APOLEGETICS
Whenever a
Christian converses with a non-Christian about the truth of the faith, every
request of the non-Christian for the proof of Christianity should be met with
an equally serious request of proof for the non-Christian's philosophy of
life. Otherwise we get the false
impression that the Christian worldview is tentative and uncertain, while the
more secular worldviews are secure and sure, standing above the need to give a
philosophical and historical accounting of themselves. But that is not the case. Many people who demand that Christians
produce proof of our claims do not make the same demand upon themselves.
Apologetics
is answering questions and objections people may have about God or Christ or
about the Bible or the message of the gospel.
Mark Dever
The
Gospel and Personal Evangelism, Crossway, 2007, p. 76.
Christendom
must have men who are able to floor their adversaries and take armor and
equipment from the devil, putting him to shame.
But this calls for strong warriors who have complete control of
Scripture, can refute a false interpretation, know how to wrest the sword they
wield, that is their Bible passages, from the hands of the adversaries and beat
them back with them.
I question
whether the defenses of the gospel are not sheer impertinences. The gospel does not need defending. If Jesus Christ is not alive and cannot fight
His own battles, then Christianity is in a bad state. But He is alive, and we have only to preach
His gospel in all its naked simplicity, and the power that goes with it will be
the evidence of its divinity.
Apologetic work is so dangerous to one's faith. A doctrine never
seems dimmer to me than when I have just successfully defended it.
The greatest
proof of Christianity for others is not how far a man can logically analyze his
reasons for believing, but how far in practice he will stake his life on his
belief.