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Let's Get Ready to Rumble

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"You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? But your ancestors did, and so do you! Name one prophet your ancestors didn't persecute! They even killed the ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One--the Messiah whom you betrayed and murdered. You deliberately disobeyed God's law, though you received it from the hands of angels.

The Jewish leaders were infuriated by Stephen's accusation, and they shook their fists in rage. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily upward into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God's right hand. And he told them, 'Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God's right hand!'

Then they put their hands over their ears, and drowning out his voice with their shouts, they rushed at him. They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. The official witnesses took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul.

And as they stoned him, Stephen prayed, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' And he fell to his knees, shouting, 'Lord, don't charge them with this sin!' And with that, he died." (Acts 7:51-60)

Like you or me, he was just an ordinary person. Stephen loved God with his heart, soul, mind, and strength. His goal in life was to tell others about Jesus and serve the church. Stephen's goal in life cost him his life.

There were people in his day that hated the name of Jesus so much, they were willing to murder to silence the message of the gospel. Stephen chose to give up his life and become the first Christian martyr. Since that day, thousands and thousands of believers from every corner of the world have given their lives for the sake of the gospel. Tortured, hung, burned alive, drowned, and even crucified. Their love for Jesus outweighed any fear of people.

Are you surprised? You shouldn't be. Jesus made this promise to all Christians:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem , and in all Judea and Samaria , and to the ends of the earth . Acts 1:8

The word for "witnesses" in this verse is "martus"- from which we get our word "martyr"- a person who is killed for a certain belief or cause.

Why? Because when you imitate Jesus in your lifestyle and preach Jesus in your conversations, you will be persecuted. Don't take my word for it, here's another promise Jesus made:

Do you remember what I told you? 'A servant is not greater than the master.' Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. (John 15:20)

When you are persecuted, you have two options. The first is to chicken out and deny Christ with your actions and/or words. This does more damage to Christianity than anything else I know. It tells people that Jesus must not be the only way to heaven since His followers can't defend that claim. Option two is to be obedient to God's command in I Peter 3:15-16:

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. 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, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

Most Christians I know couldn't even name the books of the Bible, much less "give an answer to everyone who asks". The average believer's defense of the faith could be summed up in a single phrase:

"Duuuhhhhhh, me not know."

Is this you? What's going to happen when you are persecuted? Could you defend your faith? Don't think that you won't have to, because every day our "tolerant" culture is becoming more and more intolerant of Christians. The battle is coming, so you'd better be ready or you'll get crushed like grapes on a highway.

So how do you get ready? Study, study, study. Learn God's Word and learn God's truth. The best way to defend your faith is with Scripture, good questions, and apologetics (i.e. the defense of Christian truths).

Why God's word? Because it is "living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."

You should know at least one or two verses to give people who question Christianity. For example, when someone asks how you could say that Jesus is the only way, you can reply with:

"I didn't, He's the One who said it, and I happen to believe Him. Here's where He made this claim..." Then quote John 14:6 and Acts 4:12 where this claim is made.

Why good questions? Because good questions can lead to the questioners questioning their own beliefs. The best questions I've come across are found in what we call the *4 -1 defense. Here's how it works:

4 questions:

a. "What do you mean by that?" This makes them define the terms in their argument.
b. "How do you know that to be true?" This makes them explain the logic of their argument.
c. "What difference does it make?" This makes them defend the value of their argument.
d. "What if you're wrong?" This makes them think the unthinkable about their argument.

1 statement: "I don't know, but I'll find out" The worst thing you can do when you're not sure how to answer a question is throw out a lame bluff. It might work in school, but it won't work with apologetics. Trust me, the answer is out there, and sometimes you just need a little time.

Why apologetics? Because there are people out there who have well designed arguments that were made to destroy Christian beliefs. You need well designed arguments to counter theirs; otherwise you will give them victory by your lack of knowledge. In the "hands" section is a list of suggested resources for learning apologetics.

Your name may or may not be Stephen, but if you claim the name of Jesus as your Savior, you need to be ready to defend your faith. The key is to learn God's word, good questions, and apologetics, then practice your defense like your life depended on it...because one day it just might.

*Used by permission from Bill Jack & Andrew Heister

Head: What you need to know about this truth

Jesus has promised that Christians will face persecution (John 15:20 ), therefore we need to " always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have..." (I Peter 3:15-16) by learning a ready defense of our faith.

Heart: What you need to feel about this truth

Attentive and compassionate. Attentive because we must always look for opportunities to talk to people about our faith, and when we do, they will oftentimes bring up questions and doubts that they have about Christianity. Compassionate because God tells us in His Word that when we defend our faith we should do so with "gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander." (I Peter 3:15-16). In other words, when you defend your faith, don't get defensive. People are rarely "argued" to Christ, they are most often "led" to Christ. The reason you defend your faith is not to do an intellectual beat down, rather it is to speak the truth in love.

Hands: What you need to do about this truth

One of the best ways to get started in learning how to defend your faith is to study where other folks are coming from. Take some time this week to read through the apologetics sections of our website, then get together with some friends and 'role play'. Pretty soon you'll be amazed at how much you know! Here's the link to the apologetics material: Top Ten Questions Section