Biblical apologetics does not require complicated philosophy. Creation, conscience, and Christ provide three simple, biblical lines of evidence that can strengthen the Christian’s faith and help remove objections so that
the gospel may be heard.

Roger Smalling, D.Min

 

© 2018 by Roger Smalling. Miami, Florida

 

Preface

Apologetics is the rational and factual defense of the Christian faith.[1] It has two purposes:

• Confirm to Christians the credibility of their faith.
• Expose to unbelievers their suppression of truth in order to prepare them to hear the gospel.

Where do we start?

The title “Biblical Apologetics” means I have chosen to limit this book to arguments the Bible itself uses. I have also chosen to limit it to a particular audience: Christian laymen who may appreciate basic tools for dealing with their non-Christian acquaintances, without complex philosophical elaborations. This book is not intended as an evangelistic device for unbelievers.

Romans chapters one and two form the basis of this book with amplifications from other texts. This approach fits better with the needs of the church members I know and with my own calling as a missionary and Bible teacher in Latin America.

Am I suggesting it is wrong to use philosophical arguments not found in the Bible? By no means. Use whatever works!

A lot has happened since the canon of Scripture was closed. Pseudo-Christian movements, scientific developments, and philosophical thought-forms have inundated humanity. These need addressing, but other books have been written about them.

Do apologetics lead people to Christ?

Imagine approaching an on-ramp leading to a highway. You notice a small tree fallen across the ramp, hindering you from proceeding. You remove the tree and then continue onto the highway.[2]

Removing the obstacle is like the role of apologetics. The tree represents intellectual arguments against the existence of God, the authority of Christ, or the validity of the Bible. The highway symbolizes the gospel, which, as Paul put it, is repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.[3] You want the debris out of the way as quickly as possible to gain a hearing for the message.

Dwelling too long on intellectual arguments would be like discussing the history of a tree before removing it. You would probably never get to the highway, which is precisely why the unbeliever put the tree there in the first place.

So the answer to the above question is no, apologetics does not lead people to Christ. It removes the barriers to make it possible for an unbeliever to hear the gospel and consider it plausible.

The gospel itself is the power of God for salvation, and nothing else is (Romans 1:16).

My own limitations

The doctrine of salvation is my specialty, within a Latin American context as a missionary. Yet apologetics, to some degree, is forced upon any minister by the nature of his calling.

I have found a helpful tool. Let me share it with you.

About the author

Dr. Roger Smalling and his wife Dianne are missionaries to Latin America with the Presbyterian Church In America, a theologically conservative branch of the Reformed movement. Roger is also a professor with Miami International Seminary, which shares his vision for a Latin American reformation.

The Smallings travel extensively throughout Latin America, holding seminars in churches of various denominations.

Free study guides, essays and books by the Smallings are available in Spanish and English at www.smallings.com

 

Part 1: The 3 C’s

 

Chapter 1: Why the 3 C’s?

I have limited the apologetics in this book to the 3 C’s: Creation, conscience, and Christ. If there is a creation, there must be a Creator. If we have a conscience with universal moral law written in it, there must be a universal lawgiver. The person and life of Christ is inexplicable without a deity.

Imagine a three-layer cake. The bottom layer is labeled creation. This is the foundation for the other two. We put conscience next because the conscience of a person is a part of creation.

The top is Christ. As the Apostle Peter put it, Who by him do believe in God” (1 Peter 1:21). Peter means Christ is the pinnacle proof by his life, death, and resurrection, not that he is the only proof.

Each layer has its own particular evidence. We will examine some of the main aspects of each; the evidence with the most potential for confirming the faith of the believer and allowing him to use it easily with ordinary people has priority.

The 3 C’s summarize the kind of apologetic the Bible itself uses but is not limited to those. They are useful for most settings to confirm the faith of the believer and give a reason for the hope that is in us. 1 Peter 3:15

Here’s how the 3 C’s help.

They are in one location

It is convenient that Romans chapters one and two contain them.

The evidence assures the believer

Every morning, I awake and notice the creation is still here testifying to a Creator; my conscience confirms the existence of a lawgiver, and Christ has not changed. Profoundly comforting! For the devil to inject doubts, he will need to insert them somewhere between these three pieces of evidence, and the burden is on him to figure out how to do that.

These proofs never change. This puts my faith on objective grounds.

Easy to remember

Even children can be taught the 3 C’s. In my opinion parents should teach them to their children not only because they are biblical but also because they will root themselves in a way that God can use later.

Boldness in witnessing

For their simplicity

When an unbeliever asks why I believe in God, I reply, “If there is a creation, there is a Creator. If we have a conscience that defines universal moral laws, then a universal moral lawgiver exists. Christ speaks for himself.”

All 3 C’s are found in one place in the Bible, Romans chapters one and two, though not in that order. This makes it handy to introduce believers to apologetics in settings like a Sunday School class. These chapters can serve as a springboard to other texts throughout Scripture.

For cutting off the assumption that “we lack proof”

Today’s relativistic pagan society teaches that religious and philosophical ideas exist only within a realm of personal perspective, apart from proof. This notion is so strongly rooted in the minds of unbelievers that it seems inconceivable that we could prove anything we believe.

Countless times we have had people say, “You can’t prove…etc.” In a conversation with a young man who said this, I replied, “How do you know that? How did you obtain all the knowledge in my mind to be able to state that?” Then I went on to say, “Here is the proof…”

He was attentive but unconvinced. I said, “You are free to think the proof is inadequate. From a rational viewpoint, however, you are no longer free to say no proof at all exists.” He accepted that point and we had an amiable conversation from then on about the gospel. Though he did not accept the Lord, he promised to consider the issues.

In college at the age of 19, I felt stunted in my witness for Christ because I lacked adequate evidence to demonstrate what I believed. I assumed that if my church leadership had substantial proof for the Christian faith, they would have shared it by now. In retrospect, I realize the leaders held weak views about logic, truth and evidence.

For allowing more opportunity to use Scripture

We can paraphrase biblical texts without the unbeliever realizing we are doing that. This gives opportunity for the word of God to have its effect. Example: “God’s existence and attributes, such as his eternal power and deity are clearly seen by the things that have been created.” We need not mention we are paraphrasing Romans 1:20.

Or, “Look at this fact. We all have moral law written in our conscience that either accuses or excuses us every day. We have no grounds for rejecting the notion of a moral lawgiver.” Again, we need not mention we just paraphrased Romans 2:14,15. [4]

In most ordinary witnessing situations, these are sufficient for the moment. After all, it is the truths of Scripture that God uses to regenerate, not complex arguments, according to James 1:18.

Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

General versus special revelation

The first two, creation and conscience, fall under the category of general revelation because all mankind in general have both. On the grounds of these alone, every person on earth is accountable to God, as we will see in Romans one and two.

The last revelation, Christ, is called special revelation because it is given only to some, the elect.

Do the 3 C’s work?

If by work we mean, “Does this evidence persuade people to become Christians? The answer is no. Only grace works—that special drawing of God the Father without which no one can come to Christ (John 6:44). These proofs serve only to remove objections and provide a plausible platform for the gospel to be heard, because that alone is the power of God for salvation… Romans 1:16

To do this better, we must clearly understand what the Bible says is the major obstacle in the heart of the unbeliever. We will discover this in the next chapter.

From this chapter we learn…

• Biblical apologetics can be summarized as creation, conscience, and Christ, found in Romans one and two.
• The believer benefits from these points because they are an assurance to his faith, easy to remember, and grant greater boldness in witnessing.
• General revelation refers to creation and conscience, which everyone knows. Special revelation refers to Christ and the gospel, revealed to some only.
• It is God’s grace alone through the gospel that persuades people. The evidence merely serves to gain a hearing for the gospel.

Chapter 2: Do you feel competent?

Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant— 2 Corinthians 3:5,6

Do you feel competent to address the questions of unbelievers? Don’t worry about it. Paul did not feel competent in himself and neither should we. Despite his vast knowledge, which even his detractors recognized, Paul knew it was empty until God anointed it.

How often have you looked back on an evangelism opportunity and felt the following? — Maybe they would have been persuaded if I had said it differently or used a better argument. Did I fail?

That feeling of inadequacy is perfectly normal because the truth is, we are indeed inadequate in ourselves. It is also true that this is irrelevant.

It is God who opens the hearts, as with Lydia in Acts 16:14; the Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. Jesus also made it clear that no one can come to him unless the Father draws him (John 6:44).

It is not the persuasiveness of our arguments that brings people to Christ, though God may use it. It is the work of the Holy Spirit, over which we have no control.

God may use a phrase we speak that we thought was irrelevant to open a heart. Therefore, we take no credit for the results and no blame for the lack thereof.

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Continue reading the complete book

The chapters above introduce the three central elements of biblical apologetics: creation, conscience, and Christ. The complete book explores the evidence in greater detail and applies it to questions about unbelief, truth, atheism, injustice, the deity of Christ, and evangelism.

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Download the complete book:
Creation, Conscience, and Christ: The Three “C’s” of Biblical Apologetics [PDF]

 

[1] The term apologetics comes from the Greek word apologia, which means a defense of a viewpoint. It has nothing to do with the word “apology.” We have nothing to apologize for.

[2] This illustration is not original. It comes from evangelist Ray Comfort, the author of The Way of the Master evangelism program.

[3] Acts 20:21

[iv] This is dealt with in Chapter 13.