The point of my last article, “Revive Awaken Restore” was to say it is our turn to get to the work that we as Christians have been called. Jesus explained it to us in (NASB) Matthew 28: 19 “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” In that prior article only the first part of this verse was used. That was done for a reason; the goal was to center upon what needs to be done here at home. This is still the goal. Remember Proverbs 14: 34 “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.” This article will be directed at providing answers to some of the how to’s about restoring our nation through revival and awakening.

To begin let us remember the words of Peter in 1 Peter 3:15, “but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;”.  So how exactly does a person go about defending the faith and letting others know about Jesus, of His dying on the cross, of shedding His blood for our sins, (we all know we have done wrong in our life) and being resurrected to eternal life. The fact of His resurrection is the greatest proof of the truthfulness of the Gospel.  Then of course we have corroborating evidence from John 3: 16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

So, now is a good time to know about “Why?” While “why” is a question often used by two year olds, it’s still relevant. Remembering its good enough for a two year old might help us remember that it’s a tool for our own apologetic approach. These, “why” questions can be useful for discussions one has with both non-believers and nominal Christians.  When speaking with others they may ask questions about one’s faith, about one’s beliefs, or even about the truthfulness of a comment. A “why” question really works to one’s advantage here. The question might be, “Why did you say that?” or Why do you think that?” or even a “Why did you do that?” Understand how those types of questions can open up the opportunity to move the discussion toward the important eternal questions about the purpose to life and where we as human beings fit into that purpose.

Don’t lose the initiative or direction of the conversation. Some might want to put the burden on you to defend everything you say. Some defending of one’s faith is a proper part of a discussion. However, if a person is getting uncomfortable and wants to change directions, it might be necessary to change who it is that controls the overall direction of the conversation. Again, it is often a “why” question that can re-direct the discussion back to one of your choosing. Sometimes, regrettably, one might have to back off and hope your discussion or some other life experience will make that person start thinking about his or her eternity themselves.

There is something to be said for including your own personal experiences in a discussion about becoming a believer. It’s useful, but you need to be careful. It’s also a poor choice to make everything you are talking about be about you. Smaller doses of life’s experiences actually add to the invitation to believe, or at least their wanting to have further discussions about becoming a believer. There is a tendency for some believers to want to get the work completed at one time. A new conversion is a great thing. However, sometimes through no fault of your own a person just isn’t ready to commit, so give them a little space, because we may not know everything that’s going on in their lives. You can only draw that out of them when they are willing to share it.

The Holy Spirit is drawing people to Himself. We become His instrument. The last thing we want to do is to become a blunt force causing a non-believer to refuse to listen to anything said regarding the Truth. While on this subject of Truth there is a great evaluation tool to have at your disposal. I was initially introduced to this tool by a past president of Oak Hills Bible College, Robert H. Thompson. He illustrated this aid on a white board. He drew two concentric circles as a diagram. In the innermost circle he wrote the word “beliefs.” In the larger circle he wrote the word “attitudes.” In the outer perimeter he wrote the word “actions.” He then drew a second set of concentric circles. There he wrote the word “actions” in the center circle. Within the outer ring out he again wrote the word “attitudes.” Finally, in the outside perimeter he wrote the word “beliefs.” Mr. Thompson then spoke about one’s expectations and how those expectations were effected by one’s internal guidelines, their personal world view. Via the diagram it means starting with the inside circle and move outward.

The nuts and bolts to this example for a Christian, is the first diagram of concentric circles gives us the framework of the Christian life.  It’s where ones “beliefs,” starting with acknowledging God, affect one’s overall “attitude” by acknowledging that God might know how to best live one’s life.  A person’s “attitude” is then affecting his or her “actions” and choices, as in treating others as you wish to be treated. On the other hand, non-believers are generally doing the opposite. This can be shown using the second diagram. They are basically living in a world of feelings and “actions” as was written in the inner circle. It is those actions and decisions that then affect their “attitudes,” which sometimes come out as saying, “I can do whatever I want.” So, those types of “attitudes,” based off the actions they choose, is what determines the overall “beliefs,” that person holds. Examples of such come out as thinking, “I’m more important than anyone else, and power is king.” That becomes a dog eat dog world where it’s the survival of the fittest, and I want the biggest stick. These people are using their actions, the inner circle,  to justify their attitudes, the second circle, and in turn support their beliefs, the outermost area, even when they disagree with anyone else’s.

That’s a huge difference in outlooks, especially in regard to the morality one has. For a believing Christian, God is the only one that can define moral verses immoral actions. This is a statement of fact for everyone. Even though others, as we’ve just observed, kind of make it up as they go. The absolute best example of this being seen today is the non-believers use of the phrase, “my truth.”  That phrase really messes with their thoughts about and their actual eternity.  It also affects how they treat others. Believers need to break down that barrier of false opinions to bring about another awakening to restore our country. Check out previous articles I’ve posted that have more information and helpful aids on defending one’s faith and sharing the Gospel of our Savior Jesus Christ.