Being an apologist.

A dear friend left, today, to travel to her home country of Poland. She has not been a disciple of Jesus for a very long time, and has asked friends to pray that she might be: "... an example with my behavior, my words and my deeds, for His glory. My deep desire and hope is that I can be and remain a great witness of what Jesus did in me and how He has changed me ..."

That, of course, should be the prayer of every disciple of Jesus, whoever they are; wherever they are; and regardless of how long they have been walking the Christian way.

So what is the best reason we can give to anyone who asks why we have accepted the Lord Jesus as our Saviour? How may we, most persuasively, bear witness to our faith? "Always be ready", urged the apostle Peter, "to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you,    ..." (I Peter 3:15). The Greek word translated "answer" in that quotation, is the word "apologian" - "apology"! However, this is not a weak-kneed excuse from a quivering person who merely wants to keep out of trouble! The word refers to a convincing argument in support of the position that one holds. 

For a long time, I have found it interesting that while "evangelist" is a gift of the Lord Jesus to the church (see Eph.4:11), we are all called to be witnesses! It is not a gift - it is a direct command! (see  Acts 1:8). The only option I have is to be a good witness - or a bad one! Of course, as I witness "with my behaviour, my words and my deeds,", I am being an apologist for the Faith! Please don't think that you have to be a member of the clergy; a theologian; a Bible teacher; or whatever in order "... to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, ..." You can bear witness to the the truth and power of the Gospel message. Your own life can be the best argument in support of your faith in the Lord Jesus, the Christ, to anyone who asks why you believe what you believe. You can share how He has changed you; how He continues to guide you; how He walks with you.

One word of warning! The Greek word translated "witness" in Acts 1:8 is the word "martures" - from which we get the English language word "martyr". Yes, as our brothers and sisters in the persecuted church in some sixty countries who suffer for the Gospel in ways that I am unable to comprehend, do so, it is because of their constant witness!

Are you a good witness for Jesus? Am I? we may not be preachers, or teachers, or evangelists. We are witnesses!

Repentance - or "Sorry I was caught"?

So Mr Gordon Brown thinks that a lady who had the temerity to question him on a range of policies is "a bigoted woman". Oh, I know that once he had discovered that his honest personal opinion had inadvertently been shared with millions via a still-live radio microphone, he made profuse apologies - even referring to himself as a "penitent sinner"!

Unfortunately, for Mr Brown (and, by the way, I listened to him on a radio 'phone-in programme where all but one caller addressed him as either Mr Brown, or Prime Minister; yet he seemed to think that he had the automatic right to address each one by his/her first name!), I suspect that I am not the only member of the electorate who will draw the conclusion that his sorrow was for having been caught. "Bigot", I would suggest, is not the kind of terminology that one uses about someone simply because, as Mr Brown later tried to make out, one isn't sure that one has managed to get one's own point of view across!

"A good tree can't produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can't produce good fruit." said Jesus. "A tree is identified by the kind of fruit it produces. Figs never grow on thornbushes or grapes on bramble bushes. A good person produces good deeds from a good heart, and an evil person produces evil deeds from an evil heart. Whatever is in your heart determines what you say." (Luke 6:43-45; my emphasis)

Not for the first time, Mr Brown's "moral compass" would appear to be pointing in the wrong direction. Being a son of the manse does not automatically make one a son of the Kingdom!