Student Life - February 2024
For this article, I wanted to take time and talk about one verse in Scripture. This verse has helped me defend and fight for the faith that we share. I know there are times in culture where having a belief in God isn’t seen as “cool” or even seen as being “brainwashed”. But here recently, I’ve seen a vast majority of people sharing about their beliefs on social media. And I must say, I’ve been shocked by this recent trend in faith. However, one thing that always follows when posting about your faith is arguing. At least in my life and my experiences, 99% of the time I’ve had to defend, argue, debate, and elaborate on my faith and personal experiences. Now I’m not here to say I’m surprised by this outcome. But rather, I’m hoping to explain that we should be prepared for these times when we are to defend and fight for our faith.
1 Peter 3:15 says this: “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,”. As I’ve said, many people share their faith from time to time. One thing I have learned recently is when someone goes on to explain their faith, they say they are Christian. If you go and ask them what they mean, they say the “believe” in Christ. And if you ask them to elaborate, they can explain
something along the lines of they believe Jesus was good and can send them to Heaven, but they will not accept Christ as Lord. He is not Lord over their life where they submit to Him, His Word, and the will of the Father. They might just believe in a cultural Christianity where its seen as nice to label yourself as Christian, but do not consider themselves washed by His blood. So, I implore anyone who is reading this: please be prepared to have these conversations with people who label themselves as “Christian”. And please be prepared to make a defense when someone asks you about your faith. What does your faith look like? What does your personal relationship with Jesus Christ look like? What foundation do you stand on in support of your faith? These are all great questions to ask yourself when preparing a defense for your faith. And please be prepared to share the love of Christ with those who haven’t submitted their life to Him yet. It is only because He first loved us that we are able to love others and share His love with others.
I also wish to add that our greatest defense for our faith is the Bible itself. If we are to defend ourselves from anything in this world, let us run to the Word of God and stand on its own defense. The students and I are currently going through a new series studying the theme of apologetics and working through a book called “The 10 Most
Common Objections to Christianity”. In chapter 3, where I will be preaching from this coming Sunday night, the chapter asks if the Bible is really authentic. I’ll save you the time of reading the chapter, the answer is yes! The Bible has been defending itself ever since the time of the prophets and judges in the Old Testament. The Bible defends and supports both the Old and New Testaments and all point to the coming Messiah who came once and will come again! What an amazing and beautiful truth we can read in the Bible! So, please, stand firm on the foundation that has been built for us and run to the One who restores us. He loves us, gives freely, and His yoke is so light.
