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What is Christian
apologetics? The word, ‘apologetics’ comes
from the Greek word, ‘apología’,
and it means, ‘speaking in defense’.
Christians are called upon to give an
organized, thoughtful defense of the
historic Christian faith. The early
Christian writers who defended their beliefs
against critics and shared their faith with
non-believers were called Christian
apologists.
Biblical
Christianity is being attacked by critics
and skeptics, liberals and legalists, false
teachers and false prophets, all of the time.
We can take heart that God has given us good
and rational answers to respond to those
false beliefs. The only way to answer
objections to our faith is by understanding
what we believe and why we believe it.
Thankfully, God has not left us on our own!
He has given us the power of the Holy
Spirit, logic, reason, and the Bible to
defend our faith against every false
teaching and the powers of darkness, but we
have to take a stand for
Christ and be willing to speak the truth of
God out of love.
Is the Bible
reliable?
“Using the same
criteria by which we judge other historical
works, not only is the Bible reliable, it is
more reliable than any other comparable
writings. Reliability is a question of
truthfulness and accurate copying. Writings
that are historically and factually correct
and that have been faithfully preserved over
time would be considered reliable. Higher
levels of historical verification and better
confidence in transmission make it easier to
determine whether an ancient work is worthy
of trust. By those measures, we can consider
the Bible reliable.”
[1]
God has
promised to give us the wisdom we need to
deal with the objections we get to our Christian faith. James 1:5 says, “If any of
you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives
generously to all without reproach, and it
will be given him.”
What we
teach, and how we teach it, matters to God!
John 15:13 says, “Greater love has no one than
this, that someone lay down his life for his
friends.” Jesus came and died so that we
could have new life and his apostles were
all willing to do the same to share what
Christ has done for us. The apostles were eye
witnesses to the events of Christ’s life and
every one of them was ready to give their
life in order to share the
gospel. Second Peter 1:16 says, “For we did not
follow cleverly devised myths when we made
known to you the power and coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses
of his majesty.”
The most
important thing we need to do is to
understand the gospel.
According to the scriptures,
Jesus came to earth in human form, lived a perfect life, died for
our sins, was buried and rose to life again
on the third day to bring redemption to all
those who would put their faith and trust in
his righteousness and accept his free offer
of salvation by grace through faith in him
alone.
Our responsibility is to
share the truth about Jesus Christ with a
lost and fallen world. Romans 10:14 says, “How then
will they call on him in whom they have not
believed? And how are they to believe in him
of whom they have never heard? And how are
they to hear without someone preaching?”
Luke said he wrote his gospel to
give an orderly account of the events
of Jesus’ life. We need to make sure the
message of salvation we share with the world
is what the Bible says it is, and not a
man-made, false gospel.
Luke 1:1-4
says, “Inasmuch as many have undertaken to
compile a narrative of the things that have
been accomplished among us, 2 just as those
who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and
ministers of the word have delivered them to
us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having
followed all things closely for some time
past, to write an orderly account for you,
most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may
have certainty concerning the things you
have been taught.”
After His
resurrection, Jesus explained to His
disciples the message He wanted them to
share
with the fallen world.
Luke 24:44-48
says, “Then he said to them, “These
are my words that I spoke to you while I was
still with you, that everything written
about me in the Law of Moses and the
Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
45 Then he opened their minds to understand
the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus
it is written, that the Christ should suffer
and on the third day rise from the dead, 47
and that repentance and forgiveness of sins
should be proclaimed in his name to all
nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You
are witnesses of these things.”
That is the very same message that
Paul and the other apostles shared with the
world.
First Corinthians 15:3-8
says, “For I delivered to you as of first
importance what I also received: that Christ
died for our sins in accordance with the
Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he
was raised on the third day in accordance
with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared
to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he
appeared to more than five hundred brothers
at one time, most of whom are still alive,
though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he
appeared to James, then to all the apostles.
8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he
appeared also to me.”
Paul
didn’t come up with the gospel he shared
with the Corinthians; he
simply shared with them what he received.
“Paul probably
received this confessional statement 20
years earlier at his baptism in Damascus and
later handed it over to the Corinthians when
he established the church there. This vital
summary of Christian belief was formed
during the period between Christ’s
resurrection and Paul’s Damascus call and
baptism. This formula was carried by
fugitives from Paul’s persecutions to
Damascus, where it was handed over to the
new convert at his baptism. This statement
may be the earliest formulation of New
Testament Christianity, predating Paul’s
earliest letters by 15 years.”
[2]
This is the essence of the
gospel. The life-saving message
that the world needs to hear!
“The central theme of the gospel is
given in these verses, a key text for the
defense of Christianity. The three most
important points are:
(1) Christ died for our sins, just as the
Scriptures said. Without the truth of this
message, Christ’s death was worthless, and
those who believe in him are still in their
sins and without hope. However, Christ as
the sinless Son of God took the punishment
of sin so that those who believe can have
their sins removed. “The Scriptures” refers
to Old Testament prophecies such as Psalm 16:8-11
and Isaiah 53:5, 6. Christ’s death
on the cross was no accident or
afterthought. It had been part of God’s plan
from all eternity in order to bring about
the salvation of all who believe.
(2) He was buried. The fact of Christ’s
death is revealed in the fact of his burial.
Many have tried to discount the actual death
of Christ, but Jesus did in fact die and was
buried in a tomb.
(3) He was raised from the dead on the third
day, as the Scriptures said. Christ was
raised permanently, forever; his Father
raised him from the dead “on the third day”
as noted in the Gospels (Friday afternoon to
Sunday morning—three days in Jewish
reckoning of time). This also occurred “as
the Scriptures said.” Jesus quoted the
prophet Jonah in Matthew 12:40 (see Jonah 1:17)
to show the connection to “three days”
as prophesied in the Old Testament. Psalm 16:8-11
and Psalm 110 also foretell the
resurrection of the Messiah.”
[3]
What do the scriptures say about
defending the Christian faith?
There are many false
religions in the world and we are often
called upon to demonstrate why Christianity
is superior to every one of those man-made
religions and the only way to salvation.
Just as there are many groups of people out
there who call themselves Christians’ but
are really under a strong delusion and
believe in a different Christ and a
different gospel.
Remember what Jesus
said in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who
says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the
kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the
will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On
that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord,
did we not prophesy in your name, and cast
out demons in your name, and do many mighty
works in your name?’ 23 And then will I
declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart
from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”
There will be a whole group of people
who stand before Christ at the end of time
and think they had done great things for
God, only to find out too late that they
believed in a false Christ, and a false
gospel.
We have to protect
the body of Christ against false teachers,
and warn those trapped in a false gospel
about the danger they are in.
Second Peter 3:17
says, “You therefore, beloved, knowing this
beforehand, be on your guard so that you are
not carried away by the error of
unprincipled men and fall from your own
steadfastness,”
And Romans 16:17-18 says,
”Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on
those who cause dissensions and hindrances
contrary to the teaching which you learned,
and turn away from them. 18 For such men are
slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their
own appetites; and by their smooth and
flattering speech they deceive the hearts of
the unsuspecting.”
The false
gospel of legalism (works-righteousness), is
a constant threat to believers.
Galatians 1:6-9 says, “I am astonished
that you are so quickly deserting him who
called you in the grace of Christ and are
turning to a different gospel— 7 not that
there is another one, but there are some who
trouble you and want to distort the gospel
of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from
heaven should preach to you a gospel
contrary to the one we preached to you, let
him be accursed. 9 As we have said before,
so now I say again: If anyone is preaching
to you a gospel contrary to the one you
received, let him be accursed.”
Both Jesus and Paul said some pretty
harsh things to people who were teaching the
false gospel of legalism.
Look at how
Jesus spoke to people who were teaching
works-righteousness.
Luke 12:1 says, “In the meantime, when so many
thousands of the people had gathered
together that they were trampling one
another, he began to say to his disciples
first, “Beware of the leaven of the
Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”
Matthew 23:33 says, “You serpents, you brood
of vipers, how are you to escape being
sentenced to hell?”
Matthew 23:13-17
says, “But woe to you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the
kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you
neither enter yourselves nor allow those who
would enter to go in. 15 Woe to you, scribes
and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel
across sea and land to make a single
proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte,
you make him twice as much a child of hell
as yourselves. 16 “Woe to you, blind guides,
who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it
is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold
of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ 17
You blind fools! For which is greater, the
gold or the temple that has made the gold
sacred?”
Matthew 23:23-28 says “Woe
to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and
have neglected the weightier matters of the
law: justice and mercy and faithfulness.
These you ought to have done, without
neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides,
straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the
cup and the plate, but inside they are full
of greed and self-indulgence. 26 You blind
Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup
and the plate, that the outside also may be
clean. 27 “Woe to you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like
whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear
beautiful, but within are full of dead
people’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So
you also outwardly appear righteous to
others, but within you are full of hypocrisy
and lawlessness.”
Luke 11:52 says,
“Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away
the key of knowledge. You did not enter
yourselves, and you hindered those who were
entering.”
And John 8:44 says, “You
are of your father the devil, and your will
is to do your father’s desires. He was a
murderer from the beginning, and does not
stand in the truth, because there is no
truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of
his own character, for he is a liar and the
father of lies.” (see also: Matt. 15:7; 23:29; Mark 12:38-40; Luke 11:39, 43; John 8:49, 55).
Now let's look at how Paul spoke to people who were teaching
a false gospel of works.
Galatians 5:11-12 says, “Now, brothers
and sisters, if I am still preaching
circumcision, why am I still being
persecuted? In that case the offense of the
cross has been removed. 12 I wish
those agitators would go so far as to
castrate themselves!” (NET)
And
Philippians 3:2-3 says, “Look out for the
dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out
for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we
are the circumcision, who worship by the
Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and
put no confidence in the flesh.”
Paul even called out people by name
in defense of the gospel.
First Timothy 1:18-20 says, “This charge I entrust
to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance
with the prophecies previously made about
you, that by them you may wage the good
warfare, holding faith and a good
conscience. By rejecting this, some have
made shipwreck of their faith, among whom
are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have
handed over to Satan that they may learn not
to blaspheme.”
Second Timothy 2:17-18
says, “and their talk will spread like
gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have swerved from the
truth, saying that the resurrection has
already happened. They are upsetting the
faith of some.”
Second Timothy 4:14-15
says, “Alexander the coppersmith did me
great harm; the Lord will repay him
according to his deeds. 15 Beware of him
yourself, for he strongly opposed our
message.”
It is obvious that
both Jesus, and Paul said some pretty harsh
things to people at times. They called them
hypocrites, fools, blind guides, whitewashed
tombs, lawless, liars, and of their father
the devil.
Why were Jesus
and Paul so
harsh with some people? It was because they
despised anything that would keep a
person from accepting the gospel of Jesus
Christ. Remember, saying harsh things to
people is not automatically wrong, but it
always needs to be tempered with wisdom and
love. We need to be careful when we speak
harshly to people, but it is not wrong, in
and of itself, to boldly speak the truth when
dealing with peoples’ rebellion against God.
We have an obligation to call
out false prophets and false teachers who would
come and try to destroy the church.
Matthew 7:15 says, “Beware of false prophets, who
come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly
are ravenous wolves.”
Second Timothy 4:1-5
says, “I charge you in the presence of God
and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the
living and the dead, and by his appearing
and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready
in season and out of season; reprove,
rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience
and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when
people will not endure sound teaching, but
having itching ears they will accumulate for
themselves teachers to suit their own
passions, 4 and will turn away from
listening to the truth and wander off into
myths. 5 As for you, always be sober-minded,
endure suffering, do the work of an
evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
First John 4:1 says, “Beloved, do not believe
every spirit, but test the spirits to see
whether they are from God, for many false
prophets have gone out into the world.”
Titus 1:9 says, “He
must hold firm to the trustworthy word as
taught, so that he may be able to give
instruction in sound doctrine and also to
rebuke those who contradict it.”
Ephesians 5:11 says, “Take no part in the
unfruitful works of darkness, but instead
expose them.”
The Bible is filled
with examples of God’s people defending the
truth of the gospel against false prophets and false
teachers. When someone preaches a false
gospel they need to be called out because
they are leading people away from the true
gospel.
The Apostle Paul
often had to refute the Jews publicly so
that everyone could hear the truth in
defense of the gospel.
Acts 18:27-28 says, “And when he wished to cross
to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and
wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When
he arrived, he greatly helped those who
through grace had believed, 28 for he
powerfully refuted the Jews in public,
showing by the Scriptures that the Christ
was Jesus.”
Acts 19:8-10 says, “And
he entered the synagogue and for three
months spoke boldly, reasoning and
persuading them about the kingdom of God. 9
But when some became stubborn and continued
in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before
the congregation, he withdrew from them and
took the disciples with him, reasoning daily
in the hall of Tyrannus. 10 This continued
for two years, so that all the residents of
Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews
and Greeks.”
God has
been revealing Himself to the fallen world
ever since the beginning. He wants us to
know Him personally and escape the lies of false
religion.
Romans 1:18-20 says, “For the wrath of
God is revealed from heaven against all
ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who
by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
19 For what can be known about God is plain
to them, because God has shown it to them.
20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his
eternal power and divine nature, have been
clearly perceived, ever since the creation
of the world, in the things that have been
made. So they are without excuse.”
We have a responsibility to defend
Christianity against false beliefs and the
powers of darkness.
Colossians 2:8 says, “See to it that no
one takes you captive by philosophy and
empty deceit, according to human tradition,
according to the elemental spirits of the
world, and not according to Christ.”
And 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 says, “For though we walk
in the flesh, we are not waging war
according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of
our warfare are not of the flesh but have
divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We
destroy arguments and every lofty opinion
raised against the knowledge of God, and
take every thought captive to obey Christ,”
The weapons of our warfare are
spiritual, not physical. We have the God
given powers of prayer, faith, the Word of
God, and the Holy Spirit, to tear down the
strongholds of wrong thinking and behavior
in our lives, and in the lives of
un-believers.
“Christians are
involved in a battle of principles,
philosophies, and world views. Paul’s battle
plan and confirmation of his relationship to
Christ resided in his determination to wage
this battle for people’s minds by spiritual
means, which transcend the ways of the
world. The world scorns the gospel and
proudly sets up clever arguments against it.
God’s people destroy such arguments knowing
that true knowledge of God comes only
through faith, not through human reason. We
should bring every thought into relation to
Christ. All of our thinking should have a
consistent unity which comes from having
Christ at the center. Salvation is based not
on hidden or philosophical knowledge, but on
relational and knowledge of God which comes
through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.”
[4]
God will give us wisdom and
power to answer people who have objections to the faith.
Colossians 4:5-6 says, “Be wise in the
way you act toward outsiders; make the most
of every opportunity. 6 Let your
conversation be always full of grace,
seasoned with salt, so that you may know how
to answer everyone.” (NIV)
“We should be wise in our contacts with
nonbelievers, making the most of our
opportunities to tell them the Good News of
salvation. When we tell others about Christ,
it is important always to be gracious in
what we say. No matter how much sense the
message makes, we lose our effectiveness if
we are not courteous. Just as we like to be
respected, we must respect others if we want
them to listen to what we have to say.”
[5]
We
are not called to argue for argument’s sake,
our goal in defending the faith against
false beliefs should always be done to lead
someone to Christ.
Second Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All
Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for
teaching, rebuking, correcting and training
in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God
may be thoroughly equipped for every good
work.” (NIV)
Second Timothy 2:24-26 says, “And the Lord’s
servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to
everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring
evil, 25 correcting his opponents with
gentleness. God may perhaps grant them
repentance leading to a knowledge of the
truth, 26 and they may come to their senses
and escape from the snare of the devil,
after being captured by him to do his will.”
Christians
should always be ready to give a logical
reason for their faith; and the answers they
give should always be done in love. We
need to be gracious and considerate, even
when we are opposed by unbelievers.
Jude 1:3
says, “Beloved, although I was very
eager to write to you about our common
salvation, I found it necessary to write
appealing to you to contend for the faith
that was once for all delivered to the
saints.”
And 1 Peter 3:15-16 says, “But in your
hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be
prepared to give an answer to everyone who
asks you to give the reason for the hope
that you have. But do this with gentleness
and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience,
so that those who speak maliciously against
your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed
of their slander.” (NIV)
Our
goal should always be to see lost people
come to faith in Christ.
First John 1:1-3 says, “That which was from the
beginning, which we have heard, which we
have seen with our eyes, which we looked
upon and have touched with our hands,
concerning the word of life— 2 the life was
made manifest, and we have seen it, and
testify to it and proclaim to you the
eternal life, which was with the Father and
was made manifest to us— 3 that which we
have seen and heard we proclaim also to you,
so that you too may have fellowship with us;
and indeed our fellowship is with the Father
and with his Son Jesus Christ.”
People’s eternal lives are at stake!
God doesn’t want us to be afraid of
being called upon to answer questions about
our Christian faith. Second Timothy 1:7 says,
“For God did not give us a spirit of
timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and
of self-discipline.” (NIV)
We
should be excited at the opportunity to
share our faith with those who are lost.
We all experience fear at times. The only
way to overcome the fear of sharing our
faith with non-believers is by studying the
scriptures regularly and trusting in Jesus
Christ to give us the right answers at the
right time.
And always remember, “If
God is for us, who can be against us?”
(Romans 8:31).
References:
1.
Is the Bible reliable? (GotQuestions.org)
2. The
Apologetics Study Bible: 1 Corinthians 15:3-7.
3. The Life Application Study Bible:
1 Corinthians 15:3-4.
4. The Disciple’s
Study Bible: 2 Corinthians 10:2-6.
5. The Life
Application Study Bible: Colossians 4:5-6.
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