Apologetics at the Cross: An Introduction for Christian Witness

It is important that an apologist live as a faithful member of the body of Christ, the corporate apology for the gospel.

for anyone to be saved, God’s Spirit must work in them (e.g., John 3:5–6; 6:44; 1 Cor 2:14–16).

As we live in the body of Christ and worship God under the guidance of his Word, it is the Spirit of God who transforms us into apologists able to persevere in the face of difficulties.

we must seek to change others because we fear God, not seek to change God because we fear others.

If the shifting winds of culture are what ultimately steer an apologist, then the standards of Christianity will always be changing, from year to year and culture to culture.

Belief in Jesus can’t simply be boiled down to a cognitive decision made as people consider evidence for and against Christianity from a perfectly neutral position.

God has revealed himself sufficiently, just not exhaustively.

If we acknowledge that the Bible does not explicitly solve a certain tension, then we can legitimately suggest how things might fit together.

Because we humans are relational beings, we acquire beliefs, ideas, attitudes, and affections—both loves and hates—from those around us.

If a person rejects God because they can’t understand what he is doing, they are not really rejecting the God presented in the Bible. The God of the Bible promises us that, while he has reasons for all he does, we often will not understand them.