Apologetics in Action - Lesson 2
Overview
Apologetics in Action: Defending the Faith with Gentleness and Truth
Apologetics is the defense of the faith—not a defense of God, who is sovereign and almighty and needs no defense from us, but a faithful witness through which God uses us to share the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. Because this is spiritual work, the manner of our defense matters as much as the content. Paul reminds us that "we do not wage war according to human standards… we destroy arguments and every proud obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ" 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. Peter likewise calls us to "always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands… an accounting for the hope that is in you," doing so "with gentleness and reverence" 1 Peter 3:15-16. Civility, respect, and openness to further questions are essential—both for the person we're speaking with and for anyone listening in, who is also receiving our witness.
Answering the Charge: "How Can God Be Good If He Says No When We Need Him Most?"
This question is built on a faulty premise—that God ignores or routinely refuses His people. Often the most helpful response is to slow down and back up: Does the questioner even believe God hears prayer at all? Scripture is unambiguous that He does. "This is the boldness we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us" 1 John 5:14. We are invited to "cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you" 1 Peter 5:7. The psalmist testifies, "Truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer" Psalm 66:17-20.
The deeper issue is that we often pray our will rather than His. When we pray "thy will be done," we are entrusting our requests to God's purposes, goodness, and timing—even when a closed door disappoints us. God's "no" or "not yet" is not indifference; it is the answer of a Father who knows us better than we know ourselves and answers according to what is truly good.
Discernment Among Many "Gods"
The objection that "there are thousands of gods—why yours?" is one Scripture itself anticipates. Jesus warned, "False messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect" Matthew 24:24. The existence of competing claims is not evidence against the true God; it is exactly what He told us to expect. Our confidence rests not in the absence of rival voices but in the trustworthiness of God's revealed Word and the salvation accomplished in Christ alone.
Practical Encouragement
Grow in Scripture and doctrine so your defense has substance, but remember a few freeing truths: it is okay to acknowledge mysteries of the faith (such as Christ's true presence in Communion); it is okay not to have every answer on the spot; and it is right to ground every answer in Scripture, since God's Word is our authority. The closer we walk with the Lord in prayer and study, the more naturally the hope within us overflows into how we speak, how we listen, and how we love—so that our defense itself bears a "heavenly accent."
Transcript
Good morning and welcome to adult education. 1s
We are continuing with our class of apologetics in action. 5s
And before we turn to defending the faith, 10s
let us first turn to the Lord in faith in prayer. 13s
Lord, we thank you so much for this time 18s
to study your word together. 21s
We ask that as we continue to know you 23s
more deeply and better through your word. 28s
And we learn more about the doctrine and theology, 31s
the faith that you have so graciously called us into. 35s
Lord, we ask that you would keep it upon our lips, 39s
that you would keep our minds and our hearts open 42s
to where you would lead us, 45s
and to who you would have us share it with. 47s
Lord, we ask that you would bless this time of study 50s
and that you would bless this day and every day. 52s
Lord, we ask all of this in the name of Jesus Christ. 55s
Amen. 58s
Okay, so really quick review or a couple of fine points 60s
to just touch on apologetics, as you know, 65s
It's not defending God, it's not answering for God. 71s
God is all powerful, almighty, all sovereign, all knowing. 77s
He doesn't need little old us to defend him 80s
or to make answers for him. 84s
He does that. 88s
He uses us to share his word, to share the good news 89s
of salvation through Jesus Christ. 96s
And so we're not answering for God, 98s
he doesn't need us to do that. 102s
He uses us to share himself with others. 104s
When we're engaging in, well, when we're engaging 110s
with anyone on anything, we should always keep it civil. 113s
But when we're defending the faith, 116s
when we are sharing our faith, 119s
we want to make sure that we keep it very civil, 121s
very respectful and very open conversation, 125s
open dialogue to where we're not shutting everything down 131s
and not letting someone ask further questions. 137s
There's a difference between saying, 140s
it's not safe to go down that spiral 144s
because the devil leads us out into a weird path. 148s
And there are those questions that will come up. 153s
There's a difference between saying, 155s
it's dangerous to follow this path where it leads 157s
and saying, I'm not gonna talk to you about this anymore. 159s
Okay, so we want to keep it, 163s
we want to keep that availability and that openness 167s
to dialogue and to questions. 170s
Because again, we never know when someone is coming 173s
or when we're engaging with them, 177s
where they are in their own journey 179s
and where the Holy Spirit is working on them. 182s
And so we want them to always feel comfortable 185s
to come and ask more questions. 188s
Another thing that we need to remember 191s
is that anyone who is overhearing our conversation, 194s
anyone who is surrounding and listening to our defense 201s
is also hearing that defense of our faith 208s
and how we bring ourselves to that conversation, 212s
how we treat other people, that's really our witness 218s
as believers, as Christians. 223s
And so anyone overhearing or watching the conversation 226s
is also not only getting the defense that we're bringing 230s
but they're the apologetic, 234s
but they're also receiving the witness 236s
that we bring to that situation. 239s
So if they see a huge argument 242s
and they can't tell the difference 244s
between the believer and the non-believer, 247s
there's an issue there. 251s
We want to make sure that I think Pastor Ibel 252s
had a sermon about this a few weeks ago 255s
about that heavenly accent. 258s
We want to bring that heavenly accent 260s
into our apologetics, into our defense. 264s
So why do we even bother with apologetics 268s
if God can defend himself or if He does defend Himself? 273s
Well, we're gonna turn to scripture. 279s
We're gonna start with second Corinthians. 280s
So if you open your Bibles to the middle, 283s
you're gonna find, well, let's not open it to the middle. 286s
Let's open it a little more to the right. 289s
So we're starting in the New Testament 290s
and we're gonna go to second Corinthians. 292s
So you'll pass the Gospels and then the Book of Acts 296s
and then Romans, then first Corinthians 299s
and then you're gonna find yourself in second Corinthians. 301s
And we're gonna look at second Corinthians chapter 10, 305s
second Corinthians chapter 10, starting in verse two, 311s
where Paul is defending his ministry 316s
and he says, 320s
I ask that when I am present, I need not show boldness 323s
by daring to oppose those who think 327s
we are acting according to human standards. 329s
Indeed, we live as human beings 332s
but we do not wage war according to human standards. 334s
For the weapons of our warfare are not merely human 338s
but they have divine power to destroy strongholds. 341s
We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle 345s
raised up against the knowledge of God 348s
and we take every thought captive to obey Christ. 350s
So that's the point that we are not engaging 355s
with the human standard or in human standards. 360s
We're really engaging in that spiritual battle 364s
and we are with Paul with other disciples 368s
throughout all time. 374s
We are called to take every thought captive for Christ, 376s
to obey Christ. 383s
What a beautiful image that all thought. 384s
Everything is captivated in Christ, by Christ, 390s
to obey Christ. 395s
And then if we go over to first Peter, 396s
so you're going to keep turning to the right, 398s
you're gonna get through all of Paul's letters, 401s
you're going to get through the book of Hebrews and James 404s
and then you're going to find first Peter 409s
and we're going to first Peter three, verse 15, 411s
where halfway through the verse he writes, 418s
always be ready to make your defense to anyone 421s
who demands from you and accounting for the hope 424s
that is in you. 427s
Isn't that wonderful that someone wants to know 430s
what this hope is that you have? 433s
And in that point, when they ask, 436s
you are prepared to offer a defense, 440s
to offer the reasoning, the apologetic behind this hope 443s
that you have. 449s
And I like how he continues and this really goes back 450s
to what we were talking about at the beginning of class 452s
where he continues in verse 16 saying, 456s
yet do it with gentleness and reverence. 458s
So bringing that loving, gentle, reverent, 462s
respectful apologetic or witness 467s
to the person and then also to whoever is witnessing 472s
the conversation, we want to be, 477s
we want to present ourselves or present the faith 482s
through our defense, through our words 486s
in a very gentle loving and respectful manner. 489s
Now sometimes we get a little scared about engaging 494s
or where we're supposed to start with that. 499s
And I would really encourage to you, 503s
especially with us moving into phase two, 507s
of phase two protocol within this church, 511s
we're gonna see more of our ministries 517s
starting to reengage. 520s
And so I would really encourage you to keep an eye out 523s
for the class everyday missionary 527s
because that's looking at who is in our mission field. 531s
Then we have the workshop everyone has witnessed 535s
and that gives us that how, how do we engage? 537s
And within that workshop then you're given access 542s
to specialized modules where how do I engage with the scientist? 546s
How do I engage with my unchurched neighbor? 554s
How do I engage with my Jewish neighbor, et cetera? 558s
So you're given very specific context modules 563s
and then we have another workshop every day boldness 567s
which really shares that confidence 571s
and how you can be confident because it's not 575s
in your own strength but in the strength of the Lord 578s
that you are able to share the faith. 581s
Again, it is so key to continue growing 585s
and maturing in the faith knowing the Lord more deeply 589s
every day and part of that, the more we grow 593s
and know the Lord in our own person 597s
and the closer we get to Him 602s
through our daily engagement and prayer and reading, 606s
the more that it is so naturally a part of who we are 609s
that we can't help but to share our faith, we can't help 615s
but to have that hope and to be able to defend the hope 619s
that to bring that defense of the hope that is within us. 626s
Also, it is so key to continue learning 629s
and growing in theology and doctrine 632s
because you're gonna be more comfortable. 636s
So if someone comes up and asks you what's the deal here 638s
or can you answer this question, 642s
you're gonna have some oomph to your defense. 644s
That's the whole purpose of the academy that we have. 647s
So you have some theological grounding, 650s
some doctrinal grounding in why you believe, 653s
what you believe or how scripture leads us to this. 658s
Now, certainly all of our beliefs are grounded 664s
and rooted in the faith that has been so graciously given to us 670s
but we're able to bring a strong defense 675s
if we are more comfortable with scripture, 680s
more comfortable with our doctrine and theology. 685s
So with that all said, we are going to continue 690s
with some more quick questions that Christians supposedly 694s
can't or won't answer. 699s
Now, the question has been raised a few times 702s
in the last couple of weeks since we began this class 706s
on questions that come up regarding the Bible 710s
or the validity of the Bible. 713s
We have an academy class and we have a couple 715s
of academy classes that address scripture specifically 719s
and so I don't want to spend our time today 723s
or in this class going over that 728s
because we have specific academy classes for that 731s
that have been recorded and you can find them on YouTube 735s
or on our website. 740s
So I highly encourage you to go back and watch those, 742s
I was gonna say read those, maybe you could put subtitles 748s
on, I don't know about that one. 751s
Anyways, so we're going to move to another question 753s
which I love this one. 758s
Remember last week or two weeks ago we talked about 760s
sometimes questions will be asked 764s
and we try to answer the question 766s
when we really need to back it up a lot 768s
and this is one of those questions. 771s
So this question is how can God be good 774s
when he nearly always turns down the praying party 777s
when they need him the most? 781s
Do you hear the problem with that question 784s
just from the onset? 789s
Do you hear where there's a problem? 791s
So just on a very base level, 794s
I'm sure you've heard before, 798s
when you're in conversation with someone, 802s
especially your spouse, 804s
don't use the words always and never, 807s
always and never, those are no-no words 810s
because they're absolutes and this is a near absolute 813s
that how can God be good when he nearly always 819s
turns down the praying party when they need him the most? 823s
This is such a great and gross presumption 826s
about God or regarding God 831s
that he won't hear our prayers or that he hears our prayers 834s
and just says, you need me, I don't care. 840s
And that's a really big presumption to make 845s
and what a gross mischaracterization of God 849s
really that would be a gross mischaracterization of anyone 857s
if you as a parent or grandparent or friend 861s
was asked, why do you almost always tell me no 866s
when I just ask for a piece of bread? 871s
Well, come on, that's silly. 877s
We'd be offended if we were told, 879s
we are offended when we're told that we're a certain way 881s
when it's not true. 884s
I don't know if you've ever been lied to 887s
about yourself to yourself. 889s
It's a weird thing. 891s
So this is starting with a lie about God. 893s
So let's back it up a little bit 896s
where we have a lot, a whole stack, 899s
we're not gonna read them all, 903s
but we are gonna read some. 904s
God hears our prayers. 906s
That's the first thing that we need to address. 908s
Whether the person asking the question believes 910s
that God hears our prayers. 914s
Now we think they do from the basis of this question, 918s
how can he be good when he nearly always turns down 922s
the praying party? 924s
So it's not that he doesn't hear it necessarily, 925s
but if you back it up to that question, 929s
then we're at a better starting point. 932s
Just responding with that question, okay, let's slow down. 936s
I first want to know, do you agree 943s
that God does hear our prayers? 947s
And a lot of times when we back up 951s
and go back a few steps, then that person 955s
who is making this claim or asking the question stops 960s
and says, actually no, I don't believe so. 966s
So we're gonna first start there. 970s
We're gonna start with God hearing our prayers. 975s
In 1 John chapter five, so we're in the New Testament. 981s
We were in 1 Peter, you're just gonna go 988s
to the right a little bit more, 990s
you're gonna see 2 Peter, then you're gonna be 992s
in 1 John, we're gonna go to 1 John chapter five 994s
verse 14, yes, verse 14, 998s
and this is the boldness we have in him, 1005s
that if we ask anything according to his will, 1007s
he hears us. 1012s
Now, that verse right there brings us 1015s
to another point with this question. 1019s
When we are praying, we are praying for his will 1022s
to be done. 1027s
When we pray the Lord's prayer, 1029s
we are praying thy will be done. 1031s
Not my will be done, I think I just bumped my mic, sorry. 1034s
Not my will be done. 1039s
We are asking to be in line with God's will 1041s
and that's where our hopes get dashed, 1044s
our dreams get dashed because so often we are praying. 1050s
And Lord, please make this happen according to my plan, 1055s
according to my will, how I would like to see things done, 1060s
how I would like the results to end up. 1064s
And so then we're not praying as we ought, 1067s
we're praying as we want. 1073s
So that is one very key distinguishment 1076s
that needs to be made or distinction 1081s
that needs to be made. 1084s
I think I make up a lot of words 1086s
when we're having these classes. 1087s
It's kind of fun. 1089s
Anyway, so we want to make sure that we distinguish 1090s
those lines. 1096s
If we go to, let's go to Psalms, 1098s
actually, don't go to Psalms yet. 1106s
We're going to just go back to first Peter 1108s
because we're close to there. 1109s
We're going to go back to there. 1111s
First Peter, so you're going to just flip back 1113s
to first Peter chapter five 1116s
and we're going to go to verse seven 1120s
where Peter wrote cast all your anxiety on him 1124s
because he cares for you. 1128s
And I think this one addresses very nicely 1131s
that claim or question that how can God be good 1134s
when he turns down the praying party 1139s
when they need him the most? 1141s
We are invited, commanded to give all of our anxiety, 1143s
all of our cares, all of our concerns, 1150s
give it all to the Lord. 1153s
Now if he did not care for us, 1157s
he would not command us to do so. 1160s
He would not invite us to do so. 1164s
He would tell us at certain times 1167s
or in certain circumstances, 1170s
go ahead and bring me in on the problems. 1172s
But otherwise, I'm kind of busy 1175s
and I want to be left alone. 1177s
He would be very clear about that. 1178s
But instead, he is very clear of the reverse 1180s
that we are to give him everything. 1183s
We are to take everything to him. 1187s
That is the joys, the anxieties, the stresses, the angers, 1190s
the fears, the rejoicing, the praise, 1194s
the thanksgiving, everything is to be turned to God. 1198s
Remember what we had just heard in the Corinthians passage 1202s
that every thought is to be captive to obey Christ. 1207s
And that includes our anxious thoughts 1213s
or our joys. 1216s
So now let's go back to Psalm 66. 1218s
So if you open your Bibles to the middle, 1223s
see now or to the middle. 1226s
The middle, you will find yourselves in Psalms. 1227s
And we're gonna just find Psalm 66. 1231s
Psalm 66 and we are going to go to verse 17. 1236s
I cried aloud to him and he was extolled with my tongue. 1242s
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, 1247s
the Lord would not have listened. 1249s
But truly God has listened. 1251s
He has given heed to the words of my prayer. 1253s
Blessed be God because he has not rejected my prayer 1257s
or removed his steadfast love from me. 1261s
God hears our prayers. 1265s
He takes heed, he notices, he knows what we're going to pray. 1268s
Truly, he knows before we pray, what we pray. 1273s
He knows before we even know what we want or need. 1277s
He knows what we want and or need. 1281s
And so he doesn't ignore, but he answers us. 1285s
Sometimes, oftentimes the answer is not what we want 1291s
or sometimes or oftentimes the answer is not in our timing. 1297s
But this is when we again back it up to when we are praying, 1302s
we pray in his will. 1307s
And when we pray in his will, we are trusting, 1309s
which is really hard, we are trusting in his purpose, 1314s
we are trusting in his goodness, 1319s
we are trusting in his timing. 1321s
And this is where a lot of us get caught. 1325s
Have you ever had a prayer for a job or a job 1330s
I'm just thinking of a job because I've seen this one recently 1337s
from a friend but praying for a job and give me clarity 1340s
and open the doors that need to be open 1344s
and close the doors that need to be closed. 1346s
And so when a closed door is there, 1349s
but I really wanted this, it's hard. 1353s
And we have to back up and say, I trust, I trust. 1357s
This is what I asked for for his will 1362s
and this is his will. 1364s
So there are so many more verses that we can go to 1367s
with God hearing our prayers. 1374s
We know that God hears all who call on him. 1377s
And furthermore, no one can hide from God. 1384s
Throughout scripture we see that no one can hide from God. 1388s
We have Adam trying to hide from God in the garden. 1391s
In Hebrews the writer says that no one can hide from God. 1394s
Everyone is laid bare in naked before him. 1399s
And God is searching our hearts and knows our thoughts, 1402s
knows our inner most being, 1408s
knows ourselves more intimately than we know ourselves. 1412s
And so we know that God hears us when we call on him 1416s
and we have, like I said, I have an entire stack, 1424s
10 pages worth of verses that of God 1427s
where he is promising to hear us and how he hears us. 1431s
So then another question, 1436s
I cannot believe we're already almost out of time. 1437s
I get to talking with you and I just have so much fun. 1441s
Okay, so another question, 1446s
there are almost 5,000 God's being worshipped. 1450s
Why do you believe in your particular God? 1455s
And with this question, 1459s
there are all of the little subset questions 1461s
about the exclusivity versus the openness 1463s
and inclusivity of other religions 1468s
or the many various ways that leads to the same place 1472s
or lead to the same place. 1475s
And we will dig in a lot deeper into those specific questions. 1477s
So next week, two things I wanna say really quick. 1487s
Next week, we are going to talk a little more deeply 1489s
about intelligent design. 1493s
And I would like to preface that by saying, 1495s
intelligent design, absolutely. 1498s
I think that a lot of scientists 1501s
who are proponents and even just lay people 1506s
who are proponents of intelligent design, 1510s
I think that sometimes it gets stopped too quickly 1513s
and doesn't go far enough that it's not just 1518s
or merely intelligent design, 1523s
but it is God, our creator, who created all. 1524s
And so we're gonna dig into that a little more deeply 1529s
and we're going to dig into the exclusivity of Christianity 1531s
and we're gonna do that next week. 1536s
But I do want to first address this question 1538s
about the 5,000 gods being worshiped 1541s
and why it's our particular God. 1544s
So we're given warnings about this in scripture. 1546s
If you go to the New Testament, 1550s
the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 24, 1551s
Matthew 24, verse 24. 1556s
So it's the first gospel, it's Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. 1560s
So it's the first gospel, first book in the New Testament. 1565s
Jesus warns, he says, 1569s
for false messiahs and false prophets 1571s
will appear and produce great signs and omens 1573s
to lead a stray if possible, even the elect. 1576s
So there's one warning from Jesus' own mouth, 1580s
there would be and will be, 1583s
there have been throughout all time false prophets, 1585s
false teachers, false messiahs, false saviors, 1590s
so that's one warning we have. 1595s
If you keep going to the right 1597s
and we go through the gospels, 1599s
we go through the book of Acts, we find ourselves 1601s
into Paul's writings and you'll go through 1603s
the Romans, Corinthians, 1607s
Corinthians, or Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians. 1611s
You're gonna find yourself in Thessalonians. 1616s
We wanna go to 2nd Thessalonians, chapter 3. 1618s
Oh, I have the wrong, darn it. 1626s
I have the wrong, 1631s
verse written down. 1635s
Well, darn, and sugati-bugati. 1638s
So we have another warning of false prophets. 1643s
I'm not gonna take our time right now to find it. 1649s
I will find it for us next week, 1651s
exactly because I have the wrong one written down here. 1653s
That's gonna drive me nuts. 1657s
This is not the first time this has happened. 1659s
So we're gonna start there next week. 1663s
We're gonna dig in more deeply to this question 1667s
about that exclusivity of the Christian faith 1669s
of the triune God and salvation in Christ and Christ alone. 1672s
And we are going to dig into not only intelligent design, 1678s
but the creator, the one creator, creator of all, 1682s
which is and who is God, the triune God, Father, Son, 1687s
and Holy Spirit. 1691s
So with that, one more really quick side note. 1693s
I want to remind you as you are engaging with others, 1701s
as you are defending the faith, 1705s
it is okay to have mysteries of faith. 1707s
We have mysteries. 1713s
There are things that we may know, 1716s
but don't know all of how it works. 1720s
Communion, great example. 1725s
It is bread and wine. 1728s
It is body and blood. 1731s
How does that work? 1734s
Well, there is a mystery of faith there, 1735s
but it's true, it's real. 1740s
Also, it's okay not to have all the answers. 1742s
I don't know if you remember, 1747s
but a minute ago when I had the wrong verse 1748s
and couldn't find it, that happens. 1750s
That's a real life thing. 1753s
It's okay. 1754s
It doesn't mean that you can't defend the faith 1756s
or that you are doing a poor job of it. 1759s
It means that you are human 1762s
and that you don't have all the answers 1765s
or you make mistakes 1768s
or you can't find the very verse you're thinking of. 1770s
That happens. 1773s
It's okay. 1774s
It doesn't negate anything of what you believe 1775s
or anything of what you have said. 1778s
It's also okay to use scripture as your basis. 1781s
And I say it's okay a little jokingly 1788s
because scripture is our basis. 1791s
God's word is our basis for all our beliefs. 1794s
We are under the authority of God's word. 1799s
And so we turn to it for our guidance, 1803s
for our direction and for the foundation 1808s
of everything in our apologetics and our defense. 1812s
So with that, have an incredible rest of your week 1816s
and I look forward to digging in deeper. 1821s
I'm gonna keep it really, really centered. 1826s
None of these side tracks. 1829s
I just do too many side tracks with you. 1830s
It's too easy. 1832s
Anyway, God bless you and I will see you next week. 1834s
Take a look at the book one at a time. 1852s