In this thought-provoking episode of The Crawford Stand, we delve deep into the heart of what it means to live out one’s faith boldly in a secular world. With insights from Don Crawford, we explore the challenges faced by Christians when their beliefs are confronted by radical secularism. Does your Christian identity stand up when you are faced with the tough questions? Are you able to express your faith confidently without fear of rejection or ridicule?
The Crawford Stand with the president of Crawford Media Group, Don Crawford.
SPEAKER 01 :
Christians believe they should share biblical solutions to America’s cultural issues. That’s a good thing. And rightly so, for our Lord told us as true believers to go into all the world and preach the gospel. Preach it. Jesus of Nazareth went even further. He said, when you do so, when I give you this opportunity to testify, I will give you the words. I will give you the words. When he said there is that God-given opportunity to profess your faith, don’t be afraid, don’t be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for that saving gospel is the power of God unto salvation, available to all who call upon the name of our Lord. So be bold, be strong, and do not be afraid. But many of us are afraid. We are easily intimidated, especially when confronted by strong, secular, even anti-Christian personalities. Radical secularists know just what questions to ask, what issues to pose, what statements to make, what buttons to push, for in so many ways they are the same over and again. But no matter when so many of us are confronted, we become insecure and defensive, even ashamed to admit the greatest fact in our life, that we have been saved by grace We have been born again. In those ultimate confrontational moments, we soon forget the promise of our Master. I will give you the words. Do you believe that? Do you believe he will do that? That is, of course, if you are a believer, that is a true believer, and you have, in fact, been saved by grace. If you haven’t, all bets are off. But if you have, you can rest assured that your Savior will give you the words. So the question then becomes, what exactly do you believe? Are you a real Christian? A true Christian? A Bible, Jesus Christ believing Christian with a belief from all of your heart? Are you? Or are you an intellectual Christian? You know all about Christianity, and you know all about Jesus, and you have wrestled intellectually, mentally, with Christian propositions, theological propositions. You are probably, therefore, a Christian who can talk the talk, whether or not you walk the walk. Intellectual, philosophic Christianity goes nowhere spiritually. Nowhere, in fact. It’s condemned by the Apostle Paul. Therefore, the words that our Lord would give to that person mean nothing, really, spiritually, that is, and in fact are not even heard. The intellectual Christian is only concerned with using his own words, not the words of the Lord. And there are those who are social Christians. They go to church, they attend Christian functions, socialize with Christian people, and purport to live a Christian life. with little or nothing inside. They can be called cultural Christians, but not born-again Christians. In fact, they really don’t want to be called born-again, save by grace Christians. They are proud to be called denominational Christians. You know, I am a Baptist, and they have Christian trappings. like the Pharisees of old, but inside they are, as Jesus said, like whited sepulchers, empty and devoid of the truth. They can argue well, but they ignore the words of the Lord. It is really easy to identify those who talk the Christian talk, but do not have within them the heart of love which salvation brings. So when it comes to Christian witness, many of us hold back because of the fear of rejection. Avowed secularists think nothing of ridiculing us and our testimony and our faith. And when that happens, we withdraw. We’re intimidated and not wishing to be emotionally hurt. And no witness, no stand for our Lord occurs. They don’t know what we believe. Far too many of we the Christians cannot endure ridicule, ridicule of ourselves or our faith. It’s really tough to take. Nor can we abide rejection. We wish to be accepted, well thought of, a good person. And to keep that image, we cannot be offensive. Even though we are told from the very beginning that the cross is an offense, and the blood of Jesus Christ is an offense, to be a Christian, to witness in any way by word or deed, is to produce word or action which is offensive. It really is to the natural man. The man ready for verbal battle. It seems that only one out of four of true believers can withstand the verbal assault of the secularists. Are you one of them? Or are you one of the three of the four who is easily intimidated? But, true believers, remember these words, the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, who told us the following, Man or woman who will confess me before men him or her will I also confess as my follower, my true believer. I will confess him before my Father in heaven. But he or she who denies me before men, him or her will I also deny before my Father who is in heaven. Quite a choice, is it not? The consequences are brutal. So that the ultimate testimony is that of our Lord before the Father in our behalf. That’s the ultimate. That will only happen if we confess our faith and stand for our Lord and refuse to be intimidated, ridiculed, or rejected by the aggressive anti-Christian. Can you do that? Do you have the spiritual courage to do that? But, you know, it really should not be that difficult to confess our faith. What is difficult, in fact virtually impossible, is when we try to be something we are not, communicate what we really do not understand, or think that we have a burden, a duty, to hit the spiritual verbal home run every time we speak about our Lord. No way! That’s not what God requires. So my fellow Christian, here’s the simple answer. Go back. Go back to that time of conversion when you really, truly became a believer. To that time when you really met Jesus Christ. When you gave your life to Him. Go back to your commitment. Whatever that was. However it occurred. Your commitment. Not somebody else’s. Your commitment. That life-changing event which meant so much to you. No one, no one can understand that more than you. You’re the only one that can. No one. You had that one and only conversion moment. Individual, unique, one of a kind, your very own saving, forgiving encounter with Jesus Christ. Yours and yours alone. You can do that, can’t you? And if you really believe, if it was really worthwhile to you, life-changing, an event, an occurrence, an encounter, which had then and still does now life-changing value, that should be easy. Easy to explain. It’s real to you and that’s all you have to say. And you say it in a grateful, loving way because it changed your life, not somebody else’s. yours and yours alone. Ah, my fellow Christian, there is nothing better than the unique, one and only conversion moment of any one individual. And I say to you, they’re all different. And that, my fellow Christian, is the most powerful Christian witness you could possibly offer. That is the testimony which our Lord will honor. That is real. It’s real. It’s loving. It’s lasting. And there is no anti-Christian non-believer anywhere in the world who can offer an argument against that. Not one. And that’s all you need to say. Nothing more. Nothing more. When you try to say more, that’s when you get in trouble. That’s when you get ridiculed. That’s when you get emotionally involved. And it hurts. You can witness your faith as it has grown and as it occurs in your everyday life. Your faith as it produces the total love of your heart. It is that faith which produces the works, the deeds, you know, by the fruits you shall know them, which clearly display the love of Jesus Christ, which lives within your heart. You don’t need to do or say anything else. Nothing. In fact, you really shouldn’t because then you are discussing something about which you know little or nothing. Someone else’s ideas about conversion or Christianity. Perhaps trying to be more intelligent about your faith than you really are. And it waters down your testimony. There is, for example, no greater testimony against abortion than a father or mother in love with Jesus Christ, testifying of their love for their child, which God has given them, and consequently so happy that that child was never aborted. There’s no greater testimony than that. You know, the world hungers for real Christianity, real Christianity, real experience, not intellectual, not cultural, not social, the real deal. There’s so much hypocrisy and irrelevancy in the church and in our Christian faith today. It’s far better, far more meaningful, more real than anything are the real words and deeds and experiences of a Christian man or woman in love with Jesus Christ. The Apostle John tells us that we will be known, that is, our testimony will be sure, by the love we have for one another, not only for our family and friends, but all humankind, in all of our life’s experiences and associations. There is no greater testimony than that of a life of a loving believer who knows that even well beyond faith itself or the hope which Christianity brings is the love The love of God in Jesus Christ. If you have been born again, you are really and truly in love with Jesus Christ. And that should be your testimony. You don’t need any more than that. You don’t need to say or do anything more. Nothing more. If you never graduated high school, that testimony would be more powerful than any theological treatise. the only real witness you would ever have which is lasting and which is meaningful and again real would be the love and gratitude you profess your way for Jesus Christ and when that opportunity arises don’t do any more than that you don’t need to stand on a street corner and pass out tracks our Lord will lead you when it is time to witness He will show you. He will give you that opportunity. And He will reveal the opportunity. And when He sends you into battle, in word or deed, to represent Him, remember, He will give you the words. He will give you the words.
SPEAKER 02 :
And I wonder if you would jot down just a few words and send them to Mr. Crawford at stand at CrawfordMediaGroup.net. He’d love to hear from you this week. Again, the email address is stand at CrawfordMediaGroup.net. When you write, be sure to tell Mr. Crawford on what station you hear the stand. When you want to review what you hear, go to our website, CrawfordMediaGroup.net. The Crawford Stand is a public affairs presentation of Crawford Media Group and this station, serving God and country. I’m Bill McCormick.
