Church, it is time for a reality check.
We often tell ourselves that being “nice” is enough—that if we are kind to the cashier or polite in traffic, we are doing the work of the Gospel. Let’s be clear: that is not evangelism. Being a decent person is fine, but nobody has ever been brought to repentance by someone simply merging politely in traffic. The Gospel is good news that must be proclaimed.
When you speak the name of Christ, you will face objections. This is why apologetics is not an elective for the intellectual elite; it is a necessity for every believer. You are called to defend the truth against atheism, secularism, and the distortions of a world that hates the God of the Bible.
We are currently suffering from a crisis of appetite. You have the entirety of church history—the wisdom of reformers, scholars, and theologians—sitting in your pockets on your smartphones. Yet, we starve ourselves of this feast, choosing to spend hours “doom-scrolling” or consuming mindless entertainment instead of arming our minds with the Word of God. We have become experts in sports stats and celebrity gossip while remaining functionally illiterate when it comes to defending our own faith. This is a failure of stewardship.
In Matthew 7, Jesus gives us the final word on the matter: two men, two houses, one storm. The difference between the wise man and the foolish man wasn’t their knowledge or their religious rhetoric; it was obedience. The foolish man heard the truth but chose to build on sand. The wise man heard and obeyed, building on the only Rock that will not crumble when the winds blow.
The modern world is obsessed with the idea that reality is “oppressive” because it refuses to bend to human desires. The skeptic calls truth a “social construct” and logic “violence” simply because they cannot handle the fact that they have no throne of their own. They are building on sinking sand, and they are trying to mock you for standing on the only foundation that actually exists.
Do not be the person who merely admires the words of Jesus while ignoring His commands. The storms of life are coming for all of us—the atheist, the secularist, and the believer alike. The only thing that will be left standing when the rain falls is a life built entirely upon the authority of Christ.
Stop making excuses. Stop wasting your time on the distractions of this world. Start studying, start training, and start building your house on the Rock. Excellence in Christian thinking matters, but excellence in Christian living—the active, obedient submission to our King—is the only way you will survive the coming storm.
The banquet is before you. Eat.