providing intellectual support, but it does not go the whole way. God can do more than that such that we can we truly know. The Spirit can attest with our spirit that we are children of God. During this talk, I cover: • The value and limitations of apologetics, • My own Christian experience, • The Biblical warrant for Christian experience and assurance, • Paul’s teaching on knowing Christ, and • The conditions for knowing Christ, Kevin Rogers