Don't Give Your Attacker Ammunition

Imagine this scene: Cops and robbers are having a shootout in a dusty warehouse, just like in the movies. Suddenly, one robber yells that he is out of bullets. The other robber replies that he has fired his last shot, too.

Then, a police officer yells, “Here you go!” and slides a box of ammunition down the floor to the robbers.

It sounds completely foolish, right? Yet Christians often do the exact same thing by giving the enemies of Christ ammunition to attack the faith.

Expect Persecution

The Bible tells Christians to expect persecution (hostility and ill-treatment). Jesus experienced it and warned His apostles it was coming. The apostles also warned early believers to expect opposition. In fact, we should only be surprised if we do not face it.

Here are a few key scriptures on this:

• John 15:18-25 - Jesus told the apostles that the world hated Him before it hated them. The world hates truth and hates believers for their connection to Him.
• Matthew 5:11-16 - In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught that believers are blessed when they are insulted and persecuted for teaching the truth. We should still reflect God’s light and act as salt to help the world glorify God.
• Luke 21:12 - Jesus warned that the apostles would face persecution from both governments and individuals.
• 2 Timothy 3:10-13 - Paul reminds Timothy that all who desire to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
• 1 Peter 4:12-19 - Peter wrote that we should not be ashamed of suffering as Christians. However, we must never suffer for doing wrong or acting sinfully.

Responding with Grace

Jesus, the apostles, and early Christians showed great grace under pressure. They responded with love to angry, hateful, and ignorant opponents.

• Isaiah 53:1-9 - This prophecy predicted that the Messiah would face deep suffering and persecution.
• Matthew 27:13-14 - Pilate was amazed that Jesus did not defend Himself or yell back at His accusers.
• 1 Thessalonians 2:1-4 - Paul and his companions continued to preach boldly even after facing conflict.
• 1 Corinthians 4:9-13 - The apostles endured terrible abuse and showed believers how to respond with blessing.
• Matthew 5:44 - Jesus commanded His followers to pray for those who persecute them.
• Romans 12:12-14 - Be patient in tribulation (times of trouble) and return blessing for persecution.

We must endure hard times patiently and demonstrate trust in God and love for our enemies.

It is natural that Christians will face pushback. We are trying to reflect Christ in a dark world and pursue holiness in a defiled society. We teach the truth in a culture filled with lies and confusion.

As Jesus said, we are not of this world. While some people will join us, others will pity us, and some will actively oppose us.

Instead of fighting back, we must respond in love. This allows our enemies to see their own hatred and potentially turn to God.

“Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.” (1 Peter 2:12)

(Note: “Gentiles” here refers to unbelievers or those outside the covenant of God.)

Arming Our Attackers

Unfortunately, Christians can be guilty of supplying weapons to their enemies. We do this when we fail to reflect the light of Jesus.

If we practice a worldly version of Christianity, we harden the hearts of unbelievers. When we focus on politics, gossip, and works of the flesh (like anger, rivalries, and division), we ruin our witness.

This behavior confirms the cynicism of unbelievers. It gives them a reason to reject the faith and view Christians as hypocrites.

An Example of Gossip and Cynicism

I once sat in front of a couple on a flight from Tacoma to Dallas. They were members of a local denomination (a specific religious group or sect).

They spent the flight talking about the political fights in their church. They gossiped about their pastor, detailed power struggles in the choir, and complained that young people were leaving. They even claimed that certain parts of the Bible were inaccurate.

The woman sitting next to me was wearing a shirt that promoted a worldly lifestyle. She slept with her headphones on during the flight, which I was glad for.

If she had heard their conversation, it would have reinforced her desire to stay away from church. Hearing Christians act like political backbiters who do not even believe the Bible gives unbelievers an excuse to ignore the Gospel. It suggests that Christians have nothing unique or better to offer.

Similarly, I have seen countess Christians speak poorly of other believers on social media. They often do this to get support from unbelievers.

However, this only reinforces the world’s cynical view of the church. We cannot help people put on white robes if we are busy airing our dirty laundry in public.

What Christians Know (That the World Misses)

To understand this issue, we must keep a few biblical truths in mind:

1. Christians are not perfect

We have all met “holier-than-thou” believers who are quick to judge others but slow to see their own pride. However, most Christians are fully aware of their flaws and are striving to grow in Christ.

Until we are glorified (made perfect and sinless in heaven), we will make mistakes. Since we teach grace, we must show grace to our brothers and sisters.

People will hurt you, not because they are Christians, but because they are human. Christ commands us to resolve our differences privately.

Paul warned the church in Corinth about the shame of taking fellow believers to court. He argued that it was better to accept a loss than to ruin their witness before unbelievers.

“…to have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?” (1 Corinthians 6:7)

(Note: “defrauded” means cheated or tricked out of something.)

2. Not all who claim to be Christians are truly saved

In Matthew 13, the parables of the dragnet and the wheat and tares teach that the kingdom will contain people who do wrong. God will separate the righteous from the wicked at the final judgment.

Jesus also warned that some will be surprised at the judgment. Even though they claimed to do good works in His name, He will tell them to depart.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)

Unbelievers often lump all Christians together. Because of this, we must shine as lights and show a clear difference between those who just call themselves Christians and those who actually live like Christ.

3. This world is not our home

When we use political battles and power struggles to advance our cause in the local church, we show that our true allegiance is to this world.

While voting and civic involvement are fine, our ultimate focus must be on following Jesus. It is bad enough when churches have internal fights, but it is far worse when we broadcast those fights to the community.

Instead, we should follow Paul’s advice to the Philippians:

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus…” (Philippians 2:3-5)

This mindset removes politics and pride from our hearts and churches.

4. Our brothers and sisters do incredible good

When we air our dirty laundry, we ignore the self-sacrifice, holiness, and loving service of many believers. Unbelievers will not notice these good deeds if we only focus on the drama.

We rarely see social media posts or hear stories about Christians apologizing, correcting their mistakes, or working out their differences. The world loves sensational drama and ignores the quiet work of peace.

A Call to Action

Our relationship with Christ will always bring some ridicule from the world. Many unbelievers do not want to investigate the truth, or they have been turned away by the hypocrisy of those who claim to follow God.

However, there are still people who might consider the Gospel if they see it lived out genuinely.

Let us commit to living holy and truthful lives (Titus 2:11-14). When conflicts arise, we should handle them privately and constructively within the church community, not in public.

Highlighting the failures of other Christians does not draw people to Jesus. It only gives them a reason to walk away. Let us stop giving our attackers the ammunition they need to fight the faith.