DYF: The Task of Apologetics - My Thoughts

In Chapter 1 of Defending Your Faith, R.C. Sproul argues that it is the Christian's duty to defend the faith. And so it is (1 Peter 3:14-16; Jude 3). But I wonder, how should one do that? Is appealing to logic necessarily the best way to go about it? As Sproul says himself, apologetics by itself has no saving power apart from the Holy Spirit's work in someone's heart. But it does have the power to prove false accusations against Christians and Christianity wrong, which can also build up other Christians who see no logical basis for their faith. It can also lead an unbeliever to Christ...by only if the Holy Spirit intervenes.

Some would argue that, when we defend the faith, we should argue from the perspective that the Bible is true and just assume that it's a given. That's certainly valid in some cases; the Word of God has power to save without our defense.

But what if you are in a debate with someone who doesn't want to believe? Sproul would say, in this case, that we should prove God's existence and the authority of the Bible to this person. Doing so makes the task of apologetics a lot easier, because if you can prove the Bible to be true and God to be real, you can argue Christian truth from the Bible.

But Sproul also points out that, even if you prove the Christian faith true to someone, they may simply be unwilling to be persuaded. People have hard, rebellious hearts. The Bible says that we cannot understand the things of God by ourselves. We can't expect everyone to be saved by an apologetic debate. All we can really do is preach the Gospel, show it to be rational and true, and let God work in the hearts of those He wills.

We Will Cordially Unite/No Hope But In Him

Quotes from Old, Dead Dudes (3/16/12)

The following is a conversation between Charles Simeon and John Welsey. The original quote on desiringgod.org doesn't give the names in front of each quote, but it's obvious in context who is who. Since their permission policy does not allow me to alter any quotes taken from their website, I have chosen to color all of Simeon's quotes orange while all of Welsey's words are normal.

Sir, I understand that you are called an Arminian; and I have been sometimes called a Calvinist; and therefore I suppose we are to draw daggers. But before I consent to begin the combat, with your permission I will ask you a few questions. Pray, Sir, do you feel yourself a depraved creature, so depraved that you would never have thought of turning to God, if God had not first put it into your heart?

Yes, I do indeed.

And do you utterly despair of recommending yourself to God by anything you can do; and look for salvation solely through the blood and righteousness of Christ?

Yes, solely through Christ.

But, Sir, supposing you were at first saved by Christ, are you not somehow or other to save yourself afterwards by your own works?

No, I must be saved by Christ from first to last.

Allowing, then, that you were first turned by the grace of God, are you not in some way or other to keep yourself by your own power?

No.

What then, are you to be upheld every hour and every moment by God, as much as an infant in its mother's arms?

Yes, altogether.

And is all your hope in the grace and mercy of God to preserve you unto His heavenly kingdom?

Yes, I have no hope but in Him.

Then, Sir, with your leave I will put up my dagger again; for this is all my Calvinism; this is my election, my justification by faith, my final perseverance: it is in substance all that I hold, and as I hold it; and therefore, if you please, instead of searching out terms and phrases to be a ground of contention between us, we will cordially unite in those things wherein we agree.

Source: H.C.G. Moule, Charles Simeon, London: InterVarsity, 1948, 79f; quoted from: http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/biographies/brothers-we-must-not-mind-a-little-suffering

Writing Through R.C. Sproul's "Defending Your Faith"

On Sunday night I bought Defending Your Faith by R.C. Sproul (hence the title). It's a book about apologetics, something that Dr. Sproul himself is well-known for. For those who don't know, apologetics is basically the practice of making a case to both defend and prove something. In the case of this book, that something is the Christian faith.

In this book, Dr. Sproul is concerned with multiple things:

1. Making a case for the existence of God and the authority of the Bible
2. Showing that Christianity, contrary to popular belief, is based on both faith and reason
3. Teaching the reader how to defend the faith

Before getting this book, I kind of thought it would be fun to blog my through it one chapter at a time. I figure it will help me absorb the information better, and Sproul argues that this book contains very important information. Plus, it would give me more to write about; that way, you, the reader, are kept happy.

So, starting Monday, I'm gonna blog my way through Defending Your Faith. The posts may not all be consecutive, meaning I'll probably still post other things on different topics now and again. And I'm not starting tomorrow because I already have tomorrow's old, dead dude quote queued up.

Speaking of which, does anyone like the old, dead dude quotes? So far the only comment I've heard about them is to stop because that particular reader doesn't want to read quotes; she wants to read what I have to say. So, any thoughts? If no one wants me to continue them, I'll stop.

Running Ahead of a Boat

Observations From My Study (Mark 6:30-33)

You've probably heard that famous Bible story where Jesus feeds five thousand men (plus women and children) with just five loaves of bread and two fish. Well, I'm not gonna talk about that. However, today's text is right out of that story, taking place just before Jesus does the actual feeding:

The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. (Mark 6:30-33)

What interests me about this passage is the fact that they ran to the place that Jesus and his disciples went to by boat. Now, these boats probably weren't propelled by anything but wind and waves, but still. These people were desperate enough to either hear or see Jesus that they chased after Him!

Were these people saved? This text doesn't say. A lot of people only followed Jesus because He performed miracles, not because they cared about salvation. Maybe that's all these people wanted. If that was it, I'd say they weren't saved, meaning they didn't understand the truths of salvation, the reality of judgment, or the justice of God.

Now, if you're a Christian, you do understand those realities, or at least you have a better idea about them than an unsaved person. So I wonder: do you, Christian, pursue God with the same vigor as these people whose salvation is, at best, ambiguous? You know that there are more important things than signs and wonders; the main thrust of Jesus ministry was preaching the truth of salvation, not working miracles (Mark 1:38). You know where the true joy of the church lies. So, shouldn't you be pursuing God even more enthusiastically than a bunch of people seeking miscellaneous miracles? Isn't the true miracle of salvation even greater and worth far more joy and enthusiasm?

 

Red Letter, Black Letter

You may have seen Bibles with red letters in them to differentiate the words that Jesus spoke from the rest of the Bible. In fact, if you have a Bible it probably does have red letters since it's so common.

Red-letter Bibles were first conceived of by Louis Klopsch, editor of Christian Herald magazine back in the late 1800s. The idea to print Jesus' words in red came to him when he read Luke 22:20, the verse where Jesus says, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you" (NIV). Thus, the first red-letter New Testament came out in 1899, followed two years later by the first full-length red-letter Bible.¹

He had good intentions, of course. But eventually this idea led to the establishment of an oddly political and theologically questionable group called "Red-Letter Christians." I say "theologically questionable" because Tony Campolo, the leader of the group, happily advertises the blog of Brian McLaren, one of the leaders of the heretical Emerging Church movement.

Red-Letter Christians are basically what they sound like: they focus on the words of Jesus more than anything else. Now, the intention is certainly a good one, but chew on this for a moment.

Jesus is God, yes? And the Bible, the whole Bible, black and red letters, is the word of God, right? Which means Gos spoke all of the words, not just the red ones. So the black letters of the Bible, the God-breathed words written by Paul, Peter, Jude, Matthew, Mark, Luke, James, and John, are just as important as the red words Jesus spoke Himself.

You cannot have true, Biblical Christianity without the whole Bible. There are things Paul and Peter and John wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that Jesus never said. Where would we be without the famous love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13? What about Ephesians 5, which gives us the best and most meaningful marriage instruction on earth? The fact that Jesus didn't say those words during His time on earth is of no consequence; the entire Bible is the word of God, meaning all of it is equally authoritative, important, and relevant.

Footnotes

¹ Crossway Staff. "Origin of Red-Letter Bibles." Crossway Blog. Published March 23, 2006. Accessed March 9, 2012. http://www.crossway.org/blog/2006/03/red-letter-origin/