What is Apologetics?
How is a Christian supposed to answer hard questions, or even challenges, from unbelievers? This is the practice and art of apologetics. This is part one of a series on apologetics that seeks to give a foundation for how Christians ought to defend the faith biblically.
The English word “apologetics” is derived from the Greek word ἀπολογία (apologia), which means “to give a verbal defense,” as in a court of law. In Scripture, ἀπολογία is used in Acts 22:1, 25:16; 1 Cor 9:3; 2 Cor 7:11; Phil 1:7, 16; 2 Tim 4:16, 1 Pet 3:15. It doesn’t mean to “say sorry” or “to apologize”! Thus, Christian apologetics is the act of defending the Christian faith as reasonable, consistent, and true.
The primary didactic passages in the Bible about apologetics are 1 Peter 3:15, 2 Cor 10:3-6, and Titus 1:9-11. From 1 Peter 3:13-15, we can learn observe that suffering is inherent to the Christian life, and apologetics should be the ready response to unbelievers who persecute us. Indeed, apologetics flows from a heart that honors and submits to the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything, including apologetics, is under His lordship (Matt 28:20). Every Christian is commanded to be ready to defend the hope of the gospel—the Christian faith. In other words, every Christian should be able to give reasons for why they believe, and why God is worthy to be worshiped and adored. Defending the faith should be done with an attitude of gentleness and reverence towards unbelievers. For God always desire us to always speak the truth in love (Eph 4:15).
While 1 Peter 3:13-15 commends a reflexive defense, 2 Cor 10:5-6 commends an offensive strategy. From that passage, we can observe that Christians do not contend according to sinful, fleshly ways, but according to the Spirit, who is the God of peace and self-control (Gal 5:22-23). By the weapons of God (namely Scripture and Scripture-saturated, Spirit-empowered minds), Christians are to destroy every philosophy and thought that opposes the truth of God. This involves showing the folly of any worldview opposed to God (Prov 26:4–5). However, keep in mind that apologetics is not only towards unbelievers, but even for the benefit of believers, as Christians also need to conform their minds to the truth (Phil 2:1-3).
Titus 1:9-11 specifically commands a defensive and offensive apologetics tactic. As one submitted to the Scriptures, the man of God needs to be able to teach sound doctrine (positive) as well as correct opposers (defensive). Christian teaching is therefore necessarily both edifying and corrective. To neglect one or the other is to make the church hyper-critical in spirit or vulnerable to capitulation.
The Bible also gives several examples of good apologetics (Matt 12:22-29; Rom 1:18-32; Acts 14:4-18, 17:16-34). In these examples, Christ and His apostles relentless pursue a verdict, loving confront folly, and exalt the truth. Their argumentation is logical, rational, clear, and bold. The truth is not merely “shared.” It is proclaimed, and intended to pierce the heart (Heb 4:12), corner the unbelieving mind, and expose the folly of rejecting God. Biblical apologetic is the nexus of biblical knowledge, sanctified wit, godly argument, and rhetoric.
Acts 17:16-34 is the paradigmatic text demonstrating apologetics, so I will walk through some of the lessons we can learn from it. Paul was provoked by the rampant idolatry of the city of Athens (17:16). Even though he was alone waiting for his ministry companions, his love for the glory of God did not let him sit idle by in the midst of such flagrant sin. This godly angry moved him to action. He was compelled to reason, in both the synagogue and in the market place with anyone who happened to be there (17:17). He used rational argument, to all classes and people groups, seeking to persuade them of the things of God. The content of his preaching was Jesus and the resurrection (17:18). Verses 18-21 tell us that these Athenian unbelievers were the philosophers and worldly wise of the day, They were the educated and the elite, and yet Paul’s subsequent sermon does not appeal to their pride in the least. Paul proclaims that he sought to eradicate the Athenian’s ignorance about eternal things (17:23). He exposes the radical divide between God and man: God is independent and entirely sovereign, but mankind is completely needy and dependent upon Him (17:23-29). Then he tackles their idolatry head on, exposing it as an ignorant foolish practice (17:28-30). And finally, he proclaims that all people everywhere should repent (17:30) for the judgement through the resurrected Jesus Christ is coming (17:31). We, too, must be motivated by a holy angry against the idolatry unbelief, employ passionate reason and persuasive argument in our apologetic, proclaim primarily Jesus and the resurrection, refuse to bow to the pride and accolades of men, eliminate the unbeliever’s ignorance about the true God by proclaiming His full character, expose the foolishness of idolatry and unbelief, and declare that God is commanding everyone to repent and believe in Jesus Christ (17:30), to flee from the judgement to come (17:31).
In light of all these passages, I always try to remember the follow truths when defending the faith, especially when speaking to an unbeliever. First, the greatest defender of Christianity is God Himself. He created the world and inspired His Word. Thus, His Word accurately, sufficiently, and truthfully describes and accords with reality. It is not my job to create arguments for Him, but to simply expose what He has already revealed about Himself. Second, every Christian can and should defend the faith. The knowledge and skill to defend the faith well is critical to being an effective evangelist, and the Scriptures are sufficient to equip us for this good work (2 Tim 3:16). Third, whatever we say should have a clear grounding in the Scriptures. The Scriptures themselves teach us to use biblically-saturated logic, reason, and argument. Fourth, apologetics has three basic goals: to show that Christianity is reasonable and true (not unreasonable and false), to show that every other worldview is absurd and false (not true and not reasonable), and to persuade all people to believe in Christ and submit to Him as Savior and Lord. All three goals must work together. Fifth, apologetical arguments are not the gospel, and thus cannot save sinners. Instead, the highest honor of apologetics is to be the machete that cuts through the tangled jungle of foolish argument and vain speculation that an unbeliever hides behind to justify his unbelief. In a human sense, apologetics clears the way for the gospel to be understood rightly. Sixth, contending for the faith with truth and biblical argument does not justify a sinful attitude. Gentleness, kindness, and humility must be the marks of a Christian, even while destroying unbelieving arguments and bankrupt worldviews. Seventh, no one was ever argued into the kingdom of heaven. It is easier to win arguments than to win souls, but God is pleased that we would proclaim Christ to sinners, not merely debate. Eighth, apologetics should be an encouragement to the saints, as it bolsters and emboldens their faith. Christians do not believe because of good apologetic argument, but our Spirit-enlivened minds rejoice when they hear the truth defended articulately, clearly, and boldly. Ninth, no one but God knows everything. When someone asks a question I don’t know the answer to, the best thing I can say is, “I don’t have a good answer right now. Can I study and get back together with you to talk about?” This honors God and the person, and is an act of true humility. Tenth, Christians should be known for who and what they are for—God and His glory through Christ Jesus according to the Scriptures—and for what they are against—everything that is opposed to God.
Adapted from an essay written for a seminary course on evangelism and apologetics, Fall 2021.