Many Christians wonder how they should share their faith. Many try to provide an answer by quoting worldly expressions, such as “Actions speak louder than words.” Although such sayings often contain truth and wisdom, the abundance of such extrabiblical answers is staggering. Browse through various Web sites, blogs and Christian forums that attempt to address this topic, and you will almost certainly see a pattern emerge: Continue reading
Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?” But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” And they were amazed at him. (Mark 12:13-17, NIV)
Jesus seemed to seize any opportunity he could to teach a spiritual truth or give an important exhortation. This exchange with the Pharisees and Herodians seems no different. Trying to trap Jesus in his words, undoubtedly they were hoping he would answer their question in a way that would make him appear as a rebel against Roman authority. They were hoping he would say, “NO! Don’t give a single farthing to those ruthless, wicked oppressors,” so they could then report him to the Roman authorities for insurrection. His answer, however, was quite different. It is noteworthy that while Jesus answered their question directly, he added an exhortation to it that is just as true for us as it was for his enemies back then: Give to God what belongs to God.
Continue reading
In my ongoing study of the Gospel of Mark with a friend, I came across the very interesting—and for some perplexing—account of Jesus’ causing the fruitless fig tree to wither. If we had attempted to interpret the passage on its own apart from the context, we would have been confused and would have misconstrued the text. Continue reading
Long ago St. Francis allegedly uttered some words that have unfortunately survived to this very day and constitute a popular quote among many Christians regarding evangelism: “Preach the gospel at all times. If necessary, use words.” This statement—or the thinking behind it—has perhaps become as popular in evangelical church culture as the Great Commission itself. Continue reading
About the Author
The author of this blog, Jeremy (Jehanne), is a Catholic who strives to think God's thoughts after Him and obey Christ's exhortation to take up the cross daily and follow Him on the way to Golgotha. He likes reading theology, evangelizing, and, of course, writing.
Recent Comments