A Good Defense

 

1 Peter 3:15 "But in your hearts honour 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…"

 

I was listening to a sermon the other day where the preacher was speaking about the falling away of so many people in this time and noting that Church Attendance in Europe was below ten percent. He also noted this this trend was occurring across the Western World. At the same time secularism and atheism are on the rise and becoming more militant and anti-Christian.

 

In the United Kingdom and Europe Atheists are placing advertisements on buses and there is a common theme that Christians are bad people. The preacher I was listening to was saying that He believed that this is because Christians are not ready to mount a defense of the Word of God and to preach the gospel. This struck me at heart as I am not good at talking to people about the Word or sharing the gospel. As a result I tend to be more of a keyboard warrior and probably much less effective as an evangelist than if I simply shared with people.

 

I have to say I'm not great with Church Attendance either. I can only promise to try to do better on that front. So, thinking about it, what does a defense of the Word of God look like. Well, it means that I am a bible believing Christian and I need to make a defense of my faith and God's Word is a part of that. The Word of God is inerrant which means it's all true, such that, I believe everything in the Bible is true including the following:

 

• In the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth.
• He created Man in His own image.
• He drew the rib bone from Adam and from that He fashioned Eve as a helpmate to the man.
• Adam and Eve listened to Satan and fell into sin.
• The sin of mankind was great and God sent a great flood on the Earth to destroy man.
• Noah and his family survived the flood by building and Ark at God's behest which God also filled with animals.
• God has instituted covenants with mankind by which their sins are forgiven and they can follow God's plan of rescue from sin unto eternal life.
• God formed a covenant with Abraham and promised him a descendant who would save mankind from sin and usher in an eternal Kingdom of God and of peace and righteousness.
• Abraham's descendants found themselves captive in Egypt and God sent His servant Moses to rescue them from Pharaoh.
• God sent plagues upon Egypt and caused Pharaoh to expel God's servants the nation of Israel.
• God parted the Red Sea so that Israel might cross on dry ground and escape Pharaoh's pursuing army.
• God gave Israel under the leadership of Moses the Ten Commandments and the rest of the Law.
• God led Israel in the desert for forty years because they were disobedient and followed false idols.
• Joshua the son of Nun succeeded Moses and led the next generation of Israelite's into the promised land which is where the nation of Israel dwells today.
• Israel dwelt there under the rule of the Judges although the people complained that they wanted a king.
• David became King of Israel in 1000 BC.
•  Israel disobeyed God they were eventually taken into captivity by the Assyrians and the Babylonians circa 722 BC for the Northern Kingdom and Judah in 597 BC.
• They allowed to return under a decree of Cyrus the Persian around 556BC.
• Under the direction of Ezra and Nehemiah the Jews returned to Jerusalem and work started on the rebuilding of the City and the Temple.
• The Bible contains a lot of prophetic information relating to past and present empires in the Books of the Prophets. The Old Testament contains the books of the Major and Minor Prophets. Prophecies relate to the coming of the Messiah (Jesus Christ). The regathering of Israel in the End Times and the time of the Great Tribulation which is beginning to happen in the present time.
• The New Testament begins with the birth of Jesus who is of course the promised Messiah. The four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John describe the birth and early life of Jesus and then cover his three year ministry which culminates in His death, burial and resurrection. Matthew ends with Jesus Great Commission of the Church to take the gospel to the nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He then ascended into Heaven.
  
• The writings of Paul and the Apostles contain guidance about salvation and the Christian life and the bible is concluded by the book of Revelation that leads on from the Old Testament book of the Prophet Daniel that describes the World Empires of Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome ending in a reborn Roman Empire that is the brittle strong alliance of Europe in our time. Revelation addresses the Churches of the First Century and moves on to describe the change of batten from the Church in the Age of Grace to Israel in Christ Jesus during the Time of Judgement (Seventieth Week of Daniel - The Tribulation).

 

So this is what a bible believing Christian believes - This is what I believe.

 

As to the gospel? Well in this time there are many who say they believe only what they can see with their eyes and touch with their hands. However, as the bible says in Romans 1: 19-21  "For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honour him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened." Look around you there is plenty that cannot be explained without Jehovah the Creator God.

 

Closer to the heart. If you desire eternal life after this life on the Earth. Then that can only be found in Christ Jesus. John 3:16 says this “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." Believe on Christ Jesus unto Eternal Life. Come Lord Jesus.

 

Reference List

 

1 Peter 3:15 From <https://www.openbible.info/topics/a_good_defence>

 

John 3:16 From <https://biblehub.com/john/3-16.htm> 

 

Romans 1: 19-21 From <https://biblia.com/bible/esv/romans/1>