4 Ways the Bible Instructs Us to Respond to Attacks on Christianity
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- Updated Aug 13, 2024
The story of humanity is one about good versus evil. It’s why we see this storyline in every epic superhero movie. God created this Earth and saw it was good. Then, an evil character came on the scene and deceived the woman into disobeying the one instruction God had given her. God instructed her not to eat the fruit from the tree, which unlocked the knowledge of good and evil. The serpent lied, telling her that God was trying to keep her from something good, and she disobeyed God’s instruction. From the moment she and the man disobeyed, we’ve seen the forces of chaos fight against the God of order.
Knowing we are part of a physical world that is ruled by spiritual powers helps us to see events around us more clearly. Sometimes, those forces of evil get emboldened, and we see blatant attacks on Christianity in our world. Other times the evil around us is more subtle and works to sneakily lull us away from a passionate relationship with our Creator. We need God’s eyes to see and understand how to respond when evil rises up against those who follow Jesus.
The Bible helps us to know how to reply when we see bold moves in our culture against Jesus and his followers. Those who love the one true God have been the object of attacks throughout history as the forces of evil cannot stand to see beauty and truth prevail. They want to glorify themselves and when we don’t separate ourselves from these forces we become as they are; self-obsessed and destined for destruction.
In Acts 17:16-34 Paul is visiting Athens in hopes of sharing the good news of Jesus with others. The culture of that day was very obviously evil and saw this freedom-giving God as a threat. We can learn from Paul and how he responded to attacks and apply them to our lives today.
1. We Should Be Troubled by What We See
Acts 17:16 says, “While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols." When we see idols glorified and the one true God dishonored in our world, our spirits should grieve. We should grieve the fact that the world is so easily caught up by the lies of the evil one who seeks to steal, kill, and destroy humanity. Our aim is to see Heaven meet Earth. To see light pierce the darkness. To see the captives set free. Our hearts should break when evil becomes commonplace in the culture our world celebrates.
Romans 12:9 tells us, “Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.” Christ-followers are to hate evil and love good. As lovers of good, our hearts should be burdened when we hear of evil at work in our world.
2. We Should Engage with the Culture
On Paul’s visit to Athens his grief led him to action. In this text, we read about how he stood up and addressed the community, teaching them about the God who made all things. In his speech, he notes how Athens worships an “unknown god,” telling them that the thing they seek to worship is his God.
Paul does not hide away from the blatant idol worship that was common practice for the Romans but instead he engaged them in a robust discussion about how they could find something real in their search for a thing to worship.
As believers, we are called to use our gifts for God’s glory. Another way Jesus put it was to not put our light under a basket but let your light shine before others (Matthew 5:15-16). We are the arms and feet of Jesus, and when we see truth under attack, we can and should engage the world with light, life, and love.
3. We Should Be Filled with Truth
Jesus warns in Matthew 24:11 that many false prophets will rise up in the last days. He saw what we are now living. Truth has been exchanged for comfort and convenience. So many of us don’t know what to believe because we have not taken the time to study God’s Holy Word. Even those who are in the church can find themselves susceptible to false teachings because we have not invested in knowing God and his character on our own.
Before Paul met Jesus he was a Pharisee that personally persecuted Jesus followers. In this role he would have spent his whole life immersed in the Jewish teachings and scriptures. Once he met Jesus all that knowledge he had gained from a lifetime of studying came to life and he had the ability to understand and articulate to others how God fulfilled his promise of a Savior that was declared throughout scripture through Jesus.
Paul both had to meet Jesus and had to know God’s word to be the leader in the early church that God had called him to be. The same is true for us. We need to encounter Jesus and his Holy Spirit as well as be diligent in taking time to study and understand the Bible so we can point our world to truth when evil wants to bring confusion.
4. We Should Be Filled with the Spirit
When we see things happen in our world that grieve us, we need God’s Spirit of comfort, wisdom, and truth to empower us. John 16:13 says, “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”
God knew that our time on Earth would be filled with trials and troubles. He sent us a helper that guides us towards truth and empowers us to live a holy life as Christ followers. We need God’s Spirit at work in our lives daily! We were never meant to weather the stores of this world on our own. When we start to feel overwhelmed by what we see it’s time to get on our knees and cry out to God’s Spirit to help us!
Through it all, our posture should be one of humility. Acts 20:19 says, “I served the Lord with great humility and with tears and in the midst of severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents.” Paul knew that our job was not to angrily get bitter at the evil around us. Even as our hearts are grieved, our attitude is one of service, love, and humility. We weep for and with those who are lost and need God’s light to illuminate the darkness that is so common in our world.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Red Goldwing
