“There may not be persecution, but we’re in a culture of growing hostility to Christianity. It’s not just apathy we face–it’s antipathy. Many people really don’t like the gospel. Sometimes they express that politely, sometimes not politely at all; but they don’t like it. This shouldn’t really surprise us. Think how incendiary much what we believe is. We believe Jesus is the only way to know God. We believe the cross is the only way to be forgiven. We believe that one day, everyone will be judged. So if you are going to talk to people about Jesus, you are going to get hurt. It is going to sever some relationships. It is going to provoke people. Not every time, and depending on our circumstances…but we will face rejection enough of the time to give us second thoughts” Rico Tice, Honest Evangelism (Surrey, England: The Good Book Company 2015), p. 15.
So many of us get taken out by someone mocking us or treating us unkindly due to our faith. The simple fact is the culture is shifting and it is commonplace now to find Christian sexual ethics offensive, Christian views of creation preposterous, and Christian moral principles narrow-minded. What will we do? What should we do? Shall we remain silent, cloistered away in our little churches, hoping that God brings interested people to us? Or do we go out like Jesus did, like Paul did, like Philip did and share the message in full knowledge of the world’s hostility? And when (not if) you get hit, get back up and keep going.
