SURVEY OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE
APOLOGETICS
"Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3)
Apologetics basically means to defend. The Christian message has always been attacked, but on the other hand, has always had vocal defenders. Many of these apologists (defenders of the faith) could only be silenced by death.
1. What sort of religious
conditions did Jesus describe as plentiful in the last days of the Old Covenant?
(Matt. 7:15; 24:11-)
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We see these conditions even today. More and more our society is not only becoming multi-cultural, but also multi-religious. The answer is not to avoid multi-culturalism, but to infiltrate it with the Gospel!
For some, there is no need, they say, to try and defend the Gospel. They believe that it stands as the truth and the truth doesn't need defending. Therefore, they make no attempt to defend the Gospel, even when someone is attacking their beliefs.
Firstly, the Bible is the Truth, but to think that silence is the best argument in defending it is to err on the side of naivety. Imagine if you went to school, never knowing how to count. Somehow, you were able to pick it up from listening to other kids. However you developed a weird style of mathematics that became a part of your self-taught style of counting. You wish to impress your teacher with your mathematical brilliance. Proudly you bounce up and announce that "One plus one equals five ". Your teacher, though, knows that it's not the truth and vigorously defends the truth by stunned silence. You walk away thinking that you've just blown your teacher out of the water because she has never seen such a gifted young genius mathematician. A feeling of smugness overwhelms you as you enthusiastically go off and teach some of your younger comrades how to do mathematics...
2. Why did Jude command that we defend the faith? (Jude 4) _____________________________________________________________________________________
BRIEF HISTORY OF APOLOGETICS
It's hard to read the book of Acts without seeing how the early church defended the faith. Note the following broad outline from the Book of Acts:
Paul's defence of the Gospel is both recorded in the Book of Acts and documented in his writings. In no way did the early church just sit back and expect the truth to defend itself. After the first century, God used many people to defend His message of truth. The people most powerfully and successfully used by God were those who laboured in study over God's word.
DEFENDING THE FAITH
A. THE SUBJECTIVE APPROACH
The word 'subjective' is used to describe what someone experiences inside them. It has a lot to do with what they feel is right, rather than being dependent on what others claim. This is one way of defending the Gospel. It is very difficult to argue with what someone has genuinely experienced.
4. What was credited with aiding the people of God overcome the devil in Revelation 12:11? _____________________________________________________________________________________
Note the changed lifestyle of these people once they had experienced the truth. It is one thing to say something, it's another to live it! In defending the faith, the Apostle Paul often recited his experience of knowing the LORD (eg. Acts 22:3ff).
B. THE OBJECTIVE APPROACH
This approach emphasises facts through the use of reason. That is, that God can be proved to exist by citing certain events that only He could have caused, commonly called miracles. It also draws on Bible prophecy, and the historical Person of Jesus Christ. In using this approach, we must never become arrogant or overly aggressive. There is a difference between being firm and being too pushy. This type of apologetics is fine for non-religious contacts, but must be used selectively with those who already hold to a religious point of view.
Note the following scale: THE ENGEL SCALE
-8 Awareness of a Supreme Being but no effective knowledge of the Gospel.
-7 Initial awareness of the Gospel
-6 Awareness of the fundamentals of the Gospel.
-5 Grasp of the implications of the Gospel.
-4 Positive attitude toward the Gospel.
-3 Personal problem recognition. (Conviction of Sin.)
-2 Decision to act.
-1 Repentance and faith in Christ.
0 The person is regenerated and becomes a new creature.
+1 Post decision evaluation.
+2 Incorporation into the Body.
+3 A lifetime of conceptual and behavioural growth in Christ.
This scale was designed by James Engel of Wheaton College, U.S.A. It is particularly helpful in gaining an understanding of how successful our defence of the Gospel has been. The basic assumption behind it is that we are dealing with non-religious people, or with those who hold to a religion void of the Supreme Being.
ENCOUNTERING THE DECEIVED
The Jehovah's Witnesses claim that for every 700 doors they knock on, they get one convert. The Mormons boast that they are having more and more people turn to them, away from orthodox Christianity, to follow their teachings. Muslims today state that they are the world's fastest growing religion. So, in the midst of this spiritual battleground, how can pure Christianity spread or even survive?
5. Will false religions just disappear in years to come, as truth prevails? Refer to 1 Tim 4:1 - _____________________________________________________________________________________
6. According to 1 Peter 3:15, what must we be ready to do? _____________________________________________________________________________________
"When we defend God's truth, we speak with a prophetic voice - "If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen."
(1 Peter 3:4)
As those who speak with a prophetic voice to a people who hold a different religious view, it would be worth noting what Jeremiah the prophet was instructed to do when about to launch a similar ministry.
7. In Jeremiah 1:10, he is told to do six things in order to convert people with different views. What are these six things?
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2. ___________________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________________________
4. ___________________________________________________________
5. ___________________________________________________________
6. ___________________________________________________________
For us to do this, we must firstly understand what we believe, and why we believe it. From here we build our defence of the Gospel. Then, as Jeremiah was told to do, we must throw down our contacts' arguments before we can build and plant truth in their hearts. No matter who we are dealing with, we must focus our defence on the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. In throwing down false religious arguments, we use their opinion of the Lord as our basis for discussion. So, the key issue becomes- "Who was Jesus?".
8. How would you respond to someone who said that Jesus was the Son of God? Could you be sure that they believed in the same Jesus you do? (Observe 2Cor. 11:4) _____________________________________________________________________________________
9. How would you respond to someone who agreed with you that Jesus was indeed God? _____________________________________________________________________________________
Compassion was one of the greatest characteristics of Christ's ministry. When we share with the deceived, we must maintain that same attitude. From personal mistakes, often made to sound better by the glamorous word experience, I have found that it is very difficult trying to win an aggressive and heated argument with someone who holds to false views about Christ. Yet, I have found that I have made the most headway by being courteous, compassionate and non-attacking. Our defence of the Gospel should be just that- a defence of the Gospel. We should never allow it to become a personal slanging match where we attack the other person's character or dignity.
SOME FALSE IDEAS ABOUT THE DECEIVED
Based on 2 John 10, some teach that we should not allow anyone in our house who believes a false doctrine about Christ. This is definitely not what the Bible is saying. He was addressing a church that met in the houses, where there was a danger of false teachers coming in and preaching to the entire house church. In this context he says that such people should not be allowed in or even acknowledged. Those in the cults are so brain-washed that they could never be won to Christ anyway. This attitude is precisely why there are still so many in the cults that are not as yet won to the LORD. There are scores of testimonies from nearly all cults of those who have been won out of them. That you have to win the argument before you can win the person. It would be profitable for every Christian witness to study the basics of other religions and the Cults, after they have a thorough knowledge of true Christianity. By doing this, the Christian witness is able to recognise key terms used by these people, even terms that they previously understood by a different definition. For example, when you say to a Jehovah's Witness that "Jesus Christ is God", and they heartily agree with you, you need to understand that they don't mean what you think they mean. When a Buddhist says that Jesus Christ is the Way to God, they don't mean what you mean when you say the same thing. When a Muslim says that Jesus Christ was indeed a prophet of God, this doesn't mean that they accept everything in the Christian Bible accredited to the sayings of Christ. These are some of the reasons why a basic understanding of other views is invaluable to our witnessing.
Amen.
© 1999-2004 Andrew Corbett, Legana, Tasmania