A Reason for Our Hope

 A Reason for Our Hope

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…” (1 Peter 3:15)

This is a verse of scripture that has always intrigued me.  Peter’s letter was written to Christians who had been scattered under persecution.  What, I wonder, might be the context in which they might be asked to explain the reason for their hope?  Most communities in those days probably would have been small enough for a stranger to be noticed.  Since the reason for their arrival would soon be known, Peter presumes that there is every possibility that the curiosity of their new neighbours will be aroused.  While that might not be the same in our context, the issue of being ready to articulate something about our faith remains as important today wherever we live.

It is also interesting that Peter presumes that it is “their hope” that will be the focus of curiosity.  This is the fifth time that Peter has used this wod.  In his first reference (1 Peter 1:3) he refers to regeneration into a living hope through the resurrection of Christ.  Because Jesus rose from the dead, he demonstrated his Messiahship and divine nature, but this also gives us the expectation that one day we too will rise and live with him forever.  It was such an expectation, or hope, that enabled early Christians to endure persecution.

This then is the reason for their hope, as is also explained in 1 Peter  1:13 and 21. The other reference Peter makes about hope was to talk about the character of Christian wives.  While some find such veres as (1Peter 3:5) controversial it does bring home to us all that people will make judgements about our faith by how we relate and behave towards one another.  It was also for this reason that Peter writes about the manner in which we explain our hope, or our faith in Christ  (see verse 16).

I am occasionally asked why I moved from Sussex to the East Midlands.  An easy and simple answer would be to state that it was to do with my work, but the real reason is that  I believed that God was calling me here.  The real reason for that is because Jesus Christ gave his life for me, I have felt it right to surrender my life to do his will.  There is absolutely no reason why I should be embarrassed or afraid to tell people that.

While it is unlikely that anyone in the general culture of the UK would ever ask about your hope in God, it ought not to be unusual or surprising if they asked something about the way we behave.  For example, “I notice you never use bad language, why is that?”  But this begs the question whether our lives are attractively and noticeably different from the way others behave.  I emphasise the word “attractively”.  This is another point that Peter makes.  Our response should be with gentleness and respect.

One way by which I try to bring God and Jesus into the conversation is to make reference to the fact that I go to church.  For example, I might be able to say, “Someone made a similar remark at church last Sunday!”  When new people move into the street I offer to give them the names of good local churches if they are interested.  Just such a comment provoked my most recent new neighbour to reveal that she was also a Christian.  Now the neighbour we have between us has two neighbours praying for him!

Times may have changed since Peter wrote his letter, but human needs remain the same.  People in the communities in which we live, shop and work, are deeply loved by a God who gave his life for their salvation.  Helping them to discover that kove and a personal relationship with God is the best thing we could ever do for them.  So, let's make sure that there is something attractive about how we live, and then be ready to explain it with gentleness and respect.  Where we live, and the communities in which we move are God’s gift to us, and an opportunity for sharing good news.  Let’s “be prepared”.

Barry Osborne 18the September 2021

Speech Therapy Needed?

Speech Therapy Needed?

The New Testament has many examples of people who met with Jesus and who could not keep quiet about that experience.  Some shared how they had been healed; others simply told their friends, or their entire community, what an amazing person Jesus was.  There was no need for any kind of training; they simply shared what they had experienced.

There are some 10 million people living in the rural areas of the UK.  From the age of 17 I spent the following 25 years as a ‘professional’ evangelist, telling people in villages around Britain about Jesus and how wonderful it is to know him as a personal Saviour.  But I became aware that all the rural mission societies put together were only reaching around 2% of the rural population. There had to be a better way to make Jesus and salvation known.

When we started Rural Mission Solutions in 1988, our vision was to encourage and enable Christians in rural locations to articulate the gospel, and for churches to become mission oriented.  I feel that, to date, we have largely failed, and I wish I knew why. What can I do to get rural Christians intentionally talking about Jesus?

The first sermon I preached in a church, at 18 years old, was on Numbers 32:6, “‘Should your fellow Israelites go to war while you sit here? “  Even then I was clearly concerned about the passive Christians who form the majority of church congregations.  The story behind the text is Moses seeking to motivate a section of the People of Israel that sought to compromise on the plan God had for them.  Since then I have preached and spoken similarly seeking to motivate Christians to action and to sharing the message of the gospel. Various texts and passages of scripture have been used, such as the following.

2Kings 7:9 “‘What we’re doing is not right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves.”  Four men with leprosy had seen God’s saving power and stumbled on food supply vital for the survival of the people starving in the city a short distance away.

Ezekiel 33: 6 “But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.”

Roman 10: 13-15 “‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’  How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’”

But, despite a lifetime of encouragement and exhortation, the vast majority of rural Christians (including possibly the clergy) fail to make the message clear and plain to others.  It is as if it does not matter whether they hear about the effect the cross and resurrection could have in their lives. Do we think that our silence has no consequences?

I have a friend who is a speech therapist.  There are several different aspects and causes of speech impediments. Her skill and experience brings the gift of speech to those who would otherwise remain silent or stammering.  Her aim is not only to get them talking but able to converse effectively. I have been wondering whether some kind of therapy is needed to get Christians talking about Jesus.  

What might be the cause of the problem?  In some cases it is that people in our churches know about Jesus but have not come to actually know him.  In such situations they will have nothing to say. Others maybe struck dumb with fear of embarrasment We are frightened of looking silly or being judged.  Still others are convinced that only professional preachers called and gifted by God to speak can tell people about Jesus. And some might like to talk about Jesus but wrongly feel that they need special training and be competent to answer every awkward question.

My first efforts as a new Christian and a teenager were was then called “fishing”.  I stood outside an evangelistic meeting with a bundle of leaflets and simply asked people to come in.  A few days after that I gave my personal testimony in a meeting. That was followed by giving out gospel tracts and simply inviting people to read them  I did this to people sitting on Hastings seafront and sitting in local cafes. I had not training, and was probably not always as effective as I could have been, but confidence and ability grew from these beginnings.

A great tool that used to be available to help get conversations started was an enamel badge which I believe used to come from an organisation called Turn to Christ (no longer existing?).  The badge consisted of three steps sequentially coloured black, red and white. People always enquired what the symbols meant. These days we are careful about using black as a symbol of sin as it can have an unintended racial interpretation.  But there are great badges with the words “Ask Me” that will do the job.

In previous issues of P&P I have written about the value of Guest Services for churches.  Special invitation cards can also be conversation starters. One organisation wisely suggests getting some experience in personal evangelism by working alongside someone who has done it before, and also doing it somewhere other than the village where you live - at least for starters.

I would love to hear from you.  You might like to make a start talking about Jesus and just need some support.  You might have developed your own way of starting conversations. Or the whole idea might terrify you.  Please let me know. We have 10 million people in rural Britain and most still need to hear about Jesus and the change he can make in our lives.  Somebody somewhere needs to be making a start. Is it you?

Please contact me at barry@ruralmissionsolutions.org.uk.  I’d love to encourage you or hear your stories.

Barry 19th August 2019