By Jerry Root, Christianity Today-June 14, 2018

Many Christians talk about Christian apologetics. Indeed, the topic is very interesting for Christians on many levels as we seek to gain confidence and assurance for our own faith. And, of course, apologetics also has great value for us as we seek to help seekers and doubters to get over the intellectual barriers keeping them from embracing faith in Christ.

But often, there is one great apologetic that gets neglected, and this concerns God’s love, forgiveness, and willingness to be Lord of our lives.

A brief look at apologetics

First, however, let me define and clarify terms. Apologia in classical times simply meant “defense”. In a court of law, an apologetic was the making of a defense for the defendant at trial. Such was the case of the Apology by Plato. He was setting forth the case made by Socrates during his trial before the court at Athens.

In Acts 7, Stephen makes a defense before his accusers in Jerusalem. And several times in the book of Acts, Paul sets out a defense before his accusers, not only for his actions as he traveled the world preaching the gospel, but also a defense for the gospel itself. He wanted people to see the reasonableness for faith in Christ.

Paul would reference the prophetic passages of the Old Testament and showed how Jesus, in the days of the Incarnation, was the exact fulfillment of these prophecies. Furthermore, Paul appeals to the historicity of the resurrection of Christ from the dead, and the remarkable number of eyewitnesses who validated having seen the Resurrected Christ.

These were apologetic proofs for faith. Jesus was not only raised from the dead, but his resurrection validated both his deity and his message—somehow the death and Resurrection of Christ puts us right with God. Paul used apologetics to validate his message that Christ’s sacrifice is the means whereby God forgives sin, reconciles lost humanity to himself, and provides the hope of eternal life.

For complete article, here

NEW ORLEANS (BP) -– Apologetics experts from across the nation took the stage at Defend ’19, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary’s weeklong apologetics conference, Jan. 7-11.

“Christians have always needed to be able to state what they believe clearly and to defend their faith when asked to give a reason for the hope that they have in Christ,” said Robert Stewart, Defend director. “But today in our postmodern, post-Christian, post-truth culture it is especially important that we be winsome ambassadors for Christ who share the truth in love in the power of God’s Spirit.”

Plenary speakers included Frank Turek, coauthor of “I Don’t have Enough Faith to be an Atheist” and Chris Brooks, pastor and radio host of “Equipped with Chris Brooks.”

Turek, president of CrossExamined.org, told the 350 attendees that the truth of the Christian faith centers on four questions: Does truth exist? Does God exist? Are miracles possible? Is the New Testament true? If the answer is “yes” to each question, then the Christian faith must be true, he stated.

Regarding the existence of truth, Turek said, “If there is no truth, then Christianity can’t be true. Of course, if there is no truth, atheism can’t be true, either.”

Going further, Turek noted that people more often reject God for emotional reasons than for lack of evidence.

“Most people are not looking for the truth, they’re running from it,” he said. “But the only way to find happiness is straight through truth. Jesus is truth.” (For complete article, here)

As Christians, we need to be equipped to fulfill our responsibilities and duty in carrying out the Great Commission that our Lord and Savior gave to us at the time of His ascension. His parting words were, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8-ESV) An essential aspect of our witness is being able to articulate an historical case for the historicity and credibility of the Christian faith and worldview. (1 Peter 3:15)

Historian Mark A. Noll sums up why history ought to matter to us as Christians:

 
Jewish historian Will Herberg places history front and center in the defense of the biblical faith:

 
As it has been rightly said, Christianity stands or falls on history, the historical events in which God’s entered into the history of this world at different times and different places. Paul makes this crystal clear in 1 Cor. 15 when he boldly states, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep…”

It is the historical resurrection event on which the Christian faith stands or falls, and it is the historical event that is most often attacked and as such, is the one that every Christian must be able to defend, not just by saying, “I know that Jesus lives because He lives in my heart.” The self-authenticating witness of the Holy Spirit is an evidence of Christ’s presence for the believer, but for the unbeliever it is essential that we as the believer are equipped to present objective evidence in support of our beliefs. Otherwise our claims hold no more water than the assertions of anyone else claiming to have a private experience of God. Peter is very clear on this point when he says, “… but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect…” (1 Peter 3:15-ESV)

So what is the argument we are told to prepare in making the defense for the reason of our hope and belief? It is the evidential/historical proof of the Christian worldview. This was the evidential methodology that Jesus and His disciples used when making their case. Here are just a few of many examples:

In an interview on the challenge of history as it pertains to Christianity, William Lane Craig offers the following:

As per William Lane Craig’s analysis regarding Islam and history, a number of Muslim scholars have affirmed that the Qur’an, Islam’s highest authority, is not a book of history. I have had this confirmed again and again by imams whom I have conversed with. Islamic scholar, Hamza Yusuf says this about the Qur’an and history:

 
Theologian and author Graham A. Cole sums up the importance that history should occupy in the faith of the believer:

 
Daniel L. Migliore therefore rightly argues, “If the Gospels refer to the living God acting and suffering in Christ for our salvation, if the story they tell is not simply pious fiction, then historical study can never be irrelevant for Christian faith.”[6]

References
[1] Mark A. Noll, “History,” in Dictionary for the Theological Interpretation of the Bible, Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005, pg. 295
[2] Will Herberg, Biblical Faith as Heilsgeschichte, the Christian Scholars Review
[3] William Lane Craig, The Challenge of History: An Interview with William Lane Craig (Australian Presbyterian), http://www.reasonablefaith.org/the-challenge-of-history-an-interview-with-william-lane-craig#ixzz4qVzICmb1
[4] Hamza Yusuf, The Qur’an is Not a History Book, from lecture found here
[5] Graham A. Cole, The peril of a “historyless” systematic theology, Chapter 2-Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith, ed. James K. Hoffmeir, 2012, pg. 57
[6] Daniel L. Migliore, Faith Seeking Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Theology, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004, pg. 53

Resources
What Criteria Do Historians Use to Get to the Minimal Facts About the Historical Jesus?-by Wintery Knight, here
FREE E-book-Evidence for the Historical Jesus-Is the Jesus of History the Christ of Faith?-by Gary Habermas, here

Is the Bible historically reliable-Frank Turek-One-minute Apologist

The Evidence for Christianity-William Lane Craig

Top 10 Archaeological Discoveries that Authenticate the Bible

For information about the conference, registration, etc., click here

For more information click here

I have had the privilege during the last couple months to present a pro-evangelism message to two different audiences here in Canada where my wife and I reside. One presentation was at an event that was specifically organized for my presentation, and another as the Sunday sermon and closing message for a denominational mission conference. My presentation’s title was The Cost of Evangelism: Its time to leave our comfort zones. (If the Lord so leads, I would be greatly blessed in assisting you in evangelism training for your church, if only to address your congregation via my presentation and sharing my evangelism experiences to get the ‘ball rolling.’ Feel free to contact me at: 4Lane.davis@gmail.com)

In my presentation, I used the definition of evangelism offered by Norman and David Geisler in their excellent book, Conversational Evangelism-how to listen and speak so you can be heard. Their definition of evangelism is:

 
They follow their definition with the following emphasis:

 
Building on the Geislers’ definition of evangelism, I presented the scriptural position that evangelism is a lifestyle, not just a one time experience, or something that we as Christians engage in on special occasions. Throughout my presentation I interjected my personal witnessing experiences in a variety of settings (at my job/workplace, when sitting at a coffee shop, when conversing with my neighbors, etc.) in order to illustrate how ‘sharing the Gospel’ opportunities are there “every day” if the follower of Christ is intentional, equipped and looking for such opportunities. My emphasis was that evangelism isn’t just one part of our calling, it is central to our calling. Jesus’ last words should be our first priority, (Acts 1:8), as should His first words in Matthew’s Gospel when calling His disciples, “Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men.” (Matt. 4:19)

In regard to our Christian calling, Os Guinness states,

 
I shared with the audience that God uses the faithfulness of thousands and millions of Christians who would never consider evangelism  their ‘gift’. (Note: there is no gift of evangelism-see 1 Cor. 12–there are however,  evangelists who are called to equip each church member to  evangelize– see Eph. 4:11-12.) That you and I may conclude that we are not gifted for the task of evangelism, but that does not absolve us of the responsibility to obey. It is still our duty. God may unusually anoint a Peter and a Paul, a Dwight L Moody, a Spurgeon, a Billy Graham, but He calls each of us to share the good news. As Jim Donohue so aptly put it,  “Evangelism is not a gift given to some, it’s a command given to all. One of our main callings as followers of Christ is to help others become followers of Christ. Many of us have misfiled evangelism in the spiritual gift drawer when it needs to be filed in the spiritual discipline drawer.”2

As Matthew Henry so succinctly said, “The powerful influences of the Holy Spirit bind the true Christian to his duty.

After introducing the definition of evangelism, I showed the audience the following insightful video clip which highlights the reasons that Christians do not share the Gospel.

Why Christians Don’t Share Their Faith with Others

After viewing the video I made a list of the points mentioned and divided them into three sections:

 
I covered points 1 and 2 emphasizing the need to become ‘soul conscience’, that we must realize everyone has a soul and that soul will spend eternity in heaven or hell as Jesus made clear in Luke 16 regarding the fate of the rich man and Lazarus who had died. Every time we come into contact with someone we must be sensitive to the fact that they will spend eternity somewhere, and that soul consciousness will help to remedy apathy and complacency.

As Alexander Maclaren stated, “Tell me the depth of a Christian’s compassion, and I will tell you the measure of their usefulness.”

Norman and David present the ambassador’s challenge to each Christian-“…keep in mind that our struggles in evangelism are not primarily about methodology but about maturity. Do we have a heart for God and do we care about the things God cares about (lost people)? If we have God’s heart, we will do whatever we can to advance His kingdom purposes in every conversation we have with our nonbelieving friends.”

The next portion of the presentation was devoted to the joy of evangelism, highlighting John’s first epistle. After presenting an apologetic regarding the eyewitness testimony of the disciples, John gives the reason for his writing and sharing the Good News, “and we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. (1 John 1:4) Even if we are enjoying our walk with Christ, our Christian experience is still incomplete until we can share it with another. This is the dynamics of joy and it must complete its circuit in order to be fully realized. The greatest thing we can do to excel in our own walk and joy in the Lord is to be engaged in sharing this joy with others. Os Guinness nothing short of God’s call can ground and fulfill the truest human desire for purpose.

John Piper once said that his Dad was the happiest man he’s ever known. When asking his Dad, “what would you say Dad, in a word, is a key to a life-time of happiness?” His Dad without hesitation said, “Tell somebody about Jesus.”

Point 3 from the above list is what I consider to be of vital importance, that of training each member of the congregation to be an ambassador for Christ (2 Cor. 5:17-20) to their family members, co-workers, fellow-students, neighbors, and those that they meet during their day-to-day activities. Sadly, this training is not happening in the majority of churches in North America, which is borne out in the following statistics:

 
It is a sobering reality that nearly 80% of unchurched people say they would engage in a spiritual or faith conversation, but that only 30% of Christians are actually telling people about Jesus.

I believe strongly that unless a church has an evangelism training program for their congregants, these statistics will not change, especially here in North America. There are so many equipping resources at our disposal that they amount to an ’embarrassment of training riches.’ So why aren’t we using them? (I have included such resources at the end of this article. Also, the list of web sites in the right column of this site’s home page offers the best evangelism resources available.)

I have visited a number of Christian bookstores, both in the U.S. and Canada, and when I ask where their evangelism resource section is I am often met with a blank stare as if evangelism was a foreign concept. At other times I am escorted to a small section in the back of the store where there is a small rack of Gospel tracts. Most of the store is used for displaying coffee mugs, posters, painting, key chains, etc., not to mention the plethora of books (many of which are ‘self-help’ oriented) on strengthening one’s Christian walk, etc. As mentioned above, even if we are enjoying our walk with Christ, our Christian experience is still incomplete until we can share it with another. This is the dynamics of joy and it must complete its circuit in order to be fully realized. The greatest thing we can do to excel in our own walk and joy in the Lord is to be engaged in sharing this joy with others.

I will conclude this article with a quote from Norman and David Geislers’ book, Conversational Evangelism, which in my view embodies the purpose, meaning, duty and calling that each of us as Christians has been given by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ: “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide…” (John 15:16) “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10)

I highly recommend the book, Conversational Evangelism for small and large study groups. It is one of the best contemporary evangelism training tools on the market. Interactive and engaging. Please avail yourself of it.
For a comprehensive book review of Conversational Evangelism, go here

Why Don’t Christians Witness-by Bobby Conway-One Minute Apologist

Conversational Evangelism-Q & A-by David Geisler

Resources

Mind the Gap Series-Overcoming the Challenges to Evangelism-from Solas Center for Public Christianity-here
Frontlines-Christians Sharing Their Faith at Work-from Solas Center for Public Christianity-here
Want to share the Gospel?-Start with this question-Greg Koukl, here
Asking questions is vital in sharing the Gospel…just ask Greg Koukl-by Lane, here
It’s Time to Get Uncomfortable and Move Out of Our ‘comfort zone’-by Lane, here
How to Talk to a Skeptic, by Don Johnson, here
The Intellectual ‘ostrich’-Pt. 1-‘apologetics isn’t for me’-Really? It’s time to open your Bible-by Lane, here
The Intellectual ‘ostrich’-Pt. 2-Survival to influence…the embarrassment of riches-by Lane, here
The Art of Asking Questions-the best defense is a good offense-by Lane, here
Stand to Reason-Greg Koukl-str.org
Cold Case Christianity-by J. Warner Wallace-coldcasechristianity.com

References
1) Os Guinness, The Call-Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life, W Publishing Group, 2003, pp. 102, 30, 4
2) Jim Donohue, Is Evangelism a Spiritual Gift?,https://www.sgcpastors.com/blog/is-evangelism-a-spiritual-gift
3) Michael Parrott, Street Level Evangelism, Where is the Space for the Local Evangelist, Acts Evangelism, Spokane, WA, 1993, pp. 9-11.

The DEFEND Apologetics Conference will be held on Jan. 7-11, 2019, at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
3939 Gentilly Blvd. New Orleans, LA 70126

Info for registration here

Conference speakers include:
Abdu Murray
Frank Turek
Gary Habermas
Craig Hazen
and more

A little over two-thousand years ago, Pontius Pilate, the governor of Judaea, asked Jesus, “what is truth?” Sadly, the truth was standing right in front of him, but Pilate did not wait for the answer. Today, many are struggling with the confusion of the post-truth ideology that has engulfed the societies of the West, and they too are asking the question, “what is truth?”

In his new book, Saving Truth-Finding Meaning & Clarity in a Post-Truth World, author and speaker Abdu Murray will most certainly help to answer this question and bring clarity to his readers as he explains just how this ‘post-truth’ era came about and how it has brought us into a Culture of Confusion which is detached from reality and awash in feelings, preferences and relativism.

Murray sets the stage at the beginning of his book:

Later, in his chapter, Confusion and the Church: Seductions of a Post-Truth Mindset, Murray offers the following insight on how the post-truth ideology has affected the Church of the West:

At the end of his last chapter, The Son through Fog: Clarity’s Hope, Abdu presents the answer to the question, “What is truth?”

 
Blossoming Culture of Confusion–Abdu Murray

More books from Abdu Murray:
Grand Central Question: Answering the Critical Concerns of the Major Worldviews
Apocalypse Later: Why the Gospel of Peace Must Trump the Politics of Prophecy in the Middle East

“Before I can make the case for Christianity, I have to make the case for making the case,” so states J. Warner Wallace in the preface of his new book, Forensic Faith-A Homicide Detective Makes the Case for a More Reasonable, Evidential Christian Faith. And he most certainly succeeds in making the case for making the case. (Wallace defines forensic faith as: Believing in something because of the evidence.) I recently purchased not only the book, but the Forensic Faith Curriculum Kit which includes the book, Forensic Faith, a participants guide, and an 8-episode DVD by J. Warner Wallace, with each episode leading the reader/class participant through an amazing apologetics journey, one that will result (if used and embraced) in a newly empowered Christian case-maker. This study is user friendly and can be used in small or large groups, youth Sunday classes, etc. I highly (and that is understating my exuberance) recommend the Forensic Faith Curriculum Kit to youth pastors, parents and individual Christians who have a desire to take their faith and case-making to the next level. Wallace has put together a tremendous tool, one that will help to stem and reverse the tide of the dwindling number of youth in their church if only it is used and applied. In the book, Wallace states the vital and urgent need for apologetic training if we are to keep our youth and transform them into Christian case-makers who are “always ready to give a defense to anyone who asks them for the reason of the hope that is in them…” (1 Peter 3:15):

Dr. Craig Keener, author and professor of New Testament studies at Asbury Theological Seminary, offers the following endorsement for this vital tool:

 
I believe that the following challenge from Wallace is one that we as the Church need to meet head on by embracing a forensic, evidential faith that will strengthen us as believers, will energize and help keep our youth, empower us to “give a reason for the hope that is in us,” and thereby be effective case-makers when presenting the Christian worldview, and as such, make the impact that Christ intended us to make by being the “salt & light” of the world:

Shouldn’t we, as Christians, be the one group who knows why our beliefs are true and is most willing to defend what we believe? Why, then, are we often uninterested in the evidence? Why do we sound like every other religious group when asked to give a reason for our beliefs? It’s time for the distinctly evidential nature of Christianity to result in a distinctly intelligent, reasonable, and evidential family of believers. This Christian difference ought to form our Christian duty. We are called to embrace a forensic faith and to love God with our minds. Police officers are called to serve and to protect. You don’t enter this profession unless this mission is part of your DNA. Officers understand their sworn duty, train rigorously in preparation for their mission, and lean how to investigate and discern the truth so they can ultimately communicate this truth to a jury. Every day is a call to action.
As a church, we can learn something from this resolute approach to mission. As Christians, we have a similar duty. The apostle Peter said we are called to serve one another with “sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind” (1 Peter 3:8 ESV) and called to protect the truth by “being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason of the hope that is in you” (verse 16 ESV). Christians are called to serve and protect. If we want to fulfill this duty, we’ll need to train rigorously so we can investigate and communicate the truth. I hope Forensic Faith is your call to action. It’s time to change course. It’s time to raise the bar. It’s time to get serious. It’s time to embrace our distinct duty as Christians.

 
In the Forward to Forensic Faith, John Stonestreet offers the following challenge to the Church in realigning their position as to the role that apologetics must play if we as Christians are to present a reasonable, rational and robust case when presenting the Christian worldview:

Other articles regarding the importance of developing a forensic, evidential faith:

Apologetics & Evangelism-oil & water, or peaches & cream?-by Lane
The intellectual ‘ostrich’-Pt.1 ‘apologetics isn’t for me’ Really?! It’s time to open your Bible-by Lane
The Intellectual ‘ostrich’ Pt. 2-Survival to influence-the embarrassment of riches-by Lane

(Forensic Faith is the third book of a trilogy-for the first book, Cold-case Christianity, and second book, God’s Crime Scene: A Cold-Case Detective Examines the Evidence for a Divinely Created Universe, click on the titles to be directed to Amazon.com. I highly recommend J. Warner Wallace’s site-coldcasechristianity.com–it is a valuable resource for every Christian case-maker.)

Forensic Faith Preview-J. Warner Wallace

What is a forensic faith?-J. Warner Wallace

The Importance of Developing a Forensic Faith-J. Warner Wallace

I recently participated in a multi-faith symposium on the topic of fasting. (For my presentation of the Christian position on fasting, here) After the presentations there was a Q & A with the presenters taking questions from the audience. One of the questions was, “What do you think is the answer to bringing peace to the world?”

The imam’s response/solution to the problem of violence, unrest, man’s inhumanity to man, was that of promoting dialogue between religious faiths, similar to the one we were participating in that evening. Through such dialogue, the world would be brought to a peaceful existence.

The rabbi’s response was similar, that through our own human efforts of showing love and respect to one another we would find peace at the end of the road.

Although I agree in part with both the imam and rabbi regarding the positive effects of loving and respecting one another and the need for dialogue, history has shown that on their own these measures have proven to fall demonstrably short of bringing a solution to the conflict in the world, whether it be between countries, religions, families, etc. One need only look back on the millennia of mankind trying to achieve peace through dialogue, peace treaties (most of which were ultimately broken), UN resolutions [1], etc., which, although well meaning, have failed, hence, the ongoing global violence and conflict that prompted the original question. The reason that these types of approaches have failed, and continue to fail, is that they fail to address the root of the problem–the brokenness of the human heart. As former U.S. President Herbert Hoover so aptly put it, “Peace is not made at the council table or by treaties, but in the hearts of men.” It was for this reason that when the microphone was passed to me I presented a different approach and answer to the question.

I began by stating that although these initiatives were good and needed, they will not bring a lasting solution to the problem; only a regenerated, transformed heart will do that, and that can only come through the Prince of peace, Jesus Christ himself. I then went on to highlight the root of the problem—the broken condition of the heart of man. I quoted several references from the New Testament beginning with James 4:1-3:

 
Then to Jesus’ expose of the condition of the human heart from Mark 7:20-23:

 
Because of time constraints, I concluded my response by stating the Christian worldview’s solution to the problem-the transformation of the heart that Jesus promised to bring to those who truly desire it.

When addressing the issue of peace, John Paul ll makes a clear affirmation as to where peace must first be founded:

 
Preeminent missiologist, Frank Ellinwood, explains the uniqueness of the inner transformation of the Christian faith:

 
In His conversation with one of the religious leaders of His day, Jesus gave the ‘blueprint’ for the transformation of the human heart:

 
As the ‘salt and light’ of the world, which Jesus has called each of His followers to be, we must continue to present with all boldness where true and lasting peace can be found, that of a ‘born again’ and transformed heart through the redemptive work of the person of Jesus Christ. In doing so, we will be witnesses of the ‘way, the truth and the life,’ and thereby bring peace to the hearts and lives of those to whom we are ambassadors for Christ (John 14:6; 2 Cor. 5:20). (For more on the Christian calling as ‘salt & light’, here)

References
[1] Can the UN Bring Peace to the World, here
[2] Pope John Paul ll, World Day of Peace Message, 1990
[3] Frank F. Ellinwood, The Divine Supremacy of the Christian Faith, here

The following talk from Andy Bannister succinctly highlights the source of the world’s ills as well as the remedy-that of the inner transformation that only Jesus can bring.

Does Religion Poison Everything–Andy Bannister