It takes courage to hold your ground, whether you are in leadership or not. But as a Christian, you often must defend your point of view with everyone around you – even with your own family. Holding your ground or defending your point of view doesn’t need to become an argument. Relationships don’t have to be lost and there is no need to have winners and losers. We need to learn to arrive at a middle ground where each party walks away feeling good about the conversation.
Disagreements are part of our daily lives both in the workplace and at home. In this blog, we focus on how you can gain the courage to hold your ground with your faith. I wrote a related article where I focused on how leaders gain the courage to hold their ground in the workplace. I will remain in the general sense of Christianity as I could write a book to defend the many points. By the way, one of my favorite books is The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel. He was an atheist journalist who set out to prove that Jesus didn’t die on the cross… along the journey he became a believer and now goes around the world sharing his story and about Jesus.
The Scenario.
Let’s create a scenario as an example of the process to demonstrate that it takes courage to hold your ground. I was with another mom the other day and she shared that her daughter was told by a friend, “Christianity is the easiest faith to join.” My friend’s daughter asked her mom, “Why is it the easiest faith to join? Shouldn’t it be hard to become a Christian? Shouldn’t we have to earn heaven? The mom didn’t know how to answer that simple yet profound question. And the answer is simple: Because Jesus did the hard part! He did it all on the cross so now all we have to do is believe in Him and accept Him as our Lord and Savior. No one can earn heaven or eternal salvation. We can only receive it as a gift from Jesus himself!
But to have that answer ready, you need to have done your homework and be also ready for follow-up questions. Sometimes it’s easier to be quiet and not respond for fear of the next level of questions. But we must always be prepared to answer to anyone at least the basic questions about our Christian faith. As a believer, it takes courage to defend your Christian faith.
Below are five tips to help you defend your point of view and hold your ground as a Christian:
Do your research.
The first step is to do your research regardless of the topic you choose to discuss. Where do you research? God left us His book: The Bible, where everything to understand life and the spiritual realm is recorded. To follow our scenario, you need to understand that the punishment (or “wages”) for sin is death found in Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The next step is to know that Jesus did the dying, so we didn’t have to. Jesus took upon himself ALL of humanity’s sins and He nailed the punishment to the cross – forever!
You don’t have to memorize the specific Scripture verses, but this one is the foundational Bible verse that we all should memorize. The famous John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Verse 17 explains further that “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
In this verse, God tells us that Jesus died for all of us and that He will not condemn us. He came to save us instead. This is confirmation that Jesus did the hard part. Our part is easy.
Know your subject matter.
As a leader, you need to understand and know your area. As a believer, what is your “area”? As the manager, your employees and leadership expect you to be the “subject matter expert” (SME). You don’t have to know the entire process, but you do need to know your part of the process well. As a follower of Jesus Christ, no one expects you to be the SME. And you definitely don’t have to know the entire process. But you do need to know your part in God’s plan. What is the plan of God? And what is your individual part that you play in God’s master plan? You need to find out.
To learn about God’s master plan, you again need to read the Bible. That is where His entire plan is described in detail – from Genesis to Revelation. Are you learning to connect the dots from the Old Testament to the New Testament? Are you spending time reading the Bible and then meditating on what you read? Are you asking questions and learning from other believers as well? That’s how you learn and know your subject matter.
Have a win-win attitude.
It takes courage to hold your ground but when you have a win-win attitude it’s easier to present your viewpoint. When you meet with your family or friends and carry the right attitude, your viewpoint will be better received by all. The attitude reflects in your tone, how you address others, and gives you favor with whoever your audience is.
The best way to share Jesus with others is to share your personal story and how He saved you despite your sins. Sometimes that’s all you need to share. As you grow in your faith, you learn more about God’s Word and remember where the right Scriptures are. Often, God puts in your mind the right Scripture that someone needs to hear at the precise moment. And you need to share it with that person on the spot.
Improve your negotiation skills.
Unlike with leadership, you don’t have to become an excellent negotiator to hold your ground and defend your Christian faith. There is nothing to negotiate. People either choose to believe in Jesus, or they don’t. The only aspect of negotiation that applies here is that you should walk away knowing that you did your best. And also, that the other person walks away knowing that you didn’t judge them nor condemn them. They should only see the love of Jesus through you.
Be assertive and self-confident yet polite.
When you do your research, prepare with facts, know your subject, and have a win-win attitude, you become assertive. Your self-confidence should not be perceived as arrogant but instead affirm your knowledge and prove you’ve done your homework. God will take notice of your efforts. And He will give you wisdom to share Jesus at the right time and with the right people. Some may not be ready to accept Jesus yet, but you simply planted the seed. That was your part in the process or journey for that person and that’s what matters.
Conclusion
It takes courage to hold your ground, but it is worth the try. These days it is especially important to have a deeper knowledge and understanding of the things of God. Why? Because there are less and less true believers and followers of Jesus Christ. Don’t be ashamed of your Christian faith. Here on earth, you may be mocked, persecuted, and even lose your life. But you will gain eternal life with Jesus in heaven. This is a promise that no other faith can provide.
And this is eternal life, that they may know You,
the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
(John 17:3 NKJV).