The Tale of Two Mormons
Why are you a Christian? What would you say if someone asked you that?
Recently I heard a message where the teacher asked the congregation this same question. Answers varied, but all responses fit within these 4 categories:
· Jesus changed my life; I used to to A, B, and C, but now I do X, Y, and Z
· I was raised that way
· I believe the holy scriptures
· I had a person experience that convinced me
After outlining these common responses, and noting that our group’s answers fell into those those same catagories, he explained that these same reasons can be applied to any religion. What makes Christianity different than other religions is the gospel. If you take the four statements above, for example change Jesus to Allah, you could really make those same claims as a member of any religion.
Though a great way to open someone’s heart to the gospel is to share you testimony, your personal conversion experience, the gospel must also be shared for that alone is what created saving faith. Many people rely on appealing to emotions, highlighting personal experiences, and promising positive outcomes for those they witness to instead of sharing God’s rescue plan of the redemptive work of Christ. The reason many don’t outline the gospel message to unbelievers is they don’t know what the gospel is.
In addition to writing this blog, I also teach an online class on how to study to bible for women*. Often during the course, someone will comment on how refreshing it is to be challenged intellectually. Often women’s study content is directed primarily to appeal to our emotions. Jesus commands us to love God with more than just our feelings, but to also love Him with our mind[1]. Connecting back to our primary verse, how can we be prepared to give a defense of our faith if we aren’t growing in knowledge and offering our time to Jesus to study His word? Like the athlete who trains for a competition, we must train to be ready with a response.
Not only does Jesus highlight a new way of loving God, offering others an emotion-only faith is dangerous. What happens in times of life when God seems far away? How do you continue to belief despite what you may be tempted to feel. Every Christian encounters those times. As Buchanan says is his book using the seasons as an analogy to describe the human experience of life with God,” Winter hides God. It has power to sever my knowledge about God from my experience of him, and to hold the two apart, so that my theology and my reality become irreconcilable[2] (see my blog post His Strength for more about seasons). This past February I came out of one of those seasons…right in time for the COVID-19 pandemic to hit our world…and learned that study was a way for me to feel close to God when my heart felt callous.
So far we’ve covered the why we should have a response—it prepares us to clearly share the gospel, lives out how Jesus says we are to love God, and protects our faith in times of emotional fluctuation. Now let’s consider what kind of response to give.
Logical
The Amplified version of 1 Peter 3:15 provides a helpful adjective:
Always be ready to give a [logical] defense to anyone who asks you to account for the hope and confident assurance [elicited by faith] that is within you.
The defense we give is to be logical. The definition of logic is the system or principles of reasoning applicable to any branch of knowledge or study[3]. Thus, a logical approach should be systematic with an appeal to the basic principals within a particular discipline. We can reason through why the gospel is good news and identify the reasons people need to hear it. Gilbert Greg shares some of those logical considerations in an excerpt from his book What is the Gospel[4]?
“Since the earliest Christians announced the good news about Jesus, it has been organized around these questions:
1. Who made us, and to whom are we accountable?
2. What is our problem?
3. What is God’s solution to our problem?
4. How can I be included in his solution?”
Giving a reason for our faith should include logical answers to these questions.
Gracious
Sharing our faith should also be approached with an attitude of graciousness. We must be grateful for how ignorant to the truth we were before approaching another with the good news of Jesus[5].
I’ve failed in this before. A few years ago, at the end of a run in a local park I saw a few Mormon missionaries approaching me. I was smug. I heard them out just to have a chance to arrogantly share where are beliefs differed and I had the truth. I looked down at them with self-righteousness instead of compassion and a desire that they would heed my words and reconsider the basis of their belief. I didn’t see them as people who needed the gospel, but someone to disagree with.
And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth. 2 Timothy 2:24–25
God showed me my lack of compassion and harshness. Like Jonah, I knew the character of God but didn’t want Him to use me to show compassion on others[6]. And because God is the God of second, and third and fourth chances, He gave me the opportunity for a redo. A Mormon friend of mine announced she was moving, and I had never taken the time to talk to her about her faith. I called her on the phone and we had an amazing conversation, where I got to share the gospel to her. I really cared how she received it. I was gracious in my disagreement, asked her questions, tried to understand, and presented God’s word with humility.
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. Colossians 4:6
I’ve lost touch with her since, but my hope was that conversation, like salt, will appeal to her and lead her in the truth of who Jesus is.
God is the one who grants salvation through the good news of His gospel.
I can only really be gracious when I humbly understand the cost of my salvation.
knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 1 Peter 1:18–19
May we be people who are ready to share the way with others, logically, gracefully, with thankfulness hearts as we consider the precious blood of Christ shed for us to give us access to the Father[7].
*Please comment below or message me if you would like to be notified of an upcoming class
Comments