Me, Defend My Faith?

Pastor Tom Oestreich
2006

If you've been a Christian for any length of time, you've probably been challenged to prove that God exists, to prove that what you believe is real and true; to defend your faith. When that happens, it is not unusual to feel ill-equipped or that you have no answers to defend the reality of Jesus Christ.

We look for someone else to defend who God is and what He does or doesn’t do. We are afraid that if we don’t have the correct answer, we will be jumped on by someone who has been thinking about their beliefs a whole lot longer than us. We say to ourselves, "I'm not a Bible scholar; I don't have the training or weapons or tools to give the correct answers."

But each of us as Christians DOES have powerful tools we can use to bring to others the reality of Jesus Christ is. The Apostle Paul wrote "For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:4 ).

One of the tools we have is the testimony of a consistent walk. Nothing confirms the reality of Jesus Christ more than a consistent walk and a changed life. Hypocrisy, shortcomings, and inconsistency in our lives become excuses for unbelievers to reject what we proclaim. To speak one thing and to do the opposite is something that our "tolerant" society simply won't tolerate.

Personally, I believe there are really two other reasons people don’t become Christians: #1 - They don't know any Christians. #2 - They know some Christians.

People are watching you in all areas of your life. Not so much to judge; although they do that; but watching to see if what you say is real, is real. As soon as someone finds out that you are a Christian, they began to observe your life. Watching you to see if you practice what you preach, watching to see if you walk the talk. People are watching your life to see if there is any truth to this faith in this world of relevant truth.

Someone once said; "The greatest single cause of atheism in this world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him with their lives. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."

Another powerful tool that we have is the testimony of what Jesus has done in our lives. As Christians, each of us has a personal story to tell of what God has done in our lives, something called a "personal testimony." Each of us has a story that no one can ever refute. Others may argue our faith, our beliefs, our shortcomings, but they can not argue what has happened in our lives. What Christ has done in each of our lives is a story that is unique and profoundly proclaims the wonders of the God who made us all.

The Apostle Peter exhorts us to "sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence" (1 Peter 3:15).

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.
2 Corinthians 5:17-20