When was the last time you had to stand up for your faith when someone was either mocking your Lord or calling your faith into question?  One instance where I had to stand up for my faith was when I was in Junior High.  I was riding on the bus to my school as a seventh-grader.  Almost daily there was some sort of conversation or activity on that bus ride that I felt a strong need to distance myself from.  I was not the type of kid to get in the middle of unruly behavior.  My main way of dealing with this type of conduct was to just sit quietly and mind my own business.  Whether it was throwing snowballs at the bus driver inside the bus or the nasty conversations that went on as adolescent males sought to prove how much knowledge they had, only to prove how much they were lacking, my mode of operation was to stare out the window.  Just so you know, the snowball incident did get our whole bus a non-stop return trip back to school, including individual interviews with the school principal.  Most days however I was successful in not having anyone acknowledge my presence.  

One day though out of the blue one of the “toughest” kids on the bus stood up, pointed his finger right at me, and asked, “Hey are you one of those Jesus freaks?”  Now doesn’t that sound like it was right out of the early ’70s?  I remember my face getting flushed and not responding for what seemed like two whole minutes.  I also remember very vividly that I looked straight at him and said, “Yeah, I guess I am.”  He turned away from me and mumbled “Why?”  I didn’t respond to that, but I remember replaying that whole short encounter over and over in my mind.  I remember feeling like I had only one thing that I could say.  I was going to tell the truth, even if I was very intimidated and totally uncomfortable.  I am so thankful that I did, even though I now can think of several things that I would have added at that moment. 

 I am pretty confident that you realize that having your faith mocked or questioned is going to get more frequent and not less.  As our culture runs away from God in the exact opposite direction, believers in Jesus will face increasing opportunities to proclaim their belief in and love for Jesus Christ.  This should not be a shock to us.  We are told over and over in the Bible that persecution for your faith will increase.  One of my favorite examples where the apostles were bold with their faith in Jesus is found in Acts 3 & 4.  As Peter and John were going to the Temple to pray they saw a man who was a beggar who had been lame from birth.  Peter had the man look at him and Peter told him that they had no money to give him.  But then he said, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk!”  The man who had never walked since birth jumped up on his feet, and he joined them in the Temple “walking and leaping and praising God.”  Many people responded to this amazing reality by placing their faith in Jesus Christ as the Messiah.  Acts 4:4 tells us, “Many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.”  With such a wonderful response to the Gospel of Jesus, the rulers and elders assembled with the High Priest to try and figure out what they were going to do.  They had arrested Peter and John, but what could they say to them because the man that everyone knew who had been lame now was healed?  When they asked Peter and John by what authority they did this, the boldness of the apostles in the presence of powerful leadership is remarkable.  Acts 4:8-11.  “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead – by Him this man is standing before you well.  This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.  And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.’’ The response from the leaders of Israel was exciting to hear.  They saw how bold Peter and John were, and that they were uneducated men.  The only response they had was that of astonishment.  They could not respond to what had happened.  The only thing they could do was to threaten Peter and John not to talk about Jesus anymore.  But the response of Peter and John to their threats is what I want us to remember.  Acts 4:19-20 says, “But Peter and John answered them, ‘whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.’”  They were going to tell the truth about what God had done no matter what the cost!  

I would guess that you have had situations where you were not exactly sure in what way to respond to someone who called into question your faith.  I am confident that this will become more and more common in the days to come.  And when we share, as Peter did, that there is only one way to receive salvation from God, and that is through Jesus Christ, you will most likely be labeled and called names.  And with the direction things are going, the ramifications will become much worse.  I hope your response is the same as that of the apostles where they thanked God and asked for more boldness. 

So what can we do to be ready for these inevitable encounters?  First, we need to know that Bible so well that we can recall and read verses that share Biblical truth.  Second, we can think through beforehand what we would share with a person who questions our faith.  Third, we need to share our own story of how God has revealed Himself to us, and what we have “seen and heard.”  Many people will listen to you if you tell them your story.  After all, what the apostles were doing was sharing their personal experiences.  And be sure to remember what we are commanded in I Peter 3:15, “But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.”  Look at the attitude with which we are to have in these encounters.  We are to gently and respectfully reason with others.  I have never heard of anyone who has come to faith in Christ through losing an argument.  

So there you have it: the mission where God calls us to share His truth with others.  We are to be Bold with Gentleness and Respect.  Take the time to prepare for those encounters God will bring your way.