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Apologetics is the defense of the Christian faith using nonbiblical means. It shows the reasonableness of the faith, not necessarily what a particular passage means. C. S. Lewis was famous in the field.
I have met people who have taken many apologetics classes. Some teach it at the seminary level. I am not an expert, but I enjoyed the few classes I had on it. Most will disagree with me, but I have always felt that believers might get more out of apologetics than unbelievers. Maybe I am just speaking for myself, but I always get a little pick-me-up when an apologist explains why Christianity is reasonable. Recently, I had one of those pick-me-ups. It came from William F. Buckley, who was Catholic. I do not know whether he was a believer, but he was discussing the reasonableness of believing in the deity of Christ. In his book, Nearer, My God, Buckley discusses the likelihood that the miracles of Christ actually happened. That is a common topic in apologetics. But then Buckley turns to the Lord’s teachings (pp. 237-39). Buckley had a command of the English language that few have possessed. Here is how he described Christ’s words: "There was the surrealistic beauty of the words he used, “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” Buckley says that the skeptic who writes such words off as “nothing more than a collection of ethical commonplaces” cannot account for their unique resonance. There is no reasonable explanation for the beauty of Christ’s thought and expression. Some will say that He was like Shakespeare. But that is to hold that this first-century Shakespeare started speaking such words after a career as a carpenter in the backwoods of Israel. Christ’s words are greater than Shakespeare’s. Shakespeare’s writings did not widely change lives. Jesus’ words did. The higher critic who says that the words of Christ did not come from one Man, but from a group of first-century teachers, makes an even more unreasonable claim. It suggests that three or four men who were greater literary geniuses than Shakespeare were walking around in Israel at that time. Sit down and read the entire Sermon on the Mount. Read His parables in Mark 4. Read how He answers the difficult questions of His day when challenged by His opponents in Mark 10–12. A critic might say that such words do not prove He was God. But to the unbiased observer, they show that He was a teacher sent by God. And the people who heard Him speak recognized this. One of His disciples, after hearing Him speak, exclaimed, “You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). That could not be said of anybody else. Even those who rejected His claims were astonished at His words. They asked, “Where did this Man get this wisdom…?” (Matt 13:54). How could a Jewish carpenter, untrained in rhetoric, use words in a better way than any orator they had ever heard? On another occasion, those who went to arrest Him had the same reaction. They could not accomplish their task because they heard Him speak and concluded, “No man ever spoke like this Man!” (John 7:46). Perhaps most unbelievers will not be moved by this short dive into apologetics. They will come up with different theories to explain away His wisdom. Maybe they will say that Jesus was just a very smart speaker, a great storyteller. Maybe, as He worked as a carpenter and before He began teaching, He honed his skills as an orator in His head while talking to Himself. Maybe others smarter than He edited His words after His death. But we have the record of those who heard Him speak. His words were otherworldly. The most reasonable explanation is what the Lord Himself said in John 14:10: “The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in Me…” He also said, “He who hears My word and believes in Him who sent me has everlasting life…” (John 5:24). Someone who spoke as He spoke can be believed. His words show me the reasonableness of believing in Him for eternal life. That is thrilling.
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The Biblical Book of Psalms opens with a short psalm about the 2 ways to live. Yeah, the psalmist said we only have 2 paths from which to choose. You might think that is overly simplistic and from a purely human perspective it is. But the psalmist, who is being guided by the Holy Spirit, is writing God’s point of view. And He says there are only 2 ways you can go. You either do it God’s way and be happy & blessed or do it whatever way you would prefer. His way is the right way. He created you in His image, so it makes sense you’re designed for His way of life. That means whatever else you choose is classed under the heading of not-godly.
Take a moment and read Psalm 1, being only 6 verses long so it’s a quick read. Notice the outcomes He defined for the 2 choices. The person who believes God, reads and studies God’s word will thrive. He compares it to a tree planted by rivers of water. Its roots are anchored in well-watered soil. That is a nice word picture for God’s word. It is why it produces Fruit in its season. A fruitful tree is one that has value, it prospers. Whatever other path you follow will not prosper. You might have a good life for the short time you’ll be on this planet. You might even achieve fame and wealth. But when your time is up everything you will have accomplished will be like the inedible husk removed from cereal grains. Your life will not stand up to examination by the Lord. For the non-believer it's a complete loss. for the one who believed in Jesus Christ it's a loss of abundance in the congregation of the righteous, what we call heaven. The way of blessing starts with belief in Jesus Christ for everlasting life. That secures your future with God. See it in Jesus Christ’s own words. John 5:24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” John 6:47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. There are a lot of big questions for which we have limited means available for finding the answers. Why are we here? How did the Universe come into being? How did life begin? Is there a continuation of existence after death? Why am I me? That last one I’ve had rolling around in my head for as long as I can remember me. For all of those on my list we can only speculate about possible answers. We don’t really have the means of testing any theory we might dream up.
The things we can observe offer evidence to support any number of possible answers, but nothing that crosses into the realm of positive proof. I’m not sure most of them even reach the standard of beyond reasonable doubt. Though that is at best a subjective standard. However, there is one source that for me does meet that benchmark. That is the Biblical narrative of the Creation’s history. At least if it is taken at face value. If we accept it as written, allowing for the normal features of human language such as idioms and cultural contexts, it does make sense. The Bible tells us there is a Triune God who exists eternally independent of the material world which He created. A God who has a plan for His creation which included the human race. Humans who have been given creative imaginations and the ability to make choices. Choices which have not always lined up with His intentions which He has communicated to us over the course of history. The evidence that I have found to be compelling is the advent of Jesus Christ. That evidence includes the details of His birth, life, death and resurrection which were foretold in the Old Testament prophecies and the testimony their fulfillment recorded by eye witnesses in the New Testament of the Bible. The Prophecies are detailed, easy to understand and precise in content. Even to establishing where Jesus Christ would be born and when He would be executed. The eyewitness accounts likewise are detailed and supported by the character and conduct of the persons themselves. The authors of the New Testament were not fanatics. They were men of integrity who testified about what they had personally witnessed. Most of them faced persecution and many were martyred for their knowledge of Jesus Christ’s life. Notice I said their knowledge. They did not die for a belief but for what they had seen and heard for themselves. Think about that. Would you suffer and die for something you knew to be a lie? Someone might but what are the chances that so many would have done so? I find that to be a very compelling reason to investigate what they wrote. And one thing they made clear is that Jesus Christ said the Biblical narrative is true! |
AuthorBill Lee, Pastor at Trego Community Church. Archives
July 2026
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