Jesus Among Secular Gods, Part 1 - Be Prepared Series

It’s a strange thing: the book has never been so accessible. According to Guinness Book of Records, L. Ron Hubbard’s writings of Scientology have been translated into 65 languages; the Koran is supposed to be read in Arabic, so it hasn’t been translated as much; the Book of Mormon is in about 100 languages. But 2,656 languages have all or some of the Bible. Some 65 million copies of the Bible are bought or distributed in the U.S. every year–nothing else is a close second. The average house has at least three. People cheer the Bible, buy the Bible, give the Bible, own the Bible-they just don’t actually read the Bible. According to George Gallup: One-Third of those surveyed know who delivered the Sermon on the Mount. Fewer than half can name the first book of the Bible; 80 percent of born-again Christians believe the phrase ‘God helps those who cannot help themselves’ is in the Bible (it’s Ben Franklin if you’re curious). So I’m thinking a lot these days about how to help the people that God brings my way to know and love the book” (John Ortberg)

If I were to ask you, “What is the meaning of life?” What would be your answer? Ravi Zacharias asks this question to college students when he speaks, and they are usually dumbfounded and stumped to answer. I don’t think that it is because they are ignorant or simpleminded; I believe it is that they have never considered the question. I would go as far as to say that perhaps they have never felt to answer the question because the question itself cannot be answered from within oneself.

That is what we are taught today, aren’t we? The answer is within you; you need to channel your inner energies; focus yourself, concentrate your power, channel your positive energies. These are the mantras of the world. The problem is they not only fail to answer the question; they never really identify what exactly is the question. How does one determine the meaning of something they can’t define?

Is it possible to find the meaning of life apart from God? Can we live in an undefined time with an unclear purpose and make it meaningful? Let me put it this way: If I invite you to play a sport with me, but I don’t tell you when the game begins, when it ends, or explain the rules of the game to you, how are you going to play the game? That is what the atheist cannot answer, the humanist can’t explain, and of all the religions of the world, only Christ does answer. Without God, we lose the meaning of life. This was the very conclusion the poet in Ecclesiastes reached.

Unfortunately, we do not do well articulating or knowing the message of the Gospel. Joel Osteen, the so-called pastor of one of the largest churches in America, regularly makes statements like, “It’s God’s will for you to live in prosperity instead of poverty. It’s God’s will for you to pay your bills and not be in debt. It’s God’s will for you to live in health and not in sickness all the days of your life.” This isn’t the gospel; this is humanism cloaked in Christianity. This doesn’t provide meaning to life; it waters it down.

I want you to know what you believe, why you think it, and how to answer questions or have conversations with others what you believe. We want to be contagious in our faith. We want to make a difference, but most Christians understand little our faith and what the Bible says, much less how to share those things with other people. For the next six weeks, we’re going to talk about our faith and view it in light of different secular beliefs. The goal is to help you have conversations with others.

14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. (1 Peter 3:14-16)

I. Explain the Biblical Principle

I think the first thing we need to understand is that talking with others about our faith is not something we should fear. Nor is it to be a confrontation. Most people naturally avoid confrontation and are uncomfortable talking about subjects we don’t have commanding knowledge about. This is why Peter told the early church to “Be prepared” Be prepared to make a defense, an “apologia.”