Have you ever heard the term apologetic’s? You probably have. But even if you haven’t, you likely have been a recipient of apologetical teaching or preaching. At Northeast church, on the first Wednesday night of each month, we have a whole class dedicated to this very important ministry. Many people, when they here the term apologetic’s, they think it means to apologize. It absolutely does not. It is a very misunderstood term that I want to take the time to flesh out now in this blog. There are four topics I am going to address surrounding apologetic’s: 1) Define what apologetic’s is. 2) Explain where we get the term apologetic’s from. 3) Explain why we need apologetic’s. 4) How do we do and don’t do apologetic’s. Hope this helps your understanding on what apologetic’s is and why it is so important for you as a Christian.
What is Biblical or Christian apologetic’s? Apologetic’s is the branch of theology concerned with providing a logical and reasonable defense of Christianity. In essence, it is being able to state what you believe and why you believe it. This is the problem facing the 21st century church today. So many Christians know what they believe, but they do not know why they believe the way they do. For years they have been told what to believe but no one has explained to them why they should believe it, and then get to college without having any idea why they believe the way they do, end up meeting someone of great intelligence that questions them on their Christian beliefs which they might have no answer for, and end up turning from Jesus to atheism. A lot of Christians believe Jesus is the Son of God, but they don’t know why Jesus had to die. They don’t know why they are a sinner or what makes them a sinner. They don’t know why they must put their faith in him to be saved. They don’t know why pain, suffering, sickness, and death exists in the world. They don’t know what makes Christianity right and all other religions wrong. They don’t know why they can trust the Bible, they just know they should. They don’t know how the Bible they trust was even put together. In return, Christians have gotten a reputation for not being able to think, not being able to reason logically, for being irrational, and for being illogical, according to those outside the church. People outside the church think we in the church have believed blindly, because most people in the church do not know why they believe what they believe and are not able to explain it. As I say all the time, there is nothing wrong with being an intelligent Christian. Every follower of Christ should know what they believe and why they believe it.
Where do we get apologetic’s from? Is it biblical? We get apologetic’s from the Bible. 1 Peter 3:14-16 states, “But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 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, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.” We get the word apologetic’s from the Greek word apologia, which means ‘reasoned defense’. This Greek word is found in 1 Peter 3:15, “to make a defense.”
Why do we need apologetic’s? Why should we concern ourselves with providing a logical and reasonable defense of Christianity? Apologetic’s assumes there will be a time you, as a follower of Jesus, will suffer and be questioned for your faith. In 1 Peter 3:14-16, Peter writes, “But even if should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 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, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.” As followers of Jesus in a godless, progressive secular world, we should expect to suffer for the cause of Jesus Christ, and expect to have to give a logical reason for believing what we do about Jesus and why. You need to have a good understanding in your theology about suffering and come to terms with the fact you will suffer for being a believer. It may be physical. It may be political. It may be financial. It may be by mockery. It may be on Facebook or Twitter. Who knows. What I do know is that the Bible teaches us to expect to suffer for the cause of Jesus. Jesus teaches that those who follow him will be hated by all nations, and even put to death by family, parents, siblings and friends, because faith in him, especially as the day draws near for his return (Matt. 10:16-33; Matt. 24:9; Luke 21:16). Paul teaches that because we are children of God and heirs with Christ to the kingdom of God, we will suffer as Jesus suffered (Rom. 8:17). Paul also teaches that we have been given permission to suffer for the sake of Jesus (Phil. 1:29). Paul also teaches that anyone who wishes to live a godly life, will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12). Peter teaches we should therefore, not be surprised when we do suffer and that it may very well be God’s will for us to suffer as Christians for the advancement of the gospel (1 Peter 3:17; 1 Peter 4:12; 1 Peter 4:19. This is why an apologetic’s ministry is so vital to a church. I am now under the thought that if a Pastor does not train his church in apologetic’s, especially in this day and age, to prepare his people to make a defense for the hope they have in Jesus, and prepare them for the suffering that will certainly come, he is not doing the people he leads any justice. This is why I feel Sunday morning & Wednesday nights are not a game. What we do here is serious business.
So, if the Bible teaches there will be a time we will have to make a logical and reasonable defense, what are we defending? Apologetic’s is about you defending the hope you have in Jesus. Again, 1 Peter 3:14-16 states, “But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 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, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.” Apologetic’s is not about you defending Scripture. It is about you defending the hope you have. The Bible needs no defending. As I heard Voddie Baucham once say, “the Bible is like a Lion, you let a lion out, and you will not need to defend him, he can defend himself;” in the same way, the Bible can defend itself. However, while the Bible needs no defending, there will be a time when you will need to defend yourself; specifically, the hope you have in Jesus. And this is something you need to always be prepared to do.
What does defending the hope you have in Jesus require? Being able to defend the hope you have in Jesus requires you knowing your Bible. Apologetic’s requires you being able to state what you believe and why you believe it with your foundation built on the Scriptures. Therefore, to state what you believe and why you believe it, according to the Scriptures, you need to be well acquainted with the Word of God, which is why I encourage people to read the Bible every year. To do apologetic’s, you do not have to be super intelligent. Apologetic’s does not require that you have a Bachelor’s, Master’s or Doctorate degree in Biblical studies; or even a high school diploma. It just means you know what you believe and why, according to the Bible. If you do not have a foundation in the Scriptures, you will have a difficult time providing a logical and reasonable defense for what you believe and why you believe, according to the Bible.
How do we do apologetic’s? How should we go about defending our hope in Jesus? When it comes to defending the hope we have in Jesus attitude matters. We defend the hope we have in Christ, with a foundation in the Scriptures, and with an attitude of gentleness & respect. 1 Peter 3:14-16 states, “But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 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, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.” Providing a logical and reasonable defense for the hope that you have in Christ should be done with gentleness and respect towards the one who demands an answer from you. Apologetic’s is not about providing a reasonable defense with harshness, roughness, disdain, dishonor, or disrespect to those who ask you why you believe the way you do. Apologetic’s is not about providing a logical defense with an attitude of arrogance. Providing a logical and reasonable defense for the hope you have in Christ should be done confidently. As a follower of Jesus you should be able to boldly proclaim what you believe and why you believe it, but without being arrogant. Apologetic’s is not about providing a reasonable defense while making the other person feel ignorant or foolish. We want people to ask us about the hope we have in order to point them to Jesus. We want people to feel they are safe to ask us questions about Christianity. But, if we make people feel ignorant or foolish, they will not want to inquire of the hope we have further. Apologetic’s is not about being nice, but it is about being kind. We get those mixed up. The Bible never calls Christians to be nice, but it does call us to be kind. To be kind means to be good, considerate, compassionate, courteous, cordial, gracious, and thoughtful of others, especially towards those who you are having to defend your hope against. This we should do, I think it falls under being gentle and respectful. But that is not what nice means. Being nice means to be agreeable, and if you are a follower of Jesus, you cannot be agreeable to much of what this world teaches, in fact, if you are serious about following Jesus, you will find you are very much at odds with what the world teaches, because what this world teaches and what the Bible teaches are total opposite world-views. However, you can kindly disagree. You can be kind, gentle, and respectful, as you disagree with those who have a secular world-view. Lastly, providing a logical and reasonable defense for the hope you have in Jesus should always be done without apology. Never apologize for the hope you have in Christ. The word apologetic’s in no way implies we should apologize for what we believe.
Why does attitude matter when defending the hope we have in Jesus? Peter gives us two reasons. First reason: To have a clear conscience. 1 Peter 3:14-16 states, “But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 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, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.” This is something the Apostle Paul strove to have. He stated in Acts 24:16, “I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man.” Our conscience is that inner sense of what is right and wrong in regards to our conduct and even our words. We want to defend our hope in Jesus in a way that is conscious of who we represent. We are representing Jesus. So, when we defend our hope in Jesus, we want to do so in a way that is moral, ethical, and principled. We want to do so gently and respectfully, regardless of how they might treat us. We want to do so in a way that best represents a person who is hope-filled, who is full of the love of God, and in a way that best represents Jesus. When we defend our hope in Christ in a way that is defensive, ruthless, immoral, or unethical, we do nothing to help people see the hope we have or see the hope that Jesus offers. All we do is turn people away from Christ. Second reason: The shame of who question us. 1 Peter 3:14-16, “But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 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, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.” The reason your attitude matters is this: if someone slanders you for the hope that you have in Christ, and they demand you give an answer for believing what you do, if you should provide a logical and reasonable defense for what you believe, with gentleness and respect to those who slander you, your positive behavior will be to their shame.
We are to be like Jesus in regards to how we treat those who slander us for the hope we have in Christ. Peter said in 1 Peter 2:20-23, “If when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.” When we are called to make a defense for the hope we have in Jesus and are slandered for doing so, we have to understand Jesus endured this same treatment, and as followers of Jesus, so shall we. We also have to understand Jesus set the example for how we respond to slandering. He did not sin against those who slandered him, neither should we. Jesus did not revile those who reviled him, meaning that Jesus did not slander, speak abusively, insult, criticize, bad-mouth, scold, or verbally abuse those who did so to him, and neither should we. And Jesus did not threaten those who tortured him, and neither should we. Instead, in the midst of slander and physical torture, Jesus trusted his life to God the Father, and so should we.