Giving a Defense Through Your Life

"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear. Having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed." (1 Peter 3:15-16)

Peter emphasizes "having a good conscience"—meaning your walk matches your talk, your life matches your lips. You're not talking about Jesus setting you free while living for this world. Your life is preaching all week long so that when you open your mouth, there's authenticity and integrity.

First Timothy 4:16 says, "Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you." If you take heed to your doctrine—what you believe—and take heed to yourself, your lifestyle, your conduct, you'll impact not only yourself but also those who see you and hear you.

Let me share a story that illustrates this perfectly. I was at the Southern Baptist Convention, and they were interviewing Mark Richt, who was the head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs for a long time, then became Miami Hurricanes' head coach as well, and now he's retired.
Mark Richt was an assistant coach for Florida State University under Bobby Bowden, who was a vocal Christian. Something tragic had occurred--one of the players had been tragically killed--and Bobby Bowden was talking to the rest of the team. He said, "Man, I don't know where you would be if that had happened to you, if you don't know where you will spend eternity." Then he gave them the gospel. This was in the locker room, not at church or a revival service.

He was telling them about Jesus Christ paying for their sin, coming into their life, securing their destiny in heaven. "Won't you please make the decision to get your heart right with God? Give your life to Jesus." He was telling them just like a coach would tell them to block and tackle--he was telling them to give their lives to Jesus.

Mark Richt said, "He was talking to the players, but it was convicting my heart." He went into Bobby Bowden's office the next day and said, "Coach, I don't know where I would spend eternity, and I want Jesus in my life." Bobby Bowden pulled him off to the side and said, "Right here in my office, I'll pray with you." And he prayed with him to receive Christ.

Mark Richt became a vocal Christian witness. He would use his public appearances or public statements to talk about his relationship with Christ. While he was talking about sports and his witness for Christ, one sports writer was in the audience who was there to get an interview, but instead he was hearing Mark Richt's gospel witness.

So he went in and saw Mark Richt and said, "Mark, you were talking yesterday about your Christian witness. I want Christ in my life." Mark Richt said, "Well, Bobby Bowden prayed with me in his office. I'll pray with you in my office," and led that man to Christ.

That man, Todd Unzicker, started serving in different local churches, and today, is the Executive Director for North Carolina Baptists. I'm showing you this to see how Bobby Bowden's witness led Mark Richt to faith in Christ, who then led to Todd Unzicker giving his life to Christ, not to mention the countless people that those men have impacted for the gospel--witnessing in the real world.

After I shared this story in church, a woman came up to me and told me an additional story. She said there's someone she knows who knows Bobby Bowden personally, and she got permission to share this story. It was in the 1990s, and Bowden was getting an endorsement contract. Bobby Bowden would typically wear a cross on his lapel all the time while he was coaching as a Christian witness. This endorsement contract came along and said, "Well, we've got one thing that we need you to do. We need you to take that cross off and put our logo on in its place."

Bobby Bowden's response was, "Listen, you can fire me if you want to. I'm not taking the cross off my lapel." So they allowed him to keep it on. That year, he won the national championship. It was as if God was blessing him, in part, because of his own stand for Christ.

We cannot pay for our salvation—we've been saved by grace through faith. But we can show our appreciation for Jesus Christ by how we live our lives as a Christian witness and how we use our opportunities when they become available to us.

Reflection Question: Does your daily life reflect your words about Christ, and what changes might you need to make to ensure your walk matches your talk?

Father, help my life be a living testimony of Your transforming power. May my conduct be so consistent with my faith that opportunities to witness will arise that I may share the hope I have in Jesus Christ with others. Give me courage and boldness to lead others to You. In Jesus' Name, amen.

Adapted from "Witnessing in the Real World": https://www.joshfranklin.org/media/s2bd93j/17-witnessing-in-the-real-world-1-peter-3-13-17