Christian apologetics is a defense of the Christian faith in Jesus Christ. This post will show that the appropriate primary role of Christian apologetics is to strengthen the church. Although Christian apologetics is broad in scope, this post specifically addresses the importance of strengthening the body of Christ against the heresies of secularism and religion, which ultimately result in increased effectiveness and motivation of evangelistic efforts.
First, Christian apologetics fortifies the church against the heresy of secular humanism. The secular humanist article, “Humanism and Its Aspirations,” contends that relationships and economics provide meaning and happiness. An effective Christian apologetic supports individuals within the church who acquiesce to the deception of secular humanism and attempt to find meaning in economic stability, relationships, and other humanistic paradigms. When happiness is dependent on external forces of economic stability and meaning is dependent on external relationships, the gospel is completely undermined. Alternatively, a proper defense of the gospel of Jesus Christ provides internally generated meaning from being loved, righteous, and complete regardless of economic or relational circumstances (Galatians 2:20, Romans 3:21-22, Colossians 2:10). Last month a Christian friend, Glenn, lost his job and felt life was meaningless, which led to a significant bout of depression. However, once Glenn disconnected his meaning from the humanistic heresy of economic stability and, instead, connected his meaning to the intrinsic power of the gospel, he expressed both the outward evidence of a supernatural peace and an evangelistic resolve that reinforced his desire to share the gospel with his friends.
Second, Christian apologetics assist the church in overcoming the heresy of religion, defined herein, as the reliance on human effort, instead of grace alone, to procure salvation. Norman Geisler in “The Essential Doctrines of the Christian Faith (Part 2)” contends that for a doctrine to be essential to apologetics it must connect directly to salvation. Accordingly, it is hard to imagine a doctrine more relevant to Christian apologetics than grace. In fact, Ergun Caner’s lectures explain that Christianity is distinct from all world religions due to the doctrine of grace. Peter exhorts believers to be prepared to defend the gospel of grace to everyone (1 Peter 3:15). It appears that the word everyone would apply to both believers and non-believers. In fact, Peter uses an apologetic tone when he reminds believers of the truth of the gospel that is within them in his second letter (2 Peter 1:12). Last week a Christian friend, Ryan, felt he was not doing enough for God and was questioning his salvation, which resulted in an enormous amount of anxiety. However, once the Holy Spirit disconnected Ryan from the heresy of religion by reminding him that his salvation has nothing to do with his efforts, but is by grace alone, the anxiety supernaturally subsided and, like Glenn, an evangelistic resolve reinforced his desire to share the gospel.
This post has shown that the primary role of Christian apologetics is to strengthen the church. Specifically, it has shown the power of Christian apologetics in defending the gospel against both secular humanism and religion within the body of Christ. Furthermore, as supported by Dr. Ravi Zacharias’s thesis in the article “The Apologist’s First Question,” the supernatural evidence of Glenn’s increased peace and Ryan’s diminished anxiety significantly enhances the potential effectiveness of evangelistic impact. Finally, the stories of personal experience also prove that a solid Christian apologetic has the ability to heighten evangelistic motivation.