I have a bound set of old LIFE magazines dating from the late thirties. As an Army veteran, I’m especially interested in the military training photographed during that time. The U.S. was only beginning to get the clue bus that Germany as a military power was on the rise. And we weren’t ready. The pictures showed soldiers training with broomsticks and planks of lumber and such dummy weapons because we neither had sufficient training, nor equipment. The country had slipped out of the habit of being prepared for war, especially since the last conflict had been labeled “the war to end all wars.”
In a weird way, peacetime had ruined our ability to defend ourselves—atrophied, you might say. We Christians aren’t exempt from this sort of decline. We easily settle into lifestyles of unpreparedness. In other words, we no longer expect any encounter with a non-Christian, no conversations about faith. We’re not interested in them, either. We might even say things like, “If people want to find out about Jesus, let them go to church. There’s one on every corner.”
Once you start expecting a building or a program to be a witness of Christ, rather than your own mouth, you’ve gotten into serious spiritual atrophy. Even if gospel conversations do come along, you might end up flailing away with wooden props.
1 Peter 3:15 says, “but in your hearts honor Christ the lord as holy, always being prepared.” How do you honor Christ the Lord in this verse? By 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.” The sister verse, 2 Timothy 4:2 also stresses readiness, saying, “Preach the word, be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort, with complete patience and teaching.”
What does “in season” mean? Occasionally, something happens in our society that creates a marked receptivity to the gospel. Years ago, The Passion of the Christ generated one such brief bookmark. People were going to see it, many of whom were experiencing spiritual revivals. One man came out of the movie and went to the police station. He confessed to murdering his girlfriend, a crime that he had gotten away with. At any rate, being “in season” can mean being able to successfully talk to people about Jesus.
However, sometimes a door opens in our culture, like the Jesus People movement of the early seventies. During that time, it became downright cool to talk about Jesus…in California!
We’re much more used to culture being out of season, where you’re liable to get yourself into a hollering match if you simply mention the Bible. Even secular comedians complain about culture being out of season for truth. Many, like Chris Rock (who is no friend of Scripture) refuse to appear on college campuses anymore. Students have lost their ability to laugh without offense, let alone recognize truth as related to anything, including God.
I’d also love to check out, to vacate spaces where truth is unpopular. But whenever I succumbed to that temptation, I found myself closed off, living in a church bubble. Not to mention, armed with nothing more than cardboard swords.
Thankfully, readiness does not come down to anticipating all the things others might say. There’s no way you can foresee every response in a gospel conversation. Sometimes chess players resort to books that teach how to make all the right moves in advance. I watched a YouTube presentation last week that was attempting that very thing. The guy demonstrated a frontal assault that mainly pushed pawns in order to win the game. During the presentation, though, I noticed that the hypothetical opponent could have counter-moved in a number of unpredictable ways, and ruined the overall strategy.
Likewise, you can memorize a hundred gospel openers, but people often say things so outrageously off-script that it takes your breath away. It’s as though you’re gazing into a Grand Canyon of foolishness, practically stunned into silence.
Gospel preaching cannot rely on chess-like strategies. Even if you were able to “win” by correctly guessing the other person’s moves, it probably wouldn’t yield a satisfactory outcome. I’ve never met anybody who was happy about losing a game of chess. And I’ve never seen anyone thrilled over losing a gospel debate, especially if it meant looking like an idiot in front of atheist friends. Besides, chess is probably a poor way of thinking about a gospel encounter. Rather than two opponents across a board from each other, gospel ministry is more like two people on the same side of the board with one helping the other advance his pieces to faith in Christ. Victory lies in someone receiving Jesus. We assist them in getting there.
In doing this, you will need cues and touchpoints. I borrowed a few of these from a book written by Ray Comfort,¹ a red-meat evangelist who specializes in confronting people with simple gospel propositions.
For instance, if someone asks why we believe in God,
“We believe in God’s existence because it’s scientifically impossible for nature to have made itself. Creation testifies to the genius of the creator.”
Think in terms of “Origin.” You can push this back as far as the beginning of the universe.
Q: If there is a God, then why all the suffering in the world?
“Suffering is stark evidence that the Bible is right when it says that we live in a fallen creation.”
Cue word: “Broken.” Our pain in this world is conclusive proof something has gone badly wrong.
Q: Why put Jesus over Mohammed, Confucius, Buddha, etc.?
“Jesus is unique because he claimed to be God, and he backed up this claim by displaying power over sickness, over nature, and over death. He also claimed pre-existence.”
Cue thought: “Jesus is God!” None of those other figures had the brass to make such a claim and certainly did not have the power to validate it. Plus, Jesus predated them all.
Q: Why do I need Jesus, or need to be saved?
“In Christ, God provided a savior in response to the law that we had violated. He paid the fine.”
Cue word: “Sin.” Every person has broken the Ten Commandments in some way, beginning with idolatry, all the way down through lying, coveting, or murder and adultery of heart.
Q: Why aren’t world religions a valid alternative to the Christian faith?
“Christianity is exclusive because no other religion is based on grace–unmerited favor. All others are based on works. They teach that righteousness and eternal life can be earned–that the judge of the universe can be bribed.”
Cue word: “Grace.” Every worldly religion is either pay-as-you-go or contains fees hidden in the fine print.
If you’ve spent any time reading high-brow apologetics, you’re probably thinking you could respond in much more sophisticated ways. Maybe. But, how many people have you talked to? Beautiful arguments mean nothing if they haven’t prepared you to speak to anyone.
1 Ray Comfort, Anyone But Me: 10 Ways to Overcome Your Fear and Be Prepared to Share the Gospel; 2020, Baker.
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on John Myer
Featured Image by Ankhesenamun on Unsplash
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