THE PREPAREDNESS OF THE SOUL WINNER

Philemon 1:6; I Pet 3:15-16

Do you really appreciate the eternal life that you have received in Jesus Christ? Now, I am not just talking about the life you would spend in heaven after you die. There is no question that it is important. But, I also want you to consider the blessedness of the life you have today because of the fact that you have Jesus Christ, the Son of God living in you. For example, the sense of confidence that you and I have as believers that no matter what the circumstances of our lives would be, we know He is always there to help and sustain us. Another one is the prospect of a great future. Do you believe that even when you are going through some very challenging times today, God is preparing you for a much better future especially when you are doing your best to live a faithful life? How about the assurance that God is just a prayer away? Whenever you need wisdom or power so you can cope with all the pressures of life, you know you can have it because you are a child of God.

All of these are just few of the great blessings we have received when we responded to receive Jesus Christ as Savior. Have you ever realized that there is a connection between sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the appreciation of all the good things you have received in Christ? This is the conviction expressed by the apostle Paul when he wrote a prominent member of the Colossian church, Philemon. If you have read this book, which is just one chapter, you would feel the love and concern of Paul to Philemon. And because of this relationship, Paul wants him to actively share the Gospel because through this he would have a better understanding of all the good things he has experienced in Christ.

Being the pastor of BCI, this is where I am also coming from. Throughout this month, you have been challenged to share Jesus to others without being embarrassed or afraid about it. Let me reiterate the truth that this is also for your own personal benefit. You will have a better appreciation of every good thing you have received in Christ if you actively share Christ.

Of course, to commit yourself to actively share the Gospel, you must be prepared to share every time God gives you the opportunity. We must all be fully sensitive and cooperative with the promptings of the Holy Spirit. The apostle Peter is encouraging all of us to be prepared. He anticipates the fact that God in His providence would bring certain individuals to us who would be curious about the hope we possessed in Christ. What I really find interesting about the text is Peter saying, he or she would be the one to ask us. Can you imagine how obvious it is that this is an extraordinary occasion? You and I should know that in moments like this, God is involved. Well, the Bible makes it clear that man's natural tendency is to move away from God:

Thus, once someone asked about your faith or the hope you have in Christ, you must recognize that it is a rare opportunity. You cannot let it pass. You must act faithfully on it by sharing Jesus with a sense of confidence that you have the Holy Spirit working with you. We do not know when God would give us the opportunity, so we must always be prepared to win souls for Jesus. How can we become more prepared for the task of soul winning? Peter highlights three areas that we need to prepare:

I     OUR DEVOTION TO CHRIST: (v.15a)

When Peter wrote his epistle, one of his apparent purposes was to encourage believers in the midst of their severe persecutions. Almost in every chapter, he consistently reminded them how blessed they were for their sufferings. His words sounded like these:

In the midst of all their difficulties, fear was not the appropriate response because that's exactly what Satan wants to see. He will do everything to keep believers from sharing Jesus. Instead of fear, Peter wants all believers to be more devoted to Jesus by acknowledging His Lordship. This is what Peter meant when he said, "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord."

In the Scriptures, to set apart literally suggests to separate for sacred use. Since, it is Christ we need to separate in our hearts. This means that we need to separate Christ from others in our hearts by magnifying Him as our Lord and Master. How is this related to the context?

If Christ is the Lord of your life, then you will faithfully obey His will in order to magnify Him. Speaking of His will, I believe it is important for all of us to recognize that many times suffering for Christ is part of it. Peter explicitly talked about this truth:

The Bible never hides the fact that if you do your best to live for Christ, sufferings will surely come your way. This should no longer be a surprise for us. However, God promises great blessings when you do suffer for Him. Just like in the example of Jesus Christ, the cross is always followed by a crown. So, keep magnifying Christ in your life even if this would mean suffering for Him. Be prepared to suffer as a soul winner.

II    OUR DEFENSE OF CHRIST (v.15b)

Another area where you also need to prepare is to be able to answer the questions or accusation thrown to us because of our faith in Christ.

When Peter said, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have," the phrase to give an answer comes from the word where we get the word apologetics, which literally suggests a defense of the faith. Why is there a need for this?

You see, apologetics is not about non-Christians asking questions so they can understand our beliefs about Christ. Meaning, they just need additional information. Apologetics applies when non-Christians perceive our beliefs are wrong, so we defend our beliefs, so they will be convinced that they are true. A great theologian, R.C. Sproul explains this need in his book, Reason to Believe.

"The Christian faith has never been without its critics. Criticisms from every source have been leveled against Christianity since its inception. It is remarkable that after experiencing almost 2,000 years of such criticism the Christian faith continues to thrive as a viable life and world view. Philosophies and alternative religious systems that have sought to supplant Christianity have come and gone. Current philosophical "isms" tend to have a very short life span. Yet classic objections to Christianity continue to be raised. Some of the objections are raised in a spirit of prejudice and hostility. Others are raised out of a genuine attempt to resolve very perplexing issues and mysteries."

Do you consider yourself capable of defending your faith? We must all be diligent students of the Word so we can do this effectively. Knowing how to respond accurately will give us a lot of confidence when we share the Gospel to others. This was Paul's encouragement to Timothy, his young disciple:

One aspect of apologetics that Peter did not fail to mention was the kind of attitude we need to maintain when we are defending our faith - "But do this with gentleness and respect."

I believe Peter anticipates that there will be times people who would ask questions would do it in an insulting manner or in a hostile way. We should be careful that we respond in a gentle and respectful way. Our being right in our belief does not justify rudeness or disrespect. Rather, we should do our best to be tender and gracious in our speaking. Once again Christ exemplifies this truth:

We should never forget our main objective - it is not to win an argument, but to win people to Jesus Christ. If we don't watch our attitudes, we can give the non-Christians a much greater reason to reject our faith in Christ.

III   OUR DEMONTRATION OF CHRIST: (vs. 16)

As we reach this final verse in our passage for today, you will find Peter moving from the specific to general. Let me explain. You see, for the last part of verse 15, he wants believers to watch how they respond to the people who are accusing them of being wrong because that can damage their sharing of Jesus Christ. In verse 16, Peter moves to talking about your life as a whole, whether or not you are living in clear conscience.

When can we say that we are living in clear conscience? God in His wisdom has place a witness within us called conscience. This conscience either accuses or excuses a person, acting as a source of conviction or affirmation. A clear conscience means you are living your life in such a way that your conscience does not accuse you of doing anything wrong.

The significant truth behind this is the need to live consistently before people who are opposed to our beliefs. Christians who suffer unjustly and still maintain a consistent life is the best defense to the Christian faith. They are the ones who can put the enemies of Christ to shame. But at the same time, there is the potential of seeing them coming to know Jesus. Peter also said:

Obviously, our soul-winning is not only by actively sharing Jesus verbally, we also share Jesus by sharing visibly. In other words, we need to demonstrate to them the life of Jesus. This is the right balance.

I often hear people talk about witnessing by their lives - how they try to live good lives to be good testimonies for Jesus. That's good! But, if you are not sharing verbally, that's incomplete. Peter had it right. Let's actively share verbally, and reinforce our message visibly. Share by lips and by life.

Are you actively involved in sharing Jesus to others? If you want to do a better job on it, you have to be prepared in your devotion, defense, and demonstration. I love Peter as a Biblical character because we can all identify with him. At one time, he openly denied Jesus, but he later recognized his mistake and begun doing his best in proclaiming Christ. Later in his life, he would be recognized as one of the best soul-winners for the Lord. It's never too late for anyone of us. We can still make the adjustments so we too can be greater soul-winners for the Lord.