AP

What Hope Have We Got?

Religion is poison, because it asks us to give up our most precious faculty, which is that of reason, and to believe things without evidence. It then asks us to respect this, which it calls faith (Christopher Hitchens).    

Is our faith as Christians unreasonable?

And if not, are we prepared to stand firm, ready to go toe to toe with the philosophers of this age, with the atheists, with the mockers, maybe even with the media, or unfortunately sometimes with those who would deny Christ from within the body of his own church?

While this prospect might frighten most of us, we don’t really have a choice.  

Always be prepared to make a defence to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you (1 Peter 3:15).

It’s not that God needs us to defend him. It’s more that in and through our weaknesses he demonstrates his strength, his wisdom, his reasons, all of which Paul assures us will appear foolishness to a world that does not know him and probably doesn’t want to.

Let’s not forget Paul’s teaching on such things, as he says in 1 Corinthians 1:18, For the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  

The question to all of us is really, what is THE reason for our hope? Do we have one? And if we do, do we have good reason for it?

In Acts 17: 16-33 the Apostle Paul gives us one of the greatest New Testament examples of what it means to give a reasoned argument for the Christian faith, but most importantly, at the same time, he shares the good news of the gospel.  

It’s important to note that although Paul was stirred up by the Spirit to speak day after day with curious Greek philosophers, their response was not one of instant belief. Rather, there was interest, and the thing that attracted their interest was the something foreign to their ears – something new.  

May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? For you bring strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean (Acts 17:19).

This new teaching that Paul preached was Jesus, his cross and resurrection, and it, being the power of the gospel, got their attention. This is something Christians shouldn’t miss. Paul’s response to the stirring of the Spirit within is gently, and perceptively to look for a way to share the good news about the God that they do not know.

Interestingly, from all that Paul shared, it was the resurrection that was mocked. The resurrection, the ultimate hope associated with the cross, becomes precisely what Peter writes about in 1 Peter 2:8, A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.

It would be fair to say that the main idol that stands as the foundation to all forms of idolatry in our world, is the idol of the ‘self’. It’s an idol that’s affirmed in almost every context of our lives as we’re constantly told to never let anything, or anyone, stand in the way of our dreams and personal happiness.  

The self recreates everything to serve its desires, even at times creating God in its own image. Even within Christian circles, doctrines are reshaped to accommodate the current trends or socially acceptable ways of thinking and talking.     

The unknown god of Athens remains, very much, the unknown god of today.

Many people today still don’t know God!

They may have heard about him, but many don’t know Jesus Christ, and the hope that only he can bring to broken lives.

I guess the question we have to ask ourselves as Christians is, does the Spirit stir within us when we think about these things? If he doesn’t, maybe we should pray that he does.

God, through his Spirit, draws people to himself; this is not because of the eloquence and logic of Paul’s arguments. This frees Paul to give his reasons for the hope that he has without fear of failure, simply with a desire for God to use his words and his life according to his will.

We would all do well to remember this, for it takes a great load from our shoulders and puts it onto God who can do all things.  

While we are called to understand the reasonableness of our faith, it may be that the most profound reasons for our faith actually exist beyond the realm of the intellectual.

Do we as Christians, focus too much energy on arguing for our faith through logic and reasoning, rather than in the realm of human needs and grace? And in doing so, are we avoiding addressing the issues that deeply affect us all? Do we sacrifice the heart for the head?

We are all called to give a reason for our faith, but in doing this, how could we not take up the opportunity to share the peace that surpasses all understanding? When it comes to topics such as suffering and death, topics of unavoidable human struggle, how can we not take the opportunity to present a case for the merciful, loving God we have come to know?

Philippians 4:7 reminds us, And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Surely, if we are to be effective in being ready to give an answer for the hope we have, it is here.

Here we move beyond elaborate, logically formed arguments, instead becoming a place in which the word is alive through the transforming work of the Holy Spirit. This means living in a way that reflects God’s grace and points people to his truth and the peace that it brings. These are matters in which the heart cannot be ignored.

Christians and the Church should be a place where the reason for hope is one with the ability to provide a crutch for a world that badly limps, one often found groping around in the dark, trying to make sense of things.

In times of profound suffering, times of existential crises, times that will certainly come to us all, we are often left with unanswered questions and confusion. But it’s in these times, we are forced to admit our helpless inability to control life, with nothing left to cling to but our faith in God, the peace that comes from knowing it is him clinging to us, not the other way around.     

What is the reason for Christian hope? Is there good reason for it?

The short and most important answer lies simply in the gospel message:

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life (John 3:16).

As we struggle to come to grips with the reasonableness of our own faith, let’s not fall into the trap of believing that we, through our own cleverness in arguing for what we believe, have the ability to convince anyone of God’s truth. That ability belongs to God alone. Sometimes it is head knowledge and a logical argument through which God works, but sometimes it’s through the reasons of the heart that he provides comfort for a hurting world. Here, we can only pray that God will use us to share his grace and peace.      

– Ben Swift