How Christians Should Defend the Faith
Have you been defending Christianity wrong?
Have you ever been in one of those tricky situations where all of a sudden someone who doesn’t believe in God puts down Christianity? After the long awkward silence you don’t really know what to say back. When something like this happens, God commands us to not only say that we are Christians, but defend it to others! (1 Peter 3:15).
This means that we are called to persuade them that our Faith is the one and only truth. You might have done this without even knowing it, but many of us are defending Jesus in the wrong way. In order to avoid dealing with conflict with the non-believer, we beat around the bush.
The ultimate issue with this is that in that moment, we aren’t glorifying Him. I’m going to dive into exactly what the Bible says about how God has called us to defend our Faith.
What is Apologetics?
Let’s start off with some definitions.
What is apologetics?
In simplest terms, Apologetics is defending the Christian faith. Many unbelievers will laugh at you for being a Christian, and tell you that you’re a fool for believing in Jesus and the Bible.
These are the moments where you “defend” your faith, or give a reason for the hope that you have in Jesus. You don’t just walk away saying “That’s ok if you don’t believe in Jesus, to each his own!”
You are actively defending your faith and trying to show this person that they should too.
Evidence Glorified
Many Christians, unfortunately, throw away their Bible and put on their “science” hat. They treat evidence like it’s God.
“The evidence is how I know Christianity is true! It’s so unlikely that there is no God! How could you not believe?“
There’s nothing wrong with using evidence in your defense (I’m a nerd myself). Evidence is a gift from God. However, evidence itself is a tool.
Right now, many Christians don’t worship God when they are defending him, they are worshipping evidence.
For example, let’s say I have an atheist friend who says “Joe, how could you be a Christian? I don’t see God anywhere.”
If I was too focused on evidence, I would probably say “God is the most likely conclusion. Look at the order you see in nature. What else would it be?”
Then, I would continue “Now that just shows you that A God exists, but I’m a Christian because of the Bible. Here’s all the evidence for the Bible!”
After stacking a pile of evidence for the Bible on friend, here’s what would happen…
My friend gets saved right on the spot and the Holy Spirit enters him immediately!
Right?…well no. Defending Christ like this isn’t Biblical. Evidence is biblical, but it’s not what saves a person.
Do We Save Ourselves?
Because of our culture, autonomy is something that is ingrained in us. Autonomy just means that we can “govern ourselves”.
This has affected many Christians today. A lot of us think that, at the end of the day, we are the ones that save ourselves. It usually comes out like this:
“Jesus died for me, but I need to accept the gift in order to obtain salvation.”
If you believe this, it’s understandable why you would try to use so much evidence to convince someone. If you fail…they may be lost for eternity.
Even worse?
You could be partially responsible for someone’s salvation. Think about it. Every person is responsible for their final destination…but what if you just showed them a better argument before they died? Those poor people would have believed if they had the right information, right?
This is the weight of anxiety that rests on your shoulders when you believe this form of salvation.
Thankfully, I’ve got good news for you; the Bible teaches something different 😌
Countless passages in scripture tell us that GOD is the one that grants us repentance. We CANNOT come to him apart from his sovereign will. We are unable to put our faith in Jesus unless God intervenes for us.
We can’t go over all of them in this post, but here’s a few:
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day.
John 6:44, CSB
For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— not from works, so that no one can boast.
Eph 2:8–9, CSB
The Lord’s servant must not quarrel, but must be gentle to everyone, able to teach, and patient, instructing his opponents with gentleness.
Perhaps God will grant them repentance leading them to the knowledge of the truth.
2 Ti 2:24, CSB
Are you saved because you made the choice to put your faith in Jesus?
No, faith is a gift from God, lest any man should boast.
If the only thing that separates me from someone who is going to hell is my decision to believe in what Christ did, that means I can boast. I can say “look at me! I put my faith in Jesus, and you didn’t! I’m better!”
But since God does all the work, it truly has nothing to do with what I did. Praise God for that.
Are People Ignorant?
How much do people know about God from birth? From when they are born to a full grown adult…are they a blank slate until they read the Bible?
Is everyone born as an atheist and then, after examining the evidence, go on to believe in Christianity?
The apostle Paul has some sobering words for us about this issue:
For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth,
since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them.
For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse.
Romans 1:18-20, CSB, emphasis added
Paul could not have been more clear with his words. People are without excuse.
Why? God’s existence is obvious to everyone through what he has made; creation. In other words…don’t believe in God? Look outside!
But why do people seem to be ignorant? Why do atheists seem reasonable for not believing in God? Is it because they truly do not know?
Let’s look at verse 18 a little closer:
18 For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth
Unless God grants us repentance, we know the truth, but actively suppress it. We shove it down as far as we can.
Maybe if we just don’t think about God, he’ll go away and let us keep sinning!
We can self-deceive ourselves so much, that we can literally convince ourselves that there is no God.
How Should We Defend Christ?
So…if God is the one that saves us, and everyone knows about God from birth…what does this mean for defending our faith?
The most popular verse that’s quoted on this topic is 1 Peter 3:15
But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear them, or be intimidated,
but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.
Yet do this with gentleness and reverence, keeping a clear conscience, so that when you are accused, those who disparage your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame.
1 Pe 3:14–16, CSB
This verse has 3 major sections that really stand out:
Acknowledging Christ as the Lord
Being ready to give a defense
Doing so with gentleness and respect
2 & 3 are covered a lot, but most Christians forget the 1st part.
If we truly set apart Christ as Lord in our hearts…the Lord of Lords, the God who is sovereign over every detail in our world…how could we treat him like a probability? How could we pretend he might not exist?
Let me ask you…why are you breathing right now? Because your lungs are working? Because you’re a random assortment of cells that evolved from the mud?
No…you’re breathing because God is allowing you to. The first & last day of your life was written before the world began. God predestined the very breathe that you just breathed.
God’s existence is not a reasonable view, it’s not a choice among other religions…
He is necessary for you to even be living right now. As his people, we should defend Christ like we actually believe he is Lord.
Evidence is a gift from God, but without God, evidence doesn’t make sense. We should boldly proclaim the throne of God, and use evidence inside that context. This is how we can defend our faith biblically and fulfill the great commission.
Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Mt 28:18–20