“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.” ~I Peter 3:15
My youngest son had an interesting week. It started out with an invitation from one of his friends to attend church with him and ended five days later with a white flag of surrender being waved (by his friend).
My son politely declined the invitation stating that there were some doctrines taught that he did not believe were in agreement with the scriptures. When his friend asked him for an example, it launched a conversation via texts and phone calls that lasted for the next five days. My son was careful not to give opinions or ever base his responses on what his preacher (who happens to also be his dad) said or any person said, but rather, he only gave scriptures as a response. After the first day, my son’s friend confessed that he did not know his Bible all that well and then proceeded to put his mother on the phone to talk to my son! I was proud that he politely but firmly continued the debate with her, standing fast to what the word of God said.
My son’s friend (and his mother) tried in vain to convince my son of the error of his ways, but they were only using the words of their preacher or two or three isolated verses from the Bible as the basis of their whole argument. My son told his friend at the end of the week that he had only used the Bible to defend his faith and he hoped that his friend would study the scriptures with an open mind to learn more about God’s word and His will. His friend did admit that he needed to read and study more and they remained friends through it all.
At times, my son was frustrated through this because he could see so clearly what the Bible teaches and he wanted so badly for his friend to see it too. I understood his frustration but reminded him that our job is to plant the seed. We are to present (and defend) the truth; it is up to the one being taught if they will accept or reject that truth.
I was very proud of my son as I saw the effects of this week on him:
- He was diligently searching the scriptures each day looking for answers and shoring up his defenses.
- He started a notebook with all of the scriptures he was finding on the particular subject in question to have for future reference when another evangelistic opportunity presented itself.
- His prayer life increased. He knew he was in spiritual warfare and he needed the help and strength of the Lord through this.
- His confidence grew with each conversation. He never stammered around or was caught off guard. He knew the scriptures and used his sword well!
- Best of all, he came to me with shining eyes and a huge smile after it all and told me that all of that study and defending had served another purpose – to reinforce and shore up his own faith and salvation. He said it was stronger than ever. Thanks be to God!
Our kids are going to be confronted by friends that have different beliefs and/or teachers or others who will put on a full frontal attack on their faith. Will they be able to give an answer? Are they properly equipped to defend the faith? Bottom line – do they know the scriptures? If they are on shaky ground and not firmly established in the truth, it won’t take much for seeds of doubt to be planted in their hearts.
How do we prepare our kids to defend the faith? Teaching, teaching, teaching. They do not learn the truth of God’s Word and have a strong faith of their own through osmosis. It takes hands-on teaching, treasuring up God’s word in their hearts, reading and diligent study, daily application, and prayer. When they are young and as they grow, do “sword drills” at home, teaching them to know their books of the Bible and be able to quickly and accurately locate a verse. Practice memorizing scripture together as much as possible. As they grow older and learn more of God’s Word and how to handle it rightly, do role-playing with them to give them a chance to see how they would respond in different situations. Be the college professor who doesn’t believe in God and confront your “student”. Be the friend who questions him about a doctrine he believes in and let your child defend his beliefs (with scripture!). Be a peer who mocks him for going to church or trying to be a Christian. Give your children different scenarios and purposely be hard on them. Try to think of how others might question or accuse them to prepare them to be able to respond properly. Encourage them to answer with actual scripture and not, “Well, I think,” or “I believe,” or “My preacher said…” Teach them to let the Word of God speak for itself. Instruct them to be firm and confident in the truth of God’s Word but to try to respond in a calm, loving manner, never losing their temper and responding improperly in anger. Above all, remind them that their God-given role is a seed-planter.
I might add that we as parents need to demonstrate proficiency in knowing the scriptures and being able to teach it and defend it to others if we are going to pass the ability on to our children. Let’s all get busy in diligent study of the living Word and “always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you”.