by Brian Walters, Director of Adult Ministries @ MBC Loudoun

“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. 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)

If you know me, you know when it comes to God I can get fired up very easily whenever someone is misquoting the Bible, putting meaning behind a passage that is not there, or if someone is attacking God’s Word. When I get fired up, my passion overtakes me at times and I forget to discuss the topic with gentleness and respect. For instance, in the Small Group that my wife and I lead we were talking about the biblical roles of husband and wife in the marriage relationship. One particular group member disagreed totally with what I was teaching and we got into this huge debate. I thundered away on her without any gentleness or respect. In other words, I showed my sister in Christ no mercy, just like Cobra Kai showed Daniel LaRusso no mercy in The Karate Kid. Let’s just say my thundering resulted in me asking for forgiveness in how I handled the situation.

But what God taught me in this moment was that, no matter who we are talking to in the defense of the Gospel, we need to treat that person with gentleness and respect. My sister in my Small Group may not have been able to comprehend what I was saying because my tone of voice and my body language did not communicate love, so it didn’t matter if I was right in my translation of Scripture. If I had talked out the issue with gentleness and respect who knows how that situation may have turned out. Believers need to strive to be gentle and humble at heart (Matthew 11:29) like our Lord Jesus. We need to strive to be living models of the example Christ has already set for us.

It is like the old saying goes, “You’ll catch more bees/flies with honey than vinegar.” The point being, let’s treat others the way we wish to be treated which is with kindness, gentleness, humility and respect. 2 Timothy 2:24-26 is a good reminder of this principle, “And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.”

So remember, when sharing or defending the Gospel, be very certain that your communication is delivered with gentleness and respect.