For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. — 1 CORINTHIANS 2:2
Apologetics, Charismatics, Evangelicals and such catagorize the approaches a person has towards faith. We all believe in the Trinity; these catagories explain the manifestation of a person’s belief. What do they mean?
Most of us, myself included have a working understanding of what these catagories mean. Are these ideologies in conflict with one another? Is one not necessary, is one more important than the other?
In the next at least four blog post and perhaps a few more I will endeavor to give a summary of each.
JOHN 20:29
Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
APOLOGETIC
When I first heard the term Christian Apologetic I thought it was a group of believers who made excuses for their faith; apologizing. Then I began thinking it was an ideology that justified faith supported by historical evidence. Am I way off base?Apologetics is from the Greek word ‘apologia’ which means defense. Think of Christian Apologetics as the Closing Arguments for the defense. When accused of being a Christian there will be evidence against you and you should be able to prove they are right.
If you were accused of being a Christian, how much evidence could the prosecution bring against you?
MARK 16:17-18
And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
I did not have to go deep as I began my superficial research on Apologetics; I discovered authors I knew of who are Apologist. Walter Martin’s book, KINGDOM OF THE CULT, was on my book shelf for years until I gave it away. I did skim through it and will be ordering it soon, this book focused on why other beliefs and is an excellent source of information. I also had Josh McDowell’s book EVIDENCE THAT DEMANDS A VERDICT until I gave it away. When I purchased these books I was researching, trying to understand why I believed what ‘they’ told me to believe.
In a court case in which the Prosecutor declared Christianity is not the only belief system the Defense attorney would present the evidence laid on in the book KINGDOM OF THE CULT. By examining the foundation of various belief system- including its’ origin, its’ founder and its’ core beliefs- the reader is able to see how the ideology is a man made ideologoy, a cult. In sharing such evidence the Defense will have proven why other belief systems are false.
Apologetics not only help us confirm what we believe is true they also point out why other religions are false.
JOHN 14:6Everyone, most people anyway, has heard of C.S. Lewis, he is an Apologist; his book which became a movie: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is classic. Though I have seen the movie I have yet to read any of his writings.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Another great Apologist is R. C. Sproul, I was introduced to his writings in 2017. His books are excellent foundational reading for followers of Christ. During his life, his lectures, messages and other speaking events revealed concrete information to justify believing in the Triune nature of God which includes the death, burriel and resurection of Jesus the only begotton Son of God. Many of his books are available as an ebook download FREE of charge on Amazon. Such titles as:
- What is Repentance?
- Can I be Sure I am Saved?
- Who is Jesus?
- Can I Trust the Bible?
- ..and many more
Apologist present the closing arguments against other belief systems and confirm the Scripture by pointing out what is clearly seen. Shouldn’t we all be apologetic?
ROMANS 1:20-23— written by Marsha L F Randolph
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
A MATTER OF FAITH reflects the opinions and property of the author MARSHA L F RANDOLPH. All rights reserved- do not use without permission. All Scriptures quoted are from the New King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise stated. Don’t miss weekly faith based post FOLLOW THIS BLOG and receive notifications when a new article is posted.
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