F.U.E.L.

Are You Ready to Defend Your Faith?
If someone asked you why you were a Christian, what would
you say? Would you say you’re a Christian because you were raised
that way, or would you say you’re a Christian because you “just
believe it”? Wouldn’t that answer fit a person of another faith—
perhaps a Muslim or a Hindu? When you give these responses
to the question, you reveal a pretty weak rationale for believing
Christianity. Do you have a good defense for why you believe what
you do?
There is a better answer to the question of why you are a
Christian. You are a Christian because Christianity is true. How
can you defend that statement? That’s the purpose of this book. So
welcome to the wonderful world of apologetics.
Apologetics is, by definition, a defense of your actions or beliefs.
It is explaining why you believe what you believe. We can find this
concept in the Bible in 1 Peter 3:15–16.
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,
having a good conscience, so that, when you are
slandered, those who revile your good behavior in
Christ may be put to shame.
We are always to be ready to gently and respectfully share the
reason for the hope we have—why we believe in Jesus as the Savior
who rescued us from our sinful condition and will grant us eternal
life in heaven one day.

Apologetics is defending the faith.

As we defend our faith, explaining why we believe in Jesus as
Savior, what we say is important—the content of our apologetics
must be solid. We must know the facts and be armed with
knowledge. However, that’s just one part of the defense of our faith.
The other part of the defense is how we say it—the delivery of those
facts and knowledge. Peter instructed us to use “gentleness and
respect” in explaining our hope that we have in Christ. Paul, by the
inspiration of the Spirit, says a similar thing in 2 Timothy 2:24–26.
And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome
but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently
enduring evil, correcting his opponents with
gentleness. God may perhaps grant them
repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth,
and they may come to their senses and escape
from the snare of the devil, after being captured by
him to do his will.
People need to hear the truth, and how you share that will make
a big difference. Being a know-it-all or acting in a condescending
manner is not appropriate—being kind in instructing others is what
God calls us to do.What we say (content and how we say it
(delivery) is important.
Paul brings up another important aspect of apologetics.
Remember that God saves people, not you. Yes, we need to know
information and how to share it well—the “what and how” of
apologetics. But our knowledge and instruction will not change
anyone’s sinful heart—only God the Holy Spirit can do that. He
will convict the sinner of his or her condition through the Law
and reveal the remedy for his or her sinful condition through the
Gospel.
Reasons People Reject Christ

Even as we share the Gospel and practice apologetics, some
people may not believe what we have to say. In the book The New
Evidence That Demands a Verdict, Josh McDowell explains.6
 Some will not believe since they are in a “snare of the devil, after being
captured by him to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:26). Spiritual warfare
is a real thing. When Jesus told the parable of the sower and the
seed, He said some seed falls on paths and is eaten by birds before it
can take root. Jesus explained what He meant in Luke 8:11–12:
Now the parable is this: The seed is the word
of God. The ones along the path are those who
have heard; then the devil comes and takes away
the word from their hearts, so that they may not
believe and be saved.  You can defend the faith, handling both areas of content and
delivery well, but some won’t believe because they are under satanic
attack.

Some won’t believe due to  spiritual warfare.
Another reason some may not be converted to Christianity after
you explain why you believe what you do is that people stubbornly
refuse to admit they are wrong. Jesus faced a similar attitude in
John 5:39–40. “You search the Scriptures because you think that
in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about
Me, yet you refuse to come to Me that you may have life.” The
religious leaders of Jesus’ day would not come to Jesus, even though
He fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies. In light of this prideful
rejection of the truth, we can see why we are called to practice
apologetics with “gentleness and respect.” It will be easy to get mad
at people, but that won’t help your witness.
Some won’t believe due to their prideful refusal to  admit they’re wrong!

A third reason some people reject faith is that becoming a
Christian means leaving a lifestyle of sin. Jesus explained this in
John 3:20 when He said, “For everyone who does wicked things
hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should
be exposed.” You can say the right thing in the right way when
defending the faith, but some will choose to stay in their sin rather
than receive the Savior. They may feel that they’re not that bad, or
that they will convert later.Some won’t believe due  to their unwillingness to  change their lifestyle.

Knowing the three reasons why some reject the Christian
message helps us diagnose why people aren’t converted. We must
realize that even if others reject faith, we did not waste our time
because God’s Word is effective.
For as the rain and the snow come down from
heaven and do not return there but water the
earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving
seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall
My word be that goes out from My mouth; it shall
not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish
that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the
thing for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:10–11
Furthermore, later someone else may add to what we shared,
and ultimately the Holy Spirit changes people, as Paul said in
1 Corinthians 3:6–7: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the
growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything,
but only God who gives the growth.” Apologetics isn’t easy, but it is
definitely worth it!
C