The first several weeks of classes were somewhat confusing for me. Apologetics employs familiar English words but often uses them in a different way. I felt sorry for the handful of students in my class for whom English was not their first language. They wisely recorded the class lectures for future reference. It wasn’t until I read the required textbooks that I got a handle on the terminology.
One class assignment painfully revealed the need for training in apologetics. The professor divided the class into several teams of four people and assigned each team a topic and what view it was to defend. We were given two weeks to prepare our defense for a scheduled debate with the team with the same topic but the opposing view. My team was assigned Christ’s resurrection, and our unfortunate task was to argue against it. Sadly, we won. It is not that the resurrection is indefensible, the other team was, quite simply, not ready to give a defense for the hope that is in them.
As our team’s spokesperson, I first dulled our opponents’ attention with the stock arguments against the resurrection, then I quoted the Apostle Paul’s reminder about what is of first importance: Christ died for our sins in accordance with Scripture, was buried and was raised from the dead in accordance with Scripture. I simply asked the other team, “in accordance with which Scriptures?” Their answer was uncomfortable silence as each team member looked to the others for the answer none of them was prepared to give. The professor smiled through it all then devoted the remainder of the class to looking up those Scriptures.
It is important for Christians to know what the essential Christian truths are and what is their Scriptural warrant. It is equally important that we live by these truths, living lives that honor Christ as holy. Such lives will get noticed and create questions in the minds of unbelievers. Are you ready to give an answer?
