Ravi Zacharias tells the story of an evangelist named Yakov, a story he borrowed from a book entitled Of Whom the World Was Not Worthy, written by Marie Chapian. The story goes that Yakov had been witnessing to an older man by the name of Cimmerman, but his efforts to win this man to Christ were met with stiff resistance. When Yakov talked about the love of Christ, Cimmerman talked of his hatred for Christians. He talked of the hypocrisy of some priests that he knew, and how they cloaked their inconsistent lives with clerical vestments. Yakov paused, and then asked Cimmerman to imagine a situation in which his coat, trousers, and boots were stolen and then worn by a man who robbed a bank. The police saw the man from a distance, but were unable to apprehend him. Carrying on with the imaginary story, Yakov described a scenario that had the police coming to Cimmerman and accusing him of robbing the bank. Before Yakov could say much more, Cimmerman stopped him and asked him to leave. He knew where he was going and what he was doing through the story. He understood that Yakov was saying that Christ couldn’t and shouldn’t be blamed for the actions of those who pretend to act in His name.
Yakov did leave Cimmerman that day, but he sought to live the love of Christ before him each and every day after that. As time went by, Yakov’s Christian life was so compelling and so attractive that Cimmerman approached Yakov and asked him how he might commit his life to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Cimmerman said to Yakov, “Thank you for being in my life. You wear His coat very well.”
Making the gospel attractive by the way we live and love is something that God calls all Christians to do. God wants us, in every way that we can, to make the teaching about God our Savior appealing and alluring. He wants us to put on a show of glamorous godliness that catches the attention of the world. In his letter to Titus, Paul underscores this when he calls upon the Christian slaves on the island of Crete to adorn the doctrine of God before their masters through honest, trustworthy, and respectful behavior (Titus 2:9-10). Interestingly, the Greek word for “adorn” gives us our English word cosmetics. It was used in that day to speak of the advantageous and attractive arrangement of jewelry. By implication, Paul is calling them to live in such a way that the gospel is made attractive by their attitudes and actions. In fact, one of the dominant themes of this letter is exemplary Christian behavior for the sake of those still outside of Christ (Titus 2:5, 7, 8, 10, 11; 3:1, 8). Against the background of a rotten and rotting culture, Paul calls the Christians on Crete to put the beauty of the gospel and the sweetness of Christ on display each day and in every way (Titus 1:12). The grace of God that had appeared in Christ was now to be manifested in them (Titus 2:11-2). They were to be a pattern of good works (Titus 2:7, 14; 3:1, 8, 14).
One of the greatest apologetics for the Christian faith is faithful Christians who wear the coat of Christ well. The world is watching us, and I hope they like what they see.