E3 2017 Expository Apologetics General Session Part 1

Well, it is indeed good to be here, and I am grateful for the opportunity to share not only God's word, but particularly this topic and this subject that means so much to me. We just give you a little background on the whole idea of expository apologetics. So, Grace Family Baptist Church, we planted the church in two thousand and six, and our immediate goal was to be a reproducing church, a church planting church, and so we started trying to raise up men and train men to send out as church planters. And in the midst of that process, one of my fellow elders, this is several years into the process, one of our fellow elders who had come through the process. I was teaching one day and and and he came afterwards and said, why don't you teach us that? And I said, what is that? He said, that thing you do? So what is that thing I do? So for the next really for the next several weeks, we just started talking about this this process, and really what we ended up talking about was the way that I uh look at scripture and teach scripture and and preach, which is where the whole idea and name expository apologetics came from you know, I'm I'm always thinking in terms of apologetics. When I preach, I'm thinking in terms of apologetics. I believe that every sermon ought to be an apologetic sermon. And the only way that you understand that is if you understand the way I'm defining apologetics. And we'll get to that here in this session. But we are always always confronting unbelief, Amen, We're always confronting unbelief. And I think one of the mistakes that we make is we come into the pulpit and we think that what we're confronting is misbehavior, right, and so we preach to behavior, don't do this, do that? Well, I'm convinced that we behave in accordance with what we believe. And if I preach to behavior and don't preach to belief, people may amend their behavior temporarily, but they will not amend it permanently because they will eventually go back to behaving in accordance with what they believe. So what we have to do is attack the wrong believing that is leading to wrong behaving. Amen, Somebody, Okay, We've got to get to the root and not just the fruit. And if that's what I'm doing in my preaching, if whatever, you know, when I'm looking at indicatives and imperatives in scripture, and when I come to those imperatives, I want to lean hard on those imperatives, but I want to get to the root. I want to get to the indicatives that lead to those imperatives so that I can now press hard there, so that I can say, not only is this where we're going wrong in our behaving, but here's the believing that's wrong that keeps leading us to this behaving. Believe differently, folks. That's apologetics. That's apologetics, and we ought to be doing that every time we preach. Every time we preach. Not to mention the fact that there are always people in our midst who are listening to what we're saying and saying, I don't believe that, prove it, and we ought to. We ought to whenever we're preaching. Here is here's a statement that I'm making, right, here's a proposition that I'm putting forth. It better not come from me. If you can't say, man, you ought to say ouch, it better not come from me. It better be coming from the text and if it is, I better be able to prove it right. It's apologetics, folks, Okay, it's apologetics. And when we tweak our thinking this way, it changes the way that we prepare our sermons, It changes the way that we that we read the scriptures. And I have to confess that this is This is something that I came to mainly because of the way that I came to faith. I didn't grow up in the church. I didn't grow up around Christians, didn't grow up around Christianity. I was, you know, born and raised and drug infested, gang infested south central Los Angeles, California, born in nineteen sixty nine. So that puts me, you know, coming of age in the early eighties and drug infested, gang infested, cracked cocaine infested, drive by shooting infested Los Angeles, raised by a single teenage Buddhist mother. I never heard the gospel till I got to university. So when I came to faith, it wasn't you know, yeah, all these years of my training in Christianity and going to Sunday School and this, that and the other. It was, you know, a guy came to me and he tried to go through the force spiritual laws and realized I didn't have enough background information for that to make sense to me. So he had to back up and and and he was, you know, he had he had come to the locker room. I can't probably can't believe this, but I played football in college and he had come to the locker room to talk to me. And he was, you know, this Green Bay Packer fan from Wisconsin, and uh whatever. And so you know, he realizing that he's got to get more basic. You know, he does his best Lombardi, you know, Lombard's like, man, this is football, right. He concluded, this is a Bible. And that's where we started. And we spent three weeks with him, just teaching me basic things, me asking questions and him answering those questions. If you couldn't find the answers to the question, he could go and find the answer to the question. Toward the end of our time together, he would take me to find the answer to the questions. So I like to say I was being trained in apologetics before I was converted. Right, So admittedly this is a more natural thing for me, because I did come to the Bible as one saying, yeah, I don't believe that, prove it. And so when I'm preparing to teach, when I'm preparing to preach, I'm still thinking about that guy, right, because he's out there and he's saying, prove it. I don't believe that. And as a presuppositionalist, when I say prove it, right, I'm not saying I'm going to, you know, get into your worldview and prove it from your worldview. I'm going to prove from my presupposition, right, I'm going to prove that this is what the Bible says, that this is what God says. And of course, what we've been conditioned to from all the other approaches to apologetics out there is we've been conditioned to that. You know what about the person who says I don't believe the Bible and the other approaches to apologetics, you know, they basically say, well, you know, if a person doesn't believe the Bible, then what you have to do is you have to go to something else so that you can bring him back to the Bible. Yeah, I'm not doing that. Here's the way I look at it. There are two knights who meet along the way. They're opposing knights from opposing kingdoms. They dismount. One draws his sword and the other looks at him, and he says, I do not believe in nine sword. Night number one has a couple of options. Option number one he can resheathe his sword and begin to wax scientific and philosophical about the danger of his sword and why his opponent ought to believe in it. I like door number two. Just cut him. Eventually he will believe or it won't matter. But that's not our approach. It's amazing how now we've been fed these approaches to apologetics that basically have us saying, you know, we pull out our Bible. Somebody says, I don't believe in the Bible, so we go, okay, I'll put away the Bible. Here's what you've just said, Here is the authority. And they say, I don't believe in that authority. I believe that there are authorities that are higher than that one, or more important to that one, or at least equal to that one. And in the minute you close your Bible, you say you win. I agree. I agree that there's a higher authority than the Bible, or at least authority that's equal to the Bible. I'm saying, no, I don't agree with that. I don't believe the Bible. Well, good for you. So what the Bible says? I told you I don't believe in the Bible. Yeah, exactly. And I'm telling you that I don't believe in your presuppositions. But you're not giving up yours, so I'm not giving up mine. What I'm going to do is I'm going to demonstrate that mine are consistent and yours are not. So what the Bible says? Huh? All right, so let's start. What time I'm i supposed to finish this session? It's interesting? All right, We're good. So let's define apologetics first. Cornelius van Til writes, apologetics is the vindication of the Christian philosophy of life against the various forms of the non Christian philosophy of life. I love that definition. It's the vindication of the Christian philosophy of life against the various forms of the non Christian philosophy of life. Everybody else is arguing the same thing. They're just arguing various forms of the same thing. There's the Christian philosophy of life, and there's the non Christian philosophy of life. There's not the Christian philosophy of life or the Christian worldview, and then the Buddhist or the Hindu or the Islamic or the Pagan or the Athi. No, they're just there's the Christian and there's the non Christian. That's the world. There's us and there's them. Amen. That's it. There's one truth and everything else is falsehood. And this is about the vindication of the truth against the various forms of the not true. That's apologetics. I'm got me give you this working definition. Apologetics is merely knowing what we believe, why we believe it, and being able to communicate that to others effectively. Knowing what we believe, knowing why we believe it, and being able to communicate that to others effectively. That's it. That's apologetics, plain and simple. You know, when we look at the very text from which we get the word apologetics, they're in one Peter three fifteen that that word apologia that means a reason response. Right. Always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you. Okay, know what you believe, know why you believe it? Right, And then we're to give that answer in a particular way gentleness and reverence, right, So we're to be able to communicate it effectively. If I don't know what I believe, I can't answer. If I don't know why I believe, my answer will be insufficient. What do you believe? Well, I believe this? Why do you believe that? Will? Just cuse that's not apologetics, right, And there is a way we have to answer. It has to be winsome, and it has to be effective, And all of these things are important in apologetics. Know what you believe, know why you believe it, and be able to communicate that in a winsome and effective way. If any one of those things is missing, then you're not doing apologetics. You're doing a disservice to our Lord. Amen, God forbid, we don't know what we believe, but there's enough of that going around, right, God forbid, that we don't know why we believe it. There's way too much of that going around, God forbid that we know what we believe and why we believe it, but don't care enough to prepare ourselves to communicate it in a winsome and effective manner. All of those are important our view of apologyenics, and this is where the problem comes in. We believe, number one, that apologetics is for elite Christians. We believe apologetics is for elite Christians, the elite of the elite, the Green Beret, Navy Seal, Marine Force, recon, Delta Force Christian. Right, you've got to be all of that. Apologetics is for those people, and the rest of us just sit in awe as they march by. Sh here come the apologists, right, we do. We believe that they're like another class of Christians. We believe that apologetics requires knowledge of science, philosophy, logic, debate, history, and everything else that you can imagine, right, and whatever it is that you have. You believe apologetics requires the stuff that you don't. And we don't engage. Why well, I'm not an elite Christian and I don't have all of the knowledge of all of these things that apologetics requires. And after all, I mean, when you hear people talk about apologetics, you know you just go away going, Wow, that guy's brilliant. He knows everything. I could never do that. Thirdly, we believe that apologetics requires knowledge of rural religions, cults and heresies, all world, religions, all cults, and all heresies. If you don't know all that stuff, then you can't do apologetics. Finally, we believe that apologetics requires an edge of confidence, an arrogance. Don't look at me like that, you know it's true. We believe you know apologetics. We think that you got to be a little you know, a little, little, little little, just a little arrogant, just a little to be an apologist. Right, This is why teenage boys love apologetics. They do just you know, want to be an apologist. Really, I believe you because all you do is argue with your parents all the time. Right, everybody's wrong and you're right. You've learned fifteen facts and you think you're the smartest dude in the whole world. Now you want to go do apologetics? Go home? You put these things together, and this is why most Christians either feel like they can't or they don't want to engage in apologetics. Who wants who wants to be that guy? Right? And there are a lot of Christians who really have a problem with apologetics in the current age because in the current age we wrestle with the eleventh commandment, and the eleventh Commandment is thou shalt be nice, and we don't believe the other ten This is why you can say things. And I you know, so, I'm not a fan of social media. Use social media as a petri dish, just kind of put stuff out there. See where people are and how they respond. I don't necessarily want to fix it. I'm trying to find them out. So I'll put something out there and I watch people respond and it happens, and there it is, and I'm like, boom, there's my point. Just proved it. Everybody. I was like, what were you just gonna let that go. I'm like, yeah, I wanted to prove a point. There was. And I can't tell you how many times I've said something about a temporary issue. You I mean, you name it. You talk about you know, homosexuality, transgender, this, whatever, and you throw the thing out there, and there are the people. There are the eleventh Commandment, Christians who come and every problem that we have in the world is a result of Christians not being nice enough. We just it just sounds so offensive the way you said that, and da da da da da, And I'll bite, but only to prove another point. And here's here's the point. That I want to prove I come back, and I say, you know, I just I think it's very interesting. I brought up the people who are engaging in this sin that was so heinous that God destroyed twin cities with fire and brimstone. And they're shaking their fists at God and flaunting their sin. And you're more offended by me confronting them than you are by their debauchery. How does that work? And it's true, folks, that's the age in which we live. The eleventh commandment. Christian is more offended by you planting your feet, squaring your shoulders, lifting your head high, and saying the Bible says that sin than they are by the debauchery of our age. They look at the sin and debauchery of our age and they want to come bowing and genuflecting and weeping and wailing and apologizing for Christians not being nice enough over the ages. And that's their response, no offense whatsoever. There's nothing in them that wants to get up on their hind legs and say no until you confront sin. And then they're ready to go to battle, because that's the only battle worth fighting. Christians not being nice enough and by the way, not being nice enough, but like manliness is not nice enough. Amen. I mean you stand up and read Roman chapter one, and you just you're that that wasn't nice, that was God. What are you talking about? And here's the result. Here's the result. Imagine this scenario. I'm opening my Bible and I'm going to preach on adult but listen, before I get to my text, before I get to my sermon, I just want to say that I have dear friends who are adulterers, and I love adulterers, and we should all love adulterers. I am not here today, you know, to to bash adulterers. There are people made in God's image and and and adultery is That's exactly how y'all would be looking at me if I started my adultery sermon like that, right? Or whatever? Else? What are you? What are you talking about? But every time a pastor gets up and preaches on homosexuality, his sermon dies the death of a thousand qualifications because you got to start with Now, Listen, I love homosexual I believe God calls us to love homosexuals. I don't believe it. What is that about? That's about the eleventh commandment? Christian because that pastor could stand up and preach about a thousand other sins with no apology, pound the pulpit and thunder forth the word of God and even be a little mean, a little nasty about it, and nobody will write anything. But you get on homosexuality transgender right, and I mean, all of a sudden, you apologize nine hundred and ninety nine times, but there's one time when you made a statement that you didn't qualify with love and sappiness, and that's what they're going to write you about. So engaging in apologetics in that context, a lot of people have just figured why bother? Well, we bother because it matters. We see apologetics throughout scripture and a number of different forms in the Old Testaments we see apologetics. But you have to really understand the worldview of the ancient Nearest to understand the way apologetics is being done. In the ancient Near East, for example, when even when nations went to war, it wasn't just Assyria going to war with Egypt, it was the Assyrian gods doing battle with the Egyptian gods, and whoever won proved the supremacy of their gods. Amen, this is why you defeat a nation, and you sack their temple and take off, you know, all of the artifacts, to take away all of the artifacts from their temple. Because symbolically, what you're saying is our God just defeated your God. Amen. So in that context, Exodus, chapter nine and verse sixteen, we look at the plagues and the purpose of the plagues. What's the purpose of the plagues, because what would you think? You would think that Israel is under the boot of Egypt. Therefore Egypt's gods are all powerful and Israel's gods are weak, right, Exitus is nine sixteen. But for this purpose, I have raised you up to show my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. It's the purpose of the plagues. They were wondering, I mean, why the first nine? Why the first nine? Man, you just needed the last one. Amen, let's just get this over with. Let's just do it. Let's be done with it. But you had the first nine plagues addressing Egypt's worldview and their theology all along the way. But why if you're just gonna wipe them out, why do you need to address their worldview and their theology? Because God wasn't just getting Israel out of Egypt. He was getting Egypt out of Israel. Their worldview had been affected, and some apologetics needed to be done. And in case you don't believe me, just look at what happens when they get out. What do they do? They go build a golden calf, because there's still a lot of Egypt in the Israelites. For Samuel seventeen forty six and forty seven, David goes to battle with Goliath, and in many ways he was doing apologetics. This day. The Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. How about that for the eleventh Commandment? Christians, Huh, David wasn't nice, Amen, Neither is his descendant, who sits on the throne. Jesus is not nice. He's coming back with a sword on his thigh, fire in his eyes. He's coming back to wreck some stuff, y'all. He is not coming back lowly, Jesus, meeking mild, with a lamb across his shoulders. He's coming back as a conquering and a warrior. And I will give the dead bodies of the hosts of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air. And to the wild beasts of the earth, that the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear, for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into my hands. Folks, Notice, just like in Egypt, this is not just so that the Philistines could know, but so that the fearful Israelites, who for forty days couldn't find a man among them to go and fight the Israelites who had chosen a king because he was head and shoulders taller than all the rest of the Israelites, a man who physically would have been a match for Goliath. Saul would have been somewhere along the lines of I don't know, six', six big, dude especially in that, era and you're, going, yeah, man But, goliath he's like eight feet, tall right. Exactly let's go to THE. Nba most are the greatest players in THE nba are right there in that, slot right six four to six.' nine there's, bigger dudes but they get to a certain size and it's hard for them to walk into bubblegum at the, Same time so you give Me A michael jordan sized guy with some skills that saw against, a big. Lumbering giant i'm Taking the i'm taking six' six over eight, feet all day every day And, twice, on sunday right as long as you gonna let. Him. Grab, you, Right so physically saul had, a tremendous chance but he didn't volunteer. To go fight so Not only did god need to do Apologetics with the, philistines again here he needs to Do. Apologetics with ISRAEL remember what i said earlier when we preached. To our people, We're Doing apologetics huh isaiah thirty. Seven to, twenty So, now Oh, lord our god save us, from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you Alone. Are the lord we could Go to The. Book Of daniel The. Book of daniel the first Half of The book of daniel is. All about, Apologetics what happens God brings nebucon Nezzar and the babylonians to defeat his people and take them off into captivity And The. Ancient near east what That means is Nebek and the babylonian gods Are superior To israel. And israel's gods and over and over. And over again in the first Half of The, Book of daniel god Is Saying, to nebuca nezar you defeated MY people because i chose that you. Would Do that But. I'm still god let us not eat, what? They? Eat Right why Because. God, is god no we're not going to buy. Before the statue throw them in. The fiery furnace not only do, they not die they got. Help in There why Because. God Is god throw daniel into the lions den they. Don't need Him why Because. God is god so over and over and over Again in The book of daniel, we have apologetics not Just so That Babylon and nebuka nazar can know that they have Not defeated The, god of israel but Also so that israel will know, you're in Captivity but your God. Is still god And just like Jeremiah says in, Jeremiah twenty nine he's going to bring you back because he Never. Stopped being god so we see Apologetics Here. In ial testament another thing that we need to see is is this apologetics is not just For. The elite christian, we see, apologetics for example as a requirement For pastoral ministry. Titus one nine he must hold firm the trustworthy, word as taught so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also rebuke. Those who contradicted, that's every elder, that's every pastor that's not elite pastors. Trained in apologetics that's anyone who. Assumes. The mantle amen not Only that one. Peter three fifteen and we may. Look at this we'll look at this. Work every tonight but In this section peter has go from the general to, the more specific and now back. To the general and he's talking to. All believers here but, 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. That's all believers all believers are called to know, what they believe why, they believe it and, to be ready willing and able to. Communicate that, effectively All. Believers All christians jude jude One and two jude A Servant of jesus christ And. Brother of james to those who are Called beloved In god the father And Kept, for jesus, christ may mercy peace and. Love be. Multiplied, to you now? Who's this for for those who are Called beloved In god the father And Kept. For jesus christ not only is this a sort of rabbinical teaching tool repeating something over, and over again but he repeats three times talking about the same. Group of people and also not only is he repeating three times talking about the same, group of people but in, this triple repetition we have a trinitary. Information of formulation those who are called will leave that for Now beloved In. God the father so We have the Father Kept. For jesus Christ we Have. God the son so who's the One who Calls? God the spirit those who are Called, by the spirit Loved by the father and Kept. By the son this is a trying reference To. The tryn god but to whom is the? RIGHT of referring. I don't know Whom has the spirit called the elite? Of the elite Whom does the father love just those? With special Training whom does? Jesus keep folks this is, all. Of us amen if it's not, all of us then only some of. Us have assurance this is. All of us this is. All of us but to what is he? Calling US beloved although i was very eager to write to you about. OUR common salvation i found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered. To the saints so to whom, is He? Speaking all christians and to what does he call apologetics for the faith that was once for all Delivered. To the saints this is, also a primary not. A secondary issue, it's a primary not. A secondary issue notice, that HE said although i was very eager to you to write to you about. Our common salvation right here's an apostle and the Inspiration Of the holy SPIRIT who says i was eager to write to, you about Salvation but instead I'm, writing you wooh, wait a minute HE was gonna i was gonna write. You about salvation but there is something of such Importance that either i'm not writing to you about our, common SALVATION anymore which i don't believe that, for a minute or This thing that i'm talking to you about is part and parcel of writing about. Our common salvation but regardless of which, formulation you take this, is a primary not. A secondary issue this is a primary issue that rises to the level of. Our common salvation but why loo get, what he says for certain people have, crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated, for this condemnation ungodly people who pervert the Grace of our god into sensuality and Deny our Only Master And. Lord jesus christ why is this. Of such significance it's of such significance because there are those who. Have crept in there are those who. Have crept it they're, In among us they're, in our ranks and having crept. In among us there's two things. That they're doing one they turn, grace into lawlessness and two they Deny our Only Master And. Lord jesus christ, in other words they're. Perverting the gospel they're. Perverting the gospel this answers a. Couple of, questions number one it answers why apologetics is primary and? Not secondary amen, and number two it answers why? Not necessarily nice, not necessarily, nice not, harsh not sinful. Not even mean but the text says that we're. To agonize greatly and the root word that he uses here is a word that is. Associated with wrestling. In the arena, we're to fight where to, Go to battle we're to. Go to war it's ain't chess. It's not checkers. This is war that's the illustration that. He uses here he doesn't, say that, we're you know we're to strategize, where to uh we're to do, what wrestlers do what warriors do when they go to combat. With one another do they? Violate the rules? Are, they unethical. No they're not they're. Also, not nice, Amen excuse me i'm going to take. You down now oh please. Go Right, ahead no ah that's not. The picture here? But why why because you can't be saved by. A perverted gospel that's why we're defending the honor in The name of christ and the truth. Of the gospel that's why we're going. To battle here because if they're perverting the gospel and people are believing, a perverted gospel then they've, believed In vain as paul Would Say in, one corinthians fifteen because a perverted Gospel won't save you're not saved. By. Your SINCERITY amen if i give you, my phone Number right, and, i'm, like, okay fine here here's here's, my phone number give, me a call, and, you, SAY hey yeah i got to my buddy wants to call YOU to CAN i can i give. Him, your, number yeah sure if you give him a number that's, one digit off does his sincerity? And? Dialing matter huh i'll give you. My email address, and you're, LIKE you know i just. Found out yesterday i've been emailing some stuff. To MY doctor when i come Back, TO the states i usually try To go through houston some time to go and. See my doctor, AND you know i emailed him some stuff, and, HE said man i. DON'T have that i. Don't HAVE that and i went and looked on MY contacts and i had one two, letters, just misplaced right just, two letters misplaced and he didn't. Get my name that's what. This is about God is not god is. Not hidden, himself HE said, here i am, this is me this is how. You know ME here's, Who i AM here's. Where i am here's how. You find me and we're, proclaiming the gospel, and we're Saying here's, who god Is here's, where god is here's how. You find him and there are those out there while we're Proclaiming here's, who god is here's, where he is here's how, you find him there are people, out, there saying actually. He's over here imagine you leave here today and if the session is over, and, you hey man? How you doing you get your? Name tag on what? Are? You doing, yeah you know we're at this conference, and you know we're listening to this guy this this voody, vou voody something, voody bitch something, and they. Wait, Vote baccam ah. Yeah that's. It, vote back wait wait. The vote bacam. It can happen, and they're like. The, voting, BUM yeah man i guess, you know, Whatever, you know yeah. The vote backam, really, he said wow. THAT is awesome. I can't, believe i mean He's. Here, in detroit? Yeah you sure it's. THE vote bakam i mean how many? Can? There be, right oh yeah a little short White. Guy from mississippi, at this point you've, got to choices kind of Like. The night right, at this point, you, could go well, that's your interpretation, or, you say nope you're actually talking. About somebody else that's what we're. Dealing with here god has said THIS is, who i am and there are people out, there, going well actually and overwhelmingly the world has. Chosen to respond. That's your, Interpretation but folks god is Not. Running. For god amen he was the only one around when the. Votes were cast there's never going to. Be A, recount he's god he is who he, says he is and no one has the right to recast him. Or reinterpret him and that's why we, fight, because souls souls. Hearts take here, that's our passion, that's our desire and that's why this is. A primary issue that's why it's something that's not negotiable the time that. We have left if that's apologetics what we do and, what we do then what. About expository apologetics this is not about preparing Yourself To defeat christopher hitchins in, a. FORMAL debate, right i mean, if you know if, you want to more. Power to you but those types of things don't come around very often, and quite honestly tend to. Have limited impact that's not what. This. Is about that this is about you taking seriously your duty and your Responsibility as a christian and know, what you believe why, you believe it and to be able to communicate that to others in a winsome. And effective way and so, with expository apologetics there's. Three key characteristics this needs, To be biblical it needs, To be simple it needs. To be conversational it needs, to be biblical. Simple, and conversational right let me take a stab at this. The biblical side the limiting and limited Nature of the gospel is what allows us to approach apologetics from. A biblical PERSPECTIVE and when i say the limited and limiting Nature, OF the, gospel i, mean for example the. Canon is closed we're not. GETTING new revelation i know there's some people who would, disagree with that, BUT you know i respect their right. To be wrong for the, Sake of time i'll just give You these references deuteronomy, Four to two deuteronomy, Twelve thirty two proverbs, Thirty verse six hebrews one, One and two revelation. Twenty two eighteen all of these don't add to. My, word passages again we're not. Getting new Revelation we. Have god's revelation the. Canon, has closed therefore there are a limited number of. Things we believe. That's number one there's a limited number of. Things we, believe number two there are a limited number of objections that. Can be, raised number three there are a limited number of objections that we. Need to answer, and number four our source for those Answers. Is the Bible since the bible is where. They come from that's the great benefit of this. Approach to apologetics it's not you need to know, everything, About Everything okay and i'm not saying that it's wrong and that, it's never, profitable for example to learn about a particular movement or. A particular idea when we're doing, pastoral ministry especially there are things that encroach, on our territory and it's incumbent upon us to learn about those things so that we can respond very, specifically, To, them, Right hey man that's different than saying apologetics equals knowing everything about everything so That you, Can. That's different okay if there's a limited number of Objections to, the gospel message and those objections have been answered in the scriptures under the Inspiration Of, the holy spirit, then the, clearest most appropriate and most powerful response is that we can give to people's objections is the responses that we. FIND in scripture i am not responsible FOR defending what i. DO not believe i am not responsible FOR defending what i. Do not believe i'm also not responsible, for Defending heresy and i'm not responsible for defending assumptions. Or straw man, in other, words you, know, somebody says, well, you know well Why do you? Christians believe whatever if IT'S not, What i believe i'm not responsible. For. DEFENDING that amen i just, kind, of GO yeah that i. Don't, believe, that well whoa but you know there's people, out, there who yeah you. TALK to them i. Don't believe THAT here's. What i believe it's kind of like when somebody comes to you with A, charge, against Rome right you christians and in The, in THE, inquisition, AND i yeah, i wasn't, there wasn't me wasn't, My people, right i'm yeah let's TALK about. What, i believe okay do? You see this i'll. END with this I. Was in oregon It Was At oregon STATE university whichever I. Guess is Corvellis That's where. Oregon State is and i've been. INVITED up there i was doing some preaching, in the area was invited to come to the campus and on the campus they just wanted me to come and talk about the Validity of the bible for about thirty minutes AND then DO. Q AND a so i get there and there's this, campus ministry, that's you know, got Everything prepared and i'm walking around and there's just there's flyers up and there's these little dinky, flyers you, know come, listen you know doctor rodieback and, address you know v Lidity, of the, bible and like so what else? Have y'all? Done like none we just pull out These flyers and i'm just sitting there, going NOBODY'S coming, because I mean if i'm On campus and, i'm passing out who? Is this guy? What is? IT you, know i Mean. It's it's oregon This. Is it's oregon there's, so you know they've got this student center and. Booked and EVERYTHING and so i go to the back of this back room and the student center and just AS honest as, I, Can be, guys I'm praying but i'm Praying that the lord will just give me wisdom for how to minister to these students when their event flops and they come back to get me, and they're, like WE'RE ready and. I walk out it is wall TO wall and i looked at THE guy, and i said where do all these? People come from these are the students there Here, for the yeah told y all you probably needed, a, bigger space. Right you KNOW and so i do my thing for half an hour and again living In. Administering in texas i've been spent my Adult life in texas and Ministry. Life in texas, and you know you do an event Like this in texas and, first of all students are not going, to show up and, if they, do you know they're basically going to be asking the kind of questions that are designed to show off their own. Intelligence and whatever thirty Minutes, about the bible it's, history and vilidity and open it up for questions for the. Next two hours and we've got be hid, Wickends, You know muslims buddhists get and the questions are just as honest as the. DAY is long i. Had a blast so we finish and afterwards are getting ready to, go to eat, and the, students you know who. Organize this thing we're all riding and everybody's, just looking staight nobody's, looking at, me Nobody's talking, and, i'm like guys? What'd You think, and, i'm, like god dude, that was awesome and. That was it, everybody's, just like yeah. That was, awesome, i'm like, well you know talk to. Me about it and one of the guys in the back kind of goes, to be honest we're a little. Intimidated right. Now. He said, why, he said dude you didn't have the questions. Ahead of time you stood there, for two hours these people ask you questions and the, answered your questions and the. Dude WAS awesome and i SAT there And, i went so you realize that there are only six to eight categories of questions that anybody could ever ask You. About the bible and if you have a working knowledge of those six, or eight categories it doesn't matter where you are. In the world nobody's ever going to ask you a question that you won't. Be prepared for, if they do it'll be something outside of the canon of scripture and you don't need. To answer, It, hey huh yeah you realize systematic theology texts all have the same categories because there are a limited number of categories and therefore a limited number of questions that you're ever going to. Have to answer because we're answering what we believe Based on what god has revealed of Himself. IN the bible i didn't have To answer the bahai about everything. THAT behinds believe i just had to answer the Person from the bahai faith based on the question that they asked. About our faith and if Somebody from the wiccan religion, tells me That as a wickan, they believe this well it's going to be something because, they're, A, ripoff right no they have. No original thoughts they're a ripoff and a perversion. Of, biblical TRUTH well if i know the category of biblical truth that they've ripped, OFF and perverted i can respond to their religion THE first time i ever, hear about it and all that when the, Lights, came on oh know, what you believe know why, you believe it and be ready and willing and able to communicate that in a winsome. And effective. Manner that's it now we'll get into the specifics of how we, do this right how we. Prepare for it we'll get, into all that, but for now just have. The, big picture okay just have the categories and let go of the ridiculous idea that apologetics is only for the elite Of The, Elite Delta, Force Green, Beret, Marine, force Recon. Navy seld. Christian it's not It's not praise god for those, types, of people amen because they can take it to a whole other level on some very Specific issues And we thank. God. For that amen but if we had the mindset that that is apologetics, and, only that well then not only are we neglecting Our, duty as christians but we're also leaving people in our sphere without answers when we're supposed to be prepared to give. Them to them gone, over my. TIME my apologies I. Fluid, From africa man i'm sure that's. Worth. Five minutes. Huh, Let's pray father. Thank you again we rejoice and. We are grateful help us to wrap our minds around these things and to be eager to pursue them to The. Glory. Of christ amen