Date post: | 03-Jun-2018 |
Category: |
Documents |
Upload: | chalcedon-presbyterian-church |
View: | 219 times |
Download: | 0 times |
of 3
8/12/2019 1994 Issue 2 - A Living Apologetic: A Defense of the Faith That Glorifies God - Counsel of Chalcedon
1/3
Introduction
Preparation for a good defense
of
the Faith must necessarily include the
self-conscious development
of
godly
attitudes
and
acrions, both in general
as
well as
during the apologetic
encounter
with
the unbeliever.
Defending
the
Faith is a comprehensive
task for every Christian. While
it
is
convenient to
subdivide the field
of
apologetics,
'
it
s imperative that these
subdivisions of study and practice be
reunited to
perform
the
overall task
in
'
harmony
. The
plant
may be dissected
in
the
laboratory
and
each
part
(petal,
stem, leaf, toot etc.) may be analyzed
and
studied. Yet,
the
plant'S beauty
may
only be fully appreciated when
viewed as a whole
in
tsnaturaI
COntext.
It is easy to be a good technician of
the parts while
at the
same time failing
to
appreciate
the
telos
of
the whole.
Presuppositionalapologeticsdeman< s
more than the comprehension of one's
intellectual
Starting
point;
it also
demands
that
each defender of the
faith appreciate
and
consfstendy apply
the various implications
of
such a
start ing pOint. The SCriptures require
believers to function
presupposi-
tionally at every level, including the
heart,
the
mind
the
attitude, and the
outward
conduct of
the individual
defender of the faith. Faithfulness
to
our God and
His revelation,
which
is
our
presupposition, is the overriding
objective
of
all Christian confrontation
with the w
orld
.
As sad
as
it is to see Christians
attempt to
defend
the Faith with an
unsound apologetic method, it catL be
even more tragic to see persons
who
,
demonstrate an
intellectually
and
theologically solid defense and yet
render that very defense null and void
through the inconsistency of their
inward attitudes
and
outward condnct.
This may manifest itself through the
obvious inconsistency
of
an immoral
or
ungodly life
in
general ,
or it
may,
in
a ' moment,
undermine
the defense
through the arrogance
and
harshness
of the
one arguing for the faith.
Just
s
,
the
verbal. intellectual,
and
logical
defense
of Christianit
y must be
prepared
wi th a consistent
commitme
nt to
a
pr
esuppositional
approach, likewise the attitude
and
outward conduc t
of
he defender must
be
prepared
with a '
consistent
commitment
to
biblical presupposi
tionalism.
Preparation
The
apostle
Peter addressed
a
common Obstacle for believers as they
encounter
th
e unbelieving world
intimidation. The arrogance
and
,foolishness
of
unbelief asserts itself
in
.
the face
of
believers, leading many
Christians to shrink away from the
apologetic task.
1
Peter
3:13 H
says:
And Who is
there to hann
you
if
you
prOVe zealous faT
what
Isgood? But even
if
you
shauld suffer OT the sahe of
righteousnes
s
you
ani blessed.
And
do
notjear their
intimidation,
and
do
not be
troubled.
,The cultural elite
of
he universities,
media, sdences, arts,
and
political
realm, along
with organized interest
groups such s feminists, abortionists,
and
homosexuals, continually seek to
o b ~ r t Booth tJ pa tor o
Covenant
Reformed Chim h of texarkana, Arksnt;iis
24 THE OUNSEL of halcedon
l Match,
994
blame sodety's
iUs on the
Christian .
faith. They have
become
like Goliath,
intimidating God's people: " .. the
Philistine said, 1 defy
the
ranks ojIsrael
this day;
give
mea
man
thatwemayfight
together.'
When
Saul and all Israelheard
these
.words
oj the
Philistine,
they were
dismayed and
greatly
ajraid
1
Sam
.
17:10-11).
The believer may
lso
find
these intimidating Goliaths in the form
of
a relative,
a
neighbor, a co-worker,
or even a friend.
The
Lord still seeks
men
"after
His own
heart" to take
on
these pseudO-giants for His namesake .
More
than offering
words
of
comfort, Peter commands believers
not
to be intimidated
by
their opponents.
Christians occupy the high ground,
not
the unbeliever. The unbeliever is
all veneer and no substance. Like
the
wizard
in
The Wizard of
Oz,
the
unbeliever
is
bluster
and
illusion, and
he wants the Christian to "pay no
attention
to the man behind
the
curtain." The believer must defend
the
faith
not
by
shrinking away
and
avoiding confroritation,
but
rather
by
self-consdously preparing himself for
ahead on confrontation wi th unbelief.
Peter directs believers.to combat
the attacks of
un
be
ie
vets
by
preparing
themselves
to
defend
the
faith in four
areas. Peter writes:
But
sanctify
Christ as Lord in your
hearts
always being rea4Y
t mahe
a
defense to every one who sks yau to give
an account
Jor the hope that
Is
in you,
yet
with
gentleness
and
reverence;
andheep
a
good
conscience so
thatthe
thing in which
you
are slandered,
those
who
revile
yaur
good behavior
in Christ
may be put
to
shame
l
Peter
3:15-16).
First, the believer must "sanctify
Christ as Lord"
in
their hearts. This
submission to the authority
of Christ
over every area
of our
lives provides'
the epistemic ,and ethical , oundation'
for the apologetic
task.
Secorid, we
must ready ourselves
to
make a verbal .
"defense (apologia) to every one
who
8/12/2019 1994 Issue 2 - A Living Apologetic: A Defense of the Faith That Glorifies God - Counsel of Chalcedon
2/3
asks. While this is generally the area Christian's life. Therefore,
every
area permitted to approach the facts, along
of
focus
when we think of apologetics of our lives must
be
prepared for the with the unbeliever, in a neutral
i.e.,
the
intellectualdefense of he
faith,
apologetic encounter
with
the fashion, then why is the Christian
I would suggest that the intellectual unbelieving world.
Any
aspect ofthe expected to bringChristian conduct to
aspect of
apologetiCS
. never stands believer's interaction wi th the such a neutral meeting? Topresume
isolated from the other necessary unbelieverLe.,intellectual, attitudinal, that the Christian may enter the
preparations. Third, the believer, in or behavioral, thatisneg1ectedandnot neutral zone when it comes to the
order
to
properly defend the
faith,
brought under the Lordship of Christ intellect, and yet simultaneously
must show fonh a godly attitude. His will diminish the effectiveness of the remain firmly planted in distinctively
manner of dealing with the unbeliever believer's apologetic. Godly attitude Christian ethics proves
to
be a
must be with gentleness and and conduct without an intellectual contradiction. f the apologist has a
reverence, not arrogance
or
hostility. defense
falls;
intellectual preparation distinctively Christianway ofthinking,
Finally, Petertells us that then a distinctively
the unbeliever will be
r, ::::;'1
Christian ethic will
defeated,
brought
to every area ofour IIvee muet be necessarily be evident.
shame, or made to blush Neutral thinking cannot
by means of our godly prepared
for the
apologetic encounter justify a distinctively
conduct. A godly life is with
the
unbelieving world. Any aepect Christian ethic. A man's
difficult for the ethical conduct must
unbelievertoarguewith.
of
the
bellever'e Interaction with
the
either
presuppose
the
It stands insharp conrrast unbeliever,
I.e.
Intellectual,
attitudinal
truth or falSity of the
with his own manner of Christian faith.
2
living and
also
confirms, or behavioral, that Is neglected
and
not In faCt, thinking is a
in
outward fonn, that
brought
under the Lordehlp
of
Chrlet
form
of conduct - it is
which he lmows
in
his will diminish the effectlveneee
of
something we do. To lust
hean ofhearts concerning after a woman in the mind
the character of God.
the
bellever'e apologetic.
is to
be guilty of adultery
If the Christian is
to
(Matt. 5:28). Ifwewereto
be genuinely prepared
for
abandon our submission '
theapologetictask,eachoftheseareas without godly attitude and conduct
to
the epistemic Lordship of Christ
of
his life must coordinate with one will also end in
failure.
In
Romans
lov r our minds in order to occupy a
another to .produce a consistent
we
see the inevitable result of the neutral position,evenforamoment,
testimony to the truth. A claim that rejection of the Christian worldview is we would leave ourselves ethically
Christ is the epistemic Lord must, of that those who reject the truth of severed from our moral anchor. The
necessity, be coupled with attitudes Christianity become corrupt in their presuppositional apologetic contin
and conduct that demonstrate the personal conduct. Attitudes of uouslyproVidestheethicalfoundation
genuineness of such a
claim. Paul
not hostility, arrogance, and rebellion in for the believer's interaction with
only says the SCriptures
.will give
you the unbeliever produce immoral and unbelievers by constantly demanding
wisdom (2
Tim.
3:
15) but that they unethical behavior. submission of every aspect of the
will
also
equip you for every good videntialism Inadequate _ believer's life to the authority of God's
work (2 Tim. 3:17). &ing able
to
Word. The allegedly neutral mind of
intellectuallydefend the faith without Presuppositionalism the evidentialist has no obligation
godly attitudes and conduct
can
only
Necessary
(according to his own claim of
undermine and contradict any
As
those who profess to own neutrality)
to
produce any ethical
intellectualclaims to
possess
the truth. Christian presuppositions,
we
must standard at all . If the thinking is
Jesus made it clear that our obedience neutral, then so
is
the conduct of
the
manifest the corresponding godly
providedevidenceofourloveforHim: conduct that
flows from
such biblical thinker.
If
you love Me,
you
will keep
my presuppositions. The evidentialist
commandments
(John
14:
15). approach to apologetics cannot
The Christian faith is a worldview;
it encompasses the totality of the
consistentlydemandChristian conduct
from the apologist. f he Christian is
Theapologetic task is focused upon
the believing mind
as
it confronts the
unbelieving mind. Neither the mind
of the believer nor the mind of the
March, 994 THE COUNSEL
of
Chalcedon 25
8/12/2019 1994 Issue 2 - A Living Apologetic: A Defense of the Faith That Glorifies God - Counsel of Chalcedon
3/3
unbe ieveropej1l,tes
a
pan:frOIl mew
hol
e
person. O n e ~ thougl:\ts and actions are
related are cause and effect
For as
he thinkS Within hi17tSelf so he
is (Prov.
23:7).
Paul notes this
Connection inCOlosstaris 1:21-22:And
although you
were
JOi7nerly alienated
andhosn1e
in
mind,
engagedin
evil
deeds,
yet He
has recondled you
in
HiS
fleshly
body thtough death,ln
ordertD
present
you
beJore
Him holy dnd blameless and
beyond reproqch.
,The "hostile" mind
is necessarily' "engaged iIi evil deeds."
In contlast, the "reconciled"
mind is
necessarily "holy' and bllimeless and
beyond
reproach."
The inseparable connectiol1,of our
words
and our
lives is assumed,as the
logical consequent of he genuine work
of God. Spoken words and arguments
are powerless and empty Without a
correspondingbehavior being evident
in the one who bears the message.
The effective apologist for the faith
must, conduct himself toward the
unbeliever in such a way that his
behavior proves
to be an
example of
bOth the knowledge of God and the
grace
of
God. s Paul recollects his
first encolinterWith the Thessalonians,
while they were still unbelieving
idolaters, he says: " .
Natural and Special Revelation For ourgospel did
not
come to
you
in
word
only,
but also lit power and in the
God s
words ' (Le:, His special
Holy Spirit and with full
conviction; just
revelatiOn),
and
God's actions (God's
asyouknowwhatkindofmenweproved
natural revelation)
do
not contradict
to
be amongyou for your
sake. rou also
one
another. ' Both God's words
and
became
imitators
ofus
and
of
the Lord,
actions
stand
'inmutual support of one
having
received
the
word in much
another
and
beartestimonyto the truth.
tribulation with the
joy of
he
Holy Spirit,
This fact of God's consistenCy
in
word
so
that
you became
an example
to
all the
and deed is
the'
very 'point that the believers
n Macedonia and
in Achaia.
presuppositional apologist seeks to
For the word
of
the
Lord has
sounded
drive
home to
the unbeliever..
We forth from you, not only
in
Macedonia
argue that the only way
to
explain the
and Achaia, but
also in
every place your
world in which we live ' Le., God's , faith toward God has gone
forth,
so that
created order)
is
tei
presuppose the
we
have
no
need
to
sayaltything.
Forthey
ttilth
of God's Word.
When
God's
themselves report about u what kind of
created order (Le., His works) are reception
we
had with you,
and how you
understood
via His special revelation
fr
(Le.; His ' Word), then the truth is
turned
to God om idols
to
serve
the
accurately
r e ~ a l e d
" LikeWise, the
living
God (1 Thess.
1:5-9).
apologist'sworks (Le., his attitude
and
The apostle goes on to demonstrate
conduct).must be ,consistent With his how the attitude and conduct of hose
words Le., his verbal defense of the who had come
to
present the gospel
faith). We might thiilk of he believer's gave credibilityandpowerto the words
conduct
'
as
being analogous to God's ' which they spoke
to
them:
natural revelation,
and
the believer's But we proved to be
genae
among
words
as
analogous to God's Spedal :
you,
as
a
nursing
mother
tenderly
Celres
revelation. Only when the two fortns for
her
own children.
I;laving
thus a
ond
ofrevelation pOintin the same direction
a f f e c t i o ~ f o r you,
we were well pleased to
is an
effective defense projected to the
Impart to
you
not
ol\ly
the
gospel
of
God
unbeliever. The apologist needs not
but
also
our own lives,
because
you had
o.nly to analogically "t
hink
.God s become very dear
to
us. For you recall,
thoughts after
fiim
,
but
he must also
brethren,
our labor and hardship,
ow
analogically conduct himself in the
working night
and day
so as
not to be a
ways of God. ,
I burden to any
of
you, we
proclaimed to
26 , TilE
O U N ~ E L
of h a c ~ d o n , March, 1994
you the gospel of God ... And for this
reason
we
also constantly thank God
that when
you received
from
us the
word
of
God's
message, you accepted
itnotas
the word
of
men,
butforwhat
t
really
Is, the word
of
God,
which
also
performs its work In you
who
belleve
l
Thess.
2:7-9,
13).
Paul's laborWith the Thessalonians,
while they were yet idolaters, certainly
involved
both
evangelistic
and
apologetic work. He reminds the
Thessalonian Christians that it
was
the
attitude andcondUCt of hose who had
brought them the message of God's
Word that gave power and credibility
to
'
what they had to say. Their lives
testified that their words were indeed
the truth. Dr. Cornelieus Van Til
observed:
"What Scripture emphasizes is that
even apart \Tomspedal revelation, men
ought to see that God is the Creator of
the world."'
LikeWise, redeemedand regenerate
men, apart from. ,their spoken word,
should
evidence the truth of that
redemption and.regeneration. Both
the words and works
of
God, and the
wor