Jan 07 2009
Does The World Hate Christians? (P4)
As we saw in Part 3, there is a growing vocal element which hates Christians and the One they represent. Thus, while the battle may seem a long way away, we need to be prepared. Someday we may find ourselves on the front line.
This raises the question: How do I respond to someone who hates Christianity? Someone who vocally and venomously hates God? Last time we discussed the heart issues behind the problem. We recognized our inability to effect change in an unbeliever’s life and our need to ask God to work in their heart.
While we must recognize this is not a mind game but a spiritual battle - and only God can change a heart - there may be times when we are given opportunities to engage in dialogue. If so, we must go forward with two thoughts foremost:
One - we cannot change their mind.
Two - God must change their heart.
Unless we carry these thoughts foremost in our thinking, we will likely find ourselves entangled in an emotional debate which will leave us frustrated and possibly do more damage than good. However, with these two guideposts, it is not wrong to enter the conversation.
As the statements in part 3 revealed, non-Christians often make general, false assumptions about Christians. While some professing Christians are certainly guilty of perpetrating this problem, most of these assumptions are not based on anything but ‘what I think’ or ‘what I feel’. Therefore, start with a question derived from their statements.
For example, in response to: “I am a “religious” person but I don’t go around spewing hatred, and shoving it down everyone’s throat” a good question would be, ‘How are Christians going around spewing hatred?’ Any discussion which is going to be even slightly profitable has to be centered around specifics. Thus get to the specifics.
Then be prepared (this is where knowing your Bible and a bit of history is very important) to defend the faith. Show Jesus’ commands - “Do unto others as you would have them do until you.” “Love your neighbor as yourself.” “Love your enemies and pray for them.”
Further, point out the non-Christian acts of professing believers are no different than the non-kind acts of non-believers except professing believers are directly disobeying their King. Go on to demonstrate acts throughout history and in our present day which show the Church, as a whole, working above and beyond the world in general to show love to everyone, but particularly the vulnerable and suffering - acts of charity and kindness in our own country and those around the world (AIDS, caring for orphans, medical ministries, homeless shelters, etc)
If you are not involved in reaching out to someone, in showing your love to your neighbor and beyond, while you may not be guilty of ‘spewing hatred’, are you showing love? Can your life withstand the scrutiny from a God-hater? Will your life show your love for God and others, or an indifference to the world around you?
Dear God, place within our hearts a love for the world around us. Help us give, sacrificially even, to support the works of ministry in our own church, our community, and the world beyond. Then, Father, give us boldness and the words to speak that we might rightly defend the words of truth.
In Part 5 we will look at another accusation and ways to address it in a Godly manner.
