Apologetics and The Whole Counsel of God

Apologetics and The Whole Counsel of God

Introduction 
When Faith Defenders was first established, we recognized that if we failed to plan what we were going to do as an apologetics ministry, we were actually planning to fail.  Instead of aimlessly wandering around in our study of the Scriptures, we decided to develop a comprehensive plan that would give us the scope of the Biblical topics which we should cover.

YOUR VISION 
Your “vision” is composed of the goals which you set before you.  These goals provide you with the REASONS why you must do or not do certain things.  They also provide you with the MOTIVATION to persevere in the face of trials and suffering.  The desire to reach your goals will enable you to sacrifice willingly to see your “vision” fulfilled.  You will gladly spend your time, energy and money in order to see your goals realized.

I. THE NATURE OF YOUR GOALS 
There are various kinds of goals which make up a person’s vision.  We must understand what our goals are.

Short range or long-range goals: We must be careful not to expect the immediate fulfillment of all our goals.  Instant gratification is not the Christian way.  Some goals are fulfilled only after a long time of hard work or suffering.  We often experience failed expectations because we wrongly identified long-range goals as short-range goals.

Consistent or inconsistent goals:  If we fail to identify what our goals are, then we will be inconsistent in our goals.  One goal may actually cancel out another goal.  Thus we will experience failure and frustration as our goals fight against each other.

Material or immaterial goals: The child of God gives the greatest priority to the invisible goals of spirituality such as love, courage, justice, humility, boldness, kindness, etc.  The goal of material wealth is proper as long as it is secondary (I Tim. 6:6-10, 17-19).  Your character is more important than your possessions.

Comprehensive or incomplete goals:  The Lordship of Christ is over all of life.  No aspect of life is neutral or secular.  Everything should be ordered according to the truths, values and priorities of Scripture.  Thus in this apologetics Class we will deal with ALL of life.

Yourself or others as goals:  We must not be self-centered or selfish in our goals.  We must keep in mind that we exist to serve God and others (I Cor. 6:19-20).  When we start to live for ourselves instead of living for Christ and His kingdom, we fall into grievous sins and bring shame to the Lord.

This life or eternity as goals:  This life is so short that the priority of preparing for eternity must influence every decision (James 4:13-17).

II. THE ORIGINS OF YOUR GOALS 
Your goals come from somewhere.  They do not just pop into existence without an origin or source.  We must ask ourselves from WHERE do our goals come?  WHY do we desire them?  There are only four possible origins of goals.

The WORLD around us may squeeze us into its own mold.  Thus we find ourselves with worldly goals which are unbecoming of a child of God (Rom. 12:1-2; Eph. 2:1-2).

The FLESH (i.e., our sinful side) will provide us with all kinds of selfish goals (Gal. 5:17-21; Eph. 2:3).

The DEVIL is more than willing to give us harmful goals which destroy the soul (Eph. 2:1-2; 6:11-18).

The LORD has revealed our goals in Scripture so that even the youngest and weakest of His people can know His will (Rom. 12:2).

III. GOD’S GOALS FOR YOUR LIFE 
When we desire to establish our goals in life, we must turn to the Scriptures as the only place where God has revealed His vision for our lives.  The Bible is to be our rule in faith and practice (Isa. 8:20; II Tim. 3:l6-l7).

IV. THE COMPREHENSIVE VISION: THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST OVER ALL OF LIFE 
We must reject the idea that life is divided into “secular” and “sacred” sections.  ALL of life is sacred.  Christ’s Lordship extends into EVERY area of life.  There are no neutral or secular areas for “the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof and they that dwell therein” (Psa. 24:1).  We must do all things for the glory of God (I Cor. 10:3l).

V. THE COMPREHENSIVE VISION AS GIVEN IN SCRIPTURE
God wants us to KNOW, BE AND DO certain things as:

       A. Individuals

       B. Families

       C. Churches

       D. Nations

NOTE: “KNOW” means the acquisition of Biblical knowledge.

“BE” refers to the development of a godly character.

“DO” means putting God’s Word into action.

VI. THE DOMAIN OF APOLOGETICS 
Most apologetic ministries have traditionally focused on how to deal with such cults as Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses.  Indeed, they have done a wonderful job combating these cults.  But this has left many people with the impression that apologetics concerns itself only with fighting the cults or the occult.

Faith Defenders takes a different view of its role in the Body of Christ.  Just as the Lordship of Christ is over all of life, apologetics must defend ALL that God has revealed in Scripture.  Thus apologetics must be involved in developing a comprehensive world and life view that enables Christians to defend whatever Truth is under attack.

VII. THE NECESSITY OF SPIRITUALITY 
We must always keep in mind that the grand goal of apologetics is not the winning of   arguments but the conversion of rebel sinners to Christ.  But repentance and conversion are not something that we can accomplish— no matter how powerful our arguments.  As Paul stated in 2 Tim. 2:25, our only hope of success is that “God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the Truth.”

Your apologetics can be as clear as ice and as cold as too!  Do not fall into the trap of doing apologetics  “in word only.”  Instead, do your apologetics “in power and in the Holy Spirit.”  (I Thess. 1:5)

Prayer must precede, accompany and conclude your apologetics.  Your love of sinners must be manifest so that unbelievers and believers will see that you are “speaking the Truth in love.”

The following charts reveal the scope of  “the whole counsel of God.”  If you are going to defend it, you must understand it.  As you read through the material, ask yourself if you understand these topics.  If not, then you must spend some time educating yourself on the whole counsel of God before you run around doing apologetics.

VIII. Christ and Culture 
Some Christians believe that we should withdraw from our culture.  But we believe that we have the God-given responsibility of being “salt” and “light” in our culture.  But how and in what ways can we be effective witnesses in our culture?  Where do we as Christians fit into culture?  Do we have a Christian view of “business ethics” that should us at work?  What is the Christian view of art, literature, politics, science, math, psychology, UFOs, etc.?  How are to apply the Lordship of Christ to all of life?

Apologetics must explain and then defend the Christian world and life view before a watching world.  It cannot be reduced to fighting the cults or the occult.

I.  GOD’S VISION FOR US AS INDIVIDUALS

II.  GOD’S VISION FOR US AS FAMILIES

III. GOD’S VISION FOR US AS A CHURCH

IV. GOD’S VISION FOR US AS A NATION

The Charts Are Not Complete 
These charts are by no means complete.  We have always heard that the Bible was an “inexhaustible barrel,” but now we know that this is true!  As the years have gone by, more topics have been added to the list.  New topics and insights are constantly being added.  There is no end in sight!  The Scriptures are as infinite as the Mind that inspired them.

Conclusion 
Apologetics must be viewed in the context of the Lordship of Christ over all of life.  Anything less than this is not a Biblical view of apologetics.  Let us “defend the faith” in absolute dependence upon the power of the Holy Spirit.

If the vision outlined in this paper is your vision too, then join us as part of the team at Faith Defenders