~Sadhu Sundar Singh~
I came across a powerful quote while reading an article about different world religions, “One of the sneaky things about {world religions} is they use our vocabulary but not our dictionary.” I don’t know about you but that sends a shiver up my spine. We, as Christians, need to know the differences of the different world religions and be able to confront the differences with truth and compassion. How do we do this?
As Christians we need to be able to know and explain the basics of Christianity.
I believe it is important to be knowledgeable of the core of Christianity. We need to be able to present atonement, salvation, the Trinity, and the nature of God in general. And most important, the basic defense of the resurrection (without which, our faith is in vain!).
We need to know this in order to be able to recognize copy cat gods or copy cat religions. I define, these copy cats as anyone who adds or subtracts anything written in the bible. I believe there is no excuse for Christians not to be articulate in what they believe and why, and this means being informed about the foundation of your beliefs.
Now this is where some believers differ, some believe we need to “be fools for Christ and hit hard” and basically bop the lost sheep over the head with our words. Others believe we need to just be “examples” and not rock the boat. I believe we need to be somewhere in the middle.
Now Col 4:5 says:
“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
As Christians we need to let our answers always be filled with grace and seasoned with salt. “Salt is a symbol of lasting concord, its purpose is to protect food from corrosion and preserves it unchanged” (Strongs). When Christ walked the earth he not only talked about God’s judgment and justice but also about his forgiveness and hope. Also his message never changed no matter the circumstance (salt).
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Thank you for salting the blogosphere with more of Jesus!
How we need to carry Him into the world.
Warmly,
Ann Voskamp
Great post. In combination-word and deed, is our greatest ministry.
I was very encouraged while reading this….my thoughts exactly! This quote left me unsettled…I struggled with it… you made it clear to me why. Thanks!!
As someone who struggles with the nitty gritty of what I believe - dyslexia menory brain thing - I just tend to simplify what I believe and try to tell people the essence.
It is good that we are all different and unique, and even more amazing that God speaks to us in our own unique way.
Thank you.
I love your take on this quote. Salt and grace. Great post!
The bible says to study to show thyself approved and to be able to have an answer. You’re so right. There comes a point where we do need to be salty and speak the truth in love.
Great thoughts. I really appreciated that post - it makes me think very seriously about the training I am giving my children.
Great post! I didn’t have time to do “In Other Words” this week…hope to get back to it next week!
I used the same Bible verse too! It really hit me! Thanks!
that was REALLY great….thank you so much for that perspective…I loved it…
I love your thoughts on this. I was looking at the definitions of salt this morning myself. Salt has so many uses. It is used to bring flavor, it is used to preserve, and it is used to revive (smelling salts) I got to thinking about my life. Do I bring the right flavor to the lives of others? Do I preserve others by living my life in a way that won’t bring them to destruction? And do I revive others with words of encouragement? Definitely something to strive towards!
Good post, Laurel. It is so crucial to know what we believe, why we believe it, and how to communicate it.
Thanks for the saltspiration!
Oi - I needed that wisdom on Sunday. Thank you so much for sharing. You are right, we need to know what we believe in our head and in our hearts.
But even sometimes we need to be careful, because the belief totally sounds like Christianity, but is really not.
Mine is finally up…as you already now - I slept instead of writing or anything else I needed to do last night…
Knowin what we believe and why we believe it. That is exactly where we need to be. It is very true that other religions tend to borrow from Christianity. In fact I was recently reading a site by an ex-Wiccan who explained how that too (despite naysayers) was also borrowed from Christianity. http://www.expagans4christ.com/is_wicca_created.htm
I also think it is not knowing what we believe and how to explain it in depth causes us to fear witnessing to others. I too struggle with dyslexia and tend to o for generalizations (since when speaking, I have a very hard time gettting the words that I want to say to come out.) I have learned however, that He will fill in the gaps. He’s pretty awesome that way.
Wow, great post! You made some powerful points. We need to be wise and discerning when hearing or reading about other religions. The scary thing is that there are several denominations that call themselves Christians — and they use the same words we use, but definitely NOT our dictionary.
“One of the sneaky things about {world religions} is they use our vocabulary but not our dictionary.”
Wow what a powerful quote! And so true and applicable to the Christian Women Online quote, too. The combination really makes me think more about the salt of Christ in me.
Thanks for this post.
Camy
I loved that new quote you introduced. I also will be thinking of that when others are speaking about “religion.” I think that we need to remember to clarify our definitions as well as we are speaking to others who may filter our words with a different seasoning.
This is a wonderful post, thank you Laurel. I am actually going to do this with the kids, dissolve some salt in water and show them how love will always there.