THE CASE FOR CHRIST
Last week we watched the film, Case For Christ, based on the book of the same name by Lee Strobel. Lee was a Journalist for the Chicago Tribune. He was also an atheist. Then his wife started going to church. When he saw the changes taking place in her he was curious enough to investigate it. So he went to church with her.
The Pastor, Bill Hybels preached a sermon on basic Christianity that intrigued him. He embarked on a search to determine the legitimacy of Jesus and the claims made about him in the bible. The video was about the details of that journey. Eventually, Lee became a Christian and then an apologetic-someone who teaches how to defend the faith.
Many people who are skilled in apologetics were once skeptics who investigated in order to disprove and in the end come to believe and defend. Since they know from experience many of the arguments someone would have against Christianity, they can be the best ones to talk to skeptics and help them to see why their beliefs are wrong.
Why this video? We've been printing out flyers and going around handing them out. Bobby Wednesday night lesson. The idea is to help us to become more proactive about getting the message of salvation out. Although we may not end up writing books about our experience like Lee did, that doesn't mean we can't be compelling in sharing our faith journey with people. We all have the responsibility to share our faith.
1) Give the reason for your hope.
1st Pet. 3:15, "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect."
We see the first thing we need to do is set apart Christ as Lord. We might know this is important to do period but in regards to sharing our faith it's important because there are many times we're not going to feel like doing it. Whether it's because of apathy or fear, we will either not want to bother or be too afraid to try.
But when we set apart Christ as Lord his will supersedes ours. When Christ is Lord we put everything in his hands and what we do with that confidence is not worry about what we will say along with not worrying about the results. I'm not responsible for how people respond to the gospel, I'm responsible to share it.
Then Peter tells us to always be prepared to give the reason for our hope. I see two ways we can share the reason for our hope. One is to share our testimony; our experience. This appeals to a person's heart. They relate to our struggles, our being lost and without hope and then they hear about how we became Christians and how we changed for the better.
The other way we share the reason for our hope is when we share the evidence for the truth. This appeals to a person's mind or intellect. When we reveal the evidence for Jesus and the bible we allow the other person to think. Perhaps they've believed certain things were true but then we share evidence for the validity of the bible and Jesus' resurrection and the wisdom of Christianity and maybe even the non-validity of other faiths or religions and in that we can be able to dismantle someone's misconceptions and help them to see that their arguments were not valid. This is what happened in the video. When Lee went to church he realized that he had misunderstood some things.
Lee's wife was convinced in her heart but Lee needed to be convinced in his mind. Both are needed. You need to experience God and you have to believe and be convinced intellectually too. Our testimony can appeal to a person's heart. We share our story and people can connect with us.
Along with that, we share facts and findings that help to dispel certain misconceptions, providing legitimate proof that will help win a person over intellectually. Thus, the heart and the mind are convinced. When we can appeal to a person's heart and their mind we have a better chance of bringing them to a place where they are ready to accept Jesus in repentance and baptism.
Peter finishes with 'but do this with gentleness and respect'. One of the things we need to be prepared for is opposition. How will we answer the critics? What will we do when someone gets angry at us? Gentleness and respect keeps our emotions intact. Respect allows for the other person's views and instead of calling those views (or them) stupid, we think of respectful ways to respond that will get them thinking about why their viewpoint isn't accurate.
One of the things gentleness and respect involve is patience. Lee said he wasn't convinced the first time he went to church. That's usually the case. Not very often is someone truly convinced the first time they go to church or hear the gospel. It can take time. It took Lee two years. The idea is to get them thinking about what you said and to leave them wanting more.
Lee said his wife would try to move him along by leaving bible tracts around or leaving a bible opened to a certain passage and things like that. He said it didn't help. In our desire to see people come to a knowledge of the truth we may want to move them faster than they're willing to go.
This can be counterproductive. We think if I don't do it this way they'll lose interest but most of the time it causes someone to get upset and drop the matter completely. So, we don't push them or bombard them with spiritual material. We introduce these things when the time is right, giving reasons for our hope.
2) Proclaim!
To proclaim means to make known. We are making known the message of salvation. When we share the gospel we are making known that people are sinners in need of salvation. We are making known the mystery of the gospel-helping people to understand why Jesus would die to pay the penalty for what we did. We are making known the way one can become saved through Jesus.
Another meaning for proclaim is to broadcast. When we think of broadcast we think of a news broadcast. Getting a message out to many people at once. This might bring a picture of Peter's first gospel sermon at Pentecost where 3,000 got baptized that day. In modern terms we might think of a tent revival or a crusade. But in even more modern terms we can think of this in the realm of social media. Instead of proclaiming to a physical audience; we are proclaiming to a virtual one. We can use facebook or twitter or some other outlet.
One of the synonyms for broadcast is advertise. It might seem degrading to think of being a salesman of the gospel but it can apply. We can use a salesman type approach by causing people to become interested in our "product". However, as many salesmen hype their products through exaggeration and false promises, we do so through truth and accuracy. And as a salesman could manipulate someone into believing they have to have their product, a salesman for Christ tries to convince someone too, albeit through legitimacy.
As the saying goes, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink. However, you can put salt in his oats. Obviously the meaning behind that is even though you can't make him drink, you can do something to make him thirsty. Our conversations are to be seasoned with salt. Present the gospel in such a way as to make people thirsty for more. Paul talked about this in
Col. 4:2-6, "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."
Here we see some things that will help us in proclaiming the gospel. First, Paul says to be devoted to prayer. Prayer is essential, not just in the Christian life, but in the responsibility of proclaiming the gospel. We pray to be ready. We pray about having the right scriptures and answers and demeanor when we encounter people. We ask God to equip us and strengthen us to be a witness for him. We don't worry about what to say but that doesn't mean we don't try to be prepared.
Then Paul says to be watchful. Watchful for what? One thing is opportunities. Typically, we are just going about our busy days, not thinking about evangelizing. So, when the opportunity presents itself it might pass us by because we weren't looking for it. We need to watch for those opportunities. Listening for key words that we can use to broach the subject and hopefully take it further.
Another thing to be watchful for is opposition. When we are geared up for spreading the gospel Satan will try to get in the way. He will try to work in our hearts to get us nervous and fearful so we will back down from approaching someone or abandon a conversation before it gets to the point of Jesus talk. Satan will also work in the hearts of those we are speaking with to be antagonistic towards us. Satan will try to do whatever he can to dismantle any opportunity for someone to entertain Christianity.
Paul also said to be thankful. Being thankful will motivate us to want other people to know Jesus. We are so thankful for what we have in Christ that we are compelled for others to have it too. And, that thankfulness spills over into our conversations with people. They hear how grateful we are for what Jesus has done for us and it inspires them to want that too. They see us and they wonder, "What has gotten this person so excited? What has caused this person to be so happy? Why is this person so positive? I want that too."
Then Paul asks others to pray for him. We should be asking our brothers and sisters in Christ to pray for us about sharing our faith. Paul asked them to pray that God would open a door. Paul is asking for God to provide opportunities. Paul wanted to spread the good news. Paul wasn't just making himself available for an opportunity, he was determined to look for an opportunity.
But, he knew that God needed to open the door. Trying to make something happen when it's clear the interest isn't there is not going to work. We might not know this until we start talking with them but it probably won't take long before it's clear whether or not a door has been opened.
Paul asked them to pray that he would declare it clearly. That's important. If you've been a Christian for a while and you know the bible well it's normal for you to use biblical words. But we need to remember that the average person doesn't know what repentance means. They might not know what salvation means. So we need to use simpler terms and explain the "unfamiliar" words we use. If we can't share the truth in an understandable way then we'll lose them. Proclaim the gospel clearly, simply and concisely.
Paul said we need to be wise in the way we act towards outsiders. Being wise in the way we act involves understanding how other people act. We need to understand that some people will try to trip us up. They may try to get you going; get you upset. They want to see you come out of character so they can show how unchristian you are and ruin any chance at convincing them of the truth. We need to be wise to that and be ready for that.
Some of that wisdom can come in being relatable. When we want to present the gospel we will no doubt need to talk a little worldly. I don't mean in a vulgar way, just a non-spiritual way. Not sinful; just not biblical. Whether it be about sports, music, movies or whatever, being able to talk about "regular" subjects allows us to connect and show that we're regular people. When we show that we're just an average person they may be more open to listening to us when we get around to talking about Jesus.
Then Paul said to make the most of every opportunity. One way we can do this is when the opportunities are there, don't cut and run at the first sign of it not going well. Not that we should be pushy or rude or argumentative but if the person doesn't seem to be interested, feel that out a little. Maybe try a different approach or ask a different question. We don't have to stop at the first sign of trouble or disinterest.
In Eph. 6:19, Paul asked the church to pray that he would boldly proclaim the gospel. We need to know when to back off but sometimes we back off too quickly when it's really the other person just not being sure. We have been given the opportunity so before we walk away from the conversation, make the most of it; leave them with something to think about.
Then Paul says that our conversations should be full of grace and seasoned with salt. Full of grace can be seen in how we present the gospel-full of talking about the wonderful grace of Jesus. But, I can also see this in being gracious with the person we're dialoging with. Perhaps they say something negative about God or the church. We might be tempted to say something like, "hey, watch how you talk about Jesus."
Not that it shouldn't bother us, but we need to handle that correctly. We can show grace even when someone is being disrespectful. We will probably feel like ending the conversation right then but let's not give up so easily. We show understanding. We don't act like it's okay, but we refrain from going after it right then.
Remember, they don't have the Spirit of Christ in them so we can't expect them to act like they do. "Yeah but even when I wasn't a Christian I didn't talk like that about God". That's good, but being full of grace compels us to understand that they are sinners in need of a savior and perhaps their statements show that reality all the more.
The seasoned with salt part helps to draw them in. Salt is a flavoring. So our conversations are meant to entice their spiritual taste buds to want more. How can we present the gospel in such a way to entice them? Our testimony can do that. We share our before and after story and this can draw them in; especially if they have a similar story. We can share some of the wonderful things that have resulted from our walk with Christ.
With our conversation being seasoned with salt, we make them thirsty for more. Salt is also a preservative. So, we preserve the accuracy and integrity of the scriptures when we present the gospel to people. We make sure what we are telling them is true to the best of our understanding.
Paul says our conversations need to be this way so we will know how to answer everyone. What did he mean by that? When you read the gospels, you understand how Jesus talked with people. He knew how to answer his critics. He knew how to answer those who were trying to trap him. He knew how to respond to people who were upset at him. He knew how to speak compassionately to people. He also knew how to cut through the fluff and get to the heart of the matter.
We need to do the same. We can answer wisely to everyone we talk with; whether they are antagonistic, curious or troubled. We can be direct with people in a loving way. When our conversation is full of grace and seasoned with salt we will know how to answer everyone.
That doesn't mean we will always have the answer; we will just know how to respond. Sometimes the response is, 'good question; I'll get back to you on that'. We don't have to be embarrassed or shaken up by that. We can humbly acknowledge the good question and assure them that we will get back to them with an answer and pick up the conversation where we left off.
So, where do we go from here? We just go. Go and get prepared. Go and look for opportunities. Go and be a witness for Jesus. In court, bearing witness is telling the truth about what you've seen and heard. That's what we need to do. In Acts 4, when Peter and John were told not to speak or teach anymore about Jesus they replied in vs. 20, "We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard".
Is that us? Are we compelled to speak about what we have been convinced of? Witnessing is telling others who Jesus is and what he has done; not just in the bible, but in our own lives. Who is he to us and what has he done for us? Go and proclaim what you have seen and heard.
