The Truth – When Your Story Becomes Your Apologia

Say Your Story

And when he had given him licence, Paul stood on the stairs, and beckoned with the hand unto the people. And when there was made a great silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew tongue, saying, Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you. Acts 21:40, 22:1

And they saw and recognised the man in the temple worshipping and bowing. Therefore, they stirred up the multitude and arrested him. The crowd became clear in their intention to terminate this man. The uprising was so vicious, the beatings so cruel. The protest and resistance were so loud and aggressive that the intervention of the officials was necessary and urgent. Senior soldiers came to stop the uprising and protect the one fallen and beaten up. The chief captain took over the situation and the custody of the man. He was dragged through the crowds to a safe place, to contain the city and judge lawfully the issue. However, before entering into the castle, on the stairs leading up to it, this man asked for permission to speak to the crowd. His request was made in the official Greek language, spoken by the educated and the elites of the empire. The chief captain had been under the impression that this man was an Egyptian who had caused another uproar before. But he made his case to be not that man, but a Jew of Tarsus, a citizen of a city in Cilicia. His request was granted, and permission was given to address the crowds.

A Journey Marked By “Stops”

The name of the man was Paul, the Pharisee to whom Jesus appeared on his way and mission to Damascus, to kill and arrest those who were professing faith in Jesus of Nazareth. Here is now the same Paul, but with a different mission and scope. The persecutor was now the persecuted. The one who imposed suffering and terror was now in the midst of pain and afflictions—not because he failed in his mission to Damascus, but because he met the One he fought against with all zeal.

Our lives are nothing more than a sequence of days. We seem to value each day more than the other, truthfully knowing that yesterday will never come back. Tomorrow is yet to come, without certainty. What we have is only today; therefore, life gains a higher, unknown meaning.

Reading the description of events starting with Acts chapter 20 up to chapter 22, I had to stop and reflect on the events leading up to Paul in Jerusalem, and what happened to him there. It seems that God often makes such stops in our journey, that He may reveal Himself. Meditating upon this, I noticed the journey does not stop, but it takes responsible steps towards maturity and deeper intimacy with God.

Analysing the story, so neatly put together by Luke and rich in detail, stirring up the whole being, I had to make a stop—same as Paul on the stair—and look at this as I would look at myself in a mirror. It ended up being a time of self-reflection and, once again, a reminder not to lean on my own understanding, but to recognise it is the Lord working in the innermost details of my life.

A Staircase, a Silence, and a Story

What struck me in this situation was how beautifully Luke constructed the narrative. And beyond that, how Paul manages to navigate it and turn it into a moment of pure silence in the presence of the Gospel.

And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: Acts 22:2 (KJV)

I can only imagine the echoing quietness and the wind slowly whistling as Paul began to speak to the crowd. We learn now how eloquent Paul was in speaking Hebrew and Greek—a skill he used wisely, turning the odds in his favour and making his defence. But his apologia was not merely an argument; it was his story.

The Defence of Hope

So often I am asked to give an answer for the reason of the hope that is in me. Most of the time my approach was to defend the Gospel by stretching my brain and providing arguments and evidence why the Gospel is the Truth. However, this was nearly always met with rejection in various shapes and forms. It saddened me to witness how people rejected the very thing that gave me meaning and purpose—to see people rejecting Christ, the incarnate Truth and God, taking up the cross.

To me, the Gospel is reality, and in those situations I could only comfort myself with the thought that the same happened to Jesus. However, one day I was asked more directly why I am a Christian. That was when I understood that the answer I was to give, as the Bible prescribes, is for the reason of the hope I have (1 Peter 3:15 KJV).

Neither the Gospel nor the Truth needs a defence of man. It is illogical to think so or to try to do so. If it is the true Truth, then it stands out above all. It does not compete with other views, because the Truth has no competition against it. Nor is it engaged in winning an argument, but in converting hearts and minds, winning the souls of the lost.

Therefore, I was convicted that I had to present myself to non-believers as the fruit of the Gospel—as the result of Truth indwelling in me—and allow the Truth to reveal itself by exposing my story.

What the World Needs to Hear

Society today, much the same as it was in Paul’s time, does not need yet another argument for why the Gospel is true. It needs to be confronted and challenged with the reality of how beautifully it saves people from the most feared damnation, Hell, and justifies and translates them for Heaven right at the moment of trusting in Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ and Son of God.

Paul’s story had such an impact on the multitude. Notice the details he exposed and how he even interacts with his listeners, especially when he describes how he was dressed with authority from the elders and the high priest to kill and persecute. Those very people were present there and could testify and approve it. Therefore, Paul creates a contrast and proves himself to be true, the Gospel to be true, and his conversion to be genuine. He was not gaining anything by this, as the situation clearly depicted.

When we are in the midst of witnessing to people, the situation might not benefit us. The objections, and even the rejection of God and His good news, seem to work against us. However, because we are there as believers, there is light which no darkness can overcome.

So, tell your story of believing in God, trusting in Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ and Son of God. Expose your transformed life because of Christ. Showcase who you were before believing in Christ, and where you are now after the full indwelling of the Gospel. Do not hesitate to be truthful with the Truth. People need to have a one-to-one meeting and discussion with the Truth. And often, that meeting begins when you simply, humbly, say your story.

The Greatest Story

Paul is merely replicating what Jesus did. But of course, Jesus was not just the greatest storyteller; He lived and proved that His story is true. Jesus’ story was not the Gospel because He wrote it. Rather, His story was that God, the Creator of the universe, clothed Himself in a human body—the everlasting Logos became flesh—and dwelt among people, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14) The Logos went up to the cross, so that through His sacrifice any believer in Him is lifted up in glory. He went down into the grave, so that any believer will not be bound by death. He rose from the dead the third day, so that any believer will have everlasting life. Jesus spoke and fulfilled His story in full display. There is no greater beauty to witness than the Author Himself showcasing eternal love.

Say Your Story!