We are commanded by Jesus to “make disciples” and also to “teach them” in the passage known as the Great Commission — Matthew 28:19-20. This means everyone who believes in Jesus should share that belief: We should proselytize, or evangelize.

What, then, do we make of these two following passages?

Luke 21:14-15 — Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.

1 Peter 3:14-15 — But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them nor be troubled, but in your hearts regard 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.

Are we to be prepared, or not?

Is it possible for both of these statements to be true? If so, then it seems we should find a balance. A careful reading will show that these two statements are not contradictory. Both passages are in the context of being persecuted for our beliefs. The passage in 1 Peter tells us to make a defense to anyone who asks for a reason for our hope while the passage in Luke deals with general persecution and criticism. It seems to me that we can decide ahead of time that whenever anyone asks us for the reason for our hope, we can have the answer, “Jesus,” ready. But when we are criticized or persecuted for our beliefs we can rest on God to provide us an answer at that time.

I have been afforded a great opportunity in having cancer to share my beliefs. Everyone I meet who discovers I have cancer is instantly ready to listen to whatever I say. So are the hundreds of other people who communicate with me through Twitter, Facebook and my blog. The cool thing is that since I have cancer, there is less debating and more recognition than there was before. People do not pick fights with me as much anymore — they just listen. So when someone asks me about my hope, I can easily say the answer I have prepared in my heart weeks ago: “Jesus is my hope.” But when I do get into a situation of persecution or criticism for my beliefs, I find it is best to walk in leaning completely on God to provide the rebuttal needed, if any.

Tags: 1 peter, Cancer, evangelization, luke, matthew

This entry was posted by zac on Sunday, June 14th, 2009 at 6:14 pm and is filed under Cancer, Weekly Jib Jab. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.