Declare and Defend (5)

“Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’” Deuteronomy 4.6

Then the LORD answered me and said:
“Write the vision
And make it plain on tablets,
That he may run who reads it.” Habakkuk 2.2

A wide door or opportunity
The day of salvation has come! Now is the favorable time for making known the Good News of God’s Kingdom and the righteousness, peace, and joy it brings to everyone who enters it. Atheism, materialism, postmodernism – all these wrong-believing worldviews are exhausted, and have nothing left to offer a disillusioned world. God calls all those who believe in Jesus Christ to take up the challenge of breaking the “spiral of silence” and making the case for the Christian worldview.

God alone is true, and our calling is to herald His truth to those who are trapped in the lies of wrong belief.

As we have seen, this must begin in our everyday conversations at home, in the community, at work, and wherever we gather with others. We must not allow ourselves to become trapped in the spiral of silence, but must be always ready to share Jesus and give a reason for the hope that is within us to everyone we can.

A second means by which we must make our case for the Kingdom is by publishing the Christian worldview through every available means. Habakkuk had to carve the message into stone tablets. Publishing the Good News of Jesus is much easier for us today.

This does not require that we all become authors of best-selling books. That’s simply not going to happen. But never has such a wide door of opportunity been available to affect the thinking of so many people by sharing the written word (1 Cor. 16.8, 9). Through local media, the Internet, and social networking, we may expect to influence many for the Kingdom of God whom we will never be able to talk with face to face. We must be determined to make the most of the publishing opportunities available to us day by day.

No shortage of media
Here is a second area where every Christian can play an active role in making the case for the Christian worldview. In our day there is no shortage of media through which we can employ the written word to challenge wrong-believing mindsets and propose our Christian alternative. Local newspapers still receive occasional op/ed pieces as well as letters to the editor. Even national journals of opinion will publish letters that are concise, considerate, and well-written. There is plenty of help to be found on the Internet concerning how to craft an effective op/ed piece or letter to the editor.

By engaging local papers and other journals and periodicals, we can help to make the case for a Christian worldview, if only with those who screen such missives.

You can also share good books with people, even offering to read and discuss them together. Many good and accessible books are available that can help people consider the truth of Jesus in fresh and helpful ways. They’re not likely to buy them, but they just might read one if you give it to them and read it with them.

But by far the greatest medium through which believers can make the case for the Kingdom of God is the Internet. Websites abound where Kingdom citizens can comment on contemporary issues, moral concerns, matters of belief, and ethics. Opportunities can be easily found for becoming involved in blogging conversations in which we may set forth our Scriptural views. Even text-messaging can be a resource for making the Good News known. Our daughter, Kristy, sends out regular Bible studies she has prepared for family and friends via texting.

Moreover, many websites exist in which questions of public policy and similar concerns are given thoughtful consideration by Christian thinkers. Articles from these websites relating to public policy matters can be downloaded and copied or simply linked and emailed to friends. We should always make sure to follow-up on any emailed articles, or articles copied and distributed, with a view to engaging in conversation over the issue examined.

Believers should not be reluctant to post their own thoughts about Jesus and His Kingdom—on their own websites, through email, or for discussion in small groups—and thus to encourage conversation that can affect what people believe and how they live. Not long ago a pastor posted an excerpt from one of our teaching letters to his social media account, and encouraged his “friends” to check our the website for our ministry. Over the space of two hours more than 1,000 people came to our website, and most of them subscribed to one or more of our teaching letters.

Don’t underestimate the influence you can have through various forms of personal publishing to help people find their way out of the lies of wrong-belief into the truth that is in Jesus.

It’s up to us
Now is the day of salvation!

No one is going to publish our Christian worldview for us. We are appointed as ambassadors of the Kingdom of God, and, whatever our calling in life, we must represent the interests and agenda of God’s eternal realm, beginning with the Gospel but extending into every aspect of life.

By publishing our thoughts in papers and journals, email, blogging, social networking media, sharing and reading books and other publications, linking to articles and websites, many opportunities are available making our case on behalf of the Kingdom of God.

Where believers are not present in those settings, the spiral of silence rules. So let us determine that here, too, we will challenge the prevailing worldviews and make our case for the Good News of the Kingdom of God.

For reflection or discussion
1. How many different publishing outlets are available to you today?

2. What is one compelling message about Jesus and His Kingdom you’d like to share with someone today?

3. Which of the many media available to you will you use to get that word out?

Next steps – Demonstration: Try to make daily sharing via email, texting, or sharing written resources part of your daily work in your Personal Mission Field.

T. M. Moore

You can download this and all the studies in this series, “Let God Be True,” by clicking here. For a series of discussions on improving your conversational skills, begin here in our Personal Mission Field Workshop to learn the art of Christian conversation.

Visit our bookstore (click here) to discover the many free resources available for you to use in growing your faith and encouraging others. Start using these resources to work your Personal Mission Field.

Please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. We ask the Lord to move and enable many more of our readers to provide for the needs of our ministry. Please seek Him in prayer concerning your part in supporting our work. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 103 Reynolds Lane, West Grove, PA 19390.