Question 1: What is the brief statement of the doubt?
“Christianity does not need to be defended!” asserts one participant in Q&A portion of a seminar that Pastor Jules conducted where he made mention of extending “reproof” in 2 Timothy 3:16 to people who have objections for our faith. From time to time I come across well-meaning believers who say “Christianity does not need to be defended!” I do not doubt their sincerity on their commitment on the strong foundation of Christianity. I’m just a little concerned that this statement runs against very clear biblical instructions on apologetics. This is our topic for today.Question 2: Where did this doubt come from?
Provenance. It was the great Baptist preacher to whom we get acquainted with the statement “let the lion out of the cage.” The main idea here is hindi na natin kailangang ipagtanggol ang lion dahil kailangan na lang siyang pakawalan. May mga tao tulad nung nagtanong kay Pastor Jules na ito ang kanilang argumento. It is anchored in the fact that the Bible is a very powerful document, given by God and will stand on its own without our assistance by defending it.Problem. I understand yung problem na naki-create ng doubt na ito sa Christianity at apologetics. Kung totoo na hindi nga dapat idefend ang Christianity maaaring mangahulugan na passive ang mga Christians sa mga intelligent na conversation that asserts the trustworthiness either ng Diyos o ng mensahe ng Christianity.
Question 3: What is wrong about this doubt?
It is not true that “Christianity does not need to be defended!”Question 4: How is it wrong?
By way of affirming the Christian belief, we arere instructed by the Word of God to give a defense. Sabi sa 1 Peter 3:15 “[B]ut in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” Sabi nga ng isang article sa GotQuestions.org,- The only way to do this effectively is to study the reasons why we believe what we believe. This will prepare us to "demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ,” as Paul said we should (2 Corinthians 10:5). Paul practiced what he preached; in fact, defending the faith was his regular activity (Philippians 1:7). He refers to apologetics as an aspect of his mission in the same passage (v.16). He also made apologetics a requirement for church leadership in Titus 1:9. Jude, an apostle of Jesus, wrote that "although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints” (v.3).
Saan daw ito nakuha ng mga apostol na idea ay walang iba kung hindi sa Panginoon mismo. Dagdag ng article,
- Jesus was His own apologetic, as He often stated that we should believe in Him because of the evidence He provided (John 2:23; 10:25; 10:38; 14:29). In fact, the whole Bible is full of divine miracles that confirm what God wants us to believe (Exodus 4:1-8; 1 Kings 18:36-39; Acts 2:22-43; Hebrews 2:3-4; 2 Corinthians 12:12). People rightly refuse to believe something without evidence. Since God created humans as rational beings, we should not be surprised when He expects us to live rationally. As Norman Geisler says, “This does not mean there is no room for faith. But God wants us to take a step of faith in the light of evidence, rather than to leap in the dark.”
By war of refutation lang sa Spurgeon reference, ang punto dun ni Spurgeon ay doon sa mga nagde defend na hindi naman nagpapaliwanag ng Gospel at exposition ng Scripture. Ika nga ni Spurgeon sa isa niyang sermon, “A great many learned men are defending the gospel; no doubt it is a very proper and right thing to do.” So para kay Spurgeon, “the best ‘apology’ for the gospel is to let the gospel out.”*
Question 5: What wrong idea about God is this doubt trying to create?
Kung ang mga mananampalataya ay hindi magiging concerned sa pagtutuwid sa maling pananaw lalabas niyan ay tila baga naniniwala tayo na ang Diyos ay walang pagpapahalaga sa kanyang katotohanang pinahayag.Question 6: What is the Biblical teaching about God that recuperates this wrong idea about God?
Ayon sa isang kilalang Bible expositor at theologian na si John Walvoord,- “If God is infinite in His wisdom and is the Creator of all things, He is obviously greater than what He created. The question must be faced as to whether such a Creator would desire to communicate to His creatures. Those who believe in God as Creator generally believe that He created for the purpose of revealing Himself and to display His infinite perfections. This explains how God has revealed Himself in nature.†
Ayon sa 2 Timothy 1:13-14, “Hold to the standard of sound words that you heard from me and do so with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Protect that good thing entrusted to you, through the Holy Spirit who lives within us.” Ang Diyos na ating sinasamba at minamahal ay may kapahayagang panghawakan natin ang katotohanang ating natanggap galing sa salita ng Diyos.
Question 7: What application can you draw from this correct teaching about God?
As you read 2 Timothy 1:13-14, answer the following: 1) Ano daw ang panghahawakan ng mga believers? 2)Ano daw ang dapat gawin sa ipinagkatiwalang “standard of sound words”? 3) Sino at sa pamamagitan Nino ito ipinagkatiwala sa atin?By way of meditation, reflect on this question: “Sa anong bagay hindi mo napapangalagaan ang pinagkatiwala sa’yo ng Panginoon na “standard of sound words”?
Question 8: What action point can you resolve to do at this point?
Marapat lamang na patuloy na yumaman sa pagtuklas sa katotohanan ng Salita ng Diyos. Gawin po nating daily habit ang pagbabasa at pagsusuri nito.Endnotes
* https://elliotritzema.com/2012/07/31/spurgeons-let-the-lion-out-of-the-cage-quote/† https://bible.org/seriespage/1-spirit-work-revealing-truth
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