1. Introduction to Apologetics

Jason Hill

Formosa Baptist Church

Apologetics • Sermon • Submitted 18 days ago • Presented 18 days ago

1 Peter 3:14–17

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What is Apologetics?

1 Peter 3:14–17 ESV

14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

Definition

Apologetics = making a defense for Christianity

Any time you attempt to defend your faith, you are doing apologetics.

So, why do we need to study Apologetics?

Why study Apologetics?

To advance the Great Commission.

We’re called to make disciples of all nations.

Peter’s rationale for defending the faith is first and foremost about presenting a winsome picture of Christ to a lost world in hopes that they will come to the faith.

1 Peter 3:15 ESV

15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,

One great example of this is Paul’s speech to King Herod Agrippa in Acts 26. Paul has been arrested because the Jews in Jerusalem stirred up a riot when they heard him preaching Jesus, so the Romans arrested him to keep the peace and because they assumed he must have done something wrong.

Paul takes the opportunity to give his testimony to the King, describing his conversion experience, explaining how the OT points to Jesus, and then concludes his speech as follows:

Acts 26:22–29 ESV

22 To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: 23 that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.” 24 And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind.” 25 But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words. 26 For the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.” 28 And Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?” 29 And Paul said, “Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am—except for these chains.”

So, one of the main reasons we study apologetics is so that we are prepared to defend our faith to those who don’t have the hope that we have. We want to be able to present a winsome argument for the faith.

To promote tolerance for Christianity.

1 Peter 3:15–16 ESV

15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.

The purpose of bringing shame to those who slander Christians and Christianity is not for the sake of shaming them or revenge—it’s to make other prospective persecutors take note and be more cautious of such persecution in the future.

I Peter was probably written shortly before the great fire of Rome in AD 64, possibly AD 62-63.

When Christianity began, in AD 33 or so, it was initially seen as a sect within Judaism. Judaism was an officially protected religion in the Roman Empire, so it enjoyed that protection as well. But, as persecution from the Jews drove out the new Christians, and as more and more Gentiles joined the Church, it soon became clear to the Roman empire that Christians were not Jews. Thus, they lost their protection as an authorized religion in the empire.

Christians were accused of being atheists, cannibals, and threats to the good of Rome.

Romans worshipped idols which could be seen; Christians refused to worship those idols and instead worshipped an invisible God. Romans accused them of being atheists.

Christians also had a strange practice of “eating” and “drinking” their God in the Lord’s Supper, which led some to misinterpret the Lord’s Supper as ritualistic cannibalism.

And, since Christians refused to worship the Roman deities—which Romans believed were the source of Rome’s prosperity (or judgement!)—they were accused of being anti-Roman.

So, they were disliked by Romans and Jews alike.

In Acts 16, Paul casts a demon—a spirit of divination that helped with fortune telling—out of a servant girl. Her master becomes angry because she was his source of income, so they drag Paul and Silas before the city magistrates, where they are not given a fair trial and are instead beaten publicly and thrown in jail.

Acts 16:25–26 ESV

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26 and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened.

Paul and Silas are freed from prison through this miracle and even lead the jailer and his family to Christ, and the next day the town magistrates decide to release Paul and Silas anyhow.

But, rather than simply go his way, Paul defends himself on the basis of his rights as a Roman citizen and forces an apology from the magistrates.

Acts 16:36–39 ESV

36 And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” 37 But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out.” 38 The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. 39 So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city.

The point of all this is not just to force an apology, but to remind the magistrates that they had better exercise caution in the future when they arrest Christians.

Paul knew that the fledgling Philippian church would not be strong enough to endure full-blown persecution yet, so he’s paving the way for religious tolerance for fellow believers.

In our society, more and more this is becoming necessary. Even though there are many people that we will never be able to win to the faith, it’s still worthwhile to do apologetics well to them so that future Christians can continue to enjoy the religious liberties that we have enjoyed.

To preserve sound doctrine (orthodoxy) and refute heresy.

Paul had to defend himself (apologetics) against false doctrines and false apostles repeatedly in his ministry.

Some people in the church at Corinth apparently thought that preachers get a “real job” so they didn’t have to rely upon the church for their income. Even today, this false teaching persists in some churches that like to keep their pastor financially struggling out of some false notion that clergy are supposed to be poor. Paul had to do apologetics to defend himself against that false teaching:

1 Corinthians 9:3–7 ESV

3 This is my defense to those who would examine me. 4 Do we not have the right to eat and drink? 5 Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? 6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? 7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?

And Paul repeatedly had to deal with false doctrines throughout his ministry:

2 Corinthians 10:5 ESV

5 We destroy arguments (logismos)and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ...

Romans 16:17–18 ESV

17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. 18 For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.

Jude 3 ESV

3 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.

Any time that we have to defend orthodox teaching from false doctrines, that’s a form of apologetics.

2 Timothy 2:14–18 ESV

14 Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. 16 But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, 17 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.

This is actually one of my core responsibilities as a pastor, to always be promoting good doctrine and be on my guard for false teaching.

To promote steadfastness of believers.

Scripture tells us the importance of maturity in our faith

Mature believers have wrestled with alternative viewpoints and know why they believe what they believe. They are not easily swayed.

Ephesians 4:11–15 ESV

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ...

Doing apologetics as believers forces us to wrestle with difficult questions and figure out why we believe what we believe. It’s almost an offensive, rather than defensive, stance. Instead of waiting for problems to come up, we confront them before they arise, because the best defense is a good offense!

Those who never do apologetics live with nagging questions in the back of their minds, always wrestling with new challenges to the faith and never really knowing why they believe what they believe.

Hebrews 5:11–14 ESV

11 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

Proverbs 14:15 ESV

15 The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps.

So, if you’ve ever attempted to defend Christianity to a non-Christian in a winsome way in order to try to win them to Christ, you were doing apologetics.

If you’ve ever attempted to defend Christianity to someone who was persecuting or ridiculing Christianity or promoting legislation that could result in less religious freedom for Christians, you were doing apologetics.

If you’ve ever defended biblical doctrines against false doctrines in an attempt to safeguard sound doctrine, that’s apologetics.

And, if you’ve ever sought to explain why we believe what we believe to yourself or another Christian in order to strengthen someone’s faith, that’s apologetics.

How to do Apologetics

As you can imagine, each of those four situations is a bit different, so the way in which we defend the faith depends strongly upon why and against whom we’re defending it.

Sources of Knowledge

General Revelation

Creation. Things that God has revealed to all people, everywhere, without respect to whether or not they believe in Him.

Romans 1:18–20 ESV

18 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.

General revelation is sufficient to demonstrate the existence and general character of God, but insufficient to show the path of salvation.

General revelation is broad and general (hence the name). Includes things like science, nature, and logic. It is accessible to everyone, but is easily misinterpreted by those who do not believe in God. In fact, the knowledge available from general revelation is intentionally suppressed by unbelievers, according to Romans 1:18.

Special Revelation

Scripture. Particular and specific truths that God has revealed through his Word, the Bible.

Acts 4:12 ESV

12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Special revelation shows us who God is, what he is like, and how to have a relationship with Him.

Special revelation includes all that God has revealed to us in his Word. While it is available to all men, unbelievers are unable to understand and accept it without the illumination of the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 2:9–14 ESV

9 But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— 10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. 14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

vv. 9-10—Certain truths that were inaccessible to us via general revelation God has now revealed to us through his Spirit in his Word.

vv. 10-11—But, these special, revealed truths are the thoughts of God himself, so they are incomprehensible to us without assistance.

vv. 12-13—But, God has given believers his Spirit so they can understand the spiritual truths in God’s Word.

v. 14—Unbelievers, who do not have this divine aid, cannot understand Scripture rightly.

2 Corinthians 3:14–18 ESV

14 But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. 15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. 16 But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.