Apologetics

What is Apologetics The Apologists Toolbox Rules of Engagement Why Should I Be An Apologist? OT and NT Apologists Jesus the GREATEST apologist Apologetics and World Religions (or Cults)

What is Apologetics?
The word "apologetics" comes from the Greek word "apologia," pronounced, "ap-ol-og-ee-ah." It means, "a verbal defense." It is used eight times in the New Testament: Acts 22:1; 25:16; 1 Cor. 9:3; 2 Cor. 7:11; Phil. 1;7,17; 2 Tim. 4:16, and 1 Pet. 3:15. But it is the last verse that is most commonly associated with Christian apologetics. "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," (1 Pet. 3:15).

 Apologetics can be defensive and offensive. The apologist can and should defend his reasons for believing (1 Pet. 3:15). But, he can also go on the attack. He can seek out those who oppose Christianity (2 Cor. 10:5). Of course, he should be prepared to do this before hand and all apologetics is to be done with gentleness.

Remember that there is a right way and a wrong way

to give a reason for the hope that lies within you.

Apologetics can either be evidential (often called "classical") or presuppositional. Evidential apologetics deals with the evidence for Christianity: Jesus resurrection, the biblical

manuscripts, fulfilled prophecy, miracles, etc.

Presuppositional apologetics deals with the

presuppositions of those who oppose Christianity,

because they dont believe in God; the Bible or the supernatural.

The Apologists Toolbox

To defend the faith, the Christian must use:
Truth; Facts;

Logic and
Prayer. The Christian should listen to objections and make cogent and rational comments in direct response to the issues raised.

Truth
As Christians we understand that truth is the foundation upon which our belief stands of falls. As Christians we believe in the concept of Absolute Truth and that ALL truth originates with God who has chosen to reveal this truth to mankind through the Bible.

 It is critically important when attempting to share your faith with someone that you establish the fact that absolute truth exists. The prevailing belief in the world today is that truth is relative to what a person perceives it

to be.
This begs the question: What is absolute

truth?

 Absolute Truth - Inflexible Reality"Absolute truth" is defined as inflexible reality: fixed, invariable, unalterable facts. For example, it is a fixed, invariable, unalterable fact that there are absolutely no square circles and there are absolutely no round squares.

 Absolute Truth vs. RelativismAbsolute truth is a logical

necessity, even though many irreligious groups (atheistic humanists, secularists, pantheists, etc.) argue against the existence of absolute truth. Humanist John Dewey (1859-1952), co-author and signer of the Humanist Manifesto 1 (1933), declared, "There is no God and there is no soul. Hence, there are no needs for the props of traditional religion. With dogma and creed excluded, then immutable truth is also dead and buried. There is no room for fixed, natural law or moral absolutes." Humanists believe one should do, as one feels is right.

Fact
It goes without saying that your defense of the faith

MUST be based on PROVABLE fact. Therefore it is

CRITICALLY important for you to have studied the facts so that you can present a compelling case for the biblical world view. Dont embellish the truth in your zeal to win your case unless you be found out to be a

liar and thus cause the truth to be ill spoken of.

Logic
When defending the faith, be sure that your use reasoned
arguments to make your case. Logic is another way of saying that what you are saying must be reasonable to the average

human mind. It must make sense to those who hear it.

It should be noted that just because an argument is logical, it is not necessarily truthful. Opponents to the biblical world view attempt to use logic to prove for example that God does not exist.

 Let us consider the following argument that atheists have

sited to prove that God does not exist. Proposition: God can do all things. Statement: Can God make something so big he cannot pick it up? If He can, then he cannot do all things because he could not pick up the rock. If He cannot, then He cannot do all things because he cannot make a rock so big He cant pick it up. Conclusion: Since God can do all things and we have shown that there are things he cannot do, therefore, God does not exist.

 It would appear that this argument has

backed the Christian into a corner until we

look at this a little closer. Remember that we

agreed earlier that logic must use reasonable

arguments. Another way to say this is that it

must make common sense.

 Based on what we have just said lets give a rebuttal to this argument against the existence of God. Proposition: God cannot violate His own nature; that is, He cannot go against what He naturally is. Statement: God's nature does not permit Him to lie, to not be God, etc.

Conclusion: Therefore, the statement that God can do

all things, is not true. Therefore we can not conclude that God does not exist.

Prayer
We should ALWAYS bear in mind that We are fighting a spiritual

battle and need spiritual tools. Prayer is perhaps the most

important of them all. It is the Lord who opens the heart and mind, not you (Acts 16:14). Ask God for guidance (John 14:14). Ask for

blessing in your understanding (James 1:5) and your speech (Col.

4:6). Ask the Lord to also open their understanding to Gods word (Luke 24:45). This is what He does. Prayer brings humility to the one praying and highlights a dependence on God. If we are humble and depended on God, we are more likely to hear His voice and thus know how to give a reason for the hope that lies within us.

Rules of Engagement
When you are challenged to give a reason as to why
you believe the gospel; remember what Jesus said to his disciples. He told them that he would give them a

mouth and wisdom that their adversaries would not be

able to refute. (Luke 21:15) The point being made here is that you should not try to figure out how to win the debate before you have the debate. Trust God to give you the words needed to refute all charges made against God and the Bible. (Prov. 3:5-7)

 Pray: Everything MUST begin and end with prayer. Jesus said to his disciples that without him they could do nothing, (John 15:7) and neither can we. Memorize scripture: this is VITALLY important because you may not always have time to lookup every scriptural verse when you are making your defense of the faith.

 Listen : Pay attention to what is being said to

you and then respond to what is said.(Col 4:6)

Listen for errors in logic. Listen for motives,

for hurts, for intent.

Dont interrupt : This is just common

courteously. You need to earn the right to

speak. Speaking out of turn will turn a debate

into an argument.(James 1:19)

 Be Bold : Dont allow the fact that you dont

know all there is to know about a particular issue stop you from talking about it. Remember Christs promise to his disciples in Luke 21:15. Dont be afraid to take a chance : All you have to do is be available, speak up, and be willing to defend the Christian faith. Remember this: You

can do all things through Christ who gives you

strength.

 Learn from your mistakes : Go back and study up on those questions you were unable to answer; or objections that you were unable to overcome. Remember that (2Tim 2:15) is a life long process.

 Rehearse : Perhaps the best place to do

apologetics is in your head. Think of a situation, a

scenario that you need to have an answer for,

and develop an answer. Practice in your mind.

Try and corner yourself and then get out of it.

Research : Study up on what other have had to

say about how to answer those questions about

or overcome those objections to the faith.

Why Should I Be An Apologist? The primary reason why you should be an

apologist is because God has told you to become one. (1 Peter 3:15) Throughout the New Testament we see Christs disciples boldly proclaiming the birth, doctrine, miracles, death, burial, resurrection and second coming of Christ. (Jude 1:3)

Old Testament Apologists

The greatest Old Testament apologist has to be God himself. In Isaiah Chapters 43 thru 45 God gives a defense of Himself as being the

One true God and Saviour of the nation of

Israel who had rejected him to serve idols.

 After God Himself, the Psalmists (David being

the most prominent among them) gave the

best defense for the existence of God, His

attributes and the immutability of his word.

Psalm 14:1 and 53:1 ; Psalm 19 ; Psalm 107;

Psalm 119 and Psalm 136

New Testament Apologists

Matthew : Gave a defense of Jesus claim to be the messiah based on Old Testament prophecy. (Matt. 1:22; 2:5, 15, 17 & 23; etc.) Mark : Gave a defense of Jesus claim to be the messiah based on all the miracles he was able to perform. (Mk. 4:37-41; 5:37-39 & 6:4851.)

 Luke : Gave a defense of Jesus claim to be the

Saviour of the Gentile world.

(Luke 2:32 and Luke 18:32) John : Gave a defense of Jesus claim to be the divine Son of God who is co-equal with God. (John 1:1-3; John 5; John 10: 26-30; John 14: 13 & 9)

 The Apostle Paul : who wrote two-thirds of the New Testament gave a vigorous defense for the hope that he had in Christ before the Jews and the Gentiles. (Acts 9:29; Acts 17:17, 22-31; Acts 22 and Acts 26)

Jesus The GREATEST Apologist The reason why I dub Jesus as the GREATEST
apologist is not just because of who he is; but

because of what he did. Jesus repeatedly left

his detractors speechless after answering

their objections to his claim to be the

Anointed Son of God, The Saviour of the

world.

 For instance; when the Pharisees and

Herodians tried to put Jesus in a catch 22

situation over the payment or non-payment

of taxes Jesus answer silenced his critics.

(Mark 12:13-17)

 Another example of Jesus silencing his opponents can be found in (Mark 12:18-27). In this example Jesus proves that man has an eternal soul.

 One VERY effective method of apologetics that Jesus used was to question those who questioned him. This method is effective because it forces the opponent to give a reason for the hope that lies within them. This them gives you a chance to show the fallacy in taken the position that they hold.

 For example, in Matt 21:23-27 Jesus is

challenged about his authority to drive out

the money changers from the temple. Rather

than justifying his actions, he questions their

reason for challenging him by asking them a

question that puts them in an inescapable

catch 22 situation. (see also Matt. 16:1-4)

 Jesus also used reasoned logic to drive home

his point to his opponent. An example of this

can be found in Mark 12:35-37. Here Jesus

shows that the messiah has a divine origin. He

makes a more compelling case for his divine

origin in John 5 and 10. The Jews knowing

exactly what he was saying tried to stone him.

Apologetics and World Religions (or Cults)

Jesus said that The Spirit would lead and

guide them into all truth. He said that there

was much more that he wanted to say to

them but couldnt because they wouldnt be

able to understand everything he wanted to

say to them at that time. (John 16:12-15)

 Jesus later went on to say that they should go

out into all the world and make disciples.

(Matt 28:19 & Mark 16:15) But before they set

out he told them to wait until they had

received the promise of the father; which we

know to be the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:8 and Acts

2:1-4)

 Jesus also said through the apostle Paul that

we should study to show ourselves approved

before God and that we should be able to

correctly interpret and thus teach the word of

truth so that we would not be put to shame

by those who we were proclaiming it to.

(2Timothy 2:15)

 Lastly Jesus warned us through his apostles that in the last days the gospel would come under attack from those who would want to change its meaning. There would be those who would oppose his claim to be the divine Son of God. There would be an explosion of Heresies and false teachers.

 Some would claim that Christ would not be

coming again. Some would claim that he

already had come again. Some claimed that

Christ death on the cross was not sufficient to

save and that a person still needed to observe

the Law or some other moral code and/or

abstain from certain foods and bodily

comforts.

(Col 2:16-23, 1Tim 4:1-4, 2Tim 3:1-7, 2 Pet 3:3-7,

1 John 4:1-4)

The purpose of this study is to equip you to

be able to effectively witness to all those who

have been deceived by the devil into believing

a different gospel or way to have a

relationship with God; or into believing that

there are many gods or no God at all.

 Over the next 11 to 12 weeks we are going to look at these alternate belief systems and discover how we can prove that what they believe can not and will not save them. Jesus said I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; NO one comes to the Father accept through him.