You don’t have to have a degree in theology, philosophy, or science to engage in Christian apologetics or “defending the faith.” What you need is a deep-seated faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and an abiding love for Him.
but in your hearts regard 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, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. -1 Peter 3:15-16
Did you notice what Peter didn’t say? He didn’t say you need to have a working knowledge of metaphysics or a basic understanding of aristotilian logic or even the scientific method. He didn’t even suggest that conversation on spiritual matter requires an ability to answer all spiritual questions an unbeliever might have. While knowledge in the above areas is incredibly valuable, none of these things actually equip us for the task of defending the faith.
On the contrary, regarding “Christ the Lord as holy” in our hearts is the means by which we will be ready to give an answer for the hope that is in us. In other words, if you want to be prepared to defend your faith–you must simply treasure Christ supremely in your heart.
You might object that some people won’t care about how precious Christ is to you. They have questions about Christianity, the Bible, evolution, etc. etc. Let me first say that most people don’t have nearly as many questions as we think they do. And secondly, all people are naturally opposed to the things of God anyway (1 Cor. 2:14).
When we seek to convince a non-Christian of the veracity of the Christian faith, we are fighting a losing battle. Apart from the work of God on the human heart, people suppress the truth in their unrighteousness (Romans 1:18). In other words, its impossible for Christianity to gain a fair hearing–everyone you would hope to convince of Christianity’s merit are already opposed to it.
Does that mean that apologetic task is doomed to fail? If all our arguments will not convince people, how are we to approach apologetics? I have never met anyone who converted to Christ because they lost an argument about Christianity. On the contrary, I have witnessed many come to faith because of testimony of a faithful Christian and the hope they found in Christ.
The manner in which we do apologetics is as important as the answers we provide. Thus Peter says when you give a reason for the hope you have in Christ, do so “with gentleness and respect.” So its important that our lives are consistent, in some regard, with our testimony. I am not arguing that Christians seek to be perfect, but rather that they continually rely on, live by, and hope in the gospel.
Peter would have us be ready to give an answer “to anyone who asks us a reason for the hope that is in us.” You don’t have to be an expert in philosophy or science to do so because life’s biggest questions cannot be answered by science or philosophy. What happens when I die? Why did my friend die so young? Why is there so much sin, sickness, and despair in the world and will it ever go away? What is the meaning of my existence?
Science and philosophy attempt answers at these questions but neither can fix the problems that drive them. The gospel does one better. The gospel offers a fix to the problems behind these questions. Simply put, the gospel offers what people truly need: hope.
Science and philosophy can only attempt answers to the “why” questions but neither can solve our most desperate problems. So instead of constantly worrying about whether you can intelligently answer every question your unbelieving friend might have, simply offer them the hope you have found in Christ. They may be completely closed off to any discussion of Jesus now, but eventually life will confront them with questions that they cannot answer and problems they cannot fix and if you are abiding in Christ you have the answer to their heart’s deepest longing–to know their creator through the sacrifices of His Son. When you have a friend desperate to save their marriage or coming to terms with the reality of death, if you are abiding in Christ, you have the answers to their most desperate questions.
I am thankful for intelligent Christians in the public square who are answering the scientific and philosophical questions of the unbelieving world. I praise the Lord for them but these conversations are not likely to produce much fruit. What will, however, is one friend offering another hope–hope to overcome our deepest flaws and failures. Hope to live again. Hope that will not disappoint.
It seems like you have reduced the apologetic task to evangelism and living the Christian life. If not, tell me how you distinguish them.
That is a good question Chase and I am probably more or less doing that and I am pretty much ok with that.
That said, next week I am going to write on how studying all the above fields can and often is worthwhile and defending the faith in each of those fields is also a worthy goal–but what I am laying out is just as much a “defense of the faith” as classical apologetics. Both are defending its value.
Does that make sense? I am not a hardcore presuppositional apologist–meaning I don’t think that it is the only route that should be taken in the task of apologetics. I do think that presuppositional apologetics is the most accessible approach and gives believers the most accessible tools to have profitable conversations with people.
I hope that helps, if not perhaps I will clear that up in my next post. Keep in my, however, that I am pastor/theologian and not a trained apologist like yourself!
Also–I hope you are doing well, it was good to see you the other day even if the circumstances were not the best.
Hi,
Randomly dropping by seeing that you are talking about Presuppositional Apologetics. Looking forward to next week’s post then!
God bless,
SLIMJIM
[...] Defending the faith is easier than you might think. [...]
@Slimjim thanks for dropping by! I hope I don’t dissappoint in next week’s post ;)
I enjoyed your post. All God asks of us is to share our faith with others, which we can do as soon as we trust Christ as the Savior who died to pay for all our sins and rose again that all who believe in Him will have eternal life. After she recognized Jesus as the Messiah, the woman at the well immediately ran back to her village to tell everyone, even her enemies who hated and despised her, that she had found the Messiah and that He had changed her life. As a result, many of them believed in Jesus as the Son of God, even though they had been brought to Him by one without any formal training in the Scriptures. As we grow in grace and wisdom through the indwelling Holy Spirit, He will guide us to a deeper understanding of the truth, which we can share with others as you have so eloquently done in your post. I invite you to visit my blog, Saved by Grace (http://savedbygracebiblestudy.blogspot.com/) Love in Him, Laurie Collett.
Hello Drew,
I’m really enjoying your site after accidentally stumbling on it yesterday while doing a bit of research. I was wondering if you have plans to continue this blog or if you’re writing anywhere else online these days. I look forward to reading the rest of the blogs. Also, I saw that you’re an avid music fan and would love to share some of my bands music with you if interested. Cheers and nice work…this really helps me along my walk.