Nena Arias | April 3, 2023
“But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back,
my soul has no pleasure in him.”
(Hebrews 10:38)
Any army who expects to win has to fight on more than one front to be victorious.
The defense of the Christian faith in its spiritual warfare has always had several fronts that a believer must be aware of at all times and make provision for to be an overcomer. The first and most fierce battle is with self, close second is the battle of defending God’s truth against heresy on all of life’s issues, and the third battle is the external battle with the God-haters who take it out on us. John 15:18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.”
If believers are not careful and diligent on all fronts, they may find themselves fighting against what God wants to accomplish in and through them.
We must know where we stand in relation to God’s Word, so we have it very clear what God’s thoughts, values and principles are and stand firmly on them. This work must be consistently ongoing in us at all times. We must know what we believe and why we believe it. 1 Peter 3:15 say, “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.”
The first one we must be able to explain our faith to is ourselves. This ought not to be from the perspective of what you have been told by others, even if they are considered “qualified” biblical scholars. It must come from your personal study of God’s Word. No one is more qualified to lead us to all of God’s truth like the Holy Spirit. So, ask yourself, what is your relationship with the Holy Spirit? Do you know how he speaks to you? Jesus said to his disciples in John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things.” Anything you learn from others about God’s Word will always come second-hand to you. It should only be to confirm what the Holy Spirit has already been teaching you through your personal study of God’s Word.
The times we are living are presenting more and more aggressiveness toward Bible-believing Christians. So if your personal faith is not solidly rooted and grounded in God’s Word, you will be easily sifted, swayed and even confused. This should be your first defense and offense in your spiritual walk with the Lord.
Secondly, having done your homework in understanding your faith for you, you will then be able to present good solid reasons to others for the purpose of your faith. Also, you will detect heresy that is pretending to pass as God’s truth no matter who is saying it. You must determine then if there is something you can do to set the record straight with the guidance of the Holy Spirit so it will be with gentleness and respect.
Thirdly, all the previous preparation mentioned will adequately equip you to present the reason and foundation for your faith to the God-haters along with a living example of your personal testimony of how you are living what you believe with undeniable proof of your godliness. Your personal testimony is the most undeniable proof that faith in the God of the Bible works so you can then present the offensive side of your faith where you go and wherever you want to make the difference. The people to whom the early disciples preached to may not have been able to understand all that they were saying, but they could not deny that they had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13 “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.”
The aggressiveness against Christians in America is probably only going to get worse and far from being intimidated we must go on the offense and boldly proclaim and live the truth of our God regardless of the price. That’s right! All Christians everywhere have always had to pay a high price for the defense of their faith. We can do no less. Here in America, generally speaking, we have been far too comfortable and even complacent because heavy persecution was not something we associated with in our country. But all that is changing. America has changed and we must not be compromised or half-baked in our faith, otherwise, the Lord will not delight in us.
“But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back,
my soul has no pleasure in him.”
(Hebrews 10:38)