1Pe 2:12 Keep your conduct among the
Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may
see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
And let’s add:
And
Psa 18:49 "For this I will praise you, O LORD, among the
nations, and sing to your name.
Gentiles, outsiders, nations." – uhhh, non-believers? Right!
I remember an old saying, “You are the only Gospel some
people will ever see/hear.”
It is not an easy thing to make our faith plain in our work,
play and other situations. We are strongly encouraged not to. Indeed in some situations we can get into
trouble – big trouble – for expressing our faith in non-church settings.
However, those with whom I have worked who have experienced difficulties were either
very obnoxious about it or they were simply under attack for being a
believer. It’s the obnoxious part we
want to pray about. We really need to
understand that there is more to our “evangelism” than the Roman Road or the Acts Tracks.
In the passage(s) above, we are given very sound direction
concerning how we are to “be” and “do” among the outsiders. Look at the example of the early believers in
Act 2:42-47. The believers simply led lives that glorified
God and found themselves, “having favor with all the people. And the Lord added
to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
No revivals, no programs, no outreach, just living together as Christ
called them to. Not that revivals,
programs or outreach are wrong – but they aren’t the early example.
It really comes down to you and me, the individual believer. We never want to deny our faith but we can be
wise in where, how and why we express it.
We’ll cover it later, but Peter writes in chapter 3:
1Pe 3:15-16 but in
your hearts honor 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; yet do it with
gentleness and respect, (16) having a good conscience, so that, when you
are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to
shame.
I want to point out that is it not our doctrine,
denomination, creed or other “credentials” about which we will be asked. It is our “hope,” about which we are to
prepare a defense (answer or plea). Hope,
and upon or in what (actually who) it resides.
Our conduct and speech needs to testify to our submission
and dependence upon God. Not only that,
but our lives need to demonstrate the hope we have in His promises.
What would that look like in your life? No, not in the life of a believer, but in the
life of you the believer. You may be one
among many believers but there are times when you are the only one
present. What can your life look like by
His power and providence?
A dear friend of mine sent out an email the other day decrying
the abundance of sex and alcohol themed advertisements on the many sports
channels. It was a clear rational and
impassioned plea for Christian discretion.
Of course, it was all I could do not to write him back and ask, “Why are
you watching that?”
Let me play with an analogy here. If you go to a friend’s house and they offer
you cake and you refuse it because you are diabetic, is that bad? If they offer you fresh baked bread and you
refuse it because you can’t process gluton, is that bad? If you go to their house and they offer you a
milkshake and you refuse because you are lactose intolerant, is that bad?
As a
believer, we are sin intolerant. Whoa
now – what I mean is that sin (in any guise) is BAD for us. It is toxic for us – especially if we know
it’s bad for us – then it’s really bad for us. 2 Cor 1:12 - - 2 Cor
4:2 - - Rom 2:15
Am I telling you that you can’t go to that special football
party? No, but I am telling you I
can’t. Am I telling you that you can’t
joke and poke fun around the water cooler?
No, but I’m telling you I can’t.
Patti and I have been really examining this aspect of our
lives. How do we appear to
outsiders? Do they see hope and holiness
or confusion and compromise? Can
outsiders see a difference in our lives?
Is the demonstration of our faith, in word and deed, gentle and respectful?
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