Holy Week III - Confrontation

If we struggle with what words to speak in a situation, especially when we feel like our faith is being challenged, we can be reminded on what God said to Moses when he was less than confident in the Lord. This is from Exodus 4:
10Then Moses said to the Lord, "O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue."11So the Lord said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord?12Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say."

God has given us a mind, and He wants us to fill it with spiritual truth.  And, He has given us the presence of the indwelling Christ, so that we might be filled with His Spirit, to be activated to speak God's truth.  So, equipping and enunciation work hand-in-hand.

There are powerful principles we have been given in the Scriptures, and as we carefully study and meditate on the Word and supplement it with the evidence in creation that has been upheld by science that point to a Creator, in whom we live and have our being, we can make powerful points as we are prepared to defend our faith.

Between the cleansing of the Temple and the Last Supper with His disciples, Jesus participated in a series of "discussions", or confrontations with the religious leaders of the day.  He debated with the Pharisees about authority and paying taxes and with the Saducees about the resurrection of the dead.  He had refuted them with penetrating questions that they could not answer effectively.  In Matthew chapter 22, you see a question that He asked:
41While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,42saying, "What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?" They said to Him, "The Son of David."43He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying:44'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool" '?45"If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?"46And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.
They were unsuccessful at setting a trap, and He in fact, in His wisdom, set the trap for them, which of course, caused the hostility to grow.  Today on The Meeting House, author and blogger Justin Taylor, author of, The Final Days of Jesus, talks about the way that these exchanges just served to accelerate the series of events leading up to his death.
When you study these teachings in Matthew chapters 21 through 25 and view the way that Jesus answered the authorities, you really do come away amazed at the wisdom and the skill with which He communicated.  I could describe it as breathtaking.   We might think that we could not share our faith or debate spiritual matters with anything close to that ability.   
What is amazing to me is that there is an abundance of resources that we have in order to become more confident in the defense of our faith.  We also live in an age where it is becoming more apparent that science is on our side with regard to the existence of God, and we hear of scientific discoveries are highly compatible with our worldview.
For instance, just yesterday, a new book was released called, Why Science Does Not Disprove God, by renowned mathematician Amir Aczel.  A ChristianNews.net story quotes the book description as saying, “A highly publicized coterie of scientists and thinkers, including Richard Dawkins, the late Christopher Hitchens, and Lawrence Krauss, have vehemently contended that breakthroughs in modern science have disproven the existence of God, asserting that we must accept that the creation of the universe came out of nothing, that religion is evil, that evolution fully explains the dazzling complexity of life, and more."
It goes on to say, “[But] … science journalist Amir Aczel profoundly disagrees and conclusively demonstrates that science has not, as yet, provided any definitive proof refuting the existence of God.”

Aczel argues that the discoveries of celebrated scientists like Albert Einstein and even Charles Darwin all “leave open the possibility—and even the strong likelihood—of a Creator.”

In writing his book, Aczel interviewed eleven Nobel Prize winners and many other biologists, psychologists, physicists, and anthropologists, as well as several leading theologians and religious leaders. Aczel also points out various references to God made by famous scientists, including Einstein:

“Everyone who is seriously interested in the pursuit of science,” Einstein once wrote, “becomes convinced that some spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe, one that is vastly superior to that of man.”

Though Aczel does not promote Christianity or any other particular religion, he rebukes atheists for using science as “a weapon in cultural debates.” Overall, Aczel hopes his book will be “an essential corrective” for people to balance science and religious faith.
But, as Jesus teaches us, it is always important that we remain grounded in God's Word.  Scientific discoveries that are compatible with our worldview can be compelling, but ultimately, we must be skilled in using the Word of God to express truth about the nature of God and the availability of salvation for all.   We can be confident in Him and dependent on the Holy Spirit to give us the words to speak in the situations we face.