Is Love our Most Convincing Proof?

Is Love our Most Convincing Proof?

Posted on by confidentchristianity@gmail.com

To make a good argument, it is vital to have true premises and valid logic. However, a good argument is not all there is to the Gospel message. There is also the evidence of love. Day-to-day the people around us (or in our social media circles) are watching us to see if we demonstrate an attitude of love and concern for others. Francis Schaeffer coined a phrase concerning the powerful testimony of our love for one another: “the final apologetic.” It is an approach that will always be relevant.

The latest Outreach Magazine volume focuses on evangelism and apologetics.  In my article, “Why ‘The Final Apologetic’ Still Matters,” I discuss the power of a two-fold approach to apologetics: strong arguments paired with demonstrative love. I also include why we cannot treat people as a “Jesus project,” as well as a caution to Christians who publicly criticize other Christians in a way that violates the teaching of the Scriptures they are attempting to defend.

From Outreach Magazine’s site, “In this issue, Ravi Zacharias echoes the words of the apostle Peter, urging us to offer answers in the power of gentleness and respect. Ed Stetzer
notes that Christians seem to really love evangelism—as long as someone
else is doing it. He states it plainly: ‘Stop talking yourself out of
evangelism.’ InterVarsity’s James Choung reminds us that the gospel implies words. ‘Actions aren’t enough. Actions don’t interpret themselves.’ Apologist Mary Jo Sharp
calls to mind what Francis Schaeffer called ‘The Final
Apologetic’—ultimately how we live and how we love underscores our
message or erases its impact. There’s a lot here to provoke thought and, by God’s grace, action.”

To get the issue click here.

Christians, Politics, and the Big Questions

Christians, Politics, and the Big Questions

Posted on by confidentchristianity@gmail.com

Earlier this week, Ed Stetzer, President of LifeWay Research, posted the following tweet:

“Statistically, the unchurched lean heavily Democrat. So—and I know it’s just me talking crazy now—if you want to reach the unchurched, maybe constant Facebook/Twitter posts about how stupid Democrats are might be a bad idea.”

The tweet ignited conversation amongst Christians on social media: re-posting, commenting, approving, and disapproving. I didn’t re-post the tweet, but after reading his article expounding on the reasoning behind the tweet, I decided to make a few comments about Christianity and politics.


You can read Stetzer’s article here.

First, it is easy to talk politics on a basic level. Rallying around a party because it’s your party doesn’t take much consideration or thoughtfulness. Christians who constantly post on social media with an “us versus them” mentality may unwittingly convey that they don’t think through the issues at any level of depth. Being that we are followers of the greatest thinker who ever lived, Jesus Christ, this can lead to a misrepresentation of our Lord.


Jesus didn’t rally around a party. He saw all people as God’s creation and was broken hearted over the evil that was rampant amongst them. He lived in a time that was also politically charged—we are not special to that circumstance—yet he did not spend much time arguing the policies and practices. Jesus went deeper. He did what J. Gresham Machen described as “destroy the obstacle at its root,” (referencing 2 Cor 10:5). He addressed the sin in mankind, which is the root of the problems we face. [2]


Second, as Stetzer points out, these might be the people we are trying to reach with the Gospel.  I’m not saying that one political party represents lost people while the other does not. This would be a superficial understanding of mankind. However, if people in one party are statistically higher in labeling themselves as unbelievers, then it makes no sense to constantly attack them, when we are commanded to preach the good news to them (Mark 16:15).[1]  Take a quick inventory: What good news have you offered today to those who do not believe in God?

Third, when Jesus so thoughtfully answered the Pharisees, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s, ” he didn’t just avoid their political and legalistic entrapment, he also taught us an impacting truth about who we are in God. What did Jesus teach we should give to God? He said we should render to God, “the things that are God’s.” What do we have that belongs to God? The entirety of our lives belong to God (1 Cor. 10:31)! There is no compartmentalization of our lives into the party-politics-trash-talking room and evangelism-good-news-preaching room. This is a definite mistake.


The Christian should see the world through the lens of the teaching of God. Christ said that those who hold to his teachings will know the truth and the truth will set them free (John 8:32). To what freedom was Jesus referring? It is freedom from the slavery to sin (John 8:34-36), which conversely is the freedom to do what is good. Christians do not have to engage in politics like those who have no freedom from sin. We should engage the issues at hand thoughtfully, as would our Lord, recognizing the root of the problem, sin, is in the heart of every man. So we should be wise in how we approach the political realm, recognizing that politics are a huge platform for broadcasting messages of any kind; including the message of true freedom for all mankind.

We should also recognize that politics provide us with a great opportunity to discuss the most important questions of life: What is good? What is a human? What is justice? How should I live? How do we ground human rights? Every time a person discusses politics they are assuming the answer to a deep philosophical question, namely, “what is good.” People do not argue for their political view because they think it is evil and will do harm to mankind. They argue for what they think is good for mankind (or at least for themselves). This opens up a wide door to discuss how that person is grounding their view of good. You can ask, “How do you know what is good?” For a Christian, that goodness is rooted in the essential nature of God.  Now you have a conversation on a fundamental understanding of the Christian view of God. This is how politics can play a role in helping to spread the Gospel: politics can help uncover the grounding for an individual’s beliefs (and whether or not they have any grounding).


Christians, grasp the opportunity you’ve been given in this country with freedom of speech to use your words to “destroy the obstacle at its root.” We shouldn’t be silent with regards to political issues, but we should recognize the unique opportunity given by the political realm to speak life to mankind, as much as possible. Remember, we are all experiencing the pain and suffering that comes as a consequence of evil. We have the choice to participate in sin, furthering death and destruction, or we can speak words of truth and light, advancing redemption and restoration.  What is one change you can make in your political involvement to help show others freedom in Christ?

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[1] For Christians who are of any party affiliation.

[2] Machen quote from J. Gresham Machen, “Christianity and Culture,” Princeton Theological Review