Sermon Tone Analysis

*A Reasoned Defense *

*1 Peter 3:15-16*

*/May 31, 2009/*

 

 

*Prep: *

·         HP Sermon, 068, Leftover notes

 

 

Scripture reading: 1 Peter 3:13-16

 

Intro

 

Enjoyed *anniversary* and Cecil’s sermon.

Next week I will be at a *conference*, and Micah will speak (hopefully not too hopped up).

Take advantage of a great *opportunity*: Kyle is brilliant, yet humble.

His passion is apologetics and he offered to *teach* a *class*, but I also wanted him to speak to all of you.

·         We will *tag* *team* teach on apologetics: What it means, why we do it, and how we do it.

Prayer

 

Our faith is *not* *fantasy*, but a historically grounded reality, deeply rational even as it is full of mystery.

Help us be effective *representatives* of you.

*What is apologetics?*

Apologetics does *not* mean being *sorry* for being a Christian.

The word “apologetics” comes straight from the Bible:

 

1 Peter 3:15 NIV Always be prepared to give an answer [/apologia/] to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.

/Apologia/ means a defense, such as a *legal* *defense* in court.

Apologetics is a *reasoned* and *prepared* defense of Christianity.

From the *earliest* *days*, we’ve needed to defend our faith.

It was *misunderstood* and *feared*.

Apologetics served two goals:

 

1)  *defend* Christianity against *distortion*

2)  *provide* evidence of its *credibility*.

Today, it serves the same purposes and answers questions like: Is the Bible *trustworthy*?

How can we say *Jesus* is the *only* *way* to God?

Is Christianity more *reasonable* than *other* religions?

Now apologetics is not just for specialists, in fact, are *practicing* apologetics every time *describe* your *faith* or *live* your *Christian* life before a non-Christian.

·         You can reach people I never can.

But we find apologetics isn’t just for the sake non-Christians but it is also very *beneficial* for *us*, which is what Kyle will speak on.

But first I want him to talk a little bit about his background and *why* *apologetics* matters to *him*.

Kyle: His story & Apologetics

 

*I experienced my first crisis of doubt when I was 12 years old.

My grandmother became a Jehovah’s Witness, and as I learned about the differences between Jehovah’s Witnesses and Evangelical Christians, I started to question whether or not my own beliefs were true, and how I could know.

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* *

*So I started reading books on theology, science, history, and philosophy; I chatted in online discussion groups with atheists and agnostics; and Cecil (my youth pastor at the time) was even gracious enough to teach me biblical Greek.

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*But for all of my studies in apologetics, it wasn’t enough to keep me from falling away from the faith.

By the time I graduated college, I decided that I wanted to live life on my own terms, and all of the reasons for believing just didn’t matter to me anymore.

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* *

*But after three years as a self-avowed agnostic, I had really made a mess of my life, and those reasons for believing started to matter.

I finally did return to the church, and since that time apologetics has really given me an anchor to stand confident in my faith.

That is why I am so passionate about this subject.*

*can’t argue someone into the kingdom*

 

I will be sharing more about the *role* of apologetic for sharing our faith with *non*-*Christians*.

But first I have to share a defining moment for me.

When I was 16, I was invited meet with some *Mormon* missionaries.

So I grabbed my buddy *Jay* *TenBrink* and went to show them the *error* of their *ways*.

·         After *three* *meetings*, each with higher ranking Mormon, we all agreed this was getting nowhere.

My *material* was *sound*, and I stand by it, but I learned a very important lesson: Apologetics will never *force* someone to believe what they *don’t* *want* to believe.

·         You cannot *argue* anyone into the *Kingdom* of God.

When given all the* facts*, a person will believe whatever they *want* to believe.

·         A prime example is the *Pharisees* wanting to kill *Lazarus*.

All the *proof* in the world can only help someone believe in Jesus if they *want* to *believe* in him.

*THE HARDER YOU PUSH, THE HARDER I’LL RUN*

 

In fact, misused apologetics can actually drive a person *further* from God, because no one likes to be *badgered* or *harassed*.

I once was discussing theology with another Christian and played *devil’s advocate*, presenting a non-Christian’s perspective.

Apparently he missed the point – I found myself being *attacked* with all the arguments he had just learned at Bible College.

·         Even though I agreed with him, I got really *annoyed* – No one wants to be treated as a conquest or convert.

Apologetics minus *relationship* often equals *harassment*.

*helping genuine skeptics *

 

Q   If apologetics can’t “make” someone believe, why do it?

A review of “Mere *Christianity*” said it was the perfect book for a person who wants to become a Christian but finds his reason getting in the way.

That is apologetics at its most *productive*, honestly answering the *tough* (but *honest*) questions.

Personally, I have *no* *interest* in arguing with an *atheist* for the sake of arguing, but love to answers the toughest of questions with someone who is *seeking*.

·         Many people claim to be skeptics just to *put* *off* a *decision*, but God *honors* those genuinely *seeking* *truth*.

According our Scripture, *all* of us are required *explain* and *share* the Gospel with clear reasoning:

 

1 Peter 3:15-16 NIV Always be prepared to give an answer everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.

But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

Notice its role even with those who *aren’t* *genuine* *skeptics*.

Our reasoned defense combined with godly living “*silences* *ignorant* *talk*.”

It may not convert them, but it “shuts their mouth.”

·         But apologetics also helps *us*.

Kyle: Building our faith~/Defending apologetics

* *

*I’d like to share with you a few verses from the Bible that show how apologetics is important for believers.

First of all, there is Mark 12:30, which says: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”*

* *

*Christianity is supposed to engage all of our being.

It is not just emotional (about how we feel), and it is not just practical (about what we do).

It is also intellectual—about what we think.

So by doing apologetics, we are in fact obeying God’s command to love Him with our minds.*

* *

*Next, there’s James 1:6b-8, which says: “…He who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.”

In the same way, Ephesians 4:14 says that infants in the faith are like waves tossed back and forth by every wind of doctrine and by the craftiness of deceitful men.

So from these passages, we see the dangers of doubt.

Doubt makes our prayers ineffective, and it makes us susceptible to false doctrine.

But apologetics helps us overcome our doubts, and puts us on solid ground.*

* *

*At this point, though, I need to mention that there are some Christians who actually reject the use of apologetics.

They point to passages like 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, where the apostle Paul says:*

* *

*When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.

For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.

My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.*

* *

*So some would take this passage to mean that we should simply proclaim the gospel, without using any persuasive arguments, and let the Holy Spirit do the rest.

However, I think that’s actually a misinterpretation of Paul’s words.

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*For one thing, we read of Paul’s ministry in Corinth in Acts 18:4, which says: “Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.”

So how do we reconcile Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 2 with Paul’s actions in Acts 18? Should we reason and persuade or not?

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* *

*I think the key lies in understanding Corinthian culture.

You see, in Corinth there was a particular school of Greek philosophers, known as the Sophists, who were well known for their skills in rhetoric.

These guys would get paid to entertain people by making clever-sounding arguments to support bogus ideas.

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*By contrast, the Christian message is not based on the principles of Greek rhetoric (which can be deceptive), but on God’s truth, which needs to be presented with integrity.

I think this is what Paul has in mind in 2 Corinthians 4:2, where he says: We have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God.