Adventures in Apologetics: Giving a Reason for My Hope in Christ

Apologetics is the practice of defending the Christian faith and responding to questions and objections raised by those who don't believe.

Over many years of doing apologetics, I have had some remarkable apologetic encounters. Since converting in 1976 at age nineteen, I have labored to give the reasons for my hope in Christ to as many people as possible in as many formats as possible (1 Peter 3:15). I have written books and given lectures and sermons, of course, but some apologetics happens unexpectedly or in odd circumstances. That is part of the adventure of walking the narrow path of Jesus that leads of life (Matthew 7:13-14). These are mostly stories of apologetic encounters, not evangelistic successes. Although I have helped led some souls to become Christians (one is mentioned below), that has not been my great strength, although I press on, trying to “do the work of an evangelist” (2 Timothy 4:5).

When it comes to being a Christian witness, prayer and preparation are essential. We are in a spiritual battle for ideas, and we must be ready to defend our faith in the face of opposition. As the Apostle Paul said, “We do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to destroy strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

My experiences have taught me that it is important to take people's questions seriously and to do the research necessary to be able to answer them. We must also be willing to pray for those we are trying to reach and to share the good news of the gospel with them. As Paul said, we must have the same zeal to make the gospel known to as many people as possible. We must be willing to share our faith, no matter the cost, trusting that God's love will break through any barrier.

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