Set for the Defense of the Gospel
What is Christian
apologetics? A better and more precise question is, “What is a biblical,
Christian apologetic?” One does not have to go far in order to find answers to
this question. If you enter “apologetics” in Google, you return almost 7
million hits. There seems to be about as many definitions for apologetics as there
are Google results. Should Christians engage in apologetics? This is another
good question. What does Scripture say about “apologetics?” Finally, if
Christians should engage in apologetics, how should they go about it?
The word is
first used by Luke as he records the words of Jesus concerning the persecutions
and trials that His disciples will be forced to endure. Jesus said, “When they bring you before the
synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not worry about how or what
you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say (Lu. 12:11).” Then
again, Jesus said, “So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend
yourselves” (Lu. 21:14). Here, the use of apologeomai is clearly in the
context of a formal trial with formal indictments. In this case Jesus
specifically instructed His disciples not to prepare a defense.
The next
time we see this word, it is in Luke’s second volume, the Acts of the Apostles.
This incident occurred in Ephesus after the merchants created a mob that
eventually ended up gathered in the Ephesian theatre. The setting was an impromptu
sort of court. The gospel was threatening the livelihood of the idolatrous
merchants and the question of what to do about it had to be answered. In the
midst of the chaos, after everyone was gathered, Luke writes, “Some of the
crowd concluded it was Alexander,
since the Jews had put him forward; and having motioned with his hand, Alexander
was intending to make a defense to the assembly.” Here again Luke uses
the Greek word apologeomai. Once more the word appears in a setting that
involves a formal hearing or legal inquiry. The use of the word so far clearly
conveys the idea of putting up a formal defense.
After the
events at Ephesus, Paul continues his push to Jerusalem. In Acts 21, he arrives
in Jerusalem. The Jews who opposed Paul is Asia saw him in the temple and the
crowd seized him. The Roman authorities intervened and Paul was given a chance
to stand before the crowd in order to defend himself. Luke writes, “Brethren and fathers, hear my defense
which I now offer to you (Acts 22:1).” Once more, apologia is used in the legal sense of offering a defense against formal
charges. The word is used in this same context, with Paul under arrest, in Acts
24:10 in Paul’s defense before Felix, in Acts 25:8 when he appears before
Festus, and once more when Festus briefs King Agrippa on the matter in Acts
25:16, then twice in Acts 26:1-2 as Paul appears before Agrippa, and then
finally toward the end of his defense before Agrippa in Acts 26:24. Of the 18
times these words occur in the NT, 7 times it appears during Paul’s arrest at Jerusalem.
That accounts for nearly 50% of the word’s occurrences in the NT.
We now shift gears from Luke’s usage of the
term to Paul’s usage of it. The Corinthian correspondences contain the use of
these words three times. In a response to criticism of his ministry and
apostleship, Paul said, “My defense to those who examine me is this 1
Cor. 9:3).” It is beyond dispute that Paul was defending himself against
contradictory statements about his character, his ministry, and even his
authority. The common denominator in each instance for apologetics is the
attacking opponent. The attack has been legal and religious up to this point.
In this case, it is ecclesiastical. It relates to Paul’s role and function in
the Church. In 2 Cor. 7:11, we see a much different use of the word, apologia, in the sense of vindication, having clearly shown one’s innocence or
proven one’s character. The response of the Corinthians to Paul’s rebuke vindicates
their faith, defends its genuineness. “All this time you have been thinking
that we are defending ourselves to you. Actually, it is in the
sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ; and all for your upbuilding,
beloved (2 Cor. 12:19). Once more the word is used in the sense of responding
to attacks.
Romans 2:15 is the next pericope we want
examine. “For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things
of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, 15 in that they
show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing
witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them.
Here apologeomai is used to illustrate the law of God written
on the human conscience. Human conscience serves to praise our behavior, judge
our behavior, and defend our behavior. Human conscience defends our behavior
when that behavior accords with the law of God written on the conscience. The
idea of defense against attack remains present In Paul’s writings despite the
fact that there is no formal legal or ceremonial court involved.
As we make our way through Paul’s use of
this word, we now move a little closer to Luke’s usage. In Phil. 1:7, Paul
writes, “For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I
have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense
and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me.” Paul
describes his imprisonment in terms of his legal defense he describes as the
defense and confirmation of the gospel. I am tempted to chase bebaiosei, the Greek word translated confirmation, but space will not permit it.
That word means to confirm, verify, to prove to be true and certain. If you are
have an apologetic orientation, you may want to spend some time on the use of
this word and it’s meaning to include the two semantic domains in which it
either is classed, or has very close connections. Clearly, Paul’s reference
here is to his formal legal defense as the connection with his imprisonment
demonstrates.
A few verses later, in Phil. 1:16, Paul
writes, “the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for
the defense of the gospel.” The language is straightforward here. Paul
sees himself as appointed for the defense of the gospel. What exactly is Paul
getting at when he describes this behavior as the “defense” of the gospel? The
use of this word appears in the context of proclaiming the gospel. In v. 14, he
refers to those who are speaking the word of God without fear, and in verse 15
he mentions some who are preaching Christ. In v. 17, again, Paul uses the
phrase “proclaim Christ.” The context makes it obvious that defending the
gospel is bound up in proclaiming the gospel. That is to say that preaching the
gospel, publishing the gospel, is also defending the gospel. The word literally
means, “to speak on behalf of oneself, or others.” Anytime we publish truth, we
speak for something and against something else, namely, falsity. To truly
preach Christ is to denounce everything opposed or contradictory to Christ.
In 2 Tim. 4:16, Paul is clearly referring to
his formal trial. Hence, the word apologia here indicates a defense in the sense of a
legal setting. Scholars are not in agreement on which trial this referred to in
Paul’s life. That point is irrelevant. The broader historical fact is that the
word is used once more to reference a formal legal hearing of some sort.
We finally come to Peter’s use of the word, apologia. We conclude then that the word was used by Luke on 10 occasions, Paul
on 7 occasions, and Peter only on one occasion. It is Peter’s use that most
apologists point to in order to frame up an argument for apologetics. Peter
wrote, “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.” Here, Peter is dealing
with Christians who are obviously under a degree of threat. He encourages the
believers not to be intimidated by the threats of the unbelieving culture. He
then issues the mandate that Christians are to be ready to provide a defense to
everyone who demands that we give a reason of hope that is in us. The
apologetic thrust of this verse is located, not only in the word apologia, but in conjunction with the term, aitounti. This word, in
this context, means to ask with urgency or to demand.
What does this it look like when Christians are actually defending the gospel? Some would argue that it means going around debating the same person about the same issue repeatedly. Others would say that we should spend years debating specific atheists, engaging all the dozens, hundreds, or thousands of objections they can come up with for why they don’t believe the gospel. Some apologists will rudely accuse fellow believers of anti-intellectualism if they ever draw a line in the sand and refuse to be carried away with complex philosophical schemes designed to produce as many roadblocks to Christian faith as there are days in one’s lifetime. Jesus Himself commanded us not to cast our perils before the swine. He told us that if they don’t receive us, that we are to shake the dust off our feet and move on. Paul left off debating the Jews and turned to the Gentiles because they rejected His gospel.
What have we learned? We have learned that
Christians absolutely must be prepared in some circumstances to provide a defense
to those who demand that we give an account for the hope that is in us. In
other circumstances, Christ has told us NOT to prepare because HE will give us
the argument. We ought to be able to articulate the gospel when asked to do so.
Contrary to what some apologists claim, this is not a command for Christians to
go out and spend hundreds of hours studying ungodly philosophy and the
intricacies of logic so that they can deal with every conceivable objection to
the faith imaginable. The only reasonable defense of the gospel is a reasoned
defense from the gospel. I do believe Christians must be better critical thinkers.
We have work to do in terms of how we think. God created us to think
excellently. He did not intend for us to be slothful in any area of our lives.
We should not be physically, mentally, or spiritually lazy. We should apply
ourselves to the word and we should at least understand some of the more basic
arguments against the truths of Scripture so that we can address them when we
encounter them. The next time you think about criticizing those who bother to
learn, to know, to understand, think about this: “How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded? And
scoffers delight themselves in scoffing. And fools hate knowledge (Prov. 1:22)?
On the one hand, it is wrong to imply that
Christians must be acquainted with every, or even most of the philosophical
objections that contradict the Christian worldview. It is simply not possible,
not practical, and not biblical to expect people with full-time jobs, families,
and other responsibilities to do this. On the other hand, it is also wrong to
simply ignore the need for educating and preparing believers in the art and
skill of articulating the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is the reason for the
hope that is in us. We should be able to articulate it. It is equally
unacceptable not to teach believers something about opposing views so that they
can intelligently engage in these discussions when they are fulfilling their
duty in practical evangelism. This also applies to false versions of
Christianity, and any doctrine that contradicts the faith once for all delivered
to the saints. Apologetics is actually, practical evangelism. It is not going
on the internet and arguing ad nauseam, ad infinitum with atheists and
skeptics. These websites and forums are more often about who has the best
argument, who has the superior intellect, and who is the most logical than they
are about the loving proclamation of the truth. If you don’t believe me, go
visit a few and dare to disagree, on even the smallest issue and see what
happens. These “apologists” will turn their intellectual guns on you and there
will hardly be a charitable response to be found. It is a blight on
Christianity that seems beyond the Church’s ability to govern. We are commanded
to be ready to give a defense to anyone who demands an account of the
hope that is us. Such an account is located in the gospel and how God regenerated
our own heart. I will blog about how we are to give this response in my next
blog.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy
Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with
you always, even to the end of the age (Matt. 28:19-20).”
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