Biblical Apologetics: An Introduction

Introduction

Imagine you’re in this scenario:

You’re at work and a coworker comes up to you and asks you about something they found in the bible last night. You’ve been talking with this coworker for a few weeks now about salvation. He claims to be a Methodist, but hasn’t been to church since graduation. He found a passage of scripture where Paul is asking the question “do all speak with tongues? (I Cor 12:30)” and he says “See? Not everybody who is saved speaks in tongues! That’s what Paul is saying here!” What do you say to this individual?

Here’s another scenario:

You overhear a conversation between two people standing in line at the coffee shop. They’re discussing whether or not God exists, and one of them says “I don’t believe there can be a God. Not the God the bible talks about anyway. If there is a God that is omnipotent and perfectly good, why is there so much suffering in the world. If He does exist, either He’s not all powerful, or He’s not good.” How would you answer that individual?

Lets look at a third scenario:

You’re at a museum and the guide is explaining how that life slowly evolved on earth, starting from a simple cell. Over the course of billions of years, evolution has produced the vast variety of species we see today, including us, the homo sapien sapien. Is that true? False? Does it even matter so long as we’re right with God?

In all of these scenarios, we see an example of the need for an explanation. The need for a reason. The need, in some cases, for a defense. These are examples of a process that we call Apologetics.

1 Peter 3:15 KJV 1900

15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

1 Peter 3:15 NASB95

15 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;

Before we go any further, lets pray

Prelude

By way of introducing the subject material, let me be clear about a few things:

This will be my no means a comprehensive or thorough examination of the topic. Quick and dirty course to increase our effectiveness in ministry.

I am not an expert! I am learning as we go just like you are. What I do know of this material I’ll share with you.

We’ll be covering several areas in this series and I certainly don’t claim to be expert in any of them (Philosophy, Logic, Theology, Biology, Archeology, Geology, Cosmology, etc.)

However we don’t have to be experts to get a good understanding of some key areas so that we may apply that understanding to ministry.

Our focus and our goal for this series is twofold:

To make absolutely sure we believe in, and trust God and His Word

To get us comfortable in explaining why.

Overview

In this series we will accomplish the following two primary objectives:

Settle ANY DOUBTS in our heart as to what we believe to be true.

This means knowing WHY we believe what we do.

This also means we’ll be able to give a reason to others who ask us “Why do you believe that?” “Why do you believe the bible is the Word of God?” “Why do you believe only those who believe in Jesus Christ are going to heaven?”

This will require being persuaded of the following topics:

Is there a Creator-God out there that made everything and keeps all this from flying apart?

There are scientific theories that seem to explain everything quite nicely without the need to invoke an all-powerful being. Why are we right and them wrong? Or are we?

There are other religions that explain how everything came to be. Why do we not accept them?

Is this book we call the bible the actual Word of God, given to us by God?

Do we trust we have an accurate translation?

How did we get the bible in the form we have it today?

Can we trust that process?

We also need to understand where others are starting from so we can lead them from where they’re at to where God desires them to be.

If they already acknowledge the authority of scripture but can’t see the need to be baptized, then we know what we need to do to help them understand.

Conversely, if they don’t acknowledge the authority of scripture, then it makes no sense talking to them about the plan of salvation.

That God can use me to give a reason, to give an answer to those that ask of me.

Reasons Why (Why is a series like this necessary?)

The reason we’re going through this series is because of the sweeping and fundamental changes in our culture, particularly in the last 20 - 30 years or so.

In times past most people had some kind of Christian background, even if they didn’t live like it, or profess it.

Because of this, most of our training went toward explaining and defending doctrine (i.e., Oneness of God, Necessity of Baptism in Jesus’ Name, Necessity of the infilling of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking with other tongues, etc.)

We’ve never really had to worry in the U.S. whether or not people believed in God, or how they felt about the bible (there are always exceptions to these rules, but the exceptions were few and far between).

Today the majority of people have NEVER been in a religious building, NEVER cracked open a bible, and subscribe to belief systems far removed from the Judeo-Christian belief system.

Because of this, when we talk with people like they have our foundation, both of you will become frustrated. You’re not speaking their language!

We have to start from a very different point if we’re going to be effective in reaching them.

Body

There are two fundamental things people need to acknowledge before they can be saved.

They need to acknowledge God as Creator of everything.

That God spoke all things into existence Ex Nihilo

This means that God didn’t just move in to someone else’s house and set up shop

If all things are truly and legally His, then He gets to make the rules, and He owns everything

Once they do that, they then need to acknowledge the absolute authority of His Word

It’s infallible and perfectly accurate in every way

It speaks to all people in all cultures in all time periods. It’s universally relevant

Its the fundamental, foundational truth in the universe. It stands supreme against every other form of knowledge.

Then, and only then, can we start exploring what God’s commands are and how we are to obey them.

Define Terms

Presupposition — A thing tacitly assumed beforehand at the beginning of a line of argument or course of action. In other words, Something you presuppose to be true.

Worldview — A conceptual framework (a pattern or arrangement of concepts and ideas, or presuppositions) by which we consciously or unconsciously place or fit everything we believe and by which we judge and interpret reality.

Apologetics — The defence of the Christian worldview against alternatives and against criticism.

How We Received The Bible: How Was The Bible Prepared

Materials Used In Its Preparation

Writing Materials

Papyrus

Not being able to recover many of the ancient manuscripts (a MS is a handwritten copy of the Scriptures) is due primarily to the perishable materials used in writing.

The most common ancient writing material was papyrus, made from the papyrus plant.

This reed grew in the shallow lakes and rivers of Egypt and Syria.

Large shipments of papyrus were sent through the Syrian port of Byblos.

It is surmised that the Greek word for books (Biblos) is found in the name of this port.

The English word “paper” comes from the Greek word for papyrus.

Preparation:

“The reeds were stripped and cut lengthwise into thin narrow slices before being beaten and pressed together into two layers set at right angles to each other. When dried the whitish surface was polished smooth with a stone or other implement. Pliny refers to several qualities of papyri, and varying thicknesses and surfaces are found before the New Kingdom period when sheets were often very thin and translucent.”

The oldest papyrus fragment know dates back to 2400 B.C.

The earliest MSS were on papyrus, and it was difficult for any to survive except in dry areas such as the sands of Egypt or in caves similar to those like the Qumran caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.

Papyrus was enjoying popular use until about the third century A.D.

Parchment

The name given to “prepared skins of sheep, goats, antelope and other animals.”

These skins were “shaved and scraped” in order to produce a more durable writing material.

F.F. Bruce writes that “the word ‘parchment’ comes from the name of the city of Pergamum, in Asia Minor, for the production of this writing material was at one time specially associated with that place.”

Vellum

The name given to calf skin.

Often the vellum was dyed purple.

Some of the MSS we have today are purple vellum

The writing on dyed vellum was usually gold or silver.

J. Harold Greenlee says the oldest leather scrolls date from around 1500 B.C.

Ostraca

This was unglazed pottery popular with the common people.

The technical name is ‘potsherd’, and has been found in abundance in Egypt and Palestine.

Stones

These were inscribed on with an ‘iron pen.’

Clay tablets

Engraved on with a sharp instrument and then tried in order to make a permanent record.

This was the cheapest and one of the most durable of the writing materials.

Wax Tablets

A metal stylus was used on a piece of flat wood covered with wax.