What’s a Christian to Say? part 1

What's a Christian to Say

What Can I Say?

I am saddened by the foul and abusive talk that is being spewed out all around our country. One might want to speak up and voice an opinion but the response is so ugly that they decide to keep quiet. I don’t want to talk politics here but what’s a Christian to say?

Now, I’m not really interested in what a Christian should stand for politically.  I’ll leave that between them and God. I am more interested in how a Christian should speak about his beliefs and defend his faith in an anti-christian world. It was Billy Graham who said,

Our society strives to avoid any possibility of offending anyone—except God. – Billy Graham #Walkaway Click To Tweet

So what’s a Christian to say?

What is a Christian to Say?
photo image by Geralt @Pixabay

How do we respond to so many issues of the day that go against our Biblical beliefs?

Our family had a “roundtable” discussion about the subject a while back. We agreed that people should speak up but we wondered if there might be a better way to tell our opinions to the public. We discussed the idea that whatever a Christian says it should be said in love. Our discussion moved towards whether there might be times to “plead the 5th” and remain silent. We agreed that maybe our citizenship of heaven may at times trump our freedom of speech rights as a U.S. citizen.

Our citizenship of heaven may at times trump our freedom of speech rights as a U.S. citizen. #Walkaway #Walkwith Click To Tweet

In other words, there is a time to keep our thoughts to ourselves.

Proverbs 17:8 says,

“Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.”

And then there is this

The following day, during my Bible reading, our discussion was verified as I read from 1 Peter 3. Verses 7 & 8 say,

” Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.  Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will bless you for it.”

We do not live by the same set of rules as unbelievers.

These instructions are for the Christian, not unbelievers. We cannot expect unbelievers to live by these rules because they do not have the advantage of having the Holy Spirit to guide them. They are lost and our hearts should be tender to that fact.

Continuing with verses 13-17, we read …

 Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!

Over the next few days, I want to hone in on the INSTEAD part of this scripture because it gives us the protocol for our lives. So today, let’s look at what should be first for us.

1. Worship Christ as Lord of your life.

This is our number one priority in this life .. to worship Christ and to make Him Lord of our lives. So let’s first examine our own lives. What percentage of our day are we reading scripture, studying scripture, and praying? How often do we pull away from the business of life and just draw close to God? Even Jesus, himself, drew away from the crowds to pray. I’m speaking to myself here…

How long has it been since we really spent some quality time with the Lord?

Yes, evangelizing the unbelievers is important, but first, we must be at one with Christ (and each other as Christians). In order for Christianity to be desirable, we must be set apart from the world. There needs to be a difference in the way we live our lives from an unbeliever’s life. Our lives need to tell others about Christ first.

Consider, the believers in Acts 2:42 and Following

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.  A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders.  And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need.  They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—  all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. 

What I don’t see here is any lashing out or finger-pointing. I do see Christians coming together to hear the Word of God. I see meeting together daily; sharing with one another; taking care of each other’s needs; fellowshipping together and praising God.

The believers drew close to God and each other and unbelievers got saved!  They came out of curiosity to see what was going on. Sadly, I haven’t seen too much of that lately.

D.L. Moody said,

I think that what people want to be told (whether they know it or not) is to be told of Jesus’ love.

So what do our lives say to others?

Does our life back up what we are saying?

Click here for part 2, How should a Christian Answer?

Mandy Farmer

If you have given your life to Christ, Click here and learn more about how to do that.

Tell Me by the Gaithers


P.S. Tired of Today’s Politics?

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About Mandy Farmer

Pastor's Wife (retired) &  Chronic Pain Warrior blogs about how to make it through anything by relating her own life experiences to her writing. She is passionate about her love for the Lord and desires to spread that passion to others. She has a great desire to encourage women who are following behind her.

View all posts by Mandy Farmer

6 Comments on “What’s a Christian to Say? part 1”

  1. This is so right on. I just found your blog while looking for others who write about chronic pain. I mean wow! This is great! I’d love to chat sometime. Thank you for writing this. I would like to subscribe to your blog but am having trouble with it.

  2. Jonathan your comment was a reply to Tara Ulrich are you reaching out to her or to Mandyandmichele. We have two options. At the top of the blog, there is the opportunity to get a push notification every time we post something new. OR you can go to the bottom and sign up for a weekly newsletter by email. When you sign up with the blue bar you will receive an verification email. Sometimes this ends up in spam unless you put our URL on your white list. Let me know if you need help

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