Apologeet.nl
Why do we Need Apologetics?[Part 1]
In the last video I already touched on one aspect of the importance of apologetics. I know, I am a bit strange. On the one hand I say that I will not use it, to much, in online debates. But on the other hand I believe it is very important to practice apologetics.
But first just a quick note! I looked at my Odysee account on the 24th of May and right at that moment at 09:50 in the morning the counter jumped to the 5000 followers. That is amazing! Thank you very much for following and supporting me!
For all of you who do not yet follow me, or for those who follow me on YouTube or Bitchute, it would be great if you start doing that on Odysee! Just look in the description of this video for the link.
In the same description you’ll find ways to support me, and I’ll place a link to the English and Dutch transcript of this video.
If you want to start your own channel on Odysee you can use my invitation in the description, and we will both receive some free LBC!
Anyway, let’s get to it. I have around eight, maybe more, reasons and I am not sure whether I can tackle them all in one video. Let’s see how far we can get, okay?
Reason 1 – We are Commanded
The first reason is pretty straightforward: We are commanded to defend the faith:
1 Peter 3:13-16
And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.
I wanted to add the extra verses because it give away some of the context in which Peter said this. I love Peter. He is straightforward and he stood for what he preached. In the end he gave an gruesome example of not being afraid of ‘their terror’. Whatever happened to him, he was always ready to give an answer about the faith that was within him. Right up to his death on a upside down cross. And here I am… Complaining about this or that guy that said something mean to me. Makes you think, doesn’t it?
Reason 2 – Defence Against Apostasy
But we are not only commanded to be ready for unbelievers, but also to be ready inside the church. There is a constant threat of apostasy in the Church. Apostasy means falling away. In the setting of the Church it means falling away from the essential doctrinal truths and becoming false.
We need to defend the faith. Paul tells the Philippians that the have a special place in his heart, and he says that…
Philippians 1:7
[…] it is meet [right] for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.
Paul defended the gospel from false teachings.
But we are also called to be on the offensive side (and I’ll quote from the Amplified Version but you can read along in your version):
2 Corinthians 10:5
We are destroying sophisticated arguments and every exalted and proud thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought and purpose captive to the obedience of Christ
How often do we hear preachers and teachers coming to us with these sophisticated arguments, or imaginations like the King James version says. We have to be ready always to destroy these ideas before they contaminate the Church from within.
What kind of contamination you ask? How many churches are now openly advocating homosexuality? No, I am not a homophobe. I have had wonderful chats and conversation with people who are attracted to the same sex. However, the Bible clearly teaches that having sex with someone of one’s own sex is a sin.
Leviticus 18:22-23
Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion.
Some would say that the God’s view on homosexuality changed… Interesting enough they do not say this about having sex with animals. But this is Old Testament stuff! Yes, and especially for you I will quote the New Testament as well:
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
Here is a part of an article from the website of the United Church of Christ:
The William R. Johnson Scholarship Fund
In 1999, the predecessor body to Local Church Ministries, The Board for Homeland Ministries, created a scholarship for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender UCC seminarians in honor of William R. Johnson, the first openly gay man ordained in the United Church of Christ. The scholarship was established as a concrete way of affirming the church’s long-standing conviction that sexual orientation or gender identity should not be a barrier to ordination. Recipients must be open about their sexual orientation or gender identity and be Members in Discernment. The scholarship is available to students who have completed their first year of seminary.i
Do I need to say more? This is just one of the many example and it shows that we are in need for people who defend biblical truth within these kind of churches that claim to be Christian.
Reason 3 – Help Christians to Know their Faith
But how can Christians stand up for the truth if they lack the knowledge? Let’s leave the whole homosexuality for what it is, and ask some Christians in your church to explain the Trinity to you. Or how about Jesus? He was fully man and fully God, or did He left His godliness in heaven when He was Born. Oh, talking about his mother, what was so special about Joseph who wanted to leave Mary without making to much of a fuss? And while we’re at it, we might just as well ask what the difference is between justification and sanctification…
I hope you get it, right?
Reason 4 – Many False Teachings
Most reason tie in with each other, but they do differ a little on details.
Let’s do a quick game.
Where comes the teaching from that only 144.000 go to heaven and the rest will be recreated out of the memory of God? Which group denies Jesus’ Godliness? Instead, they teach that it was Michael the Archangel who was born as human, Yes, the Jehovah’s Witnesses teach this.
What group says that God use to be a human Himself? And while he became God he did something with one of his goddess wives. That something produced spirit offspring that are born into human babies. Oh, and Satan? He is the jealous brother of Jesus. Did you guess it? Yep, Mormonism.
These are just two groups, but I could have mentioned many other groups such as Islam, Atheism, Hinduism etc. But these two in our example call themselves a Christian organisation. What’s more, they actually consider themselves as the branch of Christianity that hold the true doctrines. With their gobblygook they manage to penetrate many areas of societies. Most bigger towns on Madagascar have signs along the road pointing to the so-called kingdom hall of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. It breaks my heart to see that they are able to gain ground, even among the most poor. The Malagasy already need to work extremely hard to make a living. Becoming part of the Jehovah’s Witnesses will definitely not make their lives any easier. Now, besides working hard, they also need to do all sorts of time consuming tasks to be a real Witness.
Do you actually know what the number 144.000 stands for? And what would be the problem if Jesus wasn’t God in the flesh? Do you know the answers? Could you counter these ideas? Giving a sound teaching of orthodox doctrine can save many people from being lost forever.
Reason 5 – Keep them out of Hell
By defending God’s word and truth, and presenting the gospel to all people, they might understand what awaits them. I mean, our talks aren’t only about the sweet things we need to do our best to help people to escape the judgement which definitely coming to all.
Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and we are not able to make it right with the almighty, infinitely holy God simply because… we are not infinite, nor holy. Only a perfect offer could do that. And whatta you know! That is exactly why God had to come down Himself and had to be born as a human just like us! To become flesh, God Himself gave the perfect offer.
Jesus bore our sins in His body on the cross:
1 Peter 2:24
who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
By trusting in Christ, Who is God the Son, for the forgiveness of our sins, we will be saved from the rightful judgement of God upon us sinners. Salvation is not found in Buddhism, Islam, relativism, or one’s self: It is only found in Jesus. Do I dare to say that Salvation cannot be found in Mormonism and with the Jehovah’s Witnesses either? I would say that the rule of thumb is that we have to put our full trust in Jesus Christ.
Acts 4:12
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
And it seems to me that in all the aforementioned groups the emphasis in not completely on Christ. Just because Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses identify themselves as being Christian, that doesn’t mean that they are. Don’t get me wrong! There might well be many in those groups who just don’t know much about their doctrines. They might just believe in Jesus for their salvation. But as soon as they find the truth about their doctrines they should step away from these false teachings.
We should defend the Gospel and be able to explain the pure doctrines. Even if it seems that the nice Jehovah’s Witness man at your door doesn’t want to listen, we may trust that God can graciously use our imperfect apologetic attempts to bring the gentleman into the faith. I have no idea how God manage to bring the must stubborn people to repentance, but He does! He grants people to believe
Philippians 1:29
For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake
So, even if we try our stinking best we should never forget that every soul that is saved, is saved because of God’s grace
Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.
God is good!
The Rest Will Have to Wait!
Okay, to avoid making video that are way to long, I’ll stop here. I still have some more reason, but they’ll have to wait for next time. Maybe, you have some reasons I didn’t tackle yet? Just let me know. Maybe it’s a reason I’ve never thought of and I can bring it in with the next video.
I like it anyway when you think along and share your thoughts in the comment section. Last video I said some stuff about atheists and expected to be bombarded with their comments… I should have never said that, because most of them kept quit and just gave my video a dislike or slimy on Odysee. To bad! I would have liked to hear their opinion as well.
I wish you all God’s rich blessings and we see each other in the next video!
i United Church of Christ, Ministry Education Scholarships, [internet] https://www.ucc.org/giving/ways-we-give/scholarships-grants/ministry-education-scholarships/, accessed 27-05-2022.
[Part two]
This is part two of this topic in which we explore the questions of why we need apologetics. If you haven’t seen the first part, I would recommend doing that as well. You’ll find the link in the description of this video.
Let’s dive right in, shall we?
Reason 6 – The Rise of Immorality
I am a Dutch guy and would only be fair if I took my own country, the Netherlands, as an example. Only problem here is that we, the Dutch, don’t like to cooperate with surveys about morality. That probably because we think we are the shining examples for the rest of the world. No, no worries that’s not what we think of ourselves. There are just not many big surveys on this topic to be found.
So, I went to Barna.com and looked at their research page. And whatta you know! I found a nice survey from the Unites States. And there is one thing we Dutch do like! Poking fun of other countries, especially America.
Here is a quote from a survey called Morality Continues to Decay, from 2003:i
More than four out of five adults – 83% – contend that they are concerned about the moral condition of the nation. Given that 84% of all adults consider themselves to be Christian, they have good reason to worry about the moral state of the country: many of their own views conflict with the moral teachings of their professed faith. Of the ten moral behaviors evaluated, a majority of Americans believed that each of three activities were “morally acceptable.” Those included gambling (61%), co-habitation (60%), and sexual fantasies (59%). Nearly half of the adult population felt that two other behaviors were morally acceptable: having an abortion (45%) and having a sexual relationship with someone of the opposite sex other than their spouse (42%). About one-third of the population gave the stamp of approval to pornography (38%), profanity (36%), drunkenness (35%) and homosexual sex (30%). The activity that garnered the least support was using non-prescription drugs (17%).
Now, before all you people who live in other countries begin to shout that this is a typical American problem, I would suggest looking around. Let me return to my own country. The Dutch have always played a leading role when it came to freedom of religion and expression. Later we took a leading role on abortion and euthanasia laws. And don’t forget our liberal position on gay marriage! Yes, the Dutch will tell you that all this ought to be accepted as part of freedom.
These ideas slowly but surely found their way into the pulpits. Up to a point where we, the Dutch, proudly say that we have even atheistic pastors who are fully supported by their churches. I wouldn’t even dare to start a survey like the one above among the Dutch Christians. I am way to scared for the outcome. Or maybe the outcome would be fine because we are also very good in keeping up the appearance. That would make things even worst because that would mean people know their advocating sinful behaviour but they try to hide it.
Can we please have some more apologists who are able to biblically counter immorality in all it’s forms?
Philippians 4:8-9
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.
Reason 7 – Stand up Against the Bad Apples
Just a quick look on the internet, and I right away found an article from the BBC titled: The preachers getting rich from poor Americans.ii I know, America again! But, just do a search on the web, and you’ll find many preachers from all over the world, who have gained many millions. When Jesus spoke of money and possessions in the New Testament, He taught us not to become to attached to it. Still, many preachers haven’t taken these words to heart. Some of them have gained literally millions of dollars for themselves. Now, don’t get me wrong here! I am not saying that they are all bad apples. I honestly don’t know what goes on in their hearts. However, many prosperity preachers don’t hesitate to ask their flock for money. It shouldn’t be a surprise that the world looks at these people and accuse the Gospel of being greedy and abusive towards the simple minded.
We need apologetics to counter the bad image that Christianity has received in the media and in society. Many televangelists and their scandals–both sexually and monetarily–are dishonouring to Christianity. Whether we like it or not, whether true or not, we see many negative opinions being flung into the air every day. And for convenience’s sake, the media will flippantly throw in the scandals involving Roman Catholic priests as well.
Matthew 5:16
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Money can bring value to God’s kingdom. Wealth can be an incredible asset in the hands of the faithful Christian. However, we also need to be aware of the dangers. If our trust and security is not found in Jesus Christ alone, we are susceptible to attacks of the same wealth. The folk in Laodicea seem to have fallen for deceits of their wealth.
Revelation 3:17
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked […]
But, as said, we can use it to God’s glory as well.
Proverbs 3:9
Honour the LORD with thy substance, And with the firstfruits of all thine increase:
Reason 8 – We Need to Arm our Kids
For now, this is the last reason I want to discuss. For me personally, this is one of the most important one: We need to arm our children!
Before we, as a family, came to the mission field, my wife and I have been youth leaders for a long time. That was a wonderful period but at the same time triggered a strong personal awakening to the motiveless aggression that exists in the world and especially in schools.
School System
Many teachers seem to see it as their holy duty to mock Christianity. History teachers tell an one sided story of the crusades. A side in which Christianity is the biggest aggressor. Do I need to start about the biology teachers? Many of them totally worship the Darwinistic view on life. They seem to prioritise converting Christians back into the world where ‘every rational thinking person’ believes in millions of years and evolution. How about those sweet trustworthy philosophy teachers? Surely these teachers understand the validity of believing in God, right? Wrong! How on earth they manage to reconcile philosophy without considering God is totally beyond me.
LGBTI+
And now, we also have those lovely LGBTI+ advocates who are penetrating our school system. Children are being taught that, even though they have a penis, they are not male persé. No, they can be a girl if they want to. They can also be something fluent like a MaGi (MaleGirl). Go on the web and you’ll find horrible videos in which boys are stimulated to wear a dress and play with nail-polish. I did play with my mothers nail-polish and lipstick when I was a young child, but this was purely innocent curiosity. No stimulants from my parents or teachers whatsoever. You can see the disastrous effect on our youth. They have absolutely no idea who they are any more. The internet is full with the rubbish, and unscientific ideology of transgenderism. Young children are encouraged to transition to the other sex. Many, I would say almost the majority, regret their decision later on. The regret comes when they grow up and start to think for themselves. But by then their beautiful, God given bodies have already been mutilated by wicked surgeons, who claim they know what is best for the child. It just makes me wanna cry when I hear the umpteenth story about a young adult who’s live has been ruined by this evil and satanic ideology.
Laziness
My two oldest children have been to a normal school in the past. We decided to send them to a Dutch Reformed school, because they the still keep the Bible as authoritative. We had to drive 30 minutes to get to that school. That is nothing compared to the distances in other countries, but in the Netherlands we consider that as far. I tried to pursue other Christian parents to send their kids to that school as well. Many of them just lived about 10 minutes walk away. Several of them decided to send their children to a public school still, because that school was 5 minutes closer to home.
Now, these parents are complaining and wining that their children have no interest in the faith any more. Many of the older children moved to a bigger city to study and left Christianity completely behind them. And again, these parents keep on asking for prayer because their kids are turning their backs on Christ. Prayer is good! Because God is good, but when I one day addressed the problem during a Bible study, my brothers and sister were shocked about my ‘judgmental’ attitude. How could I say that the choices that these parents made in the past were part of the problem? “You should understand that it is all a matter of grace”, they told me. Oh really? Is that why the Bible commands us to educate our children about the word of God day and night! God is telling us to do this and in the end it doesn’t make any difference? Gobblygook!
Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go: And when he is old, he will not depart from it.
We are so fortuned to be able to homeschool all our children now. It is good to train your kids yourself! Why should you leave the training to an institute were the goal seems to be to pursue your child to be woke? In many cases, the teachers are just a kind of mercenaries, who will teach your child what they are commanded to teach them. Much of the public education is very anti-Christianity in all their facets.
Deuteronomy 6:6-9
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
Especially for the fathers among us:
Ephesians 6:4
And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Stop Whining and get to Work!
If you have children, stop nagging and whining about the godless world around us, saying: “It is so difficult to raise children in a God fearing way!” Yes duh! It is! But it has always been like that. Every period in history has had it’s own challenges.
Did you send you child to a public school, and are you unhappy about that choice? Don’t be like many parents who come up with the excuse that it is ‘sad for the child’ to send it to a different school. The poor kid has nice friends already. Do you really value their schoolfriends over their eternity? That is not love! Do not provoke your children to wrath, says Paul. Maybe by keeping them in this hostile school will provoke them even more. It might well provoke their wrath towards God.
And for you, who are single, or are not married yet, or do not have children yet, or maybe for you who can’t get children of your own. I would like to urge you stand up for your faith. Train yourself in the word of God. Help parents to train their children. Don’t think too little of yourself just be ready always!
1 Timothy 4:12-13
Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
In the End
The fact is that Christianity is under attack in the world, and we need to fight the good fight of the faith and not withdraw from the battle. We need apologetics to give rational, intelligent, and good explanations of Christian lifestyle to all the critics, false teachers and the prejudiced who undermine the pure teachings of Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.
If there was ever a time that apologetics is needed, it is now.
I am not sure, but this video might be a bit gloomy. If it is, I apologise for that. As you have heard, the topic is very close to my heart, especially the part about children. I hope and pray that you will take my words to heart and start building the Church of Christ from the inside out. We need more apologists. That why my motto is ‘The World Can Use Some Apologists.’ Are you one of them?
Anyway, I would like to read your thoughts about this topic. Let me know in the comments of the video below. Remember! I am mostly active on my Odysee channel. You’ll find a link to that channel in the description of this video.
I very much appreciate your prayers and support! Please take a look in the description of this video to find out how you can help me. Also, I’ll place a link there to both the Dutch and English transcripts of this video.
God bless you, thank you for watching and we see each other in the next video!
Footnotes
i Barna Group Inc., Morality Continues to Decay, [internet] https://www.barna.com/research/morality-continues-to-decay/, 03-11-2003, accessed 02-06-2022.
ii Vicky Baker, The preachers getting rich from poor Americans, [internet] https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-47675301, BBC News Services, 29-05-2019, accessed 03-06-2022.
