A little "off topic", but I saw this on Adrian Rogers the other week. Powerful story and one to remember when witnessing to people! Many years ago, I shared this story with you; it bears sharing again. When I was in the Space Center, down at Merritt Island, before I came to Bellevue, I was in my office, one day, and a man came up in a big Cadillac, parked his car, came in, and said, "Mr. Rogers, I need to talk with you." He was one of the big shots out at the Space Center, helping to put a man on the moon. I said to him, "Well, what do you want to talk about?" He said, "I want to talk about my wife. She wants to commit suicide, and I don't want her to." Well, I thought that was nice—he didn't want her to commit suicide. So, he said, "Would you talk with my wife?" I said, "Well, I will if you'll come with her." So, the two of them came and sat down, and I said, "Tell me, lady, what your problems are." And, her problems were this man! This man was a liar. He was a drunkard. He was an adulterer. He was a gambler. He was a blasphemer. A wife abuser. I mean, he was rotten. And, that's mildly put. And so, I just stopped talking to her, and I started talking to him—this man in the space industry. I said, "Sir, I want to ask you a question. Are you a Christian?" Now, I wasn't asking for information. But, I said, "Are you a Christian?" I was just getting the conversation started. He laughed a scornful laugh, and said, "No! I'm not a Christian; I'm an atheist." I said, "Oh, an atheist." I said, "An atheist is a man who says there's no God and he knows there's no God. Do you know there's no God?" And, he said, "Yes." I said, "Well, that's interesting." I said, "Of all there is to know, how much do you know? Do you know half of everything there is to know?" He said, "Of course not." "But, you said you know there's no God. Wouldn't you have to admit the possibility that God might exist in that half of the knowledge you don't have?" "Well," he said, "okay, you got me. I'm not an atheist, I'm an agnostic." I didn't tell him the Latin equivalent of agnostic is ignoramus. It's the same word in Latin or Greek: agnostic in Greek, Latin ignoramus. It means just, "I don't know, I'm ignorant." I said, "That's just a fancy word for a doubter. Are you a doubter?" He said, "Yes, and a big one." I said, "I don't care what size; I want to know what kind." He said, "What do you mean?"
I said, "Well, there are two kinds of doubters: There are honest doubters and dishonest doubters. Which kind are you?" He said, "Well, what's the difference?" I said, "An honest doubter doesn't know, but he wants to know, and therefore he investigates. A dishonest doubter doesn't know because he doesn't want to know. And, he can't find God for the same reason a thief can't find a policeman. Jesus said, 'They hate the light, and they will not come to the light, because their deeds are evil'" (John 3:20). He said, "Well..." I said, "Sir, would you like to find out whether you're an honest doubter or a dishonest doubter?" He said, "Yes." I said, "Would you sign this statement: 'God, I don't know whether You exist or not. I don't know whether the Bible is Your Word or not. I don't know whether Jesus Christ is Your Son or not. I don't know, but I want to know. And, because I want to know, I will make an honest investigation. And, because it is an honest investigation, I will follow the results of that investigation wherever they lead me, regardless of the cost?'" I said, "Would you sign that statement?" He said, "Give it to me again." "God, I don't know whether You exist or not. I don't know whether the Bible is Your Word or not. I don't know whether Jesus Christ is Your Son or not. But, I want to know. And, because I want to know, I'll make an honest investigation. And, because it is an honest investigation, I will follow the results of the investigation wherever they lead me, regardless of the cost." He said, "I'd like to be honest." I said, "Wonderful!" I gave him an assignment. I said, "I want you to begin to read the gospel of John, because," I said, "there's one book written, and that book is 'written, that [you] might believe that Jesus is the Christ... and that believing, [you] might have life through His name'" (John 20:31). He said, "But, I don't believe." I said, "That's all right. You just make an honest investigation. You say to God, 'God, I don't know whether this is Your Word or not. If this is Your Word, show me, and I'll make up my mind before the fact that I will obey You, only if you show me this is Your Word and speak to my heart.'" He said, "That's fair enough."
What happened? In a few weeks, he came back, said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God," got on his knees like a little child and wept his way to the arms of Jesus. That was many, many years ago. I got a letter from him a while back. He's up in Bangor, Maine now. He has a tape ministry and is teaching the Bible. And, this is what he said to me: He said, "Mr. Rogers, I want to thank you for spending time with this general in the devil's army." Where was that man's problem? He thought his problem was intellectual. His problem was his will. When a man surrenders his will, God will speak to him.
Adrian Rogers, The Adrian Rogers Legacy Collection – Sermons, (North Palm Beach, FL: Adrian Rogers Foundation, 2011), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, Under: "No Other Way to Heaven Except Jesus".