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Why is it important to be prepared for attacks on our Christian faith?
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Those attacks are inevitable, and scripture warns us about them. That warning suggests their importance. Christ Himself prepared for the attacks on His faith by memorizing scripture to cite when His faith was attacked. If Christ needed to prepare, then we certainly need to do the same.
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Paul teaches Timothy, “1I charge you [a]therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead [b]at His appearing and His kingdom: 2Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 5But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” (2 Tim. 1-5, biblehub.com).
We must understand the underpinnings of our faith. I cannot preach Jesus out of one side of my mouth and that the children come from pond scum out of the other as a spring cannot produce both salt and fresh water, James 3:11. We need to understand and believe in the Word, the whole Word before we can teach anything or we will be as the Pharisees were. If we have a stronger understanding and love of God’s Word, if we see God’s purpose and will in our lives and walk the talk, we will get attacked by Satan because why would he attack those who need no persuading? Job got tested because he was so faithful. However, one does not enter the fray without armor or ammunition as we are to understand from Ephesians 6:10-20. Paul didn’t tell us to get armed for funsies, but for spiritual battle against the “prince and principalities of the air,” in verse 12. Having a solid hermeneutical understanding through continuous study and guidance from the Holy Spirit is not my duty as a teacher, but as a child of God. I cannot share or teach it unless the students see it as woven into the fibre of my being. If I look like I am insincere, that I am paying lip service, children can see that and their faith, their walk, maybe even their salvation could be damaged by me and I would not want them to be led astray by my own actions or lame teaching, or anyone else’s for that matter. I have to be armed for attacks, but I also have to help students be prepared also.
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It’s important to be prepared for attacks on Christian faith because they will happen. We are in the end times and more than ever, Christianity has been under attack. We need to know how to respond to these attacks because when they do happen we need to address them as Christ would. This could mean the difference from planting the seeds for someone to be saved or for their hearts to harden more towards Christ.
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It is important to prepare because the attacks will come.
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Because it will happen.
