What do I say?
In our cancel culture, have you ever been at a loss for words during a sensitive conversation? Are you looking for help on how to respond to issues like gay marriage, abortion, or racism?
During a seminar at the Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove last month, Ken Ham reminded attendees that they don’t need the answer to every question. They only need a foundation in Scripture.
In “The Key to Being Woke-Proof,” Ham showed that by studying God’s Word—including Genesis 1–11—Christians can develop a Biblical worldview that will help them respond to any moral issue today. The apologist and founder of Answers in Genesis shared that addressing the culture is less about knowing facts and figures. It’s more about standing on the authority of Scripture and sharing that with others, he said.
Setting the Foundation
Many can quote Genesis 1:1 from memory: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Though it’s familiar, Ham urged the audience not to brush past this ancient truth.
“If that verse is not true, neither is the rest of the Bible,” he said.
Some people today already disagree with the idea of an omnipotent God, said Ham, adding that we should be compassionate toward those who struggle with this concept. But we can also be confident that the intricacies of creation point to a loving Creator.
“We’re created beings, and we had a beginning. Because of that, we can’t conceive of someone that doesn’t have a beginning,” he explained.
Starting with an all-powerful God sets the stage for the Bible’s central message of redemption. The main story throughout Scripture, in fact, is God’s plan to save His people.
Still, said Ham, we buck against the idea of an Authority who has say over our lives.
“Man wants to be his own God,” he said, addressing today’s culture. “God created everything and defines everything. Man didn’t. All he can do is take what God has defined and … redefine it.”
In conversations about faith with your non-Christian friends, he said, start at the beginning. If the other person can’t comprehend the idea of a Creator, for example, start there. Encourage him or her to seek truth in Genesis and show how God sets boundaries not to enslave or burden us but to protect us.
Understanding the Main Problem
A couple of chapters past Genesis 1, God shows us the root cause of every issue in our culture: sin.
Genesis 3 isn’t just the story of Adam and Eve eating fruit from a tree; it’s the beginning of sin spreading to the rest of humanity. If we can’t understand the core problem in the world around us, we can’t see the solution.
“Man has a heart problem,” Ham reminded the audience. “The solution is a heart change.”
It’s easy to get caught up in hot-button cultural issues, but when we know they all lead back to sin in the Garden of Eden—and in the heart of every human being—we can have hope because the Bible shows the way to salvation from that sin.
“Here’s the exciting thing for us as Christians: If they’re all the same problem, they all have the same solution,” Ham said. “God’s Word and the Gospel have always been the solution.”
That’s why Christians can start at the beginning of God’s story when sharing the Good News.
Lisa,* who used to serve as a missionary, said this idea is revolutionary to her ministry.
“Without starting from the beginning,” she said, “we’re not really giving people the bigger picture, which is that God loves them and has wanted to reconcile man to Him since the very beginning of time.”
Trusting in the Gospel’s Power
Since creation, God has been drawing people to Himself. Even when our culture is pressing against Him—or ignoring Him altogether—Ham urged seminar attendees to stay the course and continue looking to God’s Word, where ultimate truth is found.
“Until they believe God’s Word and have a heart change and trust Christ for salvation, they’re not going to be able to deal with the issue,” he said. “Once they do, you can help them understand that they can overcome any temptation in Christ.”
No matter the reasoning or ideas you present—or how charming your approach—he shared, you can’t ultimately change or save someone. He emphasized the importance of prayer and depending on God, adding that when you stand on the power of Scripture, you can have confidence when communicating the Gospel.
Jeremy, a pastor from Georgia, sat in the audience and said he was encouraged to be bolder when sharing truth with others.
“Secularism is trying to give us all kinds of notions, but Biblical facts are still truth, and we can stand on that,” he said. “That’s my biggest takeaway, that God’s Word is authoritative and we can believe in it.”
Christians don’t need to fear engaging with the culture because Scripture gives us a firm foundation.
“Whether it’s biology, anthropology, geology, biochemistry, it all confirms that God’s Word is true,” Ham said. “It really comes down to an issue of Biblical authority.”
