APOLOGETICS 2
Why Do Apologetics? Because God
Commands Us to Do Apologetics: 1 Pet 3:15
Of
course there are many wonderful reasons to do apologetics, but rather than
marshal all them at this time, let’s begin
with the basic fact that God commands every believer to do apologetics
(remember: behind all divine commands are God’s blessings).
The first passage we examine is
1 Peter 3:15 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;
There are 5 things to note about this
verse:
1) Sanctify
Christ as Lord. All apologetics are to be done
under the lordship of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the motivation and the
example.
2) Always is the Greek adverb aei (ἀεὶ) which has the idea of a continuous duration of time. The
believer is to always be ready to do apologetics.
3) Ready (ἕτοιμοι). This refers to being prepared and
this is exactly what this series aims to do. If someone asks you why you
believe in Christ or why you think the Bible is the Word of God, you should be
able to give a reasoned answer.
4) A defense (ἀπολογίαν). This is where
we get our word apologetics. The idea is not “apologizing,” as if you did
something wrong, rather it points to a well-reasoned defense of Christianity.
The term was used in the ancient Greek courts for a
reasoned legal defense. Any rational defense
of Christianity is doing apologetics. Any defense of the Christian faith, or a
Christian doctrine, or a person’s faith in Christ falls under the rubric of
apologetics. Any correct response to an objection of Christianity is
apologetics. What
is unfortunate today (in anti-intellectual “Christianity”) is that before
one even gets started in apologetics, one has to defend the idea of
defending the faith. There are a lot of Christians who believe that we should
not defend the faith—the idea being that there is something unspiritual about
giving a reasoned defense of the
faith. Many actually believe that it is ungodly to give evidence and reasons
for the veracity of Christianity. It is because of the need to do apologetics
for apologetics that I have begun this series with looking at passages that
command us to do apologetics. The Bible is very clear about our obligation to
defend the faith. 1 Peter 3:15 is generally considered to be
the flagship verse for apologetics.
5) Hope. This hope points to the manifestation of supernatural qualities
of the Christian who is living the spiritual life. The context of our passage
is suffering. These believers were suffering under persecution. It was in the midst of this suffering that these
believers demonstrated supernatural hope (confidence) which would inspire
others to ask them about this hope. Their reply would not focus on
themselves or how great they were, but on Christ and the wonderful
truths/doctrines of Christianity. Again, the witness of their lives under
suffering would prompt those around them to ask them what the source of their
hope was—what are the reasons for
this hope, how are you able to do that? The occasion for the apologetics in
this verse was in response to a spiritual lifestyle rather than to an
intellectual setting. The way our Christian lives are to be
conducted should evoke those kinds of queries from those around us as
well. No one is going to ask a believer who complains most of the time, or who
is bitter, or who is miserable, or who is a hypocrite, or who gossips, to tell
them about the hope that is in time. What hope? Furthermore, since there is no
hope, chances are they have not spend enough time seriously thinking about
doctrine or Christianity to be able to give answers, even if asked. Lack of their own faith in the grand
truths of Christianity is what is responsible for their carnality and bad
witness to begin with—what sad stupidity! Chances are they have already stopped
seeking Truth and therefore have little to none to share with others --as they
suffer from truth decay. They may filled with a plethora of factoids about
this, that, or the other (work, celebrities, gossip, politics), but they
likely do not have hope or answers or Christian facts for a dying world. They can sit at a table with friends for
hours and hours discussing their factoids, but if someone asked them about
evidence for being a Christian, there would be silence. On the other hand,
there is the positive believer who continues to grow spiritually. He grows in
his love for Christ and enthusiasm for the Plan of God. He is always learning
and always exhibiting a supernatural hope. When that believer is asked, you
better believe that the answers will be
forthcoming, and if he does not have the answers you can be sure he will
find them quickly and enthusiastically. He is truly committed to Truth!
(John 8:31-32)
Doctrine matters!
Pastor Don