Have you ever stayed away from a particular restaurant because it got a bad review? I have. I couldn't actually tell you that it was bad - I just read it and believed. It has been researched and determined for every bad customer service experience you will tell 20 people and for every positive experience 4 or 5 people.
In 1 Peter 2:1 - 3 it says, (NIV) 1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good."
Apparently these new Christians had heard some bad reviews about Jesus and the Gospel. But now they had experienced salvation and Jesus personally - they could write a new review that says, "...the Lord is good." I've since eaten at some of the restaurants the food critics slammed and determined that they were wrong. Remember this, our experiences always override our opinions.
If people were to experience a Christian (that's you) who practices verse 1. A Christian who was growing in their relationship with Jesus. Don't you think that the people around you would be tempted to start experiencing Jesus for themselves instead of believing the bad reviews? In other words, their experience from being around you would override their opinion.
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