Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Sharing our faith in the post-modern world...


Most scholars agree that the age of modernity has come to end. While it was here 300-400 years, it has come to an end. They agree that we are in an era of post-modernity, yet we sometimes struggle to understand what that is. What is clear to most of us Christians who are trying to share our faith, the old argument don’t always work anymore.

I had an opportunity to hear Ravi Zacharias, a noted author, speaker, and Christian apologist, speak this morning at Houghton College. He suggests that there are some things that we need to keep in mind when sharing our faith to people today:

1. Our message should be not just heard, but seen.
2. Our message should be not just argued, but felt.
3. While many question the Bible, we must defend the Bible.

Let me break these down very briefly. First, that our message should be not just heard, but seen, means that while people might listen to our words, they will also look at our lives to make sure that we are consistent. The gospel message might sound good to them, but before they commit to it, they will want to know if it really works for us. We can’t just talk the talk, we must walk the walk. The way we live our lives must be consistent with the way we talk. As simply as it gets, we must live our faith. It must real to us, and visible to outsiders.

Secondly, our message should be not just argued, but felt. We need to know Jesus, personally know what we are talking about. We should include testimonies – what has God done for us? Let them know that you know that your faith is real, because you’ve seen God in action. You’ve experienced the miracles. You’ve felt the love of God first hand. Feeling this yourself will give you a passion for the message that others will feel as well.

Thirdly, our message should include a defense of the Bible. We can’t believe the gospel message of Christ without believing in the Bible. Yet many think the Bible is just another good book. Do you believe in the Bible? Do you defend the Bible? If we are sharing our faith, and our faith reflects Biblical teaching, we must defend the Bible. Many question the authority of the Bible, yet our faith depends on the authority of the Bible.

I would love to hear your comments on these thoughts. I will be sharing a little more, some thoughts that came out of a question and answer period that followed Ravi’s talk, so we will continue this thread for a few days. Please feel free to comment. Whether you agree or disagree, I would love to hear from you…

No comments:

What is the Church?

The Apostle Paul would whole-heartedly answer that question as the Body of Christ.   And I think that all of us would agree with him But ...