After a long conversation with a good Christian friend of mine yesterday, it became more apparent that our perception of modern Christianity is one of constant defense and never offense. We are always defending Jesus as our Lord and Savior because of what He has done in our lives but we never have anything else outside of the Bible or our own experience to back it up. Please hear me, what God has done in your life is no small feat and He has exalted His Word above Himself (Psalm 138:2), I am well aware. What I am trying to convey here is that we Christians cannot solely defend our faith by referring to a God that an atheist does not believe in or citing His Word that they believe is bogus. If God has truly created the heavens and the earth and all truth is His truth (1 John 4:6), then surely we must be able to find something outside of His Word to prove the veracity of our God and what He has said. If we cannot find proof for the Bible outside of it, then God has no real application to our lives or nature, rendering Him a false god.
This is why I have come up with five steps I believe every Christian, especially my fellow young ones, should follow in order to be a good attacker and not just defender for Jesus:
1. Know The Word
Do not be surprised if an atheist can quote the Bible better than you can. Plenty of them know the Word better than you do. This does not mean that they have a greater understanding of what the Scripture is really saying, it just means they can trip you up by rebutting your bible verse with another one. Let this motivate you to delve deeper into the Word.
2. Pray For Wisdom
Even though some atheists are really adamant about knowing the rough parts of Scripture (especially Old Testament) you have the upper hand as a Christian: the Holy Spirit. James 1:5 says that if you think you are dumb, no problem, just ask God for wisdom and He will give it to you because He gives without discrimination. I paraphrase, of course.
3. Study Your Enemy
If your opposition knows the Word better than you do, return the favor. Instead of having them beat you over the head with your own Bible bring up Darwin, Marx, or Nietzsche. Study the philosophies that men idolize and see how they fare against the Holy Scripture. Do not misunderstand me, however. As a Christian we are not called to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We are called to be wise towards what is good and innocent towards what is evil (Romans 16:19). At the same time, we are called to “test every spirit” and beware falsehoods (1 John 4:1). Why are Darwinism, Marxism, or Communism false doctrines? Because your pastor told you so? That’s not good enough and frankly, it makes us all look dumb.
4. Never Lose Your Witness
I have been the most guilty of this. Always remember that you are an ambassador of King Jesus and that your behavior, attitude, and words are being closely judged by those who don’t believe in Him. Watch what you say and how you say it. Take your time to answer a question, it is not a race. If you don’t know about a subject, it is better to humbly retreat from the question than to pridefully try to stretch your knowledge or the Bible to fit your ignorance on the matter. Go back to it later and learn more about it. Moreover, if God is going to break that person down, it won’t be through your sarcasm or stank attitude. Make room for the Holy Ghost to move in the conversation.
