[Salvation] is ultimately God’s work…But that’s not an excuse to hold back from sharing the stark yet saving truth that Jesus is Lord. We simply don’t have the luxury of allowing our unbelieving friends and family to endlessly ponder the concept of Christ without being given the opportunity to entrust themselves to Him.

Until recently, I had never listened to The Joe Rogan Experience—one of the world’s most popular podcasts, hosted by American comedian Joe Rogan, who interviews an extensive variety of guests at length. I had also never heard of one of Rogan’s recent guests, Christian apologist Wesley Huff. Despite my unfamiliarity with both, I nevertheless decided to listen to all three hours of their conversation (admittedly with a few breaks).

Their discussion was wide-ranging, covering everything from Mesopotamian mathematical conventions to physics and cosmology, but I want here to reflect on one key issue that emerged at the very end of the episode: the distinction between a moralistic view of Christ and the worship of him, especially in our evangelism.

Who do you say I am?

In the episode’s final minutes, Huff seizes the opportunity to ask Rogan, who appears very open to exploring the Christian faith, the all-important evangelistic question: “What do you think of the historical Jesus?”¹

Rogan responds by contemplating two different views: 1) the moralistic view, which sees Jesus (or the concept of him) as an archetype to emulate, and 2) the divine view, which sees Jesus as the Son of God and saviour.

Rogan’s distinction of these views is helpful. While it’s true that the New Testament consistently teaches that we are to be like Jesus, it also teaches that we can never achieve the moral perfection that is God’s alone (Eph 5:1; 1 John 2:6; Rom 3:23; Eph 2:8-9). This is, after all, why Jesus came in the first place—to save us from our sins.

Not only that, but a moralistic view prioritises the idea of Jesus over the person of Jesus; reducing Christ to a philosophical concept and ignoring his own exclusive claims about who he was and why he came.

The consequences can be dire, just as Huff outlines in his response to Rogan:

“If Jesus is nothing but a moral example, then you can save yourself and you don’t actually need a saviour.”²

“[Moralism] actually misses what I think Jesus said about what his purpose was, in that you can’t do enough to actually live up to the standard that God holds you to. And so if you keep striving you’re actually going to wear yourself out.”³

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