All Apologies

Don’t memorize arguments, understand your faith and competing worldviews.

The better you understand your faith the more effective you will be in defending it.
It is clear that the Bible teaches us to grow in our understanding of the Christian faith (see Hebrews 6:1, 1 Corinthians 3:1-4). But this is also important when defending the faith. If you only know your faith at the simplest level you will be able to evangelize but you will not be able to defend it against attacks from ungodly worldviews.

This point has immediate application to my own life. Recently I struck up a conversation about evolution with an old friend because of a Facebook status he had posted. That turned into a deeper discussion on the Christian faith in which I found myself defending core Christian doctrines (and even the authority of the bible itself). To make things more interesting this friend is very intelligent and has raised several objections to Christianity that are logical at face value.

It is only because I have personally taken the time to answer my own questions about the authority of Scripture, the sovereignty of God, and even the necessity of the atonement of Christ that I have been able to provide answers to my friend’s objections. If I only knew now what I knew about my faith when I graduated high school I wouldn’t have been able to answer his questions in a biblical way. More importantly, because I have been able to get into such a deep discussion on the matter I have had several opportunities to take the discussion back to the most important thing, the gospel.

My intention in this post has not been to show off the fact that I have engaged in this evangelistic opportunity. I confess that I do not evangelize nearly as often as I should (seriously). Rather, it is intended to show you the practical importance of understanding your faith. I want to encourage you to raise questions to yourself about the Bible. For example, how does the momentary suffering of one man atone for the sin of millions upon millions who would otherwise pay for their own sin for eternity? If God is all knowing, all powerful, and good why does He permit horrible suffering (for example, Haiti)? I’m sure you can think of many more. Then spend some time researching in Scripture or asking your pastor these things. This will edify you in your walk with Christ and strengthen your ability to defend your faith while spreading the good news of Christ.

Grace and Peace,
Stephen