This weekend we are serving as the venue for a conference on apologetics entitled “Our Reasonable Faith.” The timeliness of this conference cannot be overstated, as we face increasing attacks on “the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). Invariably, the common theme is that Christianity is unreasonable. God created the universe just be speaking it into existence? Unreasonable! God spoke through a burning bush and parted the Red Sea? Unreasonable! Jesus was born of a virgin? Unreasonable! Jesus rose from the grave after being dead for three days? Unreasonable! God established a moral law that He expects us to live by? Unreasonable!
It doesn’t seem to matter what truth of Scripture we want to proclaim, there is a growing voice of opposition that decries us as being unreasonable. We are unreasonable in our belief in the inerrancy of Scripture; we are unreasonable in our firm, but (truly) loving stands for God’s truth; we are unreasonable in our denial of ourselves in order to serve our Lord. Such beliefs and actions could not be more different from the motivations and pursuits that this world elevates and promotes. We do not need to study history very deeply in order to discover that the ways this world finds appealing have not really changed over the millennia since Adam and Eve were exiled from the Garden (our recent study of Church history on Wednesday evenings has shown this to be true!). What’s more, we can easily see that the ultimate results of those ways has been exactly the same, regardless of era, place, or people: death.
When the truth about life in this fallen world is pointed out, that truth is suppressed – even though it is known (cf. Rom. 1:18) – because to admit the truth puts us in the position of having to both acknowledge God as well as His law. For those who are intent on pursuing unrighteousness (and that includes all who are not in Christ), there is no desire to hear the truth. Suppressing the truth, by whatever means possible, allows the person to continue ignoring the conscience they have been given by God so that they may continue satisfying their sinful desires. One of the ways this kind of suppression occurs is by attempting to undermine the truth of the faith (often by trying to attack its reasonableness).
Of course, this strategy is nothing new; it’s the same one that the enemy, Satan, has been utilizing from the very beginning. His temptation of Eve in the Garden strikes at the very heart of whether God’s truth is reasonable, and we have been falling for that same temptation ever since. That is why Peter, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, would write in 1 Pet. 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.” Conferences such as the one we are hosting this weekend provide you with tools and skills with which you can fulfill this command of Scripture. God has gifted some of us to be able to teach and train others how to better defend the faith that has been handed down to us by that “great cloud of witnesses” (Heb. 12:1) who have gone before us.
If you were not able to make it to the “Our Reasonable Faith” conference, don’t fret – we will be recording each session and making it available through our state convention’s website (www.bscm.org) in the coming weeks. I encourage you to take some time to watch (or rewatch!) these sessions and equip yourself for the battle that is raging around us. Remember – our battle is not against flesh and blood (Eph. 6:12), so our weapons and tactics must not be of the flesh (2 Cor. 10:3-6). Learning how to engage with the lost, showing them our reasonable faith, is one of the ways the Lord works through us so that the Gospel might be proclaimed and the lost are drawn to Him. Just something to think about…
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