Defending the Faith: The Gospel Before Arguments

Introduction

Do you need scientific proof and intellectual arguments to share the gospel? That is the question Dr. John Whitcomb asks in this text, "Apologetics and Gospel," read on the podcast of the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London.

He starts from his own story, which begins in February 1943, when he was a student at Princeton University. He did not grow up in a Christian home and had never attended a church that taught the Bible. Two Christian students invited him, again and again, to a weekly Bible study. After several months of this teaching, he submitted to Christ. Very quickly, he wanted to win his friends. And very quickly, he failed.

Those failures gave birth to a conviction: he had underestimated how deep man's rebellion against God goes, and he had overlooked the decisive place of the Word of God, made effective by the work of the Holy Spirit who convicts and enlightens. For John Whitcomb, defending the faith means first of all letting God speak.

Outline of the Message

1. A Failure at Princeton, Then a Lesson

A friend of John Whitcomb, an intellectual from a well-off background, turns down the invitation to the Bible study: why study a book that is "out of date for almost 2,000 years"? "There isn't a single science professor here at Princeton who takes the Bible seriously on the origin of the world."
The young believer looks for serious publications against evolutionism. He finds only a few small booklets. His friend accepts them politely: "Someday, if I have time, I'll take a look." End of the discussion.
Discouraged, he asks his teacher: "What's wrong with me? Is it my personality, or do I need more time to gather better arguments?" Instead of giving him a lesson in apologetics, the teacher takes him to visit a student who had filled out an interest card five months earlier.
The student is no longer interested: five months of study have convinced him that the Bible is full of errors. His proof? "Jonah and the whale." John Whitcomb is already thinking of combing the library for books about whales.
His teacher answers differently. He says he is grateful that it is the book of Jonah, a book Christ himself referred to, and then asks permission to explain why he believes the Bible is the Word of God. He tells how God showed him that his deepest problem was sin.
"What he heard was not a scientific, historical or philosophical defense of Christianity, but a testimony saturated with the gospel, addressed to his heart in prayer." The questions are not ignored, but every answer brings the conversation back to the gospel and to the call to submit to Christ. In the end the student acknowledges the lordship of Christ.

2. Two Obstacles: the Human Heart and Satan

Many books on apologetics suggest that you need, "in addition to the gospel," an arsenal of arguments and of archaeological or historical evidence. Yet the Bible does not show us people eager to receive evidence: it shows us closed hearts.
"The non-Christian's fundamental problem is not merely academic and intellectual. It is moral and spiritual." No one seeks God (Psalm 10:4; Psalm 14:2-3; Romans 3:10-12). Man holds the truth captive (Romans 1:18-20). "The mind of the flesh is hostile toward God" (Romans 8:7).
Sin also reaches the mind: man is dead in his trespasses (Ephesians 2:1-3), and his understanding is darkened (Ephesians 4:17-18). And the mind cannot be separated from the heart, because evil thoughts come out of the heart (Matthew 15:19).
The second obstacle is Satan, the god of this world, who blinds the minds of unbelievers (2 Corinthians 4:3-4; Ephesians 6:12; Ephesians 2:2). "When I speak about Christ to an unbeliever, I am not speaking to just one person, but to two or more, all of them invisible except one." In the parable of the sower, the evil one snatches away what was sown in the heart (Matthew 13:19).
An apologetic that ignores the power of Satan cannot say with Michael: "May the Lord rebuke you!" (Jude 9). "What we desperately need today is an apologetic with power."

3. Impossible for Men, Possible for God

Can Christians persuade people to turn to God? "The biblical answer is that they cannot." Scripture does not say it is difficult, it says it is impossible: "the natural man doesn't receive the things of God's Spirit" (1 Corinthians 2:14).
When the disciples ask, "Who then can be saved?", Jesus answers: "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:25-26). For John Whitcomb, this is the key to any effective apologetic.
If God had wanted the lost to be won through intellectual debates, most Christians in history would have been disqualified. Yet God chose the foolish things of the world to put the wise to shame (1 Corinthians 1:26-29).
The biblical method is to present the gospel according to the Scriptures with love, patience and prayer (1 Corinthians 15:3-4), within the setting of a godly life (1 Thessalonians 1:5; 2:3-12). Only the living and active Word pierces the heart (Hebrews 4:12), and so God alone receives the glory.
Once converted, a person finally finds the right vantage point from which to examine his questions, even if he does not get every answer here below. On the road to Damascus, Saul does not present a list of questions. He cries out: "What shall I do, Lord?" (Acts 22:10). It will take years to rethink everything, but he immediately preaches Christ (Acts 9:20).
Paul tells the Corinthians that when everyone prophesies, the unbeliever who comes in is convicted, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and he acknowledges that God is among them (1 Corinthians 14:24-25). Neither human wisdom nor signs replace the clear proclamation of the Word.

4. The Word, a Light That Stands on Its Own

Objection: by relying on the Bible to establish the Bible, aren't we going in circles? Should we set Scripture aside while we prove it by archaeology, history or science? "The answer is no."
If Christianity were just one circle of truth among others, defined by other circles, it would not be true at all. The Word of God is the one ultimate circle: it encompasses everything, the visible and the invisible, including the unbeliever and the god of this world who blinds him.
Switching off the light of the Word to find common ground with the unbeliever means abandoning the truth in order to grope along with him in the dark. Revealed truth authenticates itself, like light: "a lamp shining in a dark place" (2 Peter 1:19).
The picture of the cave: a man is lost at the bottom of a dark cave. Should his friend come and sit with him in the dark, to share "common ground" in being lost? Should he debate the make, size and power of his lamp? No: he lights it and invites him to look.
For man is able to recognize light. "The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, Yahweh has made even both of them" (Proverbs 20:12). Christ enlightens every man (John 1:9), and what can be known about God is evident to them (Romans 1:19).
The Christian's role is to keep his friend exposed to the Word of God one way or another, praying that the Spirit will convict him of sin. If he does not respond to special revelation, what biblical assurance do we have that he will respond to the evidence of general revelation?

5. No One Has the Right to Demand Proof Before Repenting

This approach draws criticism, even from Christians: isn't it reasonable to compare Christianity with other religions before deciding? "Once again, the answer is no." Jesus is not one savior among others, to be examined at leisure and on our terms.
The inquirer is not neutral. Created in the image of God, an image damaged by the fall but still present (Genesis 9:6; James 3:9), he knows deep down who God is. That is why he flees and hides (Genesis 3:10), hates the light (John 3:20) and holds the truth captive (Romans 1:18). He cannot claim that God is unknown to him (Romans 1:21).
When the Holy Spirit says to the heart, "Believe in the Lord Jesus," it is potentially suicidal to stall, investigate or debate: "Behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2; Acts 17:30).
Demanding a complete demonstration leads to absurdity: you would have to examine every fact and every alternative, and you would die before deciding. Letting the unbeliever think he can demand it means "placing him on a pedestal of intellectual and spiritual pride from which he will never come down."
Paul asks the Lord's servant to be gentle toward everyone, able to teach, correcting opponents with gentleness, in the hope that God will grant them repentance (2 Timothy 2:24-26).
The most useful Christian is not the one who knows the most about philosophy, psychology, history, archaeology or science, disciplines that matter in their place. "The best apologist is the best student of Scripture": a worker who correctly handles the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15), like Apollos, powerful in the Scriptures (Acts 18:24-28).
Christianity is deeply rational, because God is infinite reason and his thought can be communicated to us. The gospel is foolishness to those who are perishing (1 Corinthians 1:18), but it is not foolish in itself. That does not mean, however, that it can be passed on to the lost in a rationalistic way.

6. Sanctifying Christ in Your Heart: 1 Peter 3:15

"Always be ready to give an answer": the Greek word is apologia. Do we have to step outside revelation to provide an academic justification of our faith? Could Peter, with his limited background, have done it? And Paul, though highly educated (Acts 26:24; 22:3), had decided to know nothing except "Jesus Christ and him crucified," so that faith would stand "in the power of God" (1 Corinthians 2:2, 5).
The context confirms it: Peter is writing to persecuted Christians. They were not to fear or be troubled, not because they would know how to win a debate, but because their assurance rested on Christ, whom they were to sanctify in their hearts.
The defense is to be made "with humility and fear," with a good conscience (1 Peter 3:15-16). In a rationalistic debate, a good answer counts no matter how devout the person giving it. In a spiritual testimony, these conditions are vital.
To sanctify the Lord is to confess your inability to convert anyone by human reasoning, and to acknowledge that God alone converts. It means praying that God will present his Word by his Spirit and be glorified by the result.
The picture of the Battle of the Bulge, in 1944: John Whitcomb served there as a fire direction calculator in an American artillery battalion. When enemy tanks appeared, the forward observer could run away, or rush at them to fire on his own. Both were disastrous. His third option: "sanctify the artillery in his heart," radio in the tanks' position and let the twelve 105 mm guns do what he could not do.
"As God's forward observers in the world of Satan, demons and fallen men, Christians must learn to call on Christ, their Lord."

7. The Answer to Give: the Word of God

The answer you must be ready to give is fundamentally the Word of God, not your own. In any sincere effort to win souls, you quickly discover that your own words are dead and dull, whereas "the word of God is living and active" (Hebrews 4:12).
Christ set the example: he defeated Satan three times with exact quotations from Scripture and the formula "it is written." Facing the unbelieving Pharisees, in John 8:12-59, he appeals to the Father's testimony rather than to miracles, and "As he spoke these things, many believed in him" (John 8:30).
Do Christians today think that, thanks to archaeological, historical and scientific discoveries, they have a better apologetic than the Lord, the apostles and the early church? If so, they have not sanctified the Lord in their hearts.
His conclusion: "God's work must be done God's way, if it is to receive God's approval."

Key Takeaways

The unbeliever's problem is not first of all intellectual but moral and spiritual: his heart is closed, and Satan blinds his mind.
Converting a person is impossible for men, but possible for God, who works through his Word and his Spirit.
The Word of God authenticates itself, like light: you don't debate the lamp, you light it.
The best apologist is the best student of Scripture, the one who humbly obeys God every day.
To sanctify Christ in your heart is to confess your inability and rely on God, answering with gentleness, respect and a good conscience.

Personal Application

When someone raises an objection to the faith, do you first look for the right argument, or do you pray that God will touch their heart?
Like the teacher at Princeton, how can you bring a difficult discussion back to the gospel and to your own testimony?
How much time do you spend studying Scripture, compared with the time you spend looking for answers elsewhere?
Is your way of witnessing marked by gentleness, respect and a good conscience?
Who around you will you pray for this week, that God's Spirit would open their eyes?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you need scientific proof to bring someone to Christ?

For John Whitcomb, the unbeliever's problem is not first of all intellectual but moral and spiritual. What is impossible for men is possible for God (Matthew 19:26): only the Word of God, applied by the Holy Spirit, pierces the heart. The questions are not ignored, but the answer always brings us back to the gospel.

What does 1 Peter 3:15 mean by "always be ready to give an answer"?

Peter writes to persecuted Christians, most of them with little education. Their assurance did not come from their skill in debate, but from the Lord, whom they were to sanctify in their hearts. Their defense was to be given with gentleness, respect and a good conscience, conditions that have nothing to do with a rationalistic debate.

Isn't using the Bible to prove the Bible circular reasoning?

John Whitcomb answers that the Word of God is the one ultimate circle of truth: it encompasses everything that exists, including the unbeliever. Like light, it authenticates itself. Someone who wants to save a man lost in a dark cave does not debate his lamp: he lights it.