Over the past week I’ve been thinking a great deal about the relationship between what we believe and how we live.
I recently finished teaching a five-week apologetics class. We spent our time learning how to answer difficult questions, defend the Christian faith, and think carefully about the truth of the gospel. Those things matter. Christians should be prepared to give a reason for the hope that is within them (1 Peter 3:15).
But I’ve also been reminded that apologetics extends beyond our arguments. Some have called this ecclesial apologetics—the witness of the church itself. Throughout history, one of Christianity’s most persuasive defenses has not merely been what believers have said, but what they have done. The church became known for caring for widows and orphans, welcoming strangers, rescuing abandoned infants, feeding the hungry, and serving the sick. Long before Christianity possessed political influence, it possessed credibility because it reflected the character of Christ.
Our lives either strengthen or weaken the message our lips proclaim.
That lesson has also exposed something in my own heart.
When I neglect what Christ has plainly commanded—loving my neighbor, sharing the gospel, showing hospitality, serving others—I often begin to feel the weight of that neglect. Instead of acknowledging my own disobedience, it is surprisingly easy to point the finger elsewhere. I can blame the culture, complain about politics, criticize the church, or focus on someone else’s failures. Yet underneath all of those distractions often lies a quieter reality: I know there are commands of Christ that I have not been faithfully obeying.
The answer isn’t to suppress that guilt or explain it away. Nor is it to become crushed beneath it.
The answer is repentance expressed through obedience.
Jesus did not merely give us doctrines to admire. He gave us commands to follow. As we begin obeying Him, the burden of neglected obedience is replaced by the joy of walking with Him again.
That has led me to another question: What gifts has the Lord given me that I should be using for the good of others?
Every believer has received gifts intended for service, not for storage. Whether hospitality, teaching, encouragement, generosity, mercy, administration, or evangelism, God equips His people so that the whole body might be built up. Faithfulness is not measured by whether we possess someone else’s gifts, but whether we are using the ones God has entrusted to us.
Perhaps one of the healthiest questions we can ask ourselves is not simply, “What do I believe?” but, “What step of obedience is Christ calling me to take today?”
The world certainly needs Christians who can explain the faith well.
But it also needs Christians whose lives make that explanation believable.
