This blog focuses
on the sixth “commandment” for doing good apologetics.
6. Avoid
Distractions: Apologists encounter
two varieties of distractions.
Lifestyle: Unless the unbeliever makes it an issue, don’t
get distracted by a person’s lifestyle. Apologetics deals with intellectual
obstacles, not moral issues. That a man or woman are living together out of
wedlock should not prevent us from sharing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Nor
should we let it interfere with an apologetic discussion.
I was once discussing
this particular point in a class when one of my students raised her hand and asked,
“I have a relative who is a homosexual. Every time I witness to him, we
eventually come to this issue, and I just can’t get beyond it. What do I do?”
My answer was to
go around it. God will deal with moral issues once a person sees their need to
become a Christian. It is the Holy Spirit who convicts people of sin (John
16:8). He will show unbelievers' those areas in their lives that need to be
changed—and then empower them to make the necessary changes—once He calls them
into the family of Christ.
Sanctification is
a process that begins after we’re saved—it’s not a requirement before we’re
saved. A past life of sin is not an obstacle to faith, but our condemnation and
threats of divine punishment can be. Jesus came to heal the “sick” (sinners)
not the healthy (Mark 2:17). One would not need Christ if he or she weren’t a
sinner.
Peripheral Issues: The second distraction to avoid when
engaging in apologetic discussions is peripheral issues—issues that are not
apologetic in nature or do not further the cause of evangelism. Some unbelievers
like to argue just for the sake of arguing and are unwilling to critically
examine the decisive issues: Who is Jesus Christ? Is salvation only through
Him? Is the Bible true? These people characteristically interrupt, change the
subject, wander off on ridiculous rabbit trails, or ask a question but won’t
let you answer it before they jump to another question.
A favorite tactic
is to argue over some inane matter that has nothing to do with whether
Christianity is true or not, such as the death penalty. Christians involved in
cult evangelism frequently encounter this ploy. In order to avoid discussing
relevant issues, many cultists prefer to argue over soul sleep, blood
atonement, or some other irrelevant dogma.
How do we respond
to these individuals? By controlling the conversation. Keep them on tract by
constantly returning to the issue at hand. Try to move the conversation to “who
is Jesus Christ.” Point out that you are willing to listen to them, but they in
turn must give you the same respectful attention—or there is no use continuing
the discussion. Insist they let you respond to one issue before they raise
another one. If they try to dominant the conversation, point out that a
conversation is two-sided or it’s a lecture. Again, control the conversation.
Next week we’ll
see how to apply evangelistic and missionary techniques in apologetic
encounters. I develop all ten “commandments”
more fully in my book, Engaging the
Closed Minded. By the way, if you would like to receive automatic notices
of blog postings, click on “subscribe” at the bottom of my blog page. I’ve been
told that Foxfire works better than Google when using links. (c)
Dan Story
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