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; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.
1 Peter 3:15-16
Simple instructions from the scripture:
1.) Make Christ first above all.
2.) Know what you believe about your salvation in Christ.
3.) Be ready to explain it to those who question you about your life with a measured and respectful answer.
4.) Have a good conscience based in a godly life so people can’t use you as a negative example and are embarrassed when they do.
Christ must have preeminence in all things, but especially our hearts. (Colossians 1:18) He is our head. He is the one who supplies all the life we have. From the foundation of the world into eternity Jesus is the Source and Sustainer of our new life in Him. He was very clear to His disciples that they must maintain their relationship with Him to have any effect in this world or the one too come. He must be sanctified as the Lord (set aside as boss) in our hearts for us to live to the fullest potential available to us.
As a minister of the gospel I diligently search the scripture for truth and seriously consider the way that I communicate it so that those I serve can have a good foundation to build their lives on. Part of the building process is growing in how to share our faith. The beginning is getting a basic grasp on what it is that God has done for us based on the scriptures and our life-experiences filtered through the sound doctrine that we learn. Then we need to practice a good delivery of our testimony that is not only clear in its facts and logic but that is given in thoughtful manner with great respect given to the person that we are sharing with because they too carry the image of God inside of them with the right to have dominion over the sphere He has placed them to serve in.
With Christ as the preeminent person in our hearts we will live a lifestyle that demonstrates godliness. This will give us credibility when we share our testimony. It will also make it difficult for those who are not ready to receive the gospel to criticize us with any validity. As a matter of fact it will make them look foolish. Think about criticizing Billy Graham. It just won’t go anywhere. He has too much integrity. We don’t need to be famous to have integrity in our orb of influence. We need to have a life that speaks clearly of our heart’s priority.
Jesus Is My Lord,
Pastor Jason
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