Apologetics Session 1

The apostle Peter tells us in his letter, “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.” (1 Pet. 3:15)

The word that is translated make a defense or give an answer comes from one word, apologia. The word involves a defense, and is used frequently throughout the Bible (see Acts 25:16, 2 Cor. 7:11, Phil. 1:7, to name a few). The idea is that we provide the reasons we believe in Jesus.

There is much that we learn that should form the basis of our defense of the Gospel. In other words, this is the outline of how we are to answer people.

I. Our ultimate goal is to glorify God—honor Christ the Lord as holy

We answer people, we provide the reasons we believe, primarily to glorify God, not to win arguments, or to own someone, or to make someone look silly for their believers.

We exist to glorify God. That is essential to our understanding of our lives, because it is the purpose for which we exist. Now, this informs all aspects of our lives, including our defense of the faith.

This changes how we do everything related to apologetics (or, it should). Think about how we study. We read the Scriptures and give our lives learning about God and His truth, to glorify Him. Our prayers are enhanced as we learn more about Him. Your prayers should change as you learn more about God.

It should change the way we interact. We should aim at glorifying God through our relationships. We are not attempting to convince them to appear smarter than we are, we aim to persuade them of the truth of God’s Word in order to glorify God.

II. Our method is to respond

This is an important aspect as we think about apologetics. In the context, Peter is addressing persecution. If you go back to verse 9, you see the conflict there.

Why is this important? Because it demonstrates that though we are to share the Gospel, we are not always to engage in debate. We do not seek out arguments. We all know people who are argumentative, and believers are not to be this way. We go out (like Paul and Peter did), we persuade, but we also prepare to respond.

III. Our preparation is required—being prepared

The image Peter is using here is like a banquet being prepared. All the dishes are in the right place, the food is set, the napkins are laid on the table, everything is set and ready to serve.

This is how we are to prepare. It takes work. Apologetics, the defense of the faith, is hard work. It requires diligence and intentionality when we are preparing. We will discuss ways we can prepare as we go through this series, but let me make a few suggestions.

A. Being prepared requires regular reading and studying of Scripture

B. Being prepared requires critical thinking (in defense of and in arguments for)

C. Being prepared requires consistency

IV. Our manner involves our lives—which is in you

We can be amazing apologists, but if the truth is separate from our lives, we are doing nothing but bringing further condemnation upon our souls.

Apologetics should stem from a life filled to the brim and overflowing with the love of Jesus. Just as we discussed in our class on evangelism, we should be so enraptured with Jesus that we are able to, at any time, in any circumstance, be able to provide an answer of why we believe.

V. Our means are gentleness and respect

Remember the immediate context is addressing persecution (and Peter’s letter does as a whole). It is not a pristine environment with an organized debate. It is persecution, not unlike what Stephen experienced in Acts chapters 6-8:1.

This is important because it conveys the seriousness with which Peter writes. He is concerned, as the entirety of Scripture is, with the means of communication. As followers of Jesus, we must engage in defending the faith with gentleness and respect.

Gentleness is a fruit of the Spirit (see Gal. 5:23). This demonstrates the need to have that hope in us. In other words, we will never defend our faith with gentleness in and on our strength. That power lies in the Holy Spirit.

We also see this word respect. There is a sense of fear here, not of irrational fear, but of a healthy respect for those in authority. We must be careful that, in defending the faith, we do not disrespect those in authority. Please read through Paul’s example in Acts chapter 26. Paul was extremely respectful of Agrippa.

This lays the ground work for the task of apologetics. Please keep in mind these things as we work through a variety of topics. My goal is to cover the follow:

Can the Bible be trusted?

The question of evil

Science & Christianity

Islam/Judaism

Mormonism/Jehovah’s Witnesses

Buddhism/Hinduism

Atheism

I realize that this is a broad treatment, but let us think of it as an apologetics introduction. I will be using other works and videos, and perhaps a guest speaker, but this will at least provide us with a good foundation on this work of apologetics.

VI. Apologetics

Douglas Groothius defines apologist as “a defender and an advocate for a particular position.” (23) This is a good, simple, and basic definition that I think is helpful.

Consider the fact that the apologist is arguing for a particular position. If we are attempting to convince a friend why a particular show is the best, we make arguments for said position. We use emotions and facts and comparisons to make the case that our show is better than others.

That is what we attempt to do in apologetics. We are advocating for a particular position, namely, that the Christian faith is true.

As we consider apologetics, we must remember two things: what we are advocating for and how we are advocating it.

[[Dr. Craig’s Advice on Christian Apologetics]]