Give An Answer For What You Believe!
I was talking with a new acquaintance last week, and asked him if he was a Christian.
He replied, "Yeah, I'm a Christian.
" "So you've obeyed the gospel," I responded with a second question.
The look on his face revealed his genuine confusion.
"Uh...
I've accepted Jesus as my personal Savior - is that what you mean," he asked with sincerity.
This exchange offers an excellent illustration of the confusion that exists regarding the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Paul said, in II Thessalonians 1:6-8, "Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; and to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
" After sharing the passages with my new friend, I asked him to show me where "accepting Jesus Christ as a personal Lord and Savior" was found in the Bible, either in phrase or principle.
He searched the Bible for several minutes without being able to find the phrase or teaching.
The longer he searched, the angrier he got.
As he searched frantically, I asked, "How long have you been a Christian?".
He replied in a tone that did not convey the character of Christ, nor was there any meekness in his reply, "Since I nine - I'm a deacon now!" I went further, trying to reason the Scriptures together with him.
"Hey, no need to get angry.
I Peter 3:15 says that you and I must be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.
I'm only asking you to show me what you believe with the Bible.
" He searched for 22 minutes without success; no "accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior" could be found in his Bible.
It's not in mine, either, and I use the King James Version.
After searching in futility, he slammed his Bible closed and said, "I'll ask my Pastor and get back with you.
" Isn't it amazing how people cannot give an answer to every man that asks for the reason of the hope that is in someone who "claims" to be Christian? Isn't is just as sad when people can't discuss the topic with meekness and fear? "Can I show you what the Bible says is the "gospel," I asked him humbly, and waited for his answer.
"Well, uh - okay," he responded.
I asked him to turn to I Corinthians 15, and we read the first four verses together: Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.
Jesus Christ died for our sins, he was buried, and he rose again the third day; all according to the scriptures.
My friend read this passage and asked, "How do you obey the gospel," referring back to II Thessalonians 1:6-8.
I replied, "Let the Bible answer your question," and we turned to Romans 6:3-5: Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.
The Bible is so clear when we approach it with an honest and open heart.
Jesus died, was buried, and was resurrected; we are to die to sin (repent), be buried with him in baptism into death (for remission of sins), and we'll be raised up out of the burial of baptism a new creation, to walk in newness of life.
He was shocked because he had never read these passages.
"But salvation is by faith only!" he objected.
I asked, "My friend, there's only one place in the entire Bible where you can find the phrase faith only - it's in James 2:24.
He turned to the verse in his Bible and read, "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only (James 2:24).
" I encourage you to search your Bible with the honest and good heart that Jesus spoke of in Luke 8:15.
I urge you to approach the Bible with a desire to find its truths contained therein, rather than approaching the Bible with the agenda of supporting one belief or another.
Peter said, in II Peter 3:16, that unlearned and unstable men wrest (twist) the scriptures to their own destruction; this is happening today.
Don't allow it to happen to you.
He replied, "Yeah, I'm a Christian.
" "So you've obeyed the gospel," I responded with a second question.
The look on his face revealed his genuine confusion.
"Uh...
I've accepted Jesus as my personal Savior - is that what you mean," he asked with sincerity.
This exchange offers an excellent illustration of the confusion that exists regarding the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Paul said, in II Thessalonians 1:6-8, "Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; and to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
" After sharing the passages with my new friend, I asked him to show me where "accepting Jesus Christ as a personal Lord and Savior" was found in the Bible, either in phrase or principle.
He searched the Bible for several minutes without being able to find the phrase or teaching.
The longer he searched, the angrier he got.
As he searched frantically, I asked, "How long have you been a Christian?".
He replied in a tone that did not convey the character of Christ, nor was there any meekness in his reply, "Since I nine - I'm a deacon now!" I went further, trying to reason the Scriptures together with him.
"Hey, no need to get angry.
I Peter 3:15 says that you and I must be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.
I'm only asking you to show me what you believe with the Bible.
" He searched for 22 minutes without success; no "accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior" could be found in his Bible.
It's not in mine, either, and I use the King James Version.
After searching in futility, he slammed his Bible closed and said, "I'll ask my Pastor and get back with you.
" Isn't it amazing how people cannot give an answer to every man that asks for the reason of the hope that is in someone who "claims" to be Christian? Isn't is just as sad when people can't discuss the topic with meekness and fear? "Can I show you what the Bible says is the "gospel," I asked him humbly, and waited for his answer.
"Well, uh - okay," he responded.
I asked him to turn to I Corinthians 15, and we read the first four verses together: Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.
Jesus Christ died for our sins, he was buried, and he rose again the third day; all according to the scriptures.
My friend read this passage and asked, "How do you obey the gospel," referring back to II Thessalonians 1:6-8.
I replied, "Let the Bible answer your question," and we turned to Romans 6:3-5: Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.
The Bible is so clear when we approach it with an honest and open heart.
Jesus died, was buried, and was resurrected; we are to die to sin (repent), be buried with him in baptism into death (for remission of sins), and we'll be raised up out of the burial of baptism a new creation, to walk in newness of life.
He was shocked because he had never read these passages.
"But salvation is by faith only!" he objected.
I asked, "My friend, there's only one place in the entire Bible where you can find the phrase faith only - it's in James 2:24.
He turned to the verse in his Bible and read, "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only (James 2:24).
" I encourage you to search your Bible with the honest and good heart that Jesus spoke of in Luke 8:15.
I urge you to approach the Bible with a desire to find its truths contained therein, rather than approaching the Bible with the agenda of supporting one belief or another.
Peter said, in II Peter 3:16, that unlearned and unstable men wrest (twist) the scriptures to their own destruction; this is happening today.
Don't allow it to happen to you.
Source...