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