“Then Paul stretched out his hand and proceeded to make his defense” Acts 26:1

Personal Apologetics

Make a Defense – Apologetics is the technical term for providing defense of the claims of the Bible.  If you go into a Christian bookstore, you are more than likely to find several works on apologetics.  Some rather famous people have been apologists.  But this should not lead you to think that there is no place for apologetics in the life of an ordinary believer (and who among us is really anything except ordinary?).  Apologetics is really just a derivative from the Greek word for “making a defense” (apelogeito).  Every person who has moved from the world’s way of looking at things to God’s perspective can make a defense of their own.  It doesn’t require sophisticated education or scholarly elucidation.  The defense that you will give is your personal account of the effect that Jesus has had on your life.  Against this claim there is no argument.  It is your story, no one else’s.

Of course, to defend the work of Christ in your life assumes that something dramatic has happened.  It assumes that you have changed.  It would be very difficult if not impossible to offer an apologetic for the gospel if your life story didn’t look anything different than the best moral example of a man or woman without God.  No one would pay much attention.  But when you tell a story about your pain, your rescue and your joy, people listen.

Apologetics is, of course, much broader than your story.  It is a defense of the claims of Jesus, his resurrection, his divinity and his authority.  It is a defense of the Biblical record, the God Who is and the revelation He has given.  There is a lot to the full job.

But most people will only read one gospel – your life.  The best defense of the gospel is the visible change it brings about in you.  When God begins to reshape us, when humility, submission, service, charity, love and compassion begin to take firm grip on our ordinary actions, personal apologetics takes center stage.  St. Francis of Assisi may have said it best:  “Preach the gospel at all times and when necessary, use words.”

When the critics look at your life, what apologetic do they see?  Who are you defending today?