Always be ready to explain why you are a believer

I Peter 3:15-16 (NLT)

And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle  and respectful way.

Have you ever been asked, perhaps challenged by someone trying to embarrass you or refute your belief, to explain why you believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior (your Christian hope)?  Maybe some of you have been confronted many times.     I have been asked to explain my faith only a few times.  However, whether many times or just a few, each of us must be prepared to give an answer in a convincing manner why we believe what we believe.

Have you ever seen the movie “Inherit the Wind”?  It tells the story of the Scopes “Monkey Trial”, one of the most famous battles in history between evolution and creationism. In 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee, public schoolteacher John Scopes was taken to court for teaching evolution, which had earlier been banned by the state of Tennessee. The ensuing court battle pitted two famous men at the time as defense and prosecutor lawyers.  The defense lawyer was William Jennings Bryan, a former Democratic presidential candidate.  The prosecuting lawyer was Clarence Darrow.  The movie depicts Bryan as a fundamentalist Christian with blind faith who cannot answer basic questions logically about his faith.  The movie puts Christianity in a bad light because of the bumbling failures of Mr. Bryan to defend adequately why he believed what he believed.  Sadly, Bryan’s failures depict the status of the majority of Christians today who also cannot defend why they believe what they believe.  

How can you be prepared to respond to someone who asks you why you believe in Jesus as your Savior, especially when that someone is challenging why you believe?  Sooner or later, if you are being a faithful witness about your faith (others in your life know clearly that you are a Christian), you will be strongly challenged to defend why you are a Christian, why you believe the way you do.  Those who do not believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior typically have these characteristics:

·                Do not believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God.

·                Do not believe that Christ died a substitutionary death on the cross for the sins of mankind.

·                Do not believe that mankind is morally corrupt and sinful.

·                Do not believe that God is sovereign

·                View God in some false way, not the way God is taught in the Bible

So you need to be prepared to respond to questions related to these characteristics of the non-believer. 

Did you know that if you are a Christian, it is your duty to be an apologist? The term “apologist” or “apologetics” refers to the reasoned defense of the Christian faith.  This is what I Peter 3:15 is saying.  In fact, the word “explain” (or other translations use the phrase “make a defense”) comes from the Greek word “apologia”.  The Word here is saying that you need to be ready to defend your faith, to give rational and reasoned explanations to doubters about why you believe they way you do and why you believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord.

You need not only to be ready to defend your faith, but also you need to know what you are defending and be comfortable with your position.  Examples of how Paul did this are found in Acts 14, 17, and 19.  Note that he reasoned with doubters and critics because he knew his Bible (the Old Testament).  For you today, the main key in defending your faith is that you must know your Bible, at least to some extent.  You must have solid knowledge of the faith you profess.  It’s also a good idea to have some knowledge about other religions.  For example have you ever interacted with a Mormon or a Jew or someone of another religion who not only could clear articulate what their beliefs were, but also knew the basics of Christianity?  You can be made to look really bad if you are not equally prepared.

The best way to be prepared to defend your faith, especially against someone who thinks that you’ve been ‘brainwashed’ or you are not being intellectual or you are being a ‘prude’, is to declare that you simply believe that you were a sinner, but Christ died for your sins, you believe that this is true and that His Spirit lives in you because you confessed your sinful nature and gave your life over to His authority.  Your basic defense is the gospel and your story in describing what the gospel has done to change your life.  A few basic Bible verses memorized—the famous ones like John 3:16 and John 14:6 go a long way in helping you defend your faith. 

In your defense of your beliefs, I Peter 3:16 also says that you should be gentle and respectful.  You do not need to get into a shouting match.  You should not put down others for what they believe or don’t believe.  You should be calm, cool, and collected in your demeanor where it is obvious that your faith is strong and deep and allow others to see that your actions back up your words.  Perhaps our church and all other churches of those reading this devotional should periodically teach their flocks how to defend the basics of their faith. 

Hearts burning

Luke 24:32 (NASB)

They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?”

Luke 24:13-35 describes the Emmaus walk, Emmaus being an ancient town halfway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.  The site today is part of Canada Park, a Jewish national park.  Luke tells the story of two disciples walking on the first Easter Sunday afternoon when the risen Christ appeared to them.  The United Methodist Church established a ministry called “The Walk to Emmaus” where I am quoting from one of their websites[1]: “The Walk to Emmaus®” is a spiritual renewal program intended to strengthen the local church through the development of Christian disciples and leaders.  The model for the program is Christ’s servanthood and encourages Christ’s disciples to act in ways appropriate to being ‘a servant of all’. The Emmaus® walk usually begins on Thursday evenings and concludes on Sunday evenings with men and women attending on separate weekends.”  You may be someone who has participated in this program.  I have not, but everyone I know who has participated raves and marvels at the experience. 

The key word in verse 32 is “burning”.  The Greek word used is “kaio” that simply means “set on fire”.  It also can mean “to bring light”.  This word describes the reaction of people who hear (“speaking to us”) and understand (“He was explaining”) the words of Jesus.  You may be thinking to yourself, “Well, sure, if the person of Jesus Christ was walking with me and teaching me the Scriptures, of course my heart would be burning too!”  Yet, did you not know that one of the primary roles of the Holy Spirit within the hearts of every Christian person is to do the same thing?  Jesus said in John 16:13 that the Holy Spirit will “guide you into all the truth” and the same Spirit will “bear witness of Me” (John 15:26).  Therefore, if the Holy Spirit is alive in you, if you have not quenched Him through unconfessed sin and/or apathy (I Thessalonians 5:19), He will explain the Scriptures to you just like Jesus did in person to the disciples. 

It is a fantastic experience to be part of a Bible study where you can feel, enjoy, and benefit from a burning heart.  Has not the following been your experience when engaging in a group Bible study?  The start was somewhat slow because you all were transitioning from secular life experiences (just the daily routines of life).  Even when the Bible verses were read, your heart was still more connected with the secular than spiritual world.  Then the transformation occurred.  As people started discussing their observations and interpretations of the Scriptures and as a master teacher facilitated these discussions, the conversations became really interesting and stimulating.  Often, because of time limits and the discussions needed to cease, you were disappointed that they had to end.  That’s because your heart was burning because of the power of the Scriptures.  That’s what the disciples were describing on their walk to Emmaus.

Does your heart burn with zeal when you open and study the Scriptures?  Are you convinced of the truth of God’s Word and desire to believe and do what it says?  Or, are you casual about the Bible and can take it or leave it?  Is your Bible study real fellowship, authentic sharing and passionate discussion, or is it going through the motions, routine, and shallow? What will it take for your heart to burn again when reading, studying, and discussing the teachings of the Bible?

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[1] http://www.upperroom.org/programs

The testing of your faith

James 1:2-4 (Phillips)

When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives my brothers, don't resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends!  Realize that they come to test your faith and to produce in you the quality of endurance. But let the process go on until that endurance is fully developed, and you will find you have become men of mature character with the right sort of independence.

The book of James is not afraid to “get into your face”.  Here’s an example.  After one verse of introduction, he moves right into an area of life that happens to all of us.  He writes about trials and temptations that he knows are common to every single person who lives life on this earth.  He states somewhat matter-of-factly that (1) not if trials and temptations occur in your life, but when they occur; (2) that you will face not one but all kinds of trials and temptations; and (3) these problems will cause inconveniences and frustrations and pressures—they will “crowd into” your life! 

Anyone who reads these words for the first time is incredulous that you are to face your problems as friends, not intruders; in fact you are to welcome them.  Oh, come on, that’s not right!  Well, from a limited perspective, if God were not around, indeed that would be a laughable statement.  However, from an eternal perspective, from the viewpoint of God, welcoming trials and temptations as friends is a profound statement, full of wisdom.  Why?  Because trials and temptations produce at least three qualities in you that have eternal value—

·  They test your faith that reveals your true character

·  They produce in you the quality of endurance (perseverance)

·  They produce in you mature character that gives God the opportunity to mold you into His likeness.

The Greek word for endurance is “hupomone” that the scholar, William Barclay defined as “having the quality to stand, to face the storm, to struggle against difficulty and opposition, to make progress against a trial, rather than merely waiting out the difficulty with passivity”[1].  Furthermore, Barclay commented that these trials and temptations are not meant to make you fall and fail, but to make you stronger as a person and to make you soar.  So, as best you can, rejoice in these trials knowing what their real intent is and what they will be producing in you.  

Is there anything better in life that becoming what God wants you to become?  He uses both joyful and sorrowful events of life to perfect (mature) you.  Yet your growth into a mature person does depend on how you react to your problems.  Of course, you will experience fear and anger and depression.  You will have doubts and you will plead with God to help you.  But, you need to find ways to replace all these normal and nature human reactions and emotions with the attitude of faithful expectation that the Lord is in control and is using these trials and temptations for a higher purpose in your life. 

Have you not experienced a serious illness where after healing had occurred you realized what a joy it is to experience the ordinary things of life that you could not enjoy while ill?  God used your illness to refine you so that you developed a much more mature perspective about life.  You didn’t realize the benefits of your illness initially, but now you appreciate aspects of life that you never appreciated before.

To conclude here is a quote from Gil Rugh[2], pastor of Indian Hills Church in Lincoln, NE:  “God is in the process of making us everything we should be as His children. He intends for us to be mature, functioning in every part of our being exactly as He intends.  For this to be accomplished, trials are necessary. They build in us endurance, a steadfastness under pressure which will develop us as mature men and women in Christ.  What a tragedy that trials often become the occasion for complaining and discouragement.  We become obsessed with getting out from under the pressure rather than from learning to stand firm and thus become everything that God intends us to be (Romans 5:2-5; II Thessalonians 1:4 and I Peter 1:6,7).”  Amen.

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[1] http://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Topical.show/RTD/cgg/ID/4233/Hupomone.htm

[2] http://www.biblebb.com/files/gr755.htm

The abundant life

John 10:10b (NLT)

“My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” 

“I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.”  John 10:10b (The Message Bible)

This verse is used to substantiate the first spiritual law---the God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life[1].

Jesus makes a wonderful claim here, that the meaning of His life is to give you a life that is “perissos”, the original word that means “exceeding some number or measure, or rank, or need”.  The two translations used above describe Jesus’ claim as “a rich and satisfying life” and “a real and eternal life, more and better life than you could ever dream of”.  Other translations of this verse use such adjectives as full, abundant, enjoy to the fullest, and enjoy to the fullest possible way.

Why would any sincere, thoughtful person carefully read and think about this claim of Christ and not want to take Him up on His claim?  Who does not want to have a life that is rich and satisfying and abundant and full and better than you could ever dream of?  The Lord Jesus Christ says that He comes into your heart, if you are open to Him, and will give to you what you need to live life to its fullest, not to take anything away from you, other than what you don’t need like self-pity, selfishness, pride, and other evil ways. 

People may read this and think, “I believe in this claim of Jesus, but I don’t always feel like my life is rich and satisfying and abundant”.  I know that I feel this way many times.  Yet, when you feel this way, you are not under complete control of the Holy Spirit.  When you are dissatisfied and complaining and unsettled in your life, this is verification that you are not following the will of God.  There is something that you are doing or not doing that is outside the will of God. 

Jim Zazzera, pastor of Faith Presbyterian Church (Sacramento), said this about the meaning of an abundant life[2]:  “Abundant life—simply put—is not first and foremost about earthly riches, but the quality of our relationship to the living God we know in Jesus Christ”.  The life Jesus is talking about in John 10:10, in fact, in all of the gospel of John, is a life lived in an intimate relationship with God through His Son, Jesus. 

What is the quality of your life in Christ?  What role(s) are you allowing Him to have in your life?  Is He your shepherd (the context of John 10:1-10 is that He is the door of the sheep)?  Do you know His commandments and keep them?  Do you talk to Him daily, do you read about Him, do you speak about Him to others?  Examine the quality of your life in Christ and if necessary make some appropriate changes so that you truly can experience every day a life that is rich and satisfying and better than you ever thought possible.

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[1] refer to http://www.4laws.com/laws/english/flash/ for understanding what these four spiritual laws are if you don’t know or cannot recall.

[2] http://faithpresby.org/archives/sermons/written/files_497754db1c98a.pdf