When we are defending the gospel by giving an account for the hope that is in us, we begin with what defined us as an unbeliever and how that manifested itself. The following question can help us get to those answers: How were you in opposition to God, the gospel and the ways of Christ? Prior to Christ, we were all either religious unbelievers, self-righteously seeking to earn a right standing with God by our own goodness, OR pagan unbelievers, living in reckless abandon of any thought about God, OR perhaps even a combination of both. It’s not necessary to share all the wicked details of our sinfulness, for we do not want to glory in our rebellion against God, but certain tendencies may be helpful to highlight in order to set up what Christ saved you from.
Another helpful question to ask, that is discussed by the Apostle Paul, is: How did you have an antagonist disposition towards faithful Christians, either in the quiet recesses of your own heart or even expressed in verbal ridicule or scorn? I’m not referring to how you felt about common church-goers, but instead about genuine Christians who spoke the truth and sought to live set-apart lives. Did you judge them as narrow-minded bigots OR did you simply avoid them at all costs OR maybe you gave them enough Christianeze so that they would not continue to press into your life and just get off your back?
A Faithful Defense
When we highlight these things about our pre-converted life, we demonstrate we had much commonality with the unbelieving sinner, at the bare minimum in the general categories of pride and unbelief. For if we didn’t need to be saved as desperately as the person to which we are defending our hope to desperately needs to be saved, then our presentation of Christ’s salvation will severely lack the emphasis it so richly deserves.