Apologetics: A 5-Day Biblical GuideSample

What is apologetics?

At its most basic level, apologetics is about defending the Christian faith. It comes from the Greek term apologia, which means to defend or a defence of. When the New Testament was written, the term was used to refer to a legal defence in court, like a lawyer at a trial.

The New Testament authors used this term to instruct and encourage believers to provide good reasons for their hope in Christ. This reasoning began in the book of Acts, as the first Christians evangelized throughout the Roman Empire.

The tradition of giving a defence and providing answers to questions, objections, doubts, and challenges to the Christian faith has continued to this day. It involves everyone from the smartest scholars teaching in universities to everyday Christians helping others discover hope in Jesus.

Today, as Christians seek to defend the faith, apologetics can involve many disciplines and subjects in theology, philosophy, history, archaeology, art, and science.

This doesn’t mean that you need to be an expert in everything, but every Christian should strive to better understand what they believe, why they believe it, and how to share it with others.

One of the key verses for apologetics is 1 Peter 3:15, which commands Christians to be prepared to answer anyone who asks about the hope they have in Jesus, but two other components of the verse cannot be missed.

First, Peter instructs us to revere or worship Christ in our hearts. And this is important to never forget! Christians do apologetics out of love for Jesus. Apologetics is not about winning arguments or debates with others. Christians defend their faith out of love for Jesus and what He has done.

Second, Peter instructs that answers are to be given with gentleness and respect. This means that we treat others with patience, kindness, and listening ears as Christians seek to help people understand Jesus. As Christians defend the faith, others can see the love and grace of Jesus in our lives.

Another key verse for apologetics comes from 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. Here, Paul reminds us that Christians are not defending their faith with swords, shields, or weapons of this world; the Christian fight is against arguments and challenges against God.

This means that apologetics engages in spiritual warfare, demonstrating that Christians have good reason to believe in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection and that He truly is the only way to salvation and a restored relationship with God.

Today's last reading is from Matthew 28:1-15, a Biblical example of apologetics. It reports what happened to the soldiers at Jesus’s tomb when the stone was rolled away. Matthew includes this section as a defence of the faith, telling other Christians what really happened that night and why they may hear fabricated stories about Jesus’ disciples taking the body.

As you read today, pray and ask God to make you someone ready to defend your hope in Jesus. Ask God to ready and equip you to help others overcome their challenges and questions about Christianity.