11.06.08
Posted in Tom Gilson at 5:33 pm by Tom Gilson
Related to yesterday’s post on our growing need for unity, please see this from World Magazine on the same topic. Be prepared for strong expressions of anger, with threats of violence. This is probably the mildest of the statements quoted there:
“While financially I supported the Vote No [on Proposition 8, the amendment to ban gay marriage in California], and was vocal to everyone and anyone who would listen, I have never considered being a violent radical extremist for our equal rights. But now I think maybe I should consider becoming one. Perhaps that is the only thing that will affect the change we so desperately need and deserve.”
This is on the increase. It’s no surprise to God; it’s just something we’re not used to here. We ought to be prepared for it, by growing in our knowledge of God through the Scriptures, by increasing our united support for one another in the body of Christ, and practicing love toward our neighbors and even those who may decide to be enemies.
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11.05.08
Posted in Tom Gilson at 5:46 pm by Tom Gilson
We’ve all thought a lot about our church’s unity over the past several months. We all know it’s crucial to our church’s health. We know it’s a central theme of Scripture, to be found all through the book of Phillipians, in Jesus’ John 17 prayer, and in many other places.
We can easily imagine how important unity must be in persecuted places like India, Sudan, Belarus, and China. It’s not actually more important there, but it most be more obviously important, as Christians must stand together in the face of severe opposition.
Does that have anything to do with us here, though? Yes, it does. Did you know that a pastor in Canada was put on trial for teaching from the Bible? Did you know a major American newspaper could publish an editorial that speaks of “the angry evangelicals, the quivering clan of militant Christoholics,” “led by the most virulent, spittle-flecked gaggle of mental throwbacks to ever stain the American newswires”?
I recently was made aware of a web forum, an online discussion site, that further illustrates how this touches us. You may be aware of Proposition 8, an initiative in California to amend to state constitution such that only marriage between a man and a woman would be legally recognized. A writer on this forum tells of his hatred, his anger, his urge to kill proponents of the measure.
I’ll link to a very sanitized set of quotes from that page in a moment. Before I go there, though, I must answer the question, “Why even bring this up? Why give attention to something as shocking as this?” Because it shows how us something about our world. It shows us that it’s changing, and the church’s situation is no longer what it was 25 years ago, or even 5 years ago. Jesus said in John 15:18-25 (ESV),
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’
I also bring this up because of the way I was made aware of this web page. You see, another commenter on this forum linked to something I had written on my own blog. I take some of this anger very personally because, from a distance, it was directed toward me.
The page I’m referring to is not appropriate for quoting here. If you want to see some excerpts I lifted out and sanitized–heavily–for language, you may do so here. The part that refers to my blog, though, is something I can quote here, since it was somewhat less violent than other portions of the page. It said,
Why [express ourselves calmly]? We are talking about people who want to deny other rights because they feel like it. Why should we calmly deal with people like this? Should we have dealt “calmly” with slavery?
As for positive contribution… why? We are talking about people who think like this: http://www.thinkingchristian.net/2008/1 … osition-8/
Now if I had actually insulted someone I would have deserved this. I am far from perfect, but I do aim to be as gentle as I can be while standing for what’s true; and with some success, as others have attested.
These kinds of incidents are on the increase. It’s time to wake up. This is not about a blog. It’s about us, the church. It’s about needing each other. I need you; which is a statement we all can make to each other.
It’s not about being fearful or defensive, though. It’s about God’s people showing God’s love to the world, which we do first by loving one another (John 13:34-35). The world sees that, and by it they know we are his disciples. Nothing draws people more powerfully into God’s kingdom than seeing and experiencing God’s love, expressed through God’s people.
Jesus himself made it clear that (unthinkable as it seems to us in America) some people would hate us for this, which brings us back around to where we started here. In a world where feelings against Christianity are increasing, we must stand together, support one another, and press forward in our mission together, to bring Christ to the world as a unified body of brothers and sisters who love one another.
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10.15.08
Posted in Church Health Team, Tom Gilson at 5:06 pm by Tom Gilson
The Church Health Team is nearly ready to present a church-wide survey to all members and regular attenders of Seaford Baptist Church. It has been tested with a pilot group of church members, and it’s now in final editing. The official roll-out will be on Sunday, October 19.
What is the survey for? It’s a combination of many things. It covers our involvement, our satisfaction with various aspects of the church, our understanding of basic church teachings, our ideas for outreach, our opinions on what is strong and what is lacking, and more.
How do you do the survey? Starting Sunday morning, you will have two options: Fill out the survey online, at http://www.seafordsurvey.org, or fill it out on paper forms that will be provided at the church. For the online survey you will need a username and password, which will be made known when the survey is rolled out this weekend.
You will have three weeks to complete the survey. Further instructions will be provided on the survey web page.
What will happen with the survey results? We have three purposes in mind for them:
- Inform our current church leaders on the needs, opportunities, and opinions of our church members and regular attenders.
- Provide information to the Pastor Search Team that will help them with their search task.
- Give feedback to you on what the church is saying and thinking. A report will be made available to the entire church body.
Is there more feedback being sought from the church? Definitely yes! We are arranging for Don Cockes, our area SBCV missionary, to come with a team of objective outsiders and spend focused time speaking with every person who has something to share. They will take notes and report back to us on what the church has told them. We don’t know the exact times and dates yet, but we’ll let you know as soon as possible.
What else is the Church Health Team working on? We’re studying what it means to be a healthy church, for one thing. And we’re conducting community studies so we can have a better idea how to bring the truth and love of Christ to the church. Later on we’ll be working with staff and lay leaders of the church to try to bring clearer definition to the church’s mission and direction.
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09.28.08
Posted in Tom Gilson at 7:22 pm by Tom Gilson
A couple of weeks ago I posted the first half of a set of reflections on Matthew 9:35-38, borrowed from a talk by Josh McDowell. This passage in the ESV reads,
And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
The four simple yet powerful points in here are:
See what Jesus saw
Feel what Jesus felt
Pray what Jesus prayed
Do what Jesus did
Pray What Jesus Prayed
Jesus saw the true spiritual condition of the people, and he felt deep compassion for them. Have you ever wondered what would motivate yourself, or our church, to be more involved with outreach, caring for other people? It’s hard to think of anything that would be more powerful than this. It’s about letting ourselves see the reality of lives without Christ, and be touched inwardly by it.
When Jesus saw and felt these things, he called his disciples to pray. “The harvest is plentiful,” he said. He was actually seeing more than the crowd’s desperation when he said this. He was also seeing hope. Elsewhere (John 4:34-36) he had said “lift up your eyes and see, the fields are white for harvest.” Jesus prayed for laborers, and called on us to do the same. As our eyes see the condition of our neighbors, and others around the world, how can we help but pray that God would send laborers to help, or workers to join in the harvest?
Do What Jesus Did
To pray is also to commit our hearts, though; and as we pray what Jesus prayed, God will lead us to do what Jesus did. In this passage he taught, he proclaimed, he healed. He got involved. He spent himself caring for the full range of human needs, spiritual and physical, setting us an example to do the same.
Oh, and by the way, the story doesn’t end there. It’s the end of a chapter in Matthew, but the chapter divisions aren’t part of the original Bible, and they’re not divinely inspired breaks in the flow of thought. Matthew 10 begins with Jesus doing one more thing: he sent out his disciples, whom he had trained, and was still in the process of training (which is part of the reason he had them focus on Israel):
These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons…. (Matthew 10:5-8)
Jesus is still doing what he did then: sending us out to proclaim the kingdom of heaven and to minister to the full range of human need. He is still our example to see what he saw, feel what he felt, pray as he prayed, and do as he did and still does today.
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09.15.08
Posted in Bible Study, Tom Gilson at 5:10 pm by Tom Gilson
Many years ago I heard a literally unforgettable talk by Josh McDowell on Matthew 9:35-38. I can still remember the four main points, which seem to be very appropriate to Seaford Church today. The four points are:
See what Jesus saw
Feel what Jesus felt
Pray what Jesus prayed
Do what Jesus did
Four points, very simple and easy to remember. I’m going to split them up into two posts here.
The passage reads (ESV),
And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
See What Jesus Saw
Jesus was traveling the cities and villages, stopping in at the places of religion, which were after all the main gathering spots in those days. Chances are there was nothing out of the ordinary in any of those places: your normal mix of successful, wealthy people, along with the poor, the diseased, and the hurting. If we had been walking the streets of Capernaum, say, chances are you and I would have noticed nothing but business as usual. “This is the way things are, this is the way people are.” That’s our usual response, today in Virginia, too. I confess I’m often so preoccupied I don’t notice the most obvious things about people in the stores and restaurants; while, on the road, they’re often just obstacles to my getting where I want to be.
Jesus saw differently. When he saw the crowds, he saw people who were “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” We don’t have lots of experience with sheep these days, so the figure of speech may be partly lost on us. “Harassed and helpless” ought to communicate, though. Young’s Literal Translation says they were “faint and cast aside.” The Message says they were “confused and aimless.”
It’s a description of their spiritual state. Without Christ, they had no direction, no guidance, no way of sorting out truth from lies, no peace, no connection. Where others saw the crowds as business as usual, Jesus saw them as spiritually needy.
I wonder if he just took the time to look into their eyes? I wonder what would happen if we took the time to see what’s going on around us?
Feel What Jesus Felt
When he saw the crowds this way, Jesus “had compassion for them.” Our English word compassion comes from root words meaning “to feel with another,” to share their hurts and pains. The Greek word used there, if I recall correctly, is even stronger. It relates to the inner person, the gut. Jesus’ stomach ached, seeing the pain of the people.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t care for pain. I don’t prefer having my stomach ache. Not only that, but having a tendency to think I have enough pain of my own to deal with, I’m not often eager to give myself over to hurting for someone else. But we know that Jesus wept–for Lazarus and his family, for Jerusalem. He was willing to be vulnerable to their pain. Ultimately he took on every person’s pain and bore it on the cross.
Are we too aware of our needs? Too conscious of our own problems, our own pains? Are we willing to see the crowds for what they are (even if the “crowd” you see is just a couple of neighbors working in their yards)? Can we allow ourselves to look beyond ourselves, our family, even our church to see the deep spiritual needs of people around us? For no matter how our church is struggling, we have life and we have direction from Christ. Our problems compared to the world’s are small.
And then what? There are two more points to this borrowed talk yet to come.
(Follow-up: … Pray What Jesus Prayed, Do What Jesus Did)
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09.14.08
Posted in Tom Gilson at 10:45 am by Tom Gilson
Today’s notes from the Case for a Creator Sunday School class are posted here, where you can also take part in the discussion with atheists and skeptics that’s expected to follow, in the comments.
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08.22.08
Posted in Spiritual Growth, Tom Gilson at 7:45 am by Tom Gilson
Not long ago I heard J.P. Moreland discussing whether we can know Christianity is true. Moreland is an apologist and the author of what I consider to be one of the most important books written by a Christian in recent years, Kingdom Triangle. I don’t have his exact words, but it went something like this:
“There seems to be among average churchgoers a nagging suspicion, a fear, that the scholars—those who are really in the know—have proved the faith is all wrong. In the universities, the laboratories, and even the seminaries they’ve found out the Bible is mostly false and the message of Christ is a big hoax; but the rest of the world just hasn’t quite caught on yet.”
Moreland was actually drawing from Dallas Willard, in another on that short list of most important books, The Divine Conspiracy. Willard is professor of philosophy at the University of Southern California, and stands in a good position to comment on this topic. On page 92 he wrote,
The powerful though vague and unsubstantiated presumption is that something has been found out that renders a spiritual understanding of reality in the manner of Jesus simply foolish to those who are “in the know.”
This presumption is “powerful,” he says. What kind of effect might it have? Does it really make a difference? It must. A believer, after all, is someone who believes; and if that belief is colored by concerned that the really smart people, the ones who understand, have found out it’s all foolish, that belief may be little more than a confused mind game: “I guess it’s all wrong, or at least I think it is, but I’m going to believe it anyway.” This is irrational. It makes us double minded, even unstable, to use James’s words (James 1:6-8).
I wrote in a post on Thinking Christian that quite often, it really is good to do what others say is good for us; but too many churchgoers “believe” not because they think it’s true, but because they think it’s good for them to believe. That kind of belief isn’t good for you, though; it’s just confused.
This presumption that it’s foolish to believe is wrong, at any rate. Willard goes on:
But when it comes to say exactly what it is that has been found out, nothing of substance is forthcoming.
Thus Rudolf Bultmann, long regarded as one of the great leaders of twentieth-century thought, had this to say: “It is impossible to use electric light and to avail ourselves of modern medical and surgical discoveries, and at the same time believe in the New Testament world of spirits and miracles.”
To anyone who has worked through the relevant arguments, this statement is simply laughable. It only shows that great people are capable of great silliness. Yet this kind of “thinking” dominates much of our intellectual and professional life at present, and in particular has governed by far the greater part of the field of biblical studies for more than a century.
But the baseless presumption in question must be seen for the empty prejudice it is if we are to enroll with serious intent in Jesus’ school of life. Though this is not the place to discuss it, you can be very sure that nothing fundamental has changed in our knowledge of ultimate reality and the human self since the time of Jesus.
Here on this blog entry is not the place to discuss it either, for it would go far too long. I will leave you with questions and some advice instead, directed especially toward followers of Christ. Do you really believe what you “believe?” Does believe, for you, mean to consider the Gospel to be true and reliable information, or does it mean something less than that? Do you sense that nagging suspicion that it might be all wrong after all? Are you believing because you’re confident it’s true, or because you think it’s probably good for you?
If you identify any of those haunting doubts in you, here’s what not to do: Don’t try to squash or squelch it, don’t feel condemned about it, and don’t feel shame over it. It’s a signal, a good and helpful one for you to pay attention to. It may be a sign that what you “believe,” you don’t really believe, and that you’re trying to manage some kind of impossible schizophrenic doublethink. Bring that vague unsettledness out into the open. Turn it into genuine questions. Then you can look for genuine answers, in Scripture, at your church, and among good books and blogs (of which I hope this is one).
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05.28.08
Posted in Tom Gilson at 1:39 pm by Tom Gilson
Melody sent us this message this morning:
Dear Family and Friends,
Just a quick email to ask for your prayers. The same morning (this past Saturday) that I left for Mexico, my father died. One moment he was chatting with a young man about every day things, and the next he collapsed, and was gone instantly. I could not be reached until Monday morning, after I had taken a bus down to Southern Mexico. When I finally got online, I had an email from my brother saying that Dad had died. My missionary friends worked a miracle, and got me to New Mexico by late afternoon.
The funeral is tomorrow morning. Please pray for my family. At the end of this week, I will return to Mexico, Cost Rica and Haiti to continue with the second half of my mission there. I’ll do the first ministry another time.
All of my family are Christians, so we are taking this very well. We all know without a doubt that we will see my Dad again. He was a wonderful man, and gave us so much. Our grief is for ourselves, and how much we will miss him.
God bless,
Melody Warford
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05.06.08
Posted in Bible Study, Tom Gilson at 9:44 pm by Tom Gilson
In a past article I asked,
Is there any significant move of God in all of Scripture in which He did not work through a core of spiritual leaders?
I still haven’t been able to think of an example, unless you count Numbers 16. You could call this chapter a significant move of God, and in a way, it did not involve a core of spiritual leaders. The episode begins,
Now Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men. And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men. They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?”
This was a challenge against God’s appointed leader. Of course, God’s anointing on Moses was unique. No church that I know of today has a pastor who was called at a burning bush or parted a sea to lead his people across it. Therefore before we draw any application from this passage, we have to determine whether it has any real parallel in today’s church. We’ll look at that question first, then we’ll return to see just what the work of God was in this passage.
We’ll start with whether church leaders today are called by God. Most churches assume so, but does the Bible say? Ephesians 4:11-14 says pastors (shepherds) and teachers are given to the church by God:
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
1 Corinthians 12:27-28 takes this idea of gifting and extends it to include others are involved in leading God’s people. The meaning of “apostles” and “prophets” is controversial in this post-apostolic era, but virtually all Bible students accept teaching and administrating as leadership gifts/roles for today’s church. Note that they are appointed by God.
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
We don’t expect burning bushes to confirm such appointing, of course. God only did that once. Now, instead, he generally uses other qualified people to identify and appoint spiritual leaders. Paul told Titus to appoint elders, having first made sure he knew the proper qualifications:
This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you—-if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.
Once they have been properly recognized and appointed, God pronounces elders and teachers to be worthy of honor:
Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.” Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses.
And again,
Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.
And then, ten verses later in Hebrews, we see this strong affirmation of spiritual leaders:
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.
Now, this hardly means that there is no accountability for our leaders. James 3:1-3 says their special honor comes with special responsibility:
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well.
Earlier I quoted from 1 Timothy 5. I need to return to it and add another couple of verses. That passage ends with:
Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality. Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure.
In addition, I could go into all the very strict, even dire warnings, about false teachers and false prophets throughout Scripture; but I don’t that is necessary to cover in detail. We know that leaders are accountable. Now, how does that accountability take place? Different churches have different answers. There are episcopal structures, where a bishop presides over a large number of churches. There are elder-oriented structures, where accountability comes primarily through an internal body of qualified spiritual leaders. Both of these have their pluses and minuses.
Can an entire church hold its leaders accountable? Certainly any person (or at least one who is spiritual) could initiate the accountability sequence of Matthew 18:15-17, approaching a leader privately, then bringing some along if necessary, and later (if needed) taking the issue before the whole church. The above admonition still holds, though: do not admit an accusation against an elder without definite evidence of their wrongdoing.
But can a church body together stand up and take over the appointed role of a leader? This brings us back to Numbers 16. I encourage you to read the whole chapter, but I’ll highlight the beginning and the end for you here. Remember what the people had said?
For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?
It’s easy to think that any one of us could do what our leaders do, that we’re all qualified for their work. That’s not the issue, though. Moses did not exalt himself above the assembly of the Lord; the Lord called him and placed him there. It was the Lord’s doing. Moses made it clear at the time that the issue was, whom has God sent? God did not call the whole congregation to run the whole. He called the qualified spiritual leaders (also including others to whom leadership was properly delegated–see Exodus 18 and Numbers 11).
So what happened to those who thought they could stand up in place of those leaders? Something we wouldn’t want to happen to anyone around us!
The ground under them split apart. And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods. So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.
Of course just as no leader is called by means of a burning bush today, it’s also unlikely that the earth will open up and swallow a rebellious church, or part of a church. Nevertheless the lesson is clear: there are right ways to hold leaders accountable. And there is at least one way that Scripture tells us is a very, very bad idea.
What then does this mean regarding the purpose of our church business meetings? This blog post is getting long, so this is not time to try to answer that in detail. The business meetings certainly have their purpose, but whatever we do there, it should be consistent with following and giving honor to our teachers and leaders; and we dare not try to usurp them as Korah’s group did. We don’t want to end up the way they did.
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05.02.08
Posted in Tom Gilson at 4:22 pm by Tom Gilson
Do we really know our faith is true? Can we really be confident of it? How can we know?
The April 23 talk on “Do We Really Know It’s True” was an example of a field of Christian study known as apologetics. Apologetics is not (as it may sound) about being sorry you’re a Christian. And if you’re in a debate with someone, it’s not about making the other guy sorry you’re a Christian!*
The term comes from the Greek word apologia, translated as “defense” in 1 Peter 3:15:
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
Apologetics, then is the study and practice of how we can know Christianity’s truth can be trusted.
Now, what good does that do us?
Two things:
- It strengthens our faith as believers. Faith is not (as some have mistakenly said) believing what you can’t know to be true, or believing without evidence. Faith is a personal trust relationship with God, based on what we know about him. The more we learn about him–including how we can be confident about him–the more we’ll trust him. That confidence can grow in many ways, of course; apologetics is just one piece of it. But it can be a very helpful piece.
- It can help us persuade nonbelievers that Christianity is plausible. Apologetics alone will not persuade anybody to follow Christ, for that depends on a spiritual work done in them by the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, we can see in this 1 Peter passage, and in all the travels and messages of Paul in the book of Acts, that giving reasonable answers is a good thing. It won’t force anyone to believe, but it can break down barriers through showing them that Christianity is reasonable and plausible. This can certainly open the door to belief.
There are two general categories of apologetics, and their names are possibly as misleading as “apologetics” itself: offensive and defensive. Neither one of them is about our mood, or about how we treat the other person. Rather, offensive apologetics includes reasons for faith: how we know the New Testament is reliable and trustworthy, philosophical reasons to believe there must be a God, and so on. Defensive apologetics has to do with answering attacks on the faith, for example, does the existence of evil in the world prove God cannot really exist?
What if I’m not really interested in apologetics?
There are different ways to be convinced of God’s truth. He reveals it to our hearts directly through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and in many senses that should be (and is) sufficient. The study of apologetics is for situations where more is called for: when others try to show that Christianity is false; when we have difficult questions of our own (which we ought to face squarely), or when we’re trying to help a non-Christian overcome doubts and lead him or her to faith.
Every Christian is gifted in different ways, and our interests usually reflect our gifts. Not everyone is equally interested in providing hospitality, not everyone is equally drawn toward ministries of mercy, not everyone is equally as good at sharing their faith. All Christians are called to some measure of hospitality, compassion, and witness, but not equally so. Every church, however, ought to display a wide range of ministries and gifts.
It need not be a deep interest for every person–but it is a ministry for every church.
Not every person needs to be involved in apologetics as a focused area of interest. But just as each church ought to have ministries of giving, missions, visitation, and so on, each church ought also to have a place where people can go for answers to questions about the truth of the faith. Not only that, but it makes great sense for the church to open its doors wide for people to come with these questions, to discuss them and learn from them together.
After all, many of us really do have these questions, and a burning interest in the answers.
*Not my original line–I got it from William Lane Craig.
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