Introduction to Apologetics

speech of the prosecution in a court of law. Paul used it that way several times in the New Testament.

“Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense.”

“This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me.”

But the most common New Testament verse that explains the ministry of Apologetics is I Peter 3:15.

“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”

There are two sides of Apologetics. The positive side is presenting the Gospel in a relevant way to a particular culture in a particular place at a particular time. The negative side is defending the Gospel against current attacks – whatever the world is currently attacking. As Martin Luther said,

“If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every part of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at the moment attacking, then I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Him. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved; and to be steady on all battlefields besides is merely flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.”

Apologetics requires that we understand people. The more we understand a person, the better equipped we are to minister to that person.

I am a big fan of Agatha Christie’s Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot. Poirot’s secret to solving crime is his understanding of the psychology of people. He refuses to crawl about on the floor looking for footprints, cigar ash, and all the little clues that other famous detectives look for. Instead he employs the “little grey cells” to understand the inner working of everyone associated with the crime. If he can discover who they are and how they think, he will be able to solve the case.

If we care about communicating the Gospel effectively to our age, we would do well to learn a lesson from Hercule Poirot.

A doctor studies for many years to diagnose accurately the patients who come to him for help. The same generic prescription, “take two aspirin and call me in the morning,” is unsatisfactory for most of the people he sees. He must ask the right questions to obtain the information he needs. Only then can he prescribe the right remedy for each patient. Similarly, we need to ask the right questions of our culture to arrive at the correct diagnosis. Then we need the wisdom to present this diagnosis in a way that will be accepted, understood, and applied.

“Every generation of Christians has this task of learning how to speak meaningfully to its own generation. If we are to communicate the Christian faith effectively, we must know and understand the thought forms of our generation.”

It will take a whole-hearted commitment and much hard work to reach our world. Francis Schaeffer said,

“There is the danger of lacking the compassion for men great enough to inspire the hard work needed to understand men's questions and to give them honest answers.”

God keep us from that danger.