Christians Are Being Outargued

We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
–2 Corinthians 5:20

Christians in America are losing the battle about the exclusivity of Christ because, frankly, we are being outargued by the world on this issue.

Sometimes people wonder why I spend time and effort in the secular media. I think about an associate of the late Jerry Falwell who once told me this story. He said one time he was with Dr. Falwell, who always gave interviews in the secular media, and this interview had been a particularly tough one. After the interview Dr. Falwell got in the car with this associate, and they drove back to the church. The associate said, “Dr. Falwell, why do you subject yourself to that? Why do you let people beat up on you in the media like that?” Jerry smiled and said, “Just think about it: I got four minutes to share biblical truth with millions of people, and it didn’t cost us a cent to do it. Now isn’t that good? Isn’t that wise?” You’d have to be an imbecile not to take advantage of those opportunities to share God’s truth.

We’ve got to present God’s truth because, quite frankly, the Christian message is being distorted by the media today. For example, the issue of the sanctity of life has been turned into a war on women’s health. Or the conviction that marriage should be between one man and one woman has been twisted into some kind of hatred toward homosexuals. The belief in religious freedom of expression has been perverted into the oppression of other religions. The good news that Christ has offered a way of forgiveness to everybody who believes in Him has been twisted into a message of intolerance and condemnation of sincere followers of other faiths. We have to be willing to argue God’s point of view in the public square, but to do that we also have to be equipped to do so.

Think about the apostle Paul. When he went to Mars Hill to engage in the public arena, he came armed not just with Scripture but also with compelling reasoning and logic and vivid illustrations to undergird those logical points. And I believe we are going to have to do the same if we are going to win this argument in the public square. In 2 Corinthians 5:20, Paul said, “We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” God left you and me here for one reason: we are ambassadors for Christ. We are God’s mouthpieces in this world. You are the final link between God and a long chain of events to voice the gospel message to another person. And that’s why God has left us here: to be able to share that message. We are God’s representatives here on earth.

Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Christianity’s Most Offensive Belief” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2019.

Scripture quotations are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.