We live in a culture where we are pushed to make our faith something we are quiet about; we are told we live in a pluralistic society, and we are told we should be quiet, and not upset the applecart of our insane market-driven world. And yet, we are also told, “ So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”[1]

I understand the tendency to be quiet, after some difficult times that have been discussed here, my usual boldness as a Christian was somewhat tempered by the circumstances of my times for a while. I understand the desire to be a mouse, and forget that we represent the lion of Judah. We feel we are the paupers, when we truly are the children of the King who owns the cattle on a thousand hills.

It is true that as Christians, we must be as wise as serpents, while we are to be as harmless as doves. And yet, perhaps we are too silent, too cowed, to ready to assume we have been beaten, when we really find that we are merely hindered. We let the world tell us how to define success, forgetting that by its standards Jeremiah was wholly unsuccessful in his lifetime, and should have quit, yet he knew the Word to be a raging inferno that he could not prevent himself from spreading.

We live in a culture that is dying, self-destructing and more importantly, our friends and coworkers face a Christless eternity, who know only a Christianity that has the form of godliness, but denies the power thereof. Who but us can warn them of the wrath to come, and if not us, how can they avoid the day of wrath? And if they choose the abyss, is it no fair that they do so being warned of His judgments?

Our silence in part is related to the changing climate in which we minister. Christianity is under fire. It is true that our culture needs a spiritual awakening, and it is equally true that we cannot cause such an awakening through argumentation. And yet, despite all this, it is time to let the Lion of Judah’s roar be heard.

Apologetics can help in this endeavor; being prepared to answer the questions of the world is to simply seek to make oneself available to God in answering the legitimate questions that people have. As a side benefit, one finds that the boldness that had previously been misplaced. You begin to realize that while there are real questions people have about the faith, there are good answers to those questions, and it enhances your faith. This is one of the side effects of debating atheists on facebook (since this is the ministry I seem to have right now); one might think such encounters would plant the seeds of doubt in my heart, but in all honesty, they fan the flames of faith. In short, Apologetics might be something to encourage Christians to remember to roar.

[1]Matthew 10:32-33.