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The Harvester Podcast is brought to you by the Florida School of Preaching. Listen weekly to take a dive into biblical topics and thoughtful studies on things that matter to our eternal souls.
We'd like to welcome you
to the Harvester podcast of the Florida School of Preaching.
Today I am your host, Steven Ford, along with me today.
George Beals
We're thankful that you're here with us.
This third season, we're going to be looking at lessons on Christian apologetics.
And in this first episode, we're going to do an introduction to Christian apologetics.
So Brother George, if we're thinking about the topic of apologetics, where's a good place
to start?
I would say Psalm 19, the first two sections, that's verses 1 through 6 which has to do
with what is sometimes called the general revelation of God, that is to say the uh natural
revelation.
And then in verses 7 through 10 there is information pertaining to what is sometimes
called special revelation of God, that is the Bible, the Scriptures.
Absolutely, that's a great place.
when we're looking at a psalm like Psalm 19 that gives us some uh introductory parts in
those first several verses, just general revelation, why is that a good place to start and
how does that help us when we're trying to grasp this idea of apologetics?
Well, think that uh you have a logical sequence intended there.
That is to say, if an individual were to look carefully at the natural world around us and
looking inward as well, we are part of the natural world, then that should lead us to the
conclusion that God exists in a general way.
But then more specifically, the question arises, well, since he has
revealed himself through nature, then is there additional material that he wants us to
know and that of course leads us naturally into the scriptures where we do have an
all-sufficient record of his will.
Absolutely.
When I look at Psalm 19, and there are several other verses, I'm sure we're going to get
to some of those, Acts 17 for example, maybe even Romans chapter 1, it seems that looking
at this Psalm first helps us to see that the, as you were stating, that general revelation
can lead us to the special revelation, which helps us to have a greater idea of what we're
looking at and why we can trust those things that we are seeing.
Right, uh and furthermore in special revelation, that is the Bible, we do learn that God
did indeed give us additional information about how to be with him for all eternity and
more details about his will that we should be abiding by in this life.
Absolutely.
Okay, so if you would just go ahead and ah Pretend that I'm just starting a square one.
And so where would we go from here?
We're opening our Bibles.
We've you told us about Psalm 19.
So where do we go?
Well, we continue on and uh we look uh at the passage, 1 Peter 3.15 is a good next step,
and that tells us about the purpose of this very study that we're engaged in.
This passage reads, sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and always be ready to give a
defense.
Note that word, a defense.
to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.
Reading 1 Peter 3.15 out of the New King James and that word defense behind it in the
original language that is the Greek language.
The word defense is a translation of the Greek word apologia and that does mean defense.
Paul for example, excuse me, in Philippians 1 verse 7
refers to the defense of the gospel.
The word also was used in a court context.
Festus, the Roman official, talked about in the book of Acts, explains that a Roman has
the legal right to have an opportunity of defense before his accusers.
That's found in Acts 25 verse 16.
And so then the purpose of this study
is to carry out 1 Peter chapter 3 verse 15.
So when we're looking at this, defending the truth, defending the gospel, that is to, I
like that court analogy, so we're going to speak up for, speak on behalf of, to
demonstrate the veracity of the truth, of the claims that are made in the Scriptures.
And so when we're looking to do that, we need to first, I would say, be informed.
So a person needs to know the Scriptures so that he can defend the Scriptures.
And be aware of some of these things.
And not just to be able to defend,
only from the scriptures because there's a sense in which a person may say, I don't
believe that the Bible is relevant or true.
So then I guess the study that we're engaged in now helps to build a bridge to get there.
uh As I'll indicate as we proceed, there is a logical sequence involved here that we're
trying to follow.
That is, first of all, God exists and then the Bible is the Word of God and then we look
into the Bible and determine what it has to say.
So we want to follow that sequence and again we'll talk about that in more detail in just
a few moments.
But I just want to point out again that the word defense there
in 1st Peter 3.15 and in its context in that passage is the purpose of this study.
That is, we're intending to carry out that passage.
Sounds good.
Okay, so now we're of the mind we need to defend.
Alright, set the stage for us.
Well, we continue with some other passages that confirm what is said in 1 Peter 3.15 to
begin with.
Another passage along these lines is Isaiah 1 verse 18a, that is the first part of that
verse, and this reads, now and let us reason together, says the Lord.
Another passage along these lines is the challenge to the reader that the scripture boldly
gives in 1 Thessalonians.
1 Thessalonians 5 verse 21, test all things, hold fast that which is good, as it's
translated in the New King James.
The American Standard Version of 1901 translates that, prove all things, hold fast that
which is good.
So here we have a variety of passages just confirming one another and repeating the point
that we are under obligation to defend the existence of God in the Bible.
and so forth.
In other words, we are making a defense of biblical Christianity.
So this really flies in the face of those that would say, you know, Christianity just has
kind of wishful, hopeful thinking.
No, the Bible gives us explicit detail that we are to actually put forward the defense.
Test things, make sure that they're true.
So that's a bold uh exaltation and requirement that the Bible is giving to the reader
which is exactly what we would expect if in fact the Bible is what it claims to be.
Absolutely, so this this goes again some of the various of the religious groups that would
posit that you just have to kind of feel it and know it in your heart No, God is saying I
want you to put me to the test I want you to put these things test and be able to prove
and demonstrate
Exactly.
And that gets, uh, that, dovetails back into the, the point about, general revelation.
That is, are part of general revelation and God has made us such that, he gave us gray
matter, so to speak, and expects us to use it in determining that he exists and has
revealed his will to us in the scriptures.
I uh love that the Bible challenges us to one, know and learn the word, but then to be
able to put forth that defense so that this is not a thing where it's just subjective.
This is something that we can put to the test.
We can experiment, if you will, to demonstrate that the things that we are putting forth
that the Bible puts forth are in fact true, reasonable, logical, and therefore able to be
trusted.
That's right.
And furthermore, this also shows then that uh that we have a responsibility to engage in
that.
Right.
So we can't just kind of let things fly under the radar, if you will, when we hear various
things.
We need to be able to stand up, be bold and courageous.
That's not necessarily meaning that we should be harsh or cruel, but that we should be
strong, informed, and prepared to be able to bring this defense.
Exactly, which again brings us back to 1 Peter 3.15, which teaches that we are to defend
with meekness and fear, to give reason for it.
So we want to have a proper attitude about it.
We do want to do that, along with the fact that there is content that we can learn and put
into logical arguments as a means of persuasion.
That's what the Scriptures is affirming here.
think this is also, you can make the point also that for a believer, when you are putting
on Christ in baptism, when you choose to obey the gospel, you are also choosing and
volunteering to learn and to grow because this passage says that we should be always
ready.
And so this is not saying, well, after five or 10 years, so we should be prepared to
defend that which we know to be true.
And that's why we have the privilege and the opportunity during this series of studies to
help people to do just that.
That is to provide such evidence.
Okay, so now we've got some of the initial groundwork laid.
So now where do we go from here?
Well, let's take a look at the effects of this study or what the effects that should
result from this study.
For people who acknowledge truth, this pursuit that we're engaging in right now can lead
them to Jesus Christ.
Also studying this edifies, that is builds up the church and God wants us to build up
people with truth.
Paul says in Ephesians chapter four, verse 29,
word proceed out of your mouth but what is good for necessary edification.
Again, edification means to build up.
And then over in Romans 15 verse 2 we read, each of us please his neighbor for his good
leading to edification.
And then also first Thessalonians 5 11 comfort each other and edify one another.
So that's what we want to do in this study.
Absolutely.
And those are great passages because the Word of God isn't just like an encyclopedia
necessarily, but it does enhance the life of believers and it does enrich the lives and
improve the lives of those that adhere to it and the community there around.
And we would expect that, uh given that the Bible is the Word of God who loves us and is
giving us guidance into uh life with Him in the hereafter, we would expect that uh it
would uh give us such exhortations and boldly challenge us to know and acknowledge these
truths.
Yeah, these are sort of, at least the way I envision them, sort of blocks in the wall that
help to build up this case as we're trying to make it.
If God is good and he is, then we would expect that his word would teach goodness and his
word would bring about goodness in the people that adhere to his word.
And therefore we can see that uh it's reasonable and logical to know that the God who puts
forth his word brings about good in the people that adhere to
wonderful and very much in harmony of course with biblical teaching.
Yeah.
Okay.
So it leads us to Christ and it builds up those that are around us, this kind of a study
does.
ah So with that said, again, now let's continue this pace.
So, you know, what would be our next step moving forward?
we'd raise the question of how do we defend?
How do we give a defense?
That is, how do we implement 1 Peter chapter 3 verse 15 and these other passages like
Isaiah 118 and Comma Letus Reason together, how do we go about doing this?
Well, the All-Sufficient Bible shows us how.
If we go back to 1 Peter 3 15, the passage itself indicates how to give the defense.
Notice
It says to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you
with meekness and fear.
Now our hope is being with God forever and ever in heaven.
According to Colossians 1 verse 5, the hope which is laid up for you in heaven.
then 1 Thessalonians 5, 8, the hope of salvation.
then Titus 1, 2, the hope of eternal life.
So upon what are we to base this hope?
Well, go back to the passage, 1st Peter 3.15.
Again, it reads, But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts.
That word sanctify means to put it aside, that is, make it special way down deep in you.
And always be ready to give a defense and apologia to everyone who asks you a reason for
the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.
So a reason
for the hope that is in you.
this is affirming is be able to give a reason then that leads to the hope that we can
have.
This is giving an offense.
This is how to do it.
We ought to be able to give adequate reasons that leads to the conclusion that we do have
this hope.
And the hope that the Bible talks about is not wishful thinking, but rather has the
meaning as Joseph Thayer
puts it in his uh Greek English dictionary, the word is elpis, E-L-P-I-S, and it means
have a desire plus an expectation.
So in order to avoid gullibility and show that we're not being gullible here, we ought to
be able to provide adequate evidence.
So we would, if I could use these terms, would say this defense, the two ingredients, if
you would, would be that we would be able to give a reason, so this is the explanation,
and that we'd be able to also articulate what that hope is.
So we would say, here are the reasons that I have this specific hope, explaining what that
hope would be, salvation in Christ.
and so we should be able to provide adequate reason.
This is otherwise known by logicians as evidence.
Adequate evidence are sometimes called premises that lead to the respective conclusion.
Okay, so then uh moving forward, so we know what the ingredients are, if I can just
continue to use those terms, this reason, this hope.
So how do we build that out?
Well, we might look at the scriptures once again here and go over to Acts chapter 17.
This also gives us information on how to carry out the mandate of 1st Peter 3.15.
Notice that how Paul did it in that passage.
Here we have a window that is given to us in the scriptures through which we can see how
they did it back in the first century.
this passage reads Acts 17, 1-3.
They came to Thessalonica where there was a synagogue of the Jews.
Then Paul, his custom was, went into them and for three sabbaths, that would be three
weeks, three weeks, reasoned with them from the scriptures, explaining and demonstrating,
note, demonstrating, proving, that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead."
So in this particular context, the Apostle Paul is looking back into the, and citing uh
various Old Testament scriptures that predict that the Messiah, the Christ, will come.
He'll have to suffer and he will be raised from the dead.
That constitutes evidence, that is the Old Testament passages that he cites here having to
do with that subject matter, the Messiah is coming.
he'll suffer and rise again from the dead.
That constitutes the evidence or the reason or the premises leading to the conclusion that
indeed Christ did have to suffer.
He did suffer and he did rise from the dead.
That's a great place to look.
In fact, in Acts chapter 17, this is one of my favorite passages along these lines because
in King James, he reasoned with them opening and alleging.
So it's not that he's just making claims.
ah He is trying to demonstrate to them from the scripture.
No question about it.
That word does mean demonstrate, which is in other words for prove, proving, which is
exactly what 1st Peter chapter 3 verse 15 again is saying, be able to give a reason that
is adequate evidence that from which we can deduce the respective conclusion.
One of the, in this same chapter, there's another passage that I'd love to appeal to, you
know, starting there where we began in Psalm 19, showing, you know, that there is a
general revelation, but it does lead to this specific revelation from the Word of God.
And Paul does a wonderful job if you follow his art throughout the scriptures as he
reasons with people, helps them to begin where they are to understand the truth of the
Word of God.
So in that same chapter, Acts 17,
going over to verse 26 where he would say, uh
we ought not to think that the God here that's like unto gold or silver, stone, engraving,
and man's device.
So in that text, he's trying to help these same, uh we're trying to help individuals to
see that you can reason your way to God.
Now they were off on some things major, excuse me, but what he's trying to help them to
know that there are some things that you can see, can know what God has done to
demonstrate that he is findable, if you will.
Exactly.
So what we have in that chapter in Acts 17 are two audiences.
The first few verses, the audience are the Jews who already believe that God exists, the
God spoken of in the Scriptures, and they also believe that the Scriptures that they had
at that time, namely the Old Testament Scriptures as we call them today, the Hebrew
Scriptures,
do uh provide evidence to lead the Jews to the conclusion that Jesus of Nazareth is the
Christ.
And then later on in that chapter, the audience shifts to pagans, philosophers, and here
Paul uses a little different approach in that he appeals to natural revelation to them so
that they also can conclude that the living and true Bible God is the
Absolutely, after we've kind of laid this foundation where he's talking about in Acts 17,
Paul reasons, he alleges, he demonstrates, he shows from the scriptures, so he's not just
making a baseless claim.
So where would we tread from here?
Well, we could go to another example in the Scriptures, which gives us a window through
which we can see how Christians in the first century persuaded people to come to Jesus
Christ.
And that would be in Acts chapter 2.
Notice what Peter did there.
In Acts chapter 2, verses 1 through 35 and verse 39, we have eight statements of evidence,
that is, eight reasons or premises that
that Peter gives and then the conclusion from that is stated in verse 36 which reads, and
the word therefore is a conclusion indicator word, Therefore, let all the house of Israel
know assurably, note, that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both the Lord and
Christ.
So again, we see that the first century Christians provided adequate evidence leading to
the conclusion at hand.
And he did so uh from the scriptures for them to be able to see for themselves.
And again, that goes back to the defense.
He's not just saying, take my word for it because I hung around Jesus.
He's appealing to a standard for them.
oh It would be a wonderful exercise to go back sometime, maybe our listeners could do this
on their own, to go back and look very carefully at Acts chapter 2 and notice the reasons
that he gives.
He gives eight lines of reasoning in Acts 2, 1 through 35 and a little more in verse 39.
All of that constitutes the reasons, there are eight that I count, of different uh
characterizations.
So you've got
the reliable testimony appealed to, you've got the scriptures appealed to, fulfillment of
prediction, you've got the uh actual witness on the part of many of the resurrected
Christ.
There are several lines of reasoning that he specifies and he's telling us, the scriptures
here are telling us, that uh given the truthfulness of these eight statements of evidence,
these eight reasons, it does necessarily follow
with certainty, know assuredly that God has made this Jesus both Lord and Christ.
So this seems to follow specifically the 1 Peter 3.15.
You give the reason and then you can lay out the hope where he tells them exactly what
they need to do and how to get there.
the mandate expressed in 1st Peter 3.15 is being carried out by the Apostle Paul more than
once in Acts 17 and Peter is doing the same thing of course in Acts chapter 2 showing us
how to carry out 1st Peter 3 verse 15.
If I may just add a little more here.
So according to the Scriptures we need to cite adequate evidence that proves Bible
teachings are true.
You can picture that as two blocks
the top block you can identify as evidence, a label as evidence equals premises and then a
downward arrow from there to a second block and in that second block you have a
conclusion.
All of that together is called a sound argument and that is what we have to do in
defending biblical Christianity.
Mm-hmm.
You know, it almost kind of reminds me of a mathematical equation.
You know, you're putting in the numbers on the front end and it equals here.
And so if you put the evidence in correctly, you will always come with the right
conclusion.
no question about it that it has to be structured in such a way that given that all the
premises are true, the conclusion necessarily is true.
that uh logical sequence is demonstrated time and time again in the scriptures and is the
exaltation to the reader of 1st Peter 3.15.
Right, so we've got the framework.
Here's what we're doing.
We're trying to assert that the scriptures are true.
We can know this from general and specific revelation.
We know that as believers that we are responsible to give a defense.
And now we know what that is and now we know how to do it based on these passages to which
we've turned.
So where do we go now from here?
Well, just one, one point if I could make before we do that, that is, uh there's a
distinction logicians make between a cert and assertion and a proof.
Uh, and a sir, a person can assert anything.
A person can assert that is say a contradiction, but, the biblical requirement is that we
prove
not just make an assertion, but we actually prove by giving adequate reasons.
And this then gives rise to the question, what is the basic theme of the Bible?
That is to say, if we were to boil down the entire Bible into a single statement, then
what would that statement be?
Now this is important because uh once we identify the basic theme of the Bible, then we
know what we are to defend.
And so then if you were to uh
boil the whole Bible down into a single statement, it would be along these lines, Jesus
Christ is the Son of God and to be saved from the consequence of sin, one must believe in,
love, and obey Him.
And then following that is what is the basic argument then in the Bible that has this
basic theme as its conclusion.
Now when we say argument we're not talking about fussing.
wrangling.
We're talking about argument in the logical sense that is a true pursuit of truth.
So what is the basic argument then that has this basic theme as its conclusion?
Well that argument would be along these lines.
Since God exists and the Bible is the Word of God and the Bible teaches this theme, then
therefore this theme is a true statement.
I know the logical sequence there.
First you want to show that God exists and then that the Bible is his word and then you
get into the Bible and see what the Bible teaches with respect to uh one or more
particular doctrines that God is presenting when he's presenting his case.
So in fact, what is the argument that shows any doctrine the Bible is true?
Well, it'd be the same structure.
If God exists and the Bible is the Word of God and the Bible teaches some doctrine, call
it X, when God is presenting His case, then it would follow that that doctrine is true.
Now that would have to be the case because if indeed the Bible is the Word of God, a being
who knows everything and never lies, then anything that the Bible teaches when God is
presenting His case would have to be true.
What conclusions then are we interested in defending?
Well, there'd be a multiplicity of them with adequate evidence.
Well, one would be provide adequate evidence that therefore God exists.
Another adequate evidence that therefore the Bible is God's Word.
Another evidence that forces the conclusion therefore Jesus is deity.
Another would be provide adequate evidence structured in such a way that it follows that
therefore Jesus rose from the dead.
And also of course uh adequate evidence that shows that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and
that to be saved one must believe in love and obey him.
Now when we're making these arguments, ah we're not just hoping that an individual would
take our word for it.
We want to do like we turned in Acts chapter two.
We want to be able to open up our Bibles and we want to be able to demonstrate from the
scriptures that all of these arguments are in fact true so when we open up our Bibles we
can demonstrate that God does exist, that the Bible is in fact God's word, it's inspired
from the Lord, that Jesus is in fact who he claims to be, deity, the son of God, the son
of man.
And that not only so did he preach and do miracles, but he also rose from the dead, that
he ascended to the right hand of God, and therefore Jesus is in fact the son of God to be
saved.
We have to believe in him.
So we want to be able to show all of those things.
So we're not just giving a defense that a soul goes to heaven if it's faithful to Christ.
We wanna be able to show all of those things because the hope is dependent that Jesus is
who we claim to be.
Well, exactly.
And furthermore, we would find that, uh, that, uh, the Christian life is a, is a life
that, uh, that ought to preoccupy us all the way through this, this world.
That is to say the purpose of this life is to, glorify God and to live in such a way that
he is glorified and that we can accomplish going to heaven as he
as he guides us through his word.
it's an entire life that we should be dedicating to him.
And then we are majoring in majors and not majoring in minors.
And furthermore, these exultations and requirements that we look at in the scriptures that
we have looked at show that uh each of us is to be an independent thinker on this.
Don't take my word for it, don't take your word for it.
Now we have the blessing and privilege of being, as it were, like earthen vessels as a uh
means of bringing people to God through Christ.
And that is a wonderful blessing that we have.
But uh each person must be an independent thinker and draw the conclusion themselves from
the adequate evidence and bear in mind that God has designed each of us.
so that we can do that when we do have adequate evidence.
Yeah, and I like what you said.
We don't want anyone to take our word for it.
Our goal here is not to say, listen to me because I am more eloquent than the next person.
Because there is a speaker out there who is not a believer who is quite eloquent and witty
and charming and humorous and all those things.
And we're not asking anyone to believe us because we say it.
We want to go open up the Bible.
We want to study the scriptures so people can see it for themselves, read it for
themselves.
I couldn't tell you how many times I've studied with individuals, Brother George, and
they're able to read something for themselves and mid passage they almost pause because
they're realizing the truth, not because I told them, not because the Church of Christ
believes this, but because they can read it, it's been preserved in the Word of God for
them to be able to hear, read, know, and understand for themselves.
And that's why we have in Scripture in the first century we notice that after people do
the very thing that we're talking about, teach people these, teach this evidence, show
them this evidence, then they go on their way rejoicing.
Absolutely and one of the great things I loved about Acts chapter 2 where we appealed is
that very often the narrative you know will go through certain verses in Paul's but the
individuals when they Asked you know, what shall we do?
Many brethren, what shall we do?
This is in the middle of Peter's sermon and so upon them hearing this evidence They were
so compelled to respond that they almost interrupted this sermon to hate
What do we now need to do based on this evidence that you presented that we believe, that
we know to be true?
Because the Bible tells us later on that same text that he continued to exhort them with
many other words.
He's telling them to save yourselves from the centaur generation.
But that just indicates that there's more to the sermon.
And when they were able to examine the evidence for themselves, mull it over for
themselves, roll it over in their own minds, they came to the conclusion that God wants us
all to come to.
Indeed, in verse 36 we have the conclusion stated again, Therefore let all the house of
Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both the Lord and
Christ.
And then verse 37 says that they were teachers that they were moved.
They acknowledged that they in fact had crucified the Messiah and they want to know what,
like, you know, wringing their hands and raising their hands.
Then what should we do?
We've crucified the Messiah.
And of course he tells them what to do in verse 38, repent every one of you in the name of
Jesus Christ, repent and be baptized every one of you in name of Jesus Christ unto the
remission of your sins.
Absolutely, and there is that hope being able to be saved and free from sin.
This has been a tremendous look at introduction I know there may be more but in this first
episode I think we've been able to really lay down the foundation for people who want to
say I want to be able to defend the truth I want to be able to be more sturdy in my both
my understanding and my ability to go out and tell individuals about Jesus So brother
George with this
Kind of being our first episode, how would you maybe summarize this and how would we look
forward to the next episode?
What are some things that we can look forward to?
Well, today we've looked at some introductory matters that began with 1 Peter chapter 3
verse 15.
Actually before that the two passages in particular over in Psalm 19 that talks about
natural revelation and then special revelation, the scriptures, and then also in 1 Peter 3
15 in particular telling us, giving us the mandate that we ought to defend.
biblical Christianity with adequate reason.
then we proceeded to give additional material.
All of that is by way of introduction to this series of lessons on Christian apologetics.
That word apologetics again appears in 1 Peter 3.15.
That is defending biblical Christianity.
We want to say a few more things, however.
We're not quite done with some introductory material.
And I'd like for us to continue, God willing, next class.
and continue with the introductory preliminary material.
And that is we'll look at some helpful terms that people find useful.
We'll look at what I call the double edge of 1 Thessalonians 521.
Our hearers may want to take a look at that passage ahead of time.
1 Thessalonians 521, it has a double edge to it.
And another topic I'd like for us to examine is what I call the spectrum of belief in God.
And then also show the affirmation of natural theology, which is a term that just refers
to the general revelation of God.
This is affirmed in Romans one 20, which does teach that there's adequate evidence in the
Bible.
I'm sorry.
Adequate evidence in the natural world for anyone who loves the truth.
to deduce from that, without excuse, that God exists.
We'll talk about a cliffhanger.
I love what you mentioned about 1 Thessalonians 521, this double edge of the law of
rationality.
I'm looking forward to hearing about that.
This has been a great episode for our first episode of our third season, which is going to
be based solely on lessons on Christian apologetics.
Brother George, I appreciate you for the things you've been able to share today.
I'm really looking forward to the things we're able to talk about next time.
Well, thank you for tuning in to the Harvester podcast, season three.
Episode 1 and we look forward to joining you next time.