Have you heard the Quote,
A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.
What if I told you that the next time you feel like defending yourself for being a Christian stop and don’t do it. Steve that is going directly against the bible. It says we should always have an answer for what we believe. No, it says to give an answer when someone asks about your hope (1 Peter 3:15). It doesn’t say you need to defend yourself, or argue with people. This verse is one of the most quoted by those who want to defend Christianity (apologists) or think they have to fight to preserve our rights as Christians. Don’t misunderstand me. I love listening to apologists like Ravi Zacharias and others who don’t put people down as they teach. I don’t however think each and every Christian should take it upon his or her self to do what these people do.
Here’s why.
First Jesus nor Paul ever tried to convince people to give their lives to Christ. They did give reasons when asked, but never tried to persuade. I think we try to win every argument because we don’t want to be wrong. I assume this is part of the reformation and the protestant work ethic. This is also seen on our cable news channels and in our political offices today from the president down to the local school board. We just don’t want to lose, or do we just not want to be wrong. I suspect the latter is the key. What if I’m wrong about what I believe or what if I can’t explain it when someone asks. So we argue as if our lives depend on it and no one is changed.
If Jesus is our greatest model of how to act then we should know what a proper response is. Jesus said let your yes be yes and your no be no (Matthew 5:37). Many times this verse is used to show how we should not swear, but I think this is a better reminder of just giving people a straight answer. Jesus didn’t attack or argue with people who came to him for real answers. He did tell them the truth, and much of the time they believed, but some of the time they didn’t, see John 3:3-21 and Mark 10:17-27 for examples. If you just tell people the truth and let Jesus do the rest you will find yourself not worrying about what people think of you or your beliefs. You will never convince someone on your own. Pray for the person and ask God to show you how to respond. Our hope lies in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, not in how others feel about us.
About Steve Crenshaw