4 things to remember when defending your faith
This list is by no means comprehensive. Here are a few lessons I learned from Matthew 22 – the showdown between Jesus and the major religiopolitical groups of His time.
1 / See the big picture; explain clearly.
‘So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.’ – Matthew 22:21
The context is the tax debate. Jesus could have walked into the trap of picking a side. But instead, He sees the bigger picture. Interestingly He doesn’t ignore the trap or the question. He doesn’t avoid the confrontation. He doesn’t get passive aggressive. He sees the heart of the issue – their hypocrisy, their lack of vision. He addresses it simply, clearly and his interrogators are stumped.
2/ Know the scripture.
‘Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scripture nor the power of God.”’ – Matthew 22:29
If something confuses us, we need to ask for wisdom and answers. Search the Bible. Read and pray deeply. And more than that – experience God and His power for yourself. Work with Him and see the power of God. Get to know His character. The more we know His Word, His character and power, the less we will be confused or led off by some other ‘wind of doctrine’.
3/ Love God and each other. Including the one who is questioning you.
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind… ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” – Matthew 22: 37
Love is the key since it is the core of God. God’s love can be breathed into our speech, our listening, our acts. It is as Paul says, if I ‘do not have love, I am nothing… I gain nothing’ (1 Cor 13:2,3).
Theodore Roosevelt echoed this with: ‘Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.’
4/ Bring it back to Jesus.
‘What do you think about the Messiah?’ – Matthew 22:42
Sometimes we defend our faith, our actions, our doctrines and our traditions. But in the end, what we do should be focused on Jesus. How does it bring us closer to Jesus? What do we learn about Him? How does it help others know Him? What do we really think of Jesus?
Do we think that Jesus is trying to stop us from having fun or making money? Or do we think that Jesus wants to spend quality time with us every week?
Do we think that He makes up things to test us or does He understand more about us than we know about ourselves?
