December 21, 2024

I Peter 3.15 (NIV)

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. 

Most people are not looking for someone with all the answers. They just want to hear from a fellow pilgrim a couple of steps in front of them on the journey. When all is said and done, evangelism is as simple as that.*

When I took the CPR certification class, it was clear to me that I would never be able to perform under the pressure of an emergency. I worriedly asked the instructor, “What if I do it wrong?” He said, “If you don’t do anything, they’re going to die anyway. Don’t worry about doing it wrong.”

Rather than fearing that we aren’t properly prepared to give an answer for the hope that we have, we should remind ourselves that people are going to hell if we say nothing; so worry less about saying the wrong thing. I say this, not to release you from the responsibility of preparing, but to defuse some of the pressure involved in speaking to the lost about Jesus. Yes, do be prepared to share your testimony. No, don’t worry about saying the wrong thing. Yes, be concerned about how you say what you say.

Peter’s caution about speaking with gentleness and respect is a reminder that you don’t have to be “on the defensive” to defend your faith. Very few of us enjoy being on the losing side of an argument so we get shrill and testy when we feel cornered. Stop thinking about it as a contest. If you think there must be a winner and a loser in your exchange with a lost soul, then you both lose.

Our behavior should be consistent with that of our Savior. No one ever walked away from Jesus feeling brutalized or disrespected.

Jesus was never mean to lost people. He was truthful but not mean.*