WHEN IS OUR APOLOGETIC TASK COMPLETED—AND HOW DO WE RESPOND IF REJECTED?

This blog post concludes my short series on offensive apologetics; that is, why putting the burden of proof on skeptics and other critics is good apologetics—and how to do it. As we saw, the idea is to challenge skeptics to clarify, justify, and explain why they believe their position on the issues under discussion is true and the Christian view false. Often they can’t because they are merely parroting what they heard in popular culture. This can result in opportunities to share the Christian perspective.

This raises the questions: “When is our apologetic task completed?” And, “How do we know when we’ve done all we can in apologetic evangelism?”

Unfortunately, demonstrating the truth of Scripture and the authority and deity of Jesus Christ does not automatically result in an unbeliever becoming a Christian. People can choose to make a willful decision to reject Jesus in spite of the best evidence. People can and do make emotional and moral commitments to unbelief. But these are not rational reasons. They are “don’t-bother-me-with-the-facts” kind of responses.

Nevertheless, on a purely intellectual level, if our apologetics has been successful, unbelievers will recognize that if God exists and has revealed Himself to the human race, Christianity is it. We want them to conclude that applying the same truth test to Christianity they apply to virtually all other decisions in life, Christianity is the only contender for religious truth. People searching for religious truth can check-out the facts and verify Christian truth-claims before ever committing themselves to become a Christian.

I’m not saying apologetic evidence alone will lead a person to make a faith commitment to Christ. No one makes such a decision unaided by the Spirit of God; it is always the work of the Holy Spirit to convict, convince, and convert. However, when we have removed alleged intellectual obstacles to faith (real or imagined), we’ve created an environment favorable for the work of the Holy Spirit.

Our job as apologists/evangelists is completed when we bring skeptics to the point where they admit (if only to themselves) that their real reason for disbelief is not intellectual at all. At that point, we have successfully done our Job in apologetics. If unbelief persists, all we can do is leave the door open for future discussions, and continue to pray God will soften the hearts and open the minds of those with whom we’ve shared our faith. ©