Bowling Green Covenant Church

The Traveler’s Advisory

Friday 25 August 2006

“Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.” — 1 Peter 2.12 [NIV]

Recently, Christianity Today asked the following question of subscribers to its Internet newsletter: How do you most often respond when friends voice their skepticism of Christianity? Of the choices offered, the majority (36%) of those who responded selected, “I answer each challenge point by point.” Second place (28%) went to, “I try to win them through my actions.”

Sometimes you cannot answer each challenge point by point. You may not have the time, the knowledge or the skills needed to enter that debate. Sometimes the best way to respond to people who voice their skepticism of Christianity is to win them through your actions. That is Peter’s counsel in the verse quoted above.

However, the concept of winning over skeptics through our actions is not original to Peter. Like any preacher he borrowed his idea from another, more skilled preacher, but not just any preacher. Peter borrowed his idea from Jesus. In Matthew 5.16, Jesus said, “So let your light shine before others, so that they may see you good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

What Jesus taught to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Peter and they passed on to us: God receives glory when His people act like Jesus. When words are lacking we can always resort to what we do as a means of telling people about Jesus. When we practice what Jesus preaches we can change the way people think. If we can change the way people think we can change the way they live. If we can change the way they live we can change our culture. But it starts by God’s people behaving like God’s people—behaving like Jesus. God is glorified when we try our best to win people to Christ through our actions.

We are called to practice an unchanging truth in a twenty-minute world. We do this by living according to values rooted and grounded in the unchanging, eternal character of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. It is not as though people who do not know Jesus lack values. They do. The problem is this: the values of people who do not know Jesus are not based on the absolute and unchanging foundation of Truth.

And what is Truth?

The Bible teaches that Truth is a Person—the Lord Jesus Christ. In John 14.6, Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” The definite article is in italics since by its use Jesus defines Himself as the ONLY way and the ONLY truth and the ONLY life. He is not a way and a truth and a life. He is THE way and THE truth and THE life. More importantly, since Hebrews 13.8 tells us “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, yes and forever,” it is possible to say that since Jesus never changes then we can say the truth never changes. And the truth is no one comes to the Father except through Jesus. People will come to the Father when His people behave like His Son. God is glorified when His people practice what Jesus preaches as they try to win people to Christ through their actions.

Even people who do not follow Jesus value the truth. And they value people who tell the truth and practice the truth. They value people who treat others with honor, respect, mercy and grace. They notice husbands who love their wives the way Christ loved the church. They notice wives who respect their husbands by submitting to them as the church submits to Christ. They notice children who obey their parents and parents who do not exasperate their children. They notice employers who treat their employees with dignity. They notice workers who show respect for their boss as well as their co-workers.

The truth is pagans like it when we treat them with respect. They like it when we behave like Jesus. They may not understand it, but they like it.

And if they do not?

Ignore them and keep on behaving like Jesus because God receives glory when His people behave like His Son.

You think about that.

MM