Apologetics

In their book, The Great Commission to Worship, Vernon Whaley and David Wheeler takes an in depth look at commandment from Jesus for His followers to go out and spread the Good News of salvation. Today’s Christian seems to have a misconception about their role in evangelism. As the authors stated, “many times in Scripture it appears

The person whom I intend to share the Gospel with is my friend Drew Harmatz. We have been friends now for over three years and over that time grown to be really good friends. Even though we are good friends we do not share the same beliefs. Drew is Jewish and has chosen to stick with his birth religion because he likes the Jewish moral compass. Basically, he has expressed that he feels the Jewish culture is more peaceful and presents a better moral basis than that of any other religion. While we have talk of God, Christ, and the Bible; I have never tried to relay the Gospel to him.

Some people in our culture view the Christian gospel as a list of do’s and don't's that each person must fulfill to get into heaven. Others have no concept of what the good news is. Based on conservations I have had with people, many simply do not about the Christian gospel. Other think that the gospel is what we must do, good works to counteract the bad things we have done.

I think Church’s have major responsibilities to communicate the gospel message. We need to remember that it was God’s kindness that saved us. Church’s shouldn’t focus too much

defend both the gospel and his apostleship by showing that his gospel was by revelation not

My overall understanding of the gospel has changed during this course in many ways. Throughout this course, thus far, I have learned how to share the gospel more effectively and how to communicate the gospel to other people and different cultures. I have a better understanding and grasp of the gospel, and feel more confident for when I will present in front of other people. I understand more clearly how to explain about the good news of Jesus’ birth, death and resurrection and how to communicate it to people with different perspectives. Before this class I never really considered that other cultures and ethnic groups will have different views on the gospel, and will need to have it communicated to them differently. During one of the classes we watched a video by Jason Bethke about how he loved Jesus, but hated religion.

In a world that does not know the Gospel anymore, we must indulge in it, and love our fellow community though they may not share similar values, but find balancing in still remaining in our own values. Though many of times we find ourselves in opposition of the majority of the world, we must exude Christ love onto others as He does to us unconditionally. The author addresses ways in which we are able to live out our faith and still find a place within our community though they may not share similar values.

The aim of the Christian apologist is to appeal to the mind and to the heart of the unbeliever, with the necessary guidance and intervening of the Holy Spirit, by building a good case for the truth of Christianity. The classical method is a compelling approach because the “two-step” method establishes a strong case for the truth of theism and also creates a foundation which builds on the truth of the Christian worldview. This approach engages with natural theology but also recognizes that there are certain truths that can only be known through special revelation from God. Classical apologetics successfully provides an objective, solidified establishment of the Christian worldview in light of logic and reason through which the Holy Spirit uses those arguments and evidences to convict and convince the unbeliever.

He goes on to show that ministers must come to the realization that presenting the Gospel to today’s culture is “when we arrive at the ‘proof’ that some [become a customized] to it, and others will reject it,” therefore we must not quit at the first indication of resistance. Much of the negative connotations of the gospel, he surmises, are the result of the consumerist culture in which we live. Societies at large have for all intent and purpose become a replacement for the church. The days are well past when the churches are considered a driving force of moral influence, therefore, what we experience today is an indifference exhibited by many in the church pews, and a general manipulation by the populist segments of society to the extent that the Ecclesia is viewed as impotent in the engagement of that society.

After the crucifixion and rising of Jesus, the small group of disciples started going around and preaching about the gospel and the love of Jesus Christ throughout the territory. It only took a small group of men to spread the word of God throughout the world and the gospel message was simple: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) Many people believe that this is a fairytale because scientists cannot find true evidence of Gods bones in a tomb. People today need to see in order to believe but the apostles have hope and they want to spread it: "And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain." (Corinthians 15:14) But the spreading of faith was a great risk for these believers.

In our last episode, I gave you four purposes for apologetics. In this one, I'd like to flesh things out a little more, so you will have a firm grip on just what we are doing when we practice apologetics.

In definition, Apologetics is to argue, or better said, justify your beliefs. Typically, it follows up with religious topics that people, for whatever reason, feel the need to scuffle over what they believe to be right or wrong. As we all know, religion has been the main topic in most fights for eons and has yet to even falter over time. From observations, I’ve noticed that individuals tend to get rather heated over the subject, and have even been known to cause harm to one another if so inclined to do so. Personally, I don’t believe Apologetics is necessary under most circumstances. If one feels so powerless in their faith to have to fight about it, they probably shouldn’t bother having one at all. This comes to the main question

There are so many wonderful things about the gospel and knowing that we serve a gracious and merciful God. To know that God sent his son down to earth to pay for our sins is an incredible gift and through the gospel we get to receive it in its entirety. Most people don’t understand the great love God has for us and everything he’s truly done for the greater good of his people and I hope that I can get more and more people closer to a relationship with God as I grow in my faith as well. Four things about the gospel that have stood out to me are that it connects us as humans to God through his son Jesus who is our savior, it is the “good news”, it is the truth, and it teaches us about God’s grace.

Christians are commanded in the Bible to take the gospel into all the world. God desires that all people know Him. However, since He is in heaven and not on the earth now, it is up to His people to show others the way to Him. Much of that testimony for Christ is through the way Christians lives are lived. It is well known that

This course has had a great impact on my walk with Christ as well as my witness for Christ. I pastor a church and teach two classes and for me I thought that I was doing plenty. However this course has helped rekindle my passion for sharing Jesus Christ with people through personal evangelism. This paper will demonstrate what I have learned throughout this course.