Acts 26:1

 Acts 26:1 says, Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth the hand, and answered for himself:  King Agrippa met with Paul and told him that he can speak for himself, and he did.  We should always be ready to defend our belief in Jesus Christ.  Verse two adds, I think myself happy, king Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day before thee touching all the things whereof I am accused of the Jews: Verse three continues, Especially because I know thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews: wherefore I beseech thee to hear me patiently.  Paul said that he was happy to answer for himself, especially before King Agrippa, because the king was expert in all the matters the Jews were accusing him of.  In any court, even the court of public opinion, we can only hope that the people or person we are speaking to has at least some knowledge of the real teachings of Christianity.  Too often, if we take a stand against sin, we are accused of hating the sinner, for example.  Paul asked King Agrippa to be patient.  Verse four states, My manner of life from my youth, which was at the first among mine own nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews;  Then, Paul began to share his testimony. Again, people may question a lot of things we say about Christianity, but they can never even claim to disprove our personal experience with Christ.  Paul said from his youth, which was among his own nation, the Jews, at Jerusalem had known about him.. Verse five adds, Which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.  Paul said he lived after the strictest sect of their religion as a Pharisee.  The Jews knew this about him.  What we say should be consistent with what we do as followers of Christ.  Verse six continues, And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God, unto our fathers:  Now, he was judged of the hope and promise made of God to their fathers.  Our testimony should always be based on the promises made to people from the beginning.  We may not be able to say we strictly followed God's law before we met Christ and accepted Him as our Savior, but we must acknowledge all that He taught the world through His revelation of Himself.  Salvation will always be consistent with what God's word has always taught.  If we say that we became a Christian in any way other than by what Christ did for us on the cross, or that the Bible, God's written word for His people, has no relevance for us today, then something is wrong.  God is not going to suddenly change the way to salvation.