Defend the Faith

During the second week of our Church History class, I learned about the age of Roman Empire and the life of 3 people that were also important in our history and they are, Clement of Rome, Iranaeus and Justin Martyr. We watched a documentary of the age of Roman Empire wherein we learned about Constantine, whom they called the first Roman emperor who was a Christian. With that, we also learned the positive and negative effects of the Christianized Roman Empire. In the lives of Clement of Rome, Iranaeus and Justin Martyr, I was glad to hear their stories and their contributions in Christianity today.

 Iranaeus wrote “ Adversus Haereses” or Against Heresies and one of Justin Martyr's contribution was writing the “Apology and Appendix”. I learned that as they were living their Christian lives, they observed the need within their surrounding and acted upon it by defending their faith through writing books. Then I thought to myself, I observed a lot of problems and commotions attacking our Christian faith in our country and much more in my community alone and I haven't even done one thing that could defend it. In 1 Peter 3:15 its says that we must always be prepared to make a defense to everyone who asks for the reason of the hope that is within us and do it with gentleness and respect.This reminded me of one of the reasons why I studied in Baptist Theological College. I had a friend who asked me back then when I was still in high school, yet I couldn't give an answer for her because I lacked knowledge, so I thought that I would study so that I could give them an answer someday. As I look back I evaluated that this is really important to help others know about the truth.

My students always asks questions about God, heaven, and eternal life but I would tell them that we would discuss that next time because that is not our lesson for the day. In application of what I have learned, I plan to discuss or answer in one of our sessions in our outreach to answer their questions. I will try my very best to answer their questions by teaching my students of the truth that I have known. I also planned to answer my friend back in high school of the questions she asked before and teach her about the truth that she's seeking. I just hope and pray that my heart would be open for God's working in my life and help me accomplish these plans, not just for defending my faith, but to make sure that they understand why they believe what they believe.

Stand Firm

Martyrs of the Church history - courageous, committed, self-giving, and sacrificial. They are those who love the Lord that stood firm for the truth of the gospel. During our Church history class discussion, I have learned that it is truly important to study and learn the history of the Church for we can see how God's plan of redemption work out from the past until our present day by using the martyrs. I was amazed of how God has used His people in the past for the gospel to be spread out to all nations. Even to the point of being martyred, they did not renounce nor recanted their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. I have also learned to appreciate that God did not just used His people, but He also used the culture, language, and the government of the Jews, Greeks, and Romans in order to fulfill His plan. Even if the Roman government and Roman soldiers have persecuted and executed a lot of Christians in the past, they were still part of God's plan. Maybe because if not for them, Christianity wouldn't bloom and reach to this present day.

As I've learned the lives of some martyrs, such as Ignatius and Polycarp, I felt very small. As I compare my Christian life with theirs, I could say that there's a really big gap in between. If I try to place myself in their situation wherein I'll be asked to recant my faith in Jesus or curse Jesus Christ, I wonder if I would be like them, standing firm in their faith. Would I also be like Polycarp and boldly say “How can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?”. As I evaluate myself, for 21 years of my existence, I have only been living my life in the safe zone under the four corners of the building of our Church. True, I have been going to missions and taught the gospel to children every summer, I am an outreach teacher to young people every Saturday and lead worship during Sunday or teach Sunday school, but I wonder, “Have I been efficient, effective and productive in the ministries that God has entrusted to me?”. Sometimes, I go out to the field unprepared but sometimes I do prepare for my lessons. Sometimes I'm fired up to share the gospel, but most of the times, I'm not. I realized I lacked consistency and that my motive for doing such things are sometimes out of track. “Why am I like this when I'm in a democratic country where I can freely express my faith and beliefs, and free from persecutions when I would share the gospel to my fellowmen?”. “Am I standing firm in my faith and beliefs when I'm like this?”, still asking myself knowing the answer that I'm not.

I don't want to be complacent and be passive about the result of the ministry that I am handling right now, so I planned some steps to help me become efficient, effective and productive. Before anything else, I would strengthen my relationship with God and pray for each of my students and acknowledge that it is His ministry and I need to responsibly handle it. First is to evaluate my student's spiritual growth. Second is to assess the spiritual need they have right now. Third is to prepare my lessons according to their need ahead of time. And lastly, evaluate each lesson through updating the students of what they have learned. Though I may not be a martyr, I hope that as a follower of Jesus Christ, I would be someone who is committed, self-giving, and sacrificial that would really show and shine Christ in my life and be able to stand firm in any trials in life.