He leads me …

Why would we ask, ‘why am I a Christian’? Generally it is so that we are, ‘always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks [us] to give the reason for the hope that [we] have’ (1 Peter 3:15 NIV). People should see that we are different in some way and may then ask why we are different. If this happens what do we tell them?

But it important for other reasons too. There will be times in our life when we question our faith. It may be due to some form of hardship that we are dealing with, or it may seem that God is no longer in our life (He is, but He is testing us to see what we do). Remember His promise that He will never leave us? (Deuteronomy 31:8; Joshua 1:5; Psalm 37:25-28; Isaiah 42:16, 54:10; John 14:15-16; Hebrews 13:5).

The main point is that once we can answer the question why, we will have a clarity that we may never have had before. If at any stage there is any uncertainty about being a Christian, we will always come back to why we do what we do.[1]

The bottom line is - when challenged, can we defend our faith in Christ?

Dr. Ray Bohlin is Vice President of Vision Outreach with Probe Ministries. He has had years of experience questioning Christian students about their belief in Christ. He has used an effective technique to help the teens realise how unprepared they are for their next step of either full time work or tertiary education.

In a group setting for teenage Christians, Dr. Bohlin usually turns to someone who is distracted and in a fun way asks, ‘You! Are you a Christian?’ He always gets the answer ‘Yes’ at which point he gently probes, ‘Why?’ This makes all the students pay attention. They start to realise that if someone finds out they are a Christian, they may have to then explain why. Yet the question why is often something young people, as well as their parents, have not really thought about. While they would claim their faith is a vital part of their lives, the stunned looks when asked why indicates that this question is a new one.

The students do not directly answer the question why, but try to explain how they became a Christian - usually saying they asked Jesus into their heart. They are then asked, ‘You asked Jesus into your heart?! That sounds pretty gross, really. What’s he doing in there with all that blood? Yuck!’ That always gets them a little confused. The student typically responds with, ‘No, I mean that I asked Jesus to be my Saviour.’ Dr. Bohlin will fire back a question like, ‘Why did you do that?’ or ‘Saviour? What did you need saving from?’ Essentially Dr. Bohlin forces the teenagers to clearly explain themselves, which seldom happens.

If Dr. Bohlin asks, ‘How do you know that?’ in response to something a student has said, they usually say that ‘it says so in the Bible!’ But they cannot say what the Bible reference is. Dr. Bohlin also asks if the Bible is true, and of course they say it is. But when they are asked, ‘How do you know it’s true?’’ the blank stares return. The teenagers cannot explain why the Bible is different to the Book of Mormon or the Qur’an either.

If time allows at the end of the session, Dr. Bohlin tries to leave them with hope by summarizing how he would answer the same questions. Students enjoy the interactive nature of this routine even though they are repeatedly embarrassed, and they are encouraged to spend time developing their own biblical answers that non-Christians can understand.[2]

So, what are some of the typical responses to why we are Christians? Here is a list that might be helpful. Please note that it is not meant to be a complete list, and there will be other options not listed here.

Reasons for being a Christian

·      Because before becoming a Christian my life was a mess and I desperately needed help.

·      Because I wanted a life of truth. My life before becoming a Christian was full of lies and half-truths, and I wanted a life based on real truth.

·      Because I do not want to go to Hell. One of my main reasons for being a Christian was the fear of spending an eternity in Hell.

·      Because I want to go to Heaven. I now believe in a God who when I die, can take me to be with Him for the rest of eternity.

·      Because He chose me. He did some things in my life that bit by bit pointed my attention to Him, until one day I did the only thing that made sense by asking Him to be my Lord and Saviour.

·      Because of my parents. If this were the only reason, it would not be enough. However, it is true that I am a Christian because my parents encouraged me to have a love for God and His Word.

·      Because I now believe in a God who shows that He loves me.

·      Because Jesus is who He says He is – the Messiah and the Son of the living God. Not only did He fulfil what the prophets spoke about in the Old Testament, but there are writers like Josephus who were not His followers, but still testified of what Jesus did as part of His ministry.

·      Because I now believe in a God who never changes. What the Bible says is true and Jesus’ teachings are just as true today as they were when He spoke them.

·      Because I have never seen the Bible disproved successfully. It has endured all kinds of scrutiny, and even better, we are finding out more and more that the Bible and science are agreeing.

·      Because I have never seen the resurrection of Jesus successfully disproved. If I study the historical data, it actually takes more faith to deny Jesus’ resurrection than it does to believe it really happened.

·      Because if I look carefully at life around me, I see the effects of the biblical accounts of the creation, the fall, and then the redemption being revealed everywhere. I see God’s hand in His creation, I see the ongoing effect of sin and I see in my own life what it means to be redeemed (rescued from sin).

·      Because every time I meet a true follower of Jesus, I feel like we have so much in common that we can talk about and celebrate.

·      Because there is no religion or philosophy that can honestly deliver people from the lust and sensual craving of the flesh, the lust and longing of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life (1 John 2:16).

·      Because although the Christian life is not easy, the Holy Spirit is at work in me making me progressively more like Jesus.

·      Because I have a confident faith that the Holy Spirit is taking care me in every aspect of my life. There is no other alternative that provides this assurance and security.

·      Because when I pray ‘in Jesus’ name’ I get an answer to my prayer. Even if it is not what I expected, God knows what I need and I totally trust Him.

·      Because I never cease to be amazed at how the Lord shows Himself to me every day. He is not only in what some people call ‘good luck’ and ‘coincidences’, but He also prompts me in my mind with a word or image about what I should do or say.[3] 

When we are asked about being a Christian, there will be times we need to be honest and just say ‘I am sorry. I don’t know, but I will find out.’ If we are genuine, what we do know will be contagious. Others will be intrigued by it because for them it is new. Let people around us see that when it comes to Christianity, we are the real deal.

Dear Reader – If you have found some value in this blog, please feel free to send a copy on to your family and friends. Kind regards, John

[1] Do you know WHY you do WHAT you do? Ross Munro Williams, RossRugby Blog;

https://rossrugby.co.za/2014/02/do-you-know-why-you-do-what-you-do/

[2] The Professor: Why Are You a Christian? – When Challenged, Can You Defend Your Faith in Christ, Dr. Ray Bohlin, Probe Ministries;

[3] 12 Reasons I Am a Christian, Frank Viola, ChurchLeaders.com;

https://churchleaders.com/worship/worship-articles/162625-12-reasons-i-m-a-christian.html

Ten Reasons I am a Christian, ChinaSource Team, ChinaSourceOrg;

https://www.chinasource.org/resource-library/chinese-church-voices/ten-reasons-i-am-a-christian/