1 LIVING IN A HOSTILE WORLD: GIVE A REASON FOR YOUR HOPE 1 PETER 3:15 NOVEMBER 9, 2014 In 1977-78 Jill and I were in the musical group Up With People. That s where we met. Up With People is a group that puts on shows with music and dance, communicating a positive message of love, cooperation, and valuing other people. We toured most of the western states and Mexico, and stayed in private homes everywhere we went. It was a good place to establish our relationship, working together for a solid year. So several times over the years we hosted Up With People folks in our home. In fact, we kept several advance teams, who come earlier and stay later than the rest of the cast. They stayed with us several weeks. We had great experiences with them. Until the last time. An Up With People staff person stayed with us. While staying with us, she managed to keep herself a bit distant from us, absent from the house most days until she d come home late and fall into bed. One day, in the midst of a rare conversation, she told us that all Christians are narrow-minded, right-wing bigots. At that moment I got a little narrow-minded and reminded her that her housing and a few meals were being provided to her by Christians. The conversation ended fairly abruptly. Today in America it s acceptable and even fashionable in some circles to be skeptical of Christianity and bash the church. And not simply skeptical in terms of asking questions, but skeptical to the point of criticism and even outright attack. Now, sometimes we have things to learn from those attacks. Sometimes we Christians can have a hard edge on the things we say and do. We can sometimes denounce the sin and condemn the sinner without a hint of love or concern for the person in our message. The Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas epitomizes that approach. They re the ones who picket the funerals of soldiers with signs that say, God hates fags, and declare that every soldier s death is a sign of God s judgment on our nation for indulging sexual immorality. Westboro Baptist is a tiny handful of people, mostly one family, denounced by thousands of Christian leaders all over the country. But they provide ammunition to those who want to bash the church. Westboro can be a reminder to the rest of the Christian church that, while we must be clear about what is and is not a sin, we must always be loving toward the sinner. Remember, God so loved the world, (Jn.3:16) not just good people, not just religious people, not just people already in the pew, but God so loved the world and everyone in it. We ve got to remember that Jesus was known as a friend of tax collectors and sinners. (Mt.11:19) So we should be the same. Treat sinners of all sorts as Jesus would treat them. As Jesus treated us when we were not yet his people. Love them, without accepting their sin as if it s acceptable in the eyes of God.
2 But love them. We need to live out our faith without compromise, speaking the truth, always in love. And we need to be able to explain why we believe what we believe. In 1 Peter it says, 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. (1Pe.3:15) Give an answer for the hope you have. Be able to explain what you believe and why you believe it. Can you do that? Defending the faith is called apologetics. It does not mean you re apologizing for being a Christian. The Greek word apologia means so speak in defense. It is giving reasons for believing what you believe, not to prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt, but to explain its reasonableness. First, you need to be able to explain what you believe. Many people who claim Christ and attend church cannot give a clear explanation of what it means to be a Christian. It s not about going to church. Your geographic location does not determine your identity. If it did, then a man standing in a garage could claim to be a Camaro. The guy at McDonald s would be a hamburger. Though the Bible clearly suggests every Christian ought to be involved in a local congregation, that is not the definition of what it means to be a Christian. It s also not about being a good person. There are plenty of good people who are not Christians. There are people of other religious faiths and even people of no faith at all who could stand up to the measure of a good person. Being a Christian is not even about believing in God. Jews believe in God. Muslims believe in God. Hindus believe in LOTS of gods. To be a Christian is something more specific than believing in God. It s first and foremost about your relationship with Jesus. It s about trusting him with your life and your eternity. There are lots of theological doctrines and biblical passages that are worth undestanding. But one of the simplest ways of explaining Christianity is called Do Versus Done. Most people think, and other religions teach, that being right with God depends on what you DO. DO these rituals, these religious things, these moral things, these good things. But Christianity is actually about what God has ALREADY DONE for you in Jesus. He died on the cross to pay for your sins so you can be forgiven. He rose from the dead so you can have eternal life. And he gives his Holy Spirit so you can live a new life right now. It s not what YOU DO, but what HE HAS DONE. The Bible says, It is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this is not from yourselves, That s the core of what it means to be a Christian. We re all sinners in need of redemption. We can t do it ourselves. God has done it for us through Jesus. it is the gift of God, not by works. (Ep.2:8-9a)
3 We can receive that gift through trusting him. And since we trust him for our eternity, so we trust him to lead us through today and tomorrow. There are many people who are far from God, totally disconnected from the church, and have no idea what it really is to be a Christian, so you need to be able to explain it. Of course, there are more points of theology to learn than that. But that s a good place to start: a simple explanation of what it means to be a Christian. Second, we need to be able to point to evidence of the reasonableness of what we believe. Don t get sidetracked by arguments about creation versus evolution. While those are interesting and worthwhile discussions, there are more important issues to address. Keep it focused on Jesus. If someone insists on digging among the fossils, you can say something like this, There are different ways to read the creation story, from a literal reading of six 24-hour days to reading it more like a parable. I m content to say: However long it took, God did it. It wasn t random chance. We re here on purpose and for a purpose. Sometimes a skeptic may doubt the existence of God. There are all sorts of angles to take on that one. The Bible reminds us the creation itself points to God. Paul told a crowd, God has not left himself without testimony. He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons. He provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy. (Ac.14:17) The goodness that we draw from the creation, its abundance that we enjoy, all points toward a good, generous, giving Creator. Paul wrote to the church in Rome, Since the creation of the world God s invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made. (Ro.1:20) The creation points to the Creator. And if you really want to dig into that, I ve included in the bulletin the titles and authors of several good books. The Bible suggests we ought to know the reality of God because human beings all have an inborn sense of a moral code. Paul pointed out that sometimes Gentiles, who do not have God s law, do by nature the things required by the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences bearing witness. (Ro.2:14-15) Now, I know anthropologists have shown that moral standards vary wildly from one culture to another. We ve been well reminded of that by the actions of Islamic fundamentalists. But every human culture, no matter how advanced or primitive, carries a sense of ought, the idea that there is some sort of right and wrong in the world. That, Paul says, is evidence of a Moral Being over us.
4 And the Bible says there is built into every human being a religious impulse. In Ecclesiastes we read that God has also set eternity in the human heart. (Ecl.3:11) Paul, speaking to philosophers in Athens, said God created human beings in such a way so that people would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him. (Acts 17:27) There is in each human being the feeling that death is not the end of human existence, the sense that this world is not all there is, that we are intended for something more, that there is someone out there and perhaps very near who is behind it all, over it all, and in all and through all. That all points toward the reality of God. Most people today don t argue against the reality of God. And most people have generally positive things to say about Jesus. But they might have some serious questions about the divinity of Jesus, or that he accomplished all that is needed for our salvation. I think one of the most powerful arguments for the reality of the resurrection of Jesus is the willingness of Jesus first followers to give their life for their faith. Now, it s true that people will give their lives for a lot of different reasons, like when military personnel lay their lives on the line for their country or parents who would give their lives for their children. And we ve seen Islamic fundamentalists give their lives for a lie. But there s a difference with the apostles. Islamic fundamentalists have been fed a lie all their lives, so they truly believe it, and they give their lives for it. But no one could feed a lie to the apostles. They were there with the resurrected Jesus. They were eyewitnesses. Do you think they would make up the story of the resurrection, and then willingly die for what they knew to be a lie? That doesn t seem likely. Again, I ve listed in the bulletin a few books that can give you solid evidence for the reasonableness of our faith. So turn off Dancing With the Stars, step away from Facebook, and read a little, so you can learn a bit about your own faith. Not only will you be better prepared to give others the reason for the hope that is in you, but you ll find yourself encouraged, your own faith strengthened. Finally, and most effectively, we all need to learn to tell the story of what God has done and is doing in our own lives. If you have a personal relationship with someone who is not sold on Jesus, this is the single most effective way to offer them Christ: Tell your own story of what God has done or is doing in your life. If you only do one thing with this sermon, do this: Go home and write out your story, what your life was like without Christ, how you came to a relationship with Christ, and how you are different because of it. If you can t really remember a before Christ period in your life, but you have a story of gradual growth in your relationship with Christ, imagine what you might be today if you didn t have a relationship with him. The key issue is: How has he changed you? How is he changing you? For a few it might be a story of from gutter to glory.
For most it will be less dramatic. But frankly, most listeners can relate better to the less dramatic story. From lonely to companionship, from having no direction to having a purpose in life, from guilt to assurance, from shame to acceptance, from frustration to contentment, from turmoil to peace, from emptiness to fulfillment. How would you express the difference he makes in your life? Maybe you need to tell someone about how God answered a prayer in your life, or the Bible provided you with needed guidance, or the Holy Spirit gave you strength or guidance at the right moment, or how God is working on your spiritual growth edge these days. I could tell of the difference Christian faith makes in dealing with my mom s diagnosis of lung cancer. While we re certainly not happy about it, we know that we re not alone in it. I can tell stories of the support I ve been shown by so many of you, asking how she s doing, asking how I m doing, asking how my dad is doing, the promises of prayers for my mom and for me, and offers to help in whatever ways might be needed. I can tell of how the Holy Spirit keeps drawing to my mind scriptures that I ve read, studied, and taught to others. I can tell that we know my mom s faith of many years. All of us in our family share her faith in Christ. So while the journey will be incredibly hard, we have no doubt of her destination. And the heavenly reunion that awaits us. And I don t know how I or any of us would handle it without Christ and without our church families. I can give a reason for the hope that we have. It s Jesus. If you are a believer, you ve got a story to tell. So figure out how to tell your story in just a few minutes. When you tell your story, friends will want to hear it because they re interested in you. But they ll also hear about the goodness of God. And it s not evidence or logic for them to argue against. It is your personal experience. Years ago I was talking with someone who questioned the reality of God. He proudly called himself an agnostic. I asked him to describe the God he didn t believe in. He talked about a God who is like this, that, or the other, a God who does this or that or the other, mostly common stereotypes that had little or nothing to do with the God of the Bible. So I said, Huh. I don t believe in that God either. He did not know what to do with that. So I began to tell him how the God revealed in and through the Bible, the God who became flesh in Jesus, is not the God he was talking about. And I told him a bit of what God has done in my life. And he listened. 5
6 You can do that. It does not require a seminary degree. It just requires you to have thought and prayed about it a bit. I hope you ll do that this week. SERMON OUTLINE: Jesus attitude toward sinners (John 3:16; Matthew 11:19) Be prepared to give a reason for the hope that is in you. (1 Peter 3:15) Explain what it means to be a Christian Do Versus Done (Ephesians 2:8-9a) Show the reasonableness of Christian faith From creation (Romans 1:20; Acts 14:10) Lee Strobel, The Case for the Creator Anthony Flew, There Is a God From a sense of morality (Romans 2:14-15) From inner religious impulse (Ecclesiastes 3:11; Acts 17:27) Evidence for the existence, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ Lee Strobel, The Case for the Real Jesus Learn to tell the story of what God has done or is doing in your own life. Other recommended reading: Mark Mittelberg, Choosing Your Faith Josh McDowell and Don Stewart, Reasons Skeptics Should Consider Christianity Lee Strobel, The Case for Faith David Limbaugh, Jesus on Trial