It is important to discuss what my motivation is before I go through more posts. One of my top reasons for writing about how to defend Christianity is simply so we can be prepared to do as the Bible prompts us to do, through written command (I Peter 3:15-16 “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ”) and through example of Paul and others. It is my prayer that God will use this information to bring Him glory, as well as to open doors to use this information to help bring people to their knees in submission to Christ.
Perhaps quoting some of my favorite authors will help. In the introduction of Evidence for Christianity by Josh McDowell, Josh states “These notes, used with a caring attitude, can motivate a person to consider Jesus Christ honestly and direct him or her back to the central and primary issue – the gospel, or good news…” As Hank Hanegraaff eloquently writes in his book The Complete Bible Answer Book, “First, apologetics is the defense of the faith ‘once for all entrusted to the saints’ (Jude 3). … Furthermore, apologetics is pre-evangelism. … Finally, apologetics is post-evangelism. In the swirling waves of doubt and despair that often threaten to submerge our faith, it is crucial to be familiar with the pillars or posts on which our faith is founded – namely, that God created the universe; that Jesus Christ demonstrated he is God through the immutable fact of his resurrection; and that the Bible is demonstrably divine rather than human in origin.”
I am not here to suggest Christians always have to speak “intelligently”, nor am I here to suggest that learning how to defend the faith is the most important aspect of the Christian life. Indeed, we could have as much head knowledge as we could contain, but if we are not in relationship with Christ, then we don’t have what we truly need.
As Christians, we need to be living how Christ commanded. One of those ways we should be living is through study, and one of the studies we should be doing is how to defend Christ. So, I will claim that every Christian has the responsibility to know how to defend Christianity.
All of that to say, I simply want to help equip the saints to be faithful to the call we have – and humbly ask that Christ will equip me more throughout this process as well.
