If the Christian doesn’t get reality right, he loses effectiveness in this life.
—Greg Koukl—
Equipping Members of the Next Generation of Christians to Defend Their Faith and to Embrace a Biblical Worldview, Part 4
Key point: Being ready to offer a defense of one’s faith in Christ is not exclusively about evangelism; it’s about everything else in the Christian life as well. Like the above anchor located on the grounds of the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse and Museum once did for a ship close to the shore, apologetics keeps a believer from drifting away from the truth of Christianity. How does it do this? By benefitting believers in a wide variety of ways.
You can find links to all the articles in this series here.
In this article and the next we will be highlighting benefits of biblical apologetics, which is a strong and reasonable defense of the Christian faith. Is Christianity true? A great deal of evidence indicates that it is, and the evidence is convincing enough to compel us to believe, not beyond a shadow of a doubt, but beyond a reasonable doubt. That, my friends, is significant.
No faith system can be proved completely; any “faith systems” that can be proved to that extent aren’t faith systems at all, because they would require no faith. Again, the evidence for Christianity is quite strong. Yet, if we never become familiar with it, it won’t benefit us in any way.
What are some of the specific benefits, then, of studying biblical apologetics, of looking at and studying the evidence for Christianity? How do these benefits help believers to become and remain strong in their faith? Let’s start with some advantages found 1 Peter 3:15-16, where the apostle Peter writes this to persecuted believers:
15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; 16 having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.
Background
The word translated defense in verse 15 is a Greek word transliterated into English as “apologia”—apologetic. Here are four different English translations of this verse, each one of which sheds light on the meaning of the word. Meanings of the Greek word include
- “a verbal defense,”
- “a speech given in defense,” and
- “a well-reasoned statement or argument.”
Thus, an apologetic highlights evidence, so much so that we might say it is evidence offered in making a case.
Benefits
Items 1-8 below are either explicitly or implicitly highlighted in 1 Peter 3:15-16. The other items are apparent in other passages of Scripture or are self-evident.
First, Peter associates sanctifying or setting apart “the Lord God in your hearts” with being familiar with evidence for the Christian faith and being ready to share it. One who has sanctified God in his or her heart is genuinely close to the Lord.
Second, studying apologetics helps us to do what Peter instructs: “always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you.” Being ready involves anticipating questions and objections and finding adequate answers ahead of time. This process has to increase one’s confidence in the case he or she will be called upon to make.
Third, Peter associates apologetics with hope. He uses the word translated hope in its noun form in a total of three verses in 1 Peter. The other two instances (in 1 Peter 1:3,21) shed light on the nature of this hope, as does Romans 8:22-25. In Romans 8:24, Paul uses the noun form of the word three times. When we are confident that what the Bible teaches is true and are relying on Christ personally, we have hope, as well as the encouragement that comes from that hope.
Fourth, in studying biblical apologetics, we see that Christianity is a rational and reasonable faith. Remember, Peter tells his readers to “be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you” (emphasis added). The word translated “reason” is logos, which often is translated “word” in the New Testament. Its meanings include “reason, the mental faculty of thinking, meditating, reasoning, calculating.” Also among its meanings is this definition: “account, i.e. answer or explanation in reference to judgment.” It is easy to see how these definitions fit both the meaning of logos as it is used in 1 Peter 3:15 and the theme of a reasonable, rational, defendable faith.
Fifth, being ready to defend one’s faith in Christ, and doing so “with meekness and fear” and with “a good conscience,” takes the focus away from opinions and places it on objective truth. With the focus there, opponents of Christianity, especially those who “revile [believers’] good conduct,” clearly ought to “be ashamed.”
Sixth, related to #5, apologetics gives us the confidence we need to stand when we’re falsely accused of narrow-mindedness, bigotry, and hate.
Apologetics gives us the confidence we need to stand when we’re falsely accused of narrow-mindedness, bigotry, and hate.
Seventh, also closely associated with #5, the discipline of apologetics helps us see that the Christian faith rests on reliable—factual—truth claims. Those who believe in Christ possess a robust faith with substance, one that can stand up under questioning and investigation.
Eighth, being familiar with evidence for Christianity enables us to share Christ more effectively. Properly applied, it is used lovingly to nudge people to faith, and never as a club to browbeat people to win arguments (see item #5).
Ninth, apologetics increases our confidence in the Bible and in God Himself.
Tenth, it strengthens our ability to engage in spiritual warfare, as we become better able to defend what we believe. Note that in Ephesians 6:10-18, Paul writes about the belt of truth — “having girded your waist with truth.” The belt, or truth, holds other items in the armor in place.
Eleventh, apologetics enables us to more effectively discern.
Twelfth, it helps us sort fact from fiction, and thus truth from error.
Apologetics helps us sort fact from fiction, and thus truth from error.
Thirteenth, it helps us sort fact from feelings, and thus objectivity from subjectivity.
Fourteenth, it helps us sort that which is true from that which is popular.
Fifteenth, because apologetics enhances our ability to discern, it helps us to be wise like serpents.
Sixteenth, it enhances our sense of accountability to God. Convinced that Christianity is true, we know that we one day will have to give an account to God for our thoughts and actions.
Seventeenth, apologetics is a vehicle that enables us to love God with all our minds.
Eighteenth, it helps us avoid compartmentalizing our faith, or walling it off from the other areas of life such as family, work, and recreational and entertainment choices. In other words, when we see that Christianity is true, we see it as applicable to everything in which we are involved and in which we invest our time and energy.
Nineteenth, it reminds us that God is a personal God who has acted in the context of real events in history. Recognizing Him as a personal God, we more readily understand He desires to relate to us personally and intimately.
Twentieth, it enhances our understanding of who Jesus Christ is, what He came to do, and how, in cooperation with the Father and the Holy Spirit, He completed the task He came to accomplish.
Twenty-first, it helps us understand the Bible better, both in specific detail and as a whole.
Twenty-second, it enhances our understanding of specific teachings of the Christian faith and of the Christian faith as a whole.
Twenty-third, it points to the most important reason for becoming and being a Christian—because Christianity is true!
Next time, we’ll hone in on one of the most significant benefits of apologetics for believers—a benefit each item on the above list supports. Apologetics gives Christians staying power. What do we mean by “staying power”? This phrase refers to the power of evidence for Christianity to help believers answer questions and overcome doubts about their faith, and to help them become increasingly confident in it. Put another way, staying power is the power to remain committed to biblical faith, even in the midst of an onslaught of opposition against it.
In our discussion, we will hear from several students who have had their faith strengthened by training in apologetics and the Christian worldview.
I’ll look for you to return!
Copyright © 2018 by B. Nathaniel Sullivan. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture has been taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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