Defending the faith

Ever since Satan asked in the Garden of Eden, "Has God said...?" people have questioned the claims of Scripture. The Bible has been under attack since it was first written and even many so-called ministers no longer consider it inspired by God and but believe it is filled with myths and false statements. Non-Christians regularly attack various teachings of Christianity. There was a time when people used to respect the Scriptures even if they were not living according to them, but that time is long past. Much of the negative statements directed towards Scripture isn't based upon the person's personal study but is based on something they once heard someone say.

It is important today that we are able to defend Christianity and its teachings. Fortunately, it's fairly easy to defend the truth if we're willing to do the work, but that doesn't mean we will successfully convince people of biblical truth. As I sometimes say, "Some people's minds are like concrete. They are all mixed up and permanently set." Still, we have an obligation to defend the faith whenever we hear it being attacked.

Some of the most common complaints against Christianity and God has to do with the problem of evil in the world, the problem of suffering, the story of creation, and the reliability of the Bible. During a recent two-year stretch serving as the Transitional Pastor of a church seeking a new pastor I was able to address each of these. I think I did a three-part sermon series on the problem of evil, two sermons on the problem of suffering, one sermon on the fine-tuning of the universe, an numerous statements in many sermons on the reliability of the Scriptures. If I had been the regular pastor of the church I would have spent more time introducing the congregation to apologetics and would have addressed some of the other issues people raise against Christianity.

Being able to defend the faith isn't just important so we can answer people's objections. It's also important for Christians who also sometimes have doubts about the faith. These concerns need to be addressed so we don't walk away from the faith when going through challenging times. Our young people also need to be able to defend their faith when they leave home for college and university when professors will attack their beliefs.

Christians need to be encouraged to read good books on theology and apologetics. While some of these are written for academics, many are on a level that is accessible to anyone. Sunday school classes and small groups need to be in every church that offers specific training in defending the faith using sound theological and apologetical arguments. If we cannot answer the questions people have about Christianity we will continue to lose them to secular worldviews.