Bold Conversations Series – Why have an answer?

Today we are going to look at how we can take our faith outward and share with those around us.  We are going to look at a couple of different approaches.  The first is called the Roman Road Method, and the second is called the Four Spiritual Laws approach.  We will look at those approaches next week, but this week we will look at why we are to reach out to those around us.

In Jesus there is life, and without him, there is no life.  So as we live day to day, we must express that truth.  We cannot ignore that without Jesus people can be “fine”.

When the disciples went to the mountain to meet with the risen Jesus, some worshiped and some doubted.  These were the closest people to Jesus and some doubted.  Do you ever have doubts?  Sure, but Jesus will answer your doubts.

Jesus declares to them that all authority has been given to him.  And what are we to do in the worship of that endowed authority by God the Father?  Jesus commands that we make disciples of all nations.  There is really only one command that is given in the Gospels.  That is to make disciples.  Here it appears that “go and…” seems like a command, but it is a participle that means to make disciples as you go.  Wherever you are, wherever you are going, you are to make disciples.

The next participle that we find is to “baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”  This literally means to get them wet, so that is why we use water in our baptisms.

The finally the command is to teach others to obey everything Jesus has commanded of his followers.  Jesus has promised to us that he is always with us, to the end of the age.

There are lots of fears that keep us from sharing our faith.  Fear of rejection, fear of losing something, or fear of being wrong.  But we will start to look at how we can prepare ourselves so that fear will not take over in moments of sharing.

Peter gives us a great call-to-action in sharing our faith with those around us.  It begins within us.  We are to prepare ourselves first.  And as we share, we are to share with gentleness and respect.  We also need to keep a clear conscience.  We need to keep our relationship with God clear and our actions consistent with God’s principles.  This means that when others come against you maliciously, it will rebound right back to them and, instead of bringing you down, they will instead work against them.

So as we continue with this new series, we will focus on how we prepare ourselves to share with others.  First and foremost, we need to say, “Yes, this is true of me!”  Then we will be ready to give an answer, an apologetic, to those around us and in a fallen world.