The Bible Tells Us That We Need Apologetics
Paul met the Lord on a road (Acts 9:1-9), Peter fell down before him by the sea (Luke 5:1-11), the Ethiopian eunuch came to him after having the scriptures explained to him (Acts 8:26-40), and the man possessed by a legion of demons believed after experiencing a liberating miracle on his life (Mark 5:1-20). The same gospel which unites us reaches us in different ways.
Many people encounter Jesus and come to faith immediately when the Bible is preached and explained to them. Becket Cook is an example that immediately springs to my mind. Others encounter Jesus after a long and detailed analysis of the evidence, and after having their friends engage them with the evidence for Christianity. Nabeel Qureshi is a big example here. Still others encounter Jesus after seeing him in a dream or witnessing a miracle.
Humans are complex beings made in the image of the infinite God (Genesis 1:27), and the gospel draws in and unifies a host of people from all sorts of different backgrounds. The way we receive the gospel isn’t uniform, programmed, and mechanical. The unifying factor is the gospel we receive (1 Cor 15:3-8), not the way we receive it.
Evangelism Is Helped By Social Intelligence
As we evangelise, we do well to have social awareness in understanding that people respond to the gospel in different ways.
Some people may need to witness a miracle before receiving the gospel, others may need to have the evidence for Christianity explained to them, and others may simply need the Bible preached to them plainly.
Some may need all three or a combination thereof!
This should be an obvious thing to say. But I’ve recently and repeatedly heard the absurd claim that apologetics is not necessary for the gospel, because the supposed key to every single human heart, and the only way to do evangelism, is by preaching the Bible and only the Bible to every unbeliever we encounter. . . without any need, ever, for apologetics.
Now of course, preaching the Bible is an eternally wonderful thing, and the Bible really does have all the answers to life’s most important questions. And there is no question that some people convert immediately when the Bible is simply preached to them. Charles Spurgeon is an example of such a person.
The Bible is a source of never-ending wisdom and insight that is a greater treasure than all the money in the world, and apologetics itself is empty without it, because without the Bible, apologetics leads nowhere. Christians who are privileged enough to own a Bible need to be reading it daily.
There is no dispute, regardless of theological conviction, that the Holy Spirit softens people’s hearts as they read and hear God’s word. But how can anyone who’s socially aware of the unbelieving world say that apologetics isn’t ever necessary . . . especially when the Bible itself tells us to use it?
The Bible Tells Us To Use Apologetics
Peter (in 1 Peter 3:15) says that we always need to be ready to give a ‘defense’ for the hope that we have (‘apologia’ in Greek – the word from which we get the English word ‘apologetics’). Apologetics isn’t a random modern Christian word. Apologetics is a biblical word.
Paul – who uses apologetics in Athens (see Acts 17) – uses the same Greek word ‘apologia’ in writing that God has placed him to ‘defend’ the gospel in Philippians 1:16 (see also 1:7).
Are Peter and Paul wrong? Do they just need to understand that all we need to do is preach the Bible to each and every non-believer, without ever giving a reasoned defense for the Christian faith?
Paul also writes that if Jesus has not been raised then Christianity is false (1 Corinthians 15:14, 17). How are we to investigate whether Jesus has been raised? Are we only allowed to investigate that question by looking at what the Bible says?
“The Bible says Jesus was raised; therefore, Jesus was raised.” Is this really sufficient evangelism that will convince every single unbeliever in the world?
The “Bible-only, ever” method is inconsistent
And there’s something awkward that needs to be pointed out:
Does the “Bible-only, ever” evangelist realise that they first have to use their philosophical, linguistic, and reasoning faculties to decide which part of the Bible to open up for every evangelistic conversation with an unbeliever?
It’s the “Bible-only” evangelist’s own philosophical and linguistic reasoning which directs them to show their non-believing counterpart John 20, say, and not Song of Songs 5:3.
So, if I were to grant that we should only use the Bible to evangelise and nothing else – never engaging in philosophy or apologetics with the unbeliever – then I’d be committing myself to an inconsistent epistemology and self-defeat. That should never be the case for the people of God who belong to the Truth!
Jesus himself isn’t a “Bible-only, ever” evangelist
We must remember that Jesus himself demonstrates social awareness when, for example, he uses two different evangelistic methods in two different situations after his resurrection.
In John 20, Jesus convinces Thomas not by the scriptures but by the evidence of his broken body. Yet over in Luke 24, Jesus convinces the two disciples on the road to Emmaus not by his broken body but by unpacking the scriptures!
Here is my point:
With the Holy Spirit’s help, we need the social awareness and intelligence to understand the needs of the unbeliever in front of us.
Some will need apologetics. Some will need miracles. Some will just need straight preaching. Ask people “How did you come to faith?” and you’ll get a range of answers, appealing to different lines of evidence, apologetics included.
Recommended Resources:
I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (Paperback), and (Sermon) by Norman Geisler and Frank Turek
Stealing From God by Dr. Frank Turek (Book, 10-Part DVD Set, STUDENT Study Guide,TEACHER Study Guide)
Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions by Greg Koukl (Book)
Can All Religions Be True? mp3 by Frank Turek
Sean Redfearn is a former Community Youth Worker who now works for Christian Concern in Central London, UK. He completed an MA in Religion at King’s College London, is in the process of completing the MA Philosophy program at Southern Evangelical Seminary, and is a 2022 CrossExamined Instructor Academy graduate. Passionate about Jesus, he is grateful for the impact that apologetics has had on his faith.
