by Logan Gates, SAMS Missionary Candidate to Chile

Have you ever been asked a question about faith and not known what to say? This happened to me a few years ago on the campus of Arizona State University. I was handing out flyers for an event on faith and reason, when a professor came up to me and asked, “Are you one of those Christians who believes in sin?”  I was caught off guard and couldn’t think of anything to say besides, “Yes.” Right away he shot back, “Why do you have to go around making people feel bad about themselves? Why do you have to come and do that here?” I had responded with an answer that was biblically faithful, but I could tell that he didn’t leave the interaction with an accurate impression of the Christian faith, because he didn’t see Christianity as having any “good news” to offer!

As Christians we hear and see many types of objections to our faith. “Science and religion cannot be reconciled.” “The Bible is just a collection of myths.” “Christianity is misogynistic and homophobic.” “There can be no good God in a world with so much suffering.” When non-Christians raise such topics, sometimes we can feel tempted to tell people they just need to believe. Why should Christians care about such questions and objections?

In 1 Corinthians 9:22, the Apostle Paul writes, “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.” When we hear this verse as Christians, we might think of Hudson Taylor, the nineteenth century missionary to China, who took the unprecedented step of adopting Chinese dress to better connect with the local people. But what about becoming all things to all people at the level of their questions about faith? That is the domain of apologetics.

The term “apologetics” can generate mixed reactions among Christians. To some, it can imply that we are “apologizing” for what we believe. For others, apologetics is associated with getting into arguments with people, or trusting in reason instead of the Spirit to change people’s hearts. Some Christians go so far as to say that apologetics is something we should toss out altogether.

But the word apologetics is actually one that is found in the Bible. Perhaps the most prominent place it shows up is in 1 Peter 3:15, where Peter writes, “But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” The word translated as “answer” is the Greek word apologia, which is a legal term meaning a “reasoned defense.” In other words, “apologetics” doesn’t have to do at all with apologizing but rather offering a reason for the hope that we have in Christ.

How do we do that exactly? To start, Peter tells us our apologetic should be given with “gentleness and respect.” The hope that is within us looks and sounds much more winsome to a hearer when we give a gentle and respectful answer that is also reasoned. On top of this, it’s interesting that Peter doesn’t tell Christians to give an answer to a person’s questions, but rather the person behind the questions. Peter tells us we are to give an answer to any “one” who asks about the hope that we have. This distinction may seem like hair splitting, but often as Christians we can find ourselves giving correct answers, like I did to the professor at Arizona State, while failing to reach the person and the deeper concern behind the question itself.

To give another example, if someone asks us why a good God would allow evil and suffering, we might be tempted to jump to a philosophical answer. But it is very possible that the person who has asked this question is undergoing intense suffering themself, and the philosophical answer won’t hit home. Perhaps what they need most is for us just to listen, to express sorrow, or to pray for them. We need to resist the temptation to jump in with an answer.

How do we grow in answering people and not questions? We can follow the example of Jesus, who often answered people’s questions by asking questions in return. One case where Jesus does this is when he is asked by the rich young ruler in Luke 18, “Good Teacher what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Of all people, Jesus knew the answer to this question! Nevertheless, Jesus responds to this question with a question: “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone…” By responding in this way, Jesus drew out from the rich young ruler the deeper barrier keeping him from entrusting his life to Jesus: he thought he was good enough for God.

Of course, we aren’t Jesus and don’t have his supernatural insight into what’s going on in people’s hearts. But there are good questions we can ask to better understand the questioner behind the question. We might ask something like, “May I ask why you asked that question?” or “Is this something you’ve felt for a long time?” When people make blanket statements about the Christian faith (i.e. “science has proved that God doesn’t exist), we can ask clarifying questions: What do you mean by “science”? What do you mean by “prove”? How did you come to that conclusion? Often this will lead to the person opening up more about what their real issues are when it comes to God, which gives us the chance to engage them at the level of the heart and help them see the reason and beauty that is to be found in Christ and His Gospel.

Now, there will be times when we need to not just ask questions but also give “answers”! It might be that someone we’re speaking with really does want to know about how science can be reconciled with faith, or what evidence there is that the Bible is historically reliable. In those cases, we might have some homework to do! After all, Peter says we are to be “prepared” to give an answer – and getting prepared takes time and effort. It can be overwhelming to think of preparing for all the possible questions our unbelieving friends and family members might have. But a good place to start is thinking through for ourselves why we believe that Christianity is really true. What “reason” do we find most compelling for believing in the God of the Bible? It could be that the Lord has intervened in our lives in a dramatic way, or that we see his glory in creation, or perhaps we find compelling evidence that comes from science, history, or philosophy. Your answer to this question will help others who are seeking.

You might next think about who are the non-believers whom God has placed in your life, and whether you’ve asked them what are the barriers that hold them back from believing in Jesus. You might not know how to answer in the moment, but you can always thank them for sharing and say you’ll think about it further. This gives you the chance to look into their questions and find resources and answers that could be helpful for them.  Your friend will appreciate that you took the time to care about their questions!

A final thought. It’s striking that in 1 Peter 3:15, before Peter has anything to say about how we are to answer, he talks to us about the importance of our own hearts before God: “But in your hearts, honor Christ the Lord as holy…” What matters far more than our particular answers is the integrity of our own walk with the Lord. To paraphrase the British evangelist Michael Ramsden: it might be we have all the answers ready, but no one is asking us any questions. In that case, we need to ask how we are living, and whether that leads people to ask about our hope – and want it for themselves. Lord, help us!

Logan Gates is an Adjunct Speaker with Apologetics Canada who, along with his wife Samantha and their son Lewis, is preparing to serve in Chile as a Missionary Candidate with SAMS. Visit their Missionary page here.