Adrian Rogers was a motivator, an encourager, and a leader of the faith. He was also passionate about presenting scriptural application to everyday life circumstances, and you'll hear that in today's message.
Now, let's join Adrian Rogers. Now, if you go to the modern universities in this city or any other city, you're going to be faced with an hostility toward your faith. If you go to a university philosophy class, by and large, your faith is going to be ridiculed. We live in a day of escalating skepticism and humanism and scientism, and many of those of us who believe are made to look like country bumpkins who just fell off a load of pumpkin somewhere, and that we really don't have any sound reason for believing what we believe, that we are uneducated and that we are somehow not worthy of real, honest thought.
Well, how do you respond to this skepticism in this day and age in which we live? Thank God, the Bible tells us. 1 Peter 3 verse 10, For he that will love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile. Let him eschew evil and do good.
Let him seek peace and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers. But the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. And who is he that will harm you if ye be followers of that which is good? But, and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye, and be not afraid of their terror, neither be ye troubled. Now here's our key verse. But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear, having a good conscience, that, whereas they speak evil of you as evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.
For it is better, if the will of God so be, that ye suffer for well-doing than for evildoing. Now often we're told to keep the faith. But my dear friends, in the strictest sense, not only should we keep it, we need to give it away.
And in my estimation, if you have no desire to give it away, you ought to give it up, because what you have is not the real thing. Any man who has been born of the Spirit of God has an innate desire to share his faith with others. Now, you're going to be ridiculed, as I've said, and before we get into the main core of the message, let me just tell you two things that must be true of you before you're ready to share with anybody.
First of all, you must be real. Look, if you will, in verse 13. And who is he that will harm you if you be followers of that which is good?
Now the word follower here is the word that we get our word zealot from. And it means that you are to have a full-hearted, burning, compassionate, overflowing love for God. You're to be a zealot for the Lord Jesus. Yours is to be a full faith.
It is to be a fearless faith. Notice he says, and who is he that will harm you, in verse 13. In verse 14, and if you suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye, and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled. Don't let anybody intimidate you, because you are a Christian. Now this verse says that they may hurt you, but they can't harm you.
I hope you'll learn the difference. Who is he that will harm you? That is, a little hurt won't harm.
As a matter of fact, it'll do you good. They may hurt you, but they can't harm you, therefore don't, don't be afraid. Have a firm faith. Have a fearless faith. And my dear friend, enthrone the Lord Jesus Christ in your heart.
Look in verse 15. But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. Just realize that Jesus Christ is there as a bright, living reality. So be real. Be real. Be real.
Our world is not looking for a new definition of the gospel, but a new demonstration of the gospel primarily. Be real. And then be ready.
Be ready. Look in verse 15. The Bible says, Be ready always to give an answer to him that asks you. When you start being real, people are going to start asking questions about you.
When they see something about you that cannot be explained, they're going to ask why you believe as you believe and why you act as you act. Remember, Paul and Silas were there in prison that night when they'd been cast into the innermost prison for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. And at midnight, Paul and Silas were singing praises to God. And God sent his earthquake angel.
Maybe I shouldn't have used that word. God sent his earthquake angel in there to shake that prison. And when he did, when he did, the bonds fell off of everyone and the keeper of the prison came in. And he looked at Paul and Silas and he said to them, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? That is, he saw the reality of the faith of Paul and Silas and it caused him to ask them a question. Now I want to ask you a question. When's the last time anybody asked you to explain to them your faith because they saw something in you that they could not explain any other way? Hmm?
Answer that in your own heart. Don't answer it out loud. But when's the last time somebody came to you in your office or in your school or in your club and said, say, there's something about you that I don't understand. There's something about you that's different.
Would you tell me what it is? Now verse 15 says, you are to be ready to give an answer to everyone that asks you of the hope that's in you. Are you ready? Do you know how to respond to a skeptic?
Do you? Well I want to give you four basic ideas, propositions today. I pray God the Holy Spirit will just emblazon them in your heart and in your mind. Four things I want you to remember as you respond to this skeptical age and people want to know what makes you tick, what makes you different, what is the reason for the hope that you have in you? In verse 15, okay? Number one, forgo the folly of fools. Forgo the folly of fools. Now some skeptics are fools. Not all skeptics are fools.
But some skeptics are fools. Now when I say a fool, I don't mean a person who is mentally deficient. The Bible, when the Bible uses the word fool, it doesn't mean someone who is mentally deficient. It means someone who is morally depraved.
Somebody who is morally depraved. That's what the Bible says, means when it uses the word fool. For example, the Bible says, the fool hath said in his heart, there is no God. Now my dear friend, when you come to a fool and he shows himself to be a fool, don't argue with him. Just don't argue with him. Give him the mind of God. Tell him what God says and go your way.
Now the Bible makes it very clear. In Proverbs chapter 26 and verse 4, the Bible says, answer not a fool according to his folly. Just don't answer him. Don't get in a debate with a fool. Now you may witness to him, but you just don't answer him. To answer him means to get into an argument with him.
Oh, you witnessed anything that moves. But the Bible makes it very clear, answer not a fool according to his folly, and here's the reason. Lest thou also be like unto him. You'd be surprised how many people I have who challenge me to debates. I don't get in debates like that. If a person wants to know and a person wants to be reasonable, I'll reason with a person. But I have a philosophy that you never argue with a fool because someone standing around is not able to tell who's who.
That's exactly right. That's what this scripture says. Answer not a fool according to his folly. Lest thou also be like him. Jesus said the same thing in Matthew chapter 7 and verse 6. Give not that which is holy unto the dogs. Neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn again and rend you. Again, our Lord says we're not to argue with every individual that comes along in Matthew chapter 10, verses 14 and 15. Jesus sent his witnesses out to witness and then our Lord said, And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city. So don't just simply beat your brains out and expend your time and energy arguing with a person who is morally degenerate, who has an hostility toward the truth, who really is not an honest doubter, who really does not want to learn, who is really not interested. Now the Bible speaks of these kind in chapter 3 and verse 16, having a good conscience, whereas they speak evil of you as evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. God says these are the kind of people that you're not going to be able to do much with these kind of people. Just forego the folly of fools. I heard about a man who came to a preacher.
He was one of these argumentative types. He said, I've never seen a miracle. I've never had a revelation. I've never had God speak to me.
What would you suggest that I do? This pastor said, well, he said, I'll give you an experiment. He said, the next time there's a hard driving rain, he says, you go right outside and look straight up into the sky.
Look right up into the rain. And he says, I promise you, you will have a revelation. Well, this man decided he'd take the preacher at his challenge.
There was a hard driving rain. He went out and looked right up into the sky. Later on, he came back to the preacher. He said, you told me I'd have a revelation. He said, I looked up into the sky.
The rain came down my face and went down my collar. He said, I felt like a fool. He said, wasn't that quite a revelation for the first try? Answer not a fool according to his folly. All right, now listen, forego the folly of fools when you deal with skeptics. Number two, number two, learn the limits of logic.
Have you got it? Learn the limits of logic. You see, logic can carry you only so far. Now, there's nothing wrong with logic. Logic is a valuable tool. And when this Bible says give an answer, the word there that is for answer is the word we get our word apologetics from. Give an apologia, an apology.
Doesn't mean I'm so sorry. It means a reasoned answer as one would give in a court of law. You can be logical. Our Bible tells us that we are to reason. Isaiah 1 and verse 18, our God invites us.
Come now, let us reason together, saith the Lord. So logic is a valuable tool, but learn the limits of logic when you deal with a skeptic. For example, logic can only take you so far.
That doesn't mean it's wrong. It can only take you so far. We've used this illustration. Suppose you want to go to Europe. You get in your automobile and you drive to New York City and you drive to the ocean, New York Harbor there. You're in your automobile. You want to go to Europe. There's no bridge that crosses that great Atlantic. You park your automobile there and you get on an airplane and you go the rest of the way on an airplane. Now, the automobile is good, but it can only take you so far.
And then, dear friend, you have to take some other conveyance. Logic is like that. Logic is good. Logic is wonderful, but it will only take you so far. And when you come to a chasm that is so wide that logic can't leap, then faith must fly.
But there's nothing wrong with logic. And there are some logical reasons that we ought to give to people. The apostle here calls it, I mean, Simon Peter calls it an answer, an answer, an apologia to those who ask you. And so what are some reasons for believing in the God that we believe in? Well, for example, creation. I mean, creation is a good reason.
Put in your margin Romans chapter 1, verses 19 and 20. The Bible says, That which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath showed it unto them. God is not trying to hide Himself. God has showed it to them for the invisible things of Him, that is, that God, the invisible, great, unseen Creator, the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made. Everything that is made has this stamp on it, made by God. Now, dear friend, this is logical, that out of nothing, nothing comes. If we have a creation, we must have a Creator. Now, Robert Jastrow of the founder and director of NASA's Goddard Institute of Space Studies, that is a man that is really high up, he said this, The world explanation may exist for the explosive birth of our universe, but if it does, science cannot find what the explanation is. The scientist's pursuit of the past ends in the moment of creation. The scientist, you have to feel sorry for him.
He only studies what? He never knows why. He never knows why. If you walk into the kitchen, I walk into my kitchen and the water is boiling, and somebody says, Why is the water boiling? I say, Well, the electric elements in our stove are transferring heat to the bottom of the kettle, which is a good conductor, and it's agitating the molecules of water that are causing them to expand and dance around. It is eventually turning that liquid into gas or steam, which is forcing its way by expansion out through the nozzle of that kettle and making a whistling sound. And you ask Joyce, Why is the kettle boiling?
She says, I'm making you some tea. Now, the scientist may explain what, but he never knows why. He says, This is all happening. God is the why, my dear friend. God is the why. And God, the scientist can explain how, he can explain why, he only knows what. The argument for God just simply comes out of creation. And then the argument for God comes out of design.
Not only do we have a creation, but what an infinitely complex creation we have. And when you have design, logic says that a design means a designer. I mean, this building, do you believe this building just happened, or do you believe there was an architect? I think there was an architect and a wonderful one. And when you look at a watch, do you, if you found a watch out in the field, would you say it just happened, or would you say there is a watchmaker?
Well, you would say there's a watchmaker. If you, dear friend, see a painting, a beautiful painting, you would believe in an artist. When you see a creation and this creation has design, you see, you believe in a designer. And the more complex the design, the greater the designer. For example, if you see a dam built by beavers, as we had back here in one of the lakes on our property, that's kind of a simple dam. But if you see Hoover Dam, as some of us have seen Hoover Dam, you'd say that Hoover Dam was designed by someone more complex than a beaver. And the more complex the design, the more complex the designer, the greater the designer, and we see that God is a great God because he has made it all.
You know, man is so, he forces himself not to believe in the simple and the obvious. About, oh, I guess 10 or 15 years ago, I picked up my newspaper and it said this. It said, scientists have created life in the laboratory. Well, I didn't believe that, so I thought I'd read that article. But that's what it said, scientists have created life in the laboratory. Well, you know, God is the giver and the author of life, so I read that article. And it was written from a humanistic point of view, that is to say the belief in God is no longer necessary, for we have created life. And what they had done is to create some amino acids in a laboratory that they believe may have been the building blocks of life.
Now here's what the newspaper said, scientists create life in the laboratory. Now, suppose my father is a master builder, I mean he can build houses, the most beautiful houses and buildings and skyscrapers you've ever seen. Suppose I study what my father has done and I watch very carefully to see everything he does, I see his methods, his techniques. Then I take my father's materials, I take my father's tools, I take my father's plan, and rather than building a magnificent skyscraper, I build a chicken coop. And when I'm finished building that with my father's plans, materials and tools, I step back and say, you see that chicken coop? That proves my father doesn't exist. That's what they did in that laboratory, they took God's tools, God's materials, God's plans, and made, compared to God's creation, a chicken coop and said, look what we have done. Oh my dear friend, what I'm trying to say to you is that when we present our case, whether you be in a college philosophy class or anywhere else, you don't have to sit in the back room sucking your thumb. You don't have to be intimidated.
Don't be terrified by your adversaries, be bold. Creation says there is a God, design says there is a God, and the very moral law of the universe says there is a God. Romans 2 verses 14 and 15, the Bible says, For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, that is, they don't have the Bible, do by nature the things contained in the law, these having not the law are a law unto themselves which show the law of God written in their hearts.
Did you know that there is a moral sense in the universe that you cannot explain apart from a moral God? All men universally believe that the same things are wrong. They believe, dear friend, that it is wrong to murder. It is wrong to rape. It is wrong to steal.
It is wrong to lie. You can find that in any society across the world, around the world, anywhere. Oh, there may be exceptions to it, but I'm talking about universally held beliefs. And that tells us, dear friend, that the God who created it all is powerful. The design tells us he's intelligent, and moral law tells us that he is a moral God. Well, that's all well and good, but, dear friend, logic has its limits.
Let me tell you something. If anybody comes up to you and says, prove there's a God, don't ever try, because you can't prove there's no God, or there is a God, or you can't prove there is no God. Somebody says to me, prove there's a God, I just simply say, I can't. And then I just turn back to them, I say, prove there is no God, and if he's honest, he'll say he can't. And he says, well, you're just a credulous person because you believe there's a God. I say, that's right, I'm a believer, and you're a believer too. I believe there is a God, you believe there is no God.
You say, I have faith that there is, you have faith that there isn't. You see, listen, what we believe is reasonable, but it goes beyond reason. Now, dear friend, forego the folly of fools and learn the limits of logic. Just learn the limits of logic. What we believe is rooted in logic, but it goes beyond logic.
What we believe is not unreasonable, but it is supra-reasonable. Now, here's the third thing as you respond to a skeptic. Remember the resource of revelation. Remember the resource of revelation. If you're to know God, if I'm to know God, God is going to have to reveal himself to us.
The finite can never understand the infinite unless the infinite explains himself and reveals himself to the finite. Now, you're in 1 Peter. Just turn to 2 Peter here, chapter 1, for a moment, and see what Peter has to say about revelation. Look, if you will, in 2 Peter, chapter 1 and verse 19. Peter says, he's talking about an experience he had with Jesus on the mountaintop when Jesus was transfigured, and then he says in 1 Peter, chapter 1 and verse 19, we have also a more sure word of prophecy. Now, he's talking here about God's revealed truth, what we would call the Bible, a more sure word of prophecy. Whereunto you do well that you take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts, knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Now, three things I want to say about the Word of God out of that passage.
First of all, the inspiration of the Word of God. Look in verses 20 and 21, knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. Now, what does that word private mean? Well, it's used 114 times in the Bible, and it means of its own. Of its own.
All right? Now, look at it. It is not of any private interpretation. What does the word interpretation mean here?
It comes from a Greek word which means to untie or unfold or loose. That is, what Peter is saying is this, that no Scripture is of its own unfolding. That is, it's not like any other book.
It's not like any other book. How did the Scripture come about? Well, look in verse 21, for the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, that is, it's not of its own unfolding, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
Now, the word moved by the Holy Ghost is a term from the sea, that when the wind would blow upon the sails of a ship, that ship would be moved along. And what Simon Peter is saying is that the writers of the Scriptures had the sails up, and the Holy Spirit of God just bore them along, carried them along, and this is what we call the inspiration of the Scriptures. Now, it's not enough that we have the inspiration, but also we have to have illumination, because even if the Scriptures are perfect, and they are, we have to be able to understand them, and God knows that.
So look, if you will, in verse 19 of this same passage. And it's such a blessing, for we have a more sure word of prophecy, where until you do well that you take heed as a light, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn and the day star rise in our hearts. Now, this Scripture that has inspired the inspiration of the Scripture also illumines. Now, it shines into our hearts.
It gives light. Now, look at the word dark here. You know, you see it in verse 19, it shineth in a dark place. It doesn't mean dark like the kind of dark where you turn out the lights, but it has a meaning of being squalid, or murky, or dirty, or filthy.
It shines into a squalid, murky, dirty, filthy area. All right, now, look if you have the idea here, it says until the day dawn, do you see that, and the day star rise in your hearts? He's not talking about the second coming of Jesus here. He's talking about the sunrise of the soul. That dark, squalid, murky, filthy place is your heart, and the word of God inspired shines into your heart, into that dark place, and reveals the Lord Jesus. You see, what happens is the Holy Spirit takes the curtain of your skepticism, and he pulls it aside and pins it with a star of hope, and floods your heart with gospel light.
He did that for me, and he did that for you. You have the inspiration of the word of God. My dear friend, you have the illumination of the word of God, and you have the confirmation of the word of God. Look, if you will, in verse 19 of this same chapter, it says we have a more sure word of prophecy.
More sure than what? Well, Simon Peter is just told about what he'd seen on the Mount of Transfiguration, and Peter then says, I've got something more sure than what I saw and what I heard. It is the word of God. It is the word of God, the confirming power of the word of God. Friend, you don't believe because you've seen miracles. You don't believe because you've had experiences. You don't believe because someone has proved anything to you. God has revealed himself in this book, and you need to telescopic that, that the Bible is the word of God. It is the, there's the inspiration of the word of God, the illumination of the word of God, and the confirmation of the word of God. I have a sermon on why I believe the Bible is the word of God.
If you've not listened to that, get the tape and listen to it. But when you deal with any skeptic, dear friend, don't forget there is this power in the word of God. He says, you say, but Adrian, he doesn't believe the Bible. Well, suppose a man breaks into your house tonight, and you have a gun, and you're pointing it at him, and he says, I don't believe it's a gun.
What are you going to do with it? Shoot him, if you have to. What if you're in a sword fight? You've got a sword in your hand, and somebody says, I don't believe it's a sword.
It won't keep you from sticking him. What I'm trying to say is, dear friend, the Bible is power whether he believes it or not. You use the word of God. I have seen so many skeptics broken down by the word of God. God says, it's not my word like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces. You know you have to be so careful when you preach in public. I get a dozen letters from somebody who says, I don't believe you ought to go around shooting people, and that's not even what I'm talking about, folks.
I'm not talking about shooting people. I'm saying that the Bible is the word of God. If a man has a gun, and somebody says, I don't believe it's a gun, that's not going to keep you from using the gun on him. Do you understand what I'm trying to say? I'm trying to say, dear friend, whether a person believes the Bible is the word of God, or whether he doesn't, the word of God still has power, even with an unbeliever. It's a two-bladed sword. If it doesn't cut him in salvation, it will cut him in judgment.
Be careful how you grab that blessed blade. It is the word of God. It is the saver of life unto life.
It is the saver of death unto death. So what have I said? Listen. Forgo the folly of fools. Learn the limits of logic, but remember the resource of revelation. Remember, dear friend, when you're dealing with somebody that God has given you the word.
It is quick. It is powerful. It is sharper than any two-edged sword, even if he says he doesn't believe the Bible. The Bible still has incredible power.
Now here's the last thing I want to say. Fortify the force of faith. Fortify the force of faith. Notice again in our original text where we're talking about in 1 Peter 3, verse 15, the Bible says, Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason, now watch this next phrase, of the hope that is in you. I've told you before, I want to tell you again, to quote Dr. Vance Habner, a Christian with a glowing testimony is worth a library full of arguments. The hope that is in you.
Fortify your faith. You see, Joyce, for our Thanksgiving dinner, made an incredible pumpkin pie. I mean, out of a real pumpkin. She didn't get it out of a can. I mean, she made it out of a pumpkin.
I didn't know people did that anymore. Took a pumpkin and made a pie. I want to tell you it's good. I had it and I had a second piece.
There's one more piece and I've got my eye on it. Now, now listen. Suppose after I've eaten that piece of pie, somebody comes to me and they say, I don't believe in pumpkins. Much less I don't believe in pumpkin pies.
And I don't believe in cooks and ovens and all of the rest of it. And all this time I'm eating pie. And dear friend, I have enjoyed it. And you tell me there is no such thing as pumpkin pie. Friend, I've got the witness in myself.
Isn't that right? The Bible says, Taste and see that the Lord is good. Taste and see.
Oh, listen, listen friend. How do you answer a skeptic? Forgo the folly of fools. Learn the limits of logic. Rely on the resource of revelation. But fortify the force of faith. Let Jesus be real to you. Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. Be ready always to give an answer of the hope that is in you. Do it with meekness and fear. Don't be a smart aleck. Your faith will be as much caught as it will be taught. Oh, dear friend, we need to hold our heads up high in the way in which we live.
