Feel free to ask questions on messages through this forum any time, by the way. But if you ask, be serious about finding the answer. This isn't "The Trivia Zone.

Loving God with all your mind (Mark 12:30) takes actively engaging God and His Word with questions, then trusting God and His Word for answers. You need not panic that God will be found lacking. So keep your wits about you, ask questions, and get to know God better by thinking, reading and praying.

I don't have time to answer every apologetic question during any given message- though you can bet I want to! See the March newsletter for reasons why I want to (okay, I give, there's a preview below).

Yesterday we looked at Genesis 3:1-7, and a couple obvious questions arose. If you didn't hear the message, listen to it on this site first, then dig in with us as we consider two obvious questions over the next two days.

Until then, go serve your King!

PW

Pastor Wade’s March Living Letter devotional

God Wants You to Argue

…but in your hearts regard 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…-1 Peter 3:15

God wants you to argue, and to argue well. One of the popular definitions of “argue” is to be difficult. That’s not what I’m saying. Argument, properly speaking, is the giving of reasons for what you believe. This kind of arguing is not only okay with God; it is commanded by God in His Holy Word. If you do away with argument all you have left is coercion and deceit.

Today’s church has a problem, and it’s not marketing. The problem is that followers of Christ are not able- or are not willing- to give humble, reasonable, intelligent argument for the claims of Christ. We don’t like controversy and think we are secure in what we believe. So we drive a stake in the ground that says “here I stand” and walk away shaking our heads at people who disagree with us. After all, we agree with God, and if they don’t agree with us, well…

God commands us to be ready to give answers. This part of Christian study is called “apologetics.” It doesn’t mean that we are sorry for anything, but that we are giving a word of support to what we believe. Being able to discuss your faith at some level is absolutely essential for every believer. Let me give you some examples.

Can you help this person? Imagine that someone walks up to your house and knocks at your door saying, “I’m going to die in five minutes, I know I’m a sinner and I’m headed for hell. How can I be saved?”

Or how about this one? You are sitting on an airplane and someone sees you reading your Bible. They say, “How can you believe that? Isn’t the Bible full of contradictions? It’s just like any other book.”

Or maybe this one? You are visiting with a friend and she says, “I’m a Christian, but I think it is intolerant to say that Jesus is the only way to heaven.”

Or even this one? You park downtown and someone sees you get out of your car, which happens to have a pro-life bumper sticker on it. Kindly, they ask you about your support for the unborn. When you say that abortion is wrong, they call you a “woman hater” and say, “What gives you the right to tell me what’s right and what’s wrong?”

These aren’t hypothetical situations. If you are walking with Christ you will come across these conversations regularly. Okay, maybe not the first one- but people really are rushing headlong toward eternity, whether it is five minutes or five decades ahead.

As I said, the problem isn’t marketing: It is that we are not able- or more likely, are not willing- to give a loving, ready defense for what we believe. But there is a solution: We can get ready (and willing) to give an answer for the hope that lies within us. How does this happen?

1) Actively engage God’s Word. Not only do we learn God’s Word better, as we read the Bible the Holy Spirit of God transforms us. It’s not enough to catch a couple sermons each month. Becoming a disciple happens between you and Jesus, through the power of God’s Word.

2) Be willing to argue (give reasons). If you believe something, you should be secure enough to have those beliefs questioned and to question those of others in return. As Christians, we must decide if we want to accurately represent Christ in our conversation or if we want to be further marginalized in a society that vilifies any claim of moral right or wrong.

3) Become a lifelong learner. Living Word will always provide opportunities for you to learn. But there are other resources at your disposal, too. Our web site has a lot of information. Focus on the Family played a great presentation on January 24-25 (http://listen.family.org/recentdaily). And Stand to Reason (www.str.org) will likely be sending a speaker to Living Word this fall for our grand opening. Their web site has all kinds of valuable material.

Friends, if you are in Christ, the hope within you is great. Be ready and willing to give reasons for that hope.