Apologetics III

How should we defend the faith?

1. Classical Apologetics—

a. Definition: To fight on the ground of the enemy, using the enemy’s weapons to convince the enemy’s people [who can never see nor hear the Truth without The Holy Spirit] that a book in which they do not believe which is about a Man in whom they do not believe is the answer for a problem which they don’t think they have.

(1) This battle typically takes place among intellectuals

(2) The details of the battle are at the mercy of the experts on both sides.

b. Tools

(1) Logic, Rhetoric/debate, even higher mathematics!

(2) The Search for Evidence that will convince a skeptic.
(a) Historical
(b) Biological-scientific
(c) Archaeological

(3) Various arguments from nature, from science, from reason, from philosophical questions.

(4) Lots of very big words

c. Success—it happens every now and then, proving that the Holy Spirit can even used flawed tools to work a perfect outcome.

2. Biblical Apologetics--overview

a. Definition: defending the faith using the weapons of God’s warfare to accomplish the task that God has given each of us to do in the place and time in which He has placed us. The goal of this defense is not only to protect the faith of the faithful, but to convert those who oppose the faith.

b. Simpler definition: spiritual warfare—2 Cor 10:1-6, Eph 6:10-18

c. Tools—The weapons of our warfare(The Armor of God, (prayer and the Truth) and the gifts of the Spirit, plus wisdom, faith, grace, gifts, testimony)

3. The Holy War’s Strategy—in the minds of men. Strategy—The big picture—2 Cor 10:3-4

a. This war is a spiritual warfare—Eph 6:12— Behind those who oppose the gospel and would entice us to sin are dark evil forces. these forces exist--they are real, active, and powerful.

b. Our battle is no light thing--we cannot fight it in our own strength, because we are mere flesh, and we are fighting in a battle that is beyond our abilities to even comprehend, against forces with vast powers we cannot even imagine.

(1) Whose battle is it? 1 Sam 17:46-47, Eph 6:10.

(2) We do not fight in our own strength, but in the strength of God--He fights the battles we cannot see, He directs our paths in places where we have no light, nor eyes nor ears to comprehend.

c. Vital point—we have won already.

(1) If the battle is the Lord's, then victory is sure! 1 Chr 29:12, 2 Chr 25:8, Ps 62:11, Rom 16:25

(2) Think of the forces He commands: Josh 5:13-14

(3) Think of His Personal Power: Sovereign, Supreme, Omnipotent, Omniscient, Immutable, Eternal.

d. Note of caution—I am not denigrating the importance of scientific creationism, of the evidence of nature (Ps 19:1-6), or of logic, but these are, and must be secondary.

e. Second note of caution, the battlefield is in the mind, but it is the deepest part of the inner man, what the Bible calls the heart, that is our objective.

4. The Holy War’s Tactics—2 Cor 10:5-6

a. Oppose false ideas about God—

(1) The strongholds that 2 Cor 10:4 talks of are strongholds of false ideas and imaginations that exist in the minds of men and women. Rom 1:18-25, Col 2:8

(2) Some examples: Legalism, Theological Liberalism, Human philosophy, New Age religion, Cults, Plain old hedonism, and more recently, post-modernism

b. Bring thoughts into obedience—2 Cor 10:5b: Evangelism—We are to bring thoughts into captivity by evangelism and discipleship

(1) We are to witness Christ with passion and Truth, we are to advertise, but the Recruiter is the Holy Spirit!

(2) Discipleship—Once people are won to the Lord Jesus Christ, we must make them Disciples. Jesus did NOT say, “Go and make converts...” What did He say in the Great Commission? Mat 28:19-20.
(a) No Army worth its salt would send untrained and untested troops directly into battle--but we in the modern American churches have done so.
(b) Professional Armies train, and drill, and train, and drill, and make sure that their troops know how to conduct themselves on the field of battle, but far too many of the people of God have no idea how to conduct themselves on the field of Spiritual conflict.
(c) The early church trained their troops--all of the great teachers of the first three centuries of the Christian church were men who taught in the Catechism Schools of the church--New believers in Christ were taught the faith, drilled on the faith, and tested. And well they should have been--many of them had to literally lay down their lives and give a good testimony in the process.
(d) The Puritan revival--those great men of God, who shook England, Founded America, and through America sent missions to the world--those great men taught and discipled those who came to Christ under their ministry.
(e) But the modern American church has been lax in this area, and great ruin has resulted. We have had every cult and ism in the book, every TV preaching, faith-healing, money-grubbing, con man you can imagine who have sucked up gullible people into their nets--and many of these people came from the pews of Bible-believing churches.
(f) Acts 2:42--God built His church in Jerusalem on four things--the Apostles Doctrine and Fellowship, the breaking of Bread, and Prayer.
(g) Progression—there should be a progression, from 1 Cor 2:1-5 simplicity to 1 Cor 2:6-13. See also Heb 5:12-14, Eph 4:11-16

c. Maintain orderly assemblies—2 Cor 10:6

(1) It is not a pleasant topic, nor an easy one, but a church that will not practice discipline when it is necessary is telling the world, the enemy, and its own flock that it is not 16 about the gospel.
(2) The Example of Judge Greer’s Pastor
(3) A church that tolerates theological liberalism or heresy under the guise of being open-minded is asking for "Ichabod" to be painted across its doors.
(4) A Denomination that tolerates theological liberalism or heresy in its schools under the guise of being open-minded is playing Russian Roulette with the souls of thousands or millions of people.


d. Our way of warfare is different

(1) Sacrificial Love
(2) Mercy and Compassion
(3) We do not shed the blood of anyone—our goal is to take them prisoner and make them part of our army!
(4) The only blood shed is Christ's, shed one time for all time for salvation, or our blood shed as martyrs.

e. Do not forget the supernatural—God moves in ways that we just can’t perceive (Jn 3:8)

f. In the Holy War, there is no secret, there is no hidden agenda to be worked, There is simply no substitute for the basic thing-- the key to victory for a church is this:

(1) Proclaim Biblical Truth without Compromise or apology.
(2) Love People without reservation or hesitation
(3) Live the Word of God every day--put shoe leather on the gospel.
(4) Disciple new converts to make them spiritual warriors for Christ.