Dave’s Monday Blast – February 25, 2019

Over the last two weeks we have been chatting about our Mission Mandate of Disciple Making based on the “Jesus Model” of kindness. Kindness is one of the virtues that define our God. Remember it is the kindness of God that leads to repentance (Romans 2:4). I wanted to share a few thoughts from Christian Ministries International concerning the Apologetics of Evangelism.

The primary mission Jesus gave the Church was to go into the whole world (remember the 153 large fishes from John 21) and make disciples of Him. Apologetics is an essential tool in fulfilling this mission.

1. Apologetics is the science and art of defending the Christian faith. The word apologetics comes from the Greek legal term ‘apologia’, which means ‘to give a defense’.

2. Having an ability to practice apologetics is necessary for believers as we are called to proactively ‘contend’ with non-believers and false worldviews (Jude 3).

3. The skill of apologetics is also helpful as Christians are called to be ready to always provide answers to those who ask us about our faith (1 Peter 3:15). However, having answers alone is not enough. The manner in which we as believers do apologetics is as important as the words we express.

Remember, you can win the intellectual battle (because we know the Truth), yet lose the war for a person’s heart with the wrong approach. So take Paul’s advice to young Timothy to heart; “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). We are to Love Kindness (Micah 6:8).