How to Argue for Christ without Arguing

It is often tempting to engage unbelievers in heated conversations concerning the reality of God and His Son, when they try to dissuade people from belief. But the bible warns us against such unruly and unproductive arguments.

Ephesians 3:8 tells us to put off anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy and filthy communication’. Whenever you try to defend your faith through disagreement, you allow unbelievers to lead you down alleys of anger. Verse 12 of the same chapter goes on to provide us the proper method for handling those outside the faith: ‘. . . put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, and longsuffering.’

The apostles led by example, not denigrating those who disagreed with their beliefs, but loving them. This then—love—is the greatest argument a Christian can give for the reality of Christ in her life. Scripture is filled with encouragements on living humbly, honorably, obediently, lovingly. You will not convince an atheist of the love of Christ if all you do is argue. Show them you have the light of your Savior, that you walk a different path from them, a better path, one of salvation leading to paradise. Ephesians 3 goes on to say in verse 6: ‘Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one’.

Contemporary Christianity: True or False?

Beware leaders of the modern church who use the terms ‘contemporary’ and ‘progressive’ and ‘relevant’ when explaining changes made to church structure and to actual scripture.

We must grasp this simple truth: anything that turns our focus away from God is not progressive, but spiritually regressive. (1 Peter 1:18-19, 23-25). Just ask yourself, do you spend more time listening to 'progressive Christian leaders' and reading their self-help books than you do in the word of God? The purpose of preaching should be to direct people to the Word, to their knees in prayer before God. When you obey God you humble yourself and exalt Him. But when you exalt yourself—as today’s mega church superstars teach you to do—you make an enemy of God. For He resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). ‘They will become lovers of themselves rather than lovers of God’ (2 Tim 3:2). Christian books distract us. They are filled with opinions and prejudices, often conflicting with true scripture. The bible is the only inspired word of God. So-called Christian books are not the inspired Word of God. Such works tend to spout pretty platitudes and quote extra-biblical sources. They think they must modernize scripture to make the bible relevant (The Message Bible being the absolute worst), but really what they should be doing is teaching scripture to make people relevant to God.

Don't take anything that I or any Christian writer tells you as gospel. If our works do not drive you to God and to His Word, then they are not works of God; they are works of and for the self. If our words do not increase your (biblically-accurate) knowledge of God, then they are empty words (Ephesians 5:6).

The Miracle of God's Love

Do you ever stop to marvel at God’s love?

With all the distractions in the world it is understandable—though a shame—when we neglect to take time every day to reflect on the miracle of God loving us. To think that the creator of the world hears us, knows the number of hairs on our head (Matthew 10:30), is truly astonishing. He sees the country-sized storms on Saturn, knows the density of every star in the heavens, and yet He bothers to call us by name and lead us through life's journey! We don’t seem to give Him enough credit these days. An almost blasphemous feeling that God somehow owes us has pervaded our social consciousness. But the simple truth is that God doesn’t owe us anything; we owe Him. If He should decide to forsake earth and go develop life forms on some unknown planet, He would not be acting outside His purview. But He has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us.

And think on this: when you pray you sometimes feel that God is not only hearing you, but that He is focusing on you, personally. This is truly astonishing when you consider that at the very moment you are having an intimate moment with Him, God is also simultaneously communing with thousands of other people, in equally personal moments, while also judging the earth, and rewarding the just in heaven! That the creator of the universe should take note of me at all provides me with a glimpse of His miraculous love. And so when He chooses to chastise me, I should not be angry or downcast, but rejoice that my heavenly Father cares enough to lead me in the way I should go. This is why the apostles, when they were being persecuted or in prison, rejoiced, counting themselves blessed.

‘Be still and know that He is God’ (Psalm 46:10). Stand in awe of Him, for He is an awesome God!