In apologetics we aren’t so much presenting a religion as introducing the God who made heaven and earth. We aren’t asking anyone to stand as judges over revelation—whether proofs of God or a defense of the resurrection; we present revelation as facts, but facts that have great obligations and can bring great joy. And then we depend on God to do his work of converting and strengthening.

From the earliest days, Christians needed to defend not worshiping like their neighbors. The apostle Paul and later Christian teachers called apologists (e.g. Justin Martyr, Tertullian) argued that it was right to believe the gospel despite objections from Jewish and heathen philosophers. Many others after them have carried on their tradition. Who will defend and advance the Christian faith today when truth itself is ridiculed?

God calls all of his people to practice the discipline of apologetics. But hurdles threaten to keep us from fulfilling our calling. We might feel that apologetics is best left to the experts. But Peter is clear that every Christian must be “prepared to make a defense” of the faith (1 Peter 3:15). We might wonder if apologetics is appropriate. Some Christians think confrontation and contradiction are unloving. Many of us fear offending others. But from God’s perspective it is truly unloving to allow people to remain confused about the most important truths. More seriously, we might lack confidence in the gospel. You can’t defend what you don’t believe. Thankfully, apologetics doesn’t just benefit outsiders; it also equips God’s people to know the answers others need.

This series of articles aims to help Christians become better equipped to know and defend the faith. So as an introduction, let’s start with a few questions: what is apologetics, what is its value, and what limits does it have?

Apologetics Is God’s Plan for Defending Truth

“Apologetics” comes from the fairly common, similar-sounding New Testament word, apologia. Here are some examples of the word at work. Paul believed he was “put here for the defense (apologia) of the gospel” (Phil. 1:16). After he was arrested in the temple a mob nearly killed him over serious accusations about his faith. When allowed by the Roman soldiers to address the crowd here’s how Paul started: “Brothers and fathers, hear the defense (apologia) that I now make before you” (Acts 22:1). His speech explained how God had converted him and sent him with a message of good news. The charges against his faith were unfounded.

But apologetics isn’t just for apostles. The Philippians shared with Paul God’s grace “in the defense (apologia) and confirmation of the gospel” (Phil. 1:7). Philippian Christians were apologists. In fact, so are all believers. “But in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense (apologia) to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). Believers should be hopeful people. Their hope should be evident. And they should answer those who ask the reason for their hope. Doing so is apologetics. People asking about our hope sounds nice. But Peter assumes that Christians will be put in a defensive position, facing “reviling” (9, 16) and suffering (14, 16). The basic objection apologetics answers is that the Christian hope and its basic message is groundless.

But apologetics is not simply a defensive discipline. Instead, the Christian apologist begins at the point of the concern raised, or accusation made, and builds a positive case for the faith. B.B Warfield calls it a “constructive science.” The task of apologetics is to “investigate, explicate, and establish the grounds on which” Christian theology rests.[1] A successful apologetic distinguishes assertions from reality; it shows hopeful belief to be reasonable. So for example, if someone claims that the doctrine of hell is unjust the apologist answers the objection. But he also promotes the necessity of hell as an answer to injustices not redressed in this age.

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