Everyday Apologetics: Defending the Faith
Apologetics is such a vital field of study. It is broad. There is a lot to it. We are going to try to narrow our focus to Everyday Apologetics. That seems like a strange thing to say, because normally when people think about apologetics, they may think it is extremely specialized, meaning there are only a certain few who have been trained and can think about certain topics and it requires a certain level of expertise. That is not the way I want us to think about it. It is a deep subject. It is a broad subject. But every single one of us is expected to be apologists. We are expected to defend the faith of Jesus Christ.
In a 2024 book, Apologetics for an Everchanging Culture. Dan Kimball said:
Apologetics is desperately, urgently, and critically needed more than ever before in our everchanging culture. In my 30 plus years of serving in ministry, I’ve never seen more confusion and misinformation about the Christian faith among younger generations. The amount of intentional teaching against the historic Christian faith seems unprecedented. And because of all of this, we need to be more bold, more clear, more aggressive, more passionate to see the truths of Scripture be taught to new generations. This isn’t the time to back down or avoid engaging the tough theological and sensitive cultural questions of our day.
This is an urgent call to action. This is a great need that we are addressing. Kimball goes on to say that we need to emphasize paying attention to our audience and paying attention to our tone. That is absolutely true. To be obedient to Jesus, we have to be known for love (John 13:35). We have to be known for the fact that we are going to always speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15), but we must, as he said, be aggressive in seeking to stand for, defend, and propagate the truth of Jesus Christ
There are three major areas in Christian Apologetics: the existence of God, the inspiration of Scripture, and the deity of Jesus. Those are what we call the Big Three in Apologetics, but that’s not what we’re going to cover. When we talk about everyday apologetics, think of a step before that, because our world is so confused today that some might admit to the possibility of there being a God but think one cannot know anything about Him. They may concede that the Bible is a special book, but they would not admit that it holds to, or communicates, eternal standards. So, we’re going to think through what it means to defend and advance the very idea of truth. We are seeking truth in a world that has lost its mind. Consider the way that understanding the nature of truth affects everything about us and the way that we see the world. The way we think about and understand the concept of truth affects the way we see the Bible. Is this an authoritative book? Is this an authoritative message from Heaven or not? Is it just something that has a few good things in it here and there to pick from and chosen from? It impacts the way that we see morality—what is right, what is wrong. It impacts the way we see each other. It even impacts the way that we see Christianity as a whole. Is it good or not? That is a strange question, but it is an important question.
As we cover these ideas in a way that makes sense and in a way that makes us aware of current issues and current challenges, we also want to be encouraged; encouraged to be ready with an answer because we are all expected to be apologists. The Lord expects you to be an apologist, a defender of what is true, good, and beautiful.
We live in a world that has lost its mind, and we have to help others think properly. We have to help others see clearly again. We need to view the world as the Lord would have us view it. We need to approach each day as those who are prepared to tell other people about this reality. Consider the truth.
Who would have ever thought that the idea of truth would be so confusing and so convoluted? Have you heard of the term post-truth? It is a terrible thing to say that we live in a post-truth world. But this is what is meant by that. When someone says, “Well, where we’re living now, it’s not merely postmodern. We’re now in a place called post-truth.” What they are saying is facts are not as influential in shaping public opinion like they used to be. It was said before: “Okay, here are the facts. Fact one, fact two, fact three. Therefore, go be like this, think like this, do like this.” The facts are not as influential as they used to be. It is now much more of an appeal to emotion, to a personal belief. The reasons are many. We have been burned by fake news, fake science, fake history. Thanks to the artificial intelligence bots, we have fake friends and fake followers and all of these other things. We live in an age of competing authorities. We are struggling to figure out who we can trust, this news outlet or that news outlet, my parents or my professors, my Bible class teacher or my social media algorithm. We are being pulled in different directions. In this digital age, the idea that I can just now be my own authority has been normalized. Here is what I mean: “I am not going to rely on some expert somewhere to tell me what I should do, what I should think. I am going to go to Tik-Tok, Instagram, or Chat GPT. I can just glean some bits of information and become my own source, my own authority.” Welcome to the world where the truth is challenged, history is rewritten, and the conventions are thrown out.
It was not long ago that the positive impact of Christianity was taken for granted. A few years ago, a man named Tom Holland, not the actor, but the historian Tom Holland, wrote a book called Dominion. In this book (remember Tom Holland is not a believer), he claims that just about everything that we find admirable in human behavior comes to us through Christianity. At one time, that fact was widely understood, just taken for granted. You may not be a Christian. You may not want to hold to Christian principles, but the fact remained you understood the good things we have are owed to historic Christianity. That is no longer assumed. Let me give you some examples of why I would say that.
It is becoming increasingly the case that even Christian ethics are seen as incompatible with human dignity. Christian ethics are seen as incompatible with human flourishing. Let me give you just two examples. In 2019, a British medical doctor named David Mackereth lost his job, not because of malpractice. He did not leave a sponge in someone’s body, he did not do something terrible like cut off the wrong hand. He did none of that. He lost his job as a medical doctor because he declined to use pronouns that conflicted with an individual’s birth gender. Because he lost his job over this, he went to court. In his defense of what he was doing, he referred to and relied upon his religion as his defense. He specifically cited Genesis 1:27: “Male and female he created them.” Listen to the verdict. The verdict went against him. “His belief in Genesis 1:27, an objection to transgenderism, is incompatible with human dignity and conflicts with the fundamental rights of others.” So, according to this one case in the UK, the public practice of Christianity was no longer presumed to be good for the social order. He lost the case because he based it on Genesis 1:27.
There was a professor I had in graduate school teaching a short course to high school students on the historical proof for the resurrection of Jesus. In other words, he spent several days saying, “Here are the facts. Here’s the demonstration that it is clear Jesus rose from the grave.” At the end of the seminar, a young lady, a high school girl, came up to him and said, “Listen, you have convinced me. What you have just presented has to be true. However, unless the Bible is going to allow me to live my life as a bisexual, I want nothing to do with it.” The facts were presented. She believed what he said about the tomb being empty and yet said, “I choose not to follow because of this.”
Moral relativism is one of the defining characteristics of our age. We live with contradictions, changing what we value on a regular basis. The world is okay with living in the middle of contradictions. The world is okay with living in a place where we can say, “I value this today and I’ll pick something different tomorrow. What makes me feel good today might not be what makes me feel good tomorrow.” That is not how truth works.
We are now going to cover three things: 1) Truth is objective, 2) Truth is universal, and 3) Truth is that which, when it is adhered to and lived by, as Jesus said, sets us free. What I mean by that is this: Truth is what allows us to live the best life. Truth is objective; it is universal, and it sets us free. It allows us to be our best selves. Let us start with truth being objective.
Truth is Objective
When I say that truth is objective, what I mean is that truth is about the relationship between what I believe and what is real. There is a real world out there. I know that some of you have heard my grandfather say, “Every precisely stated proposition is either true or false.” So, if I say the grass is green, well, it is either true or false. Maybe we have to state it more specifically, because one may ask, “Which patch of grass do you mean?” The patch of grass right outside the window. It is either green or it is not. Look at another statement: “It is raining outside.” That is either true or it is false. It is true for all of us. You cannot live a truth that is different from someone else. It is not true for you right now that it is not raining outside and it is for me. That is not the way truth works. One of the easiest ways to understand this is to think about the word outside. Truth is objective. truth is outside. It is beyond me; it is above me; it is something that comes from a place other than inside of me.
To be subjective means it comes from inside. Objective comes from the outside. Objective is imposed. Subjective is decided. If truth is from inside me I can declare certain foods to be the best, certain colors to be the prettiest. These are the opinions I have about the objective reality that is around me. When I say Tennessee is south of Kentucky, that is an objective statement. It does not matter how you feel about it. You may love The Orange and hate The Big Blue, which does not matter. Tennessee is south of Kentucky. That is objectively true for all of us. “Murder is wrong.” How about that statement? We could argue about it, but that is an objective statement. It is either true or false. “God exists. Jesus rose from the dead.” These are statements that, regardless of what is believed, are either true or false. Obviously, I would contend that all four of those statements we just made are true because truth is objective. It is set—established, fixed. You and I must recognize it and adjust accordingly.
Let me give you just a few biblical facts about this. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me” (John 14:6). Jesus is the only way. That is an objective standard that He has set. There is no other way to Heaven; no other way to the Father except by Him. Jesus would say as He looked to the Father. “Thy word is truth” (John 17:17). The word of God is true. I was talking to someone recently about the late Marshall Keeble and one of his favorite sayings. He would say, “You can get mad at me, but the Bible is right.” The Bible is true. It does not matter what we think about it. No matter what our opinions are, the Bible is true. One of the reasons it is important for us to nail this down, establish this, and be firmly convinced in it, is because there are several popular sayings that muddy the water, and we need to think through it. Have you ever heard this said, “Live your truth.” We need to be ready with an answer to someone who says it to us. While we all have different experiences, that does not change the fact that there is only the truth. Truth is objective, and it does not change due to circumstances or locations. We have different experiences. However, we do not have different truth. Most of all, we do not get to determine or decide what is true or false. Jesus has done that already. He is the truth. He has revealed the truth to us in His holy word. If someone says to you to live your truth, they may really love you, care a lot about you, and want the very best for you, but if they tell you to just live your truth, they are sincerely mistaken about the proper approach to life. We must live His truth. We must live the truth. We have to have our lives, our hearts, and our minds in submission to Him and what He has revealed. That statement, “live your truth,” is a lie, and it is dangerous. It goes against everything that we know about what truth really is. Instead of live your truth, submit to the truth. Instead of live your truth, embrace the truth and see what the Lord has in store.
Here is the second statement. Not just live your truth, but “Follow your heart.” It is a similar statement to the previous one. That has pretty good appeal in the movies, but it is a completely different story when talking about making moral decisions. Is “Follow your heart” in harmony with Scripture? “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord. Turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones” (Proverbs 3:5-8). Jeremiah told us that the heart “is deceitful above all things and desperately sick” (Jeremiah 17:9). Instead of follow your heart, the Lord tells us to guard our hearts because our hearts can be led astray (Proverbs 4:23). Our hearts can be inundated with that which is evil and wicked and a lie, and our hearts can fall prey to that lie. Guard your hearts. In James, specifically James 3:14 and James 4:8, the Lord tells us that we need to be aware that our hearts can be full of things like bitter jealousy. Our hearts can be full of selfish ambition. Because that is true, that our hearts can be full of those ugly things, we need to purify our hearts. The message from the Lord is to purify your heart. Do not just follow your heart as is said in the world. We need to be aware that our hearts might be hardened due to the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:8, 15; 4:7). So the Lord is calling upon us to take care of our hearts. Protect them. Let them be molded and shaped by Jesus, not by our own selfish desires. Again, when someone says, “Follow your heart,” they may love you. They may want good things for you, but they do not understand the way truth works. That is not what we are to be doing.
One more lie that sounds great, but distorts the reality of truth is: “Be true to yourself.” Generally, when that is said, what is meant? “Just do what will make you happy.” These are not healthy statements biblically speaking. You have different choices you can make, different decisions you can make. Jesus told us to deny ourselves (Matthew 16:24-26), take up a cross (meaning die to self), and follow Him. We are told to hold fast to our confession (Hebrews 10:23). In other words, be true to and hold fast to Him. There are very clear divine expectations on us: we are to put others first: put up with the failings of others (Romans 15:1); show honor to others (Romans 12:10); seek the good of others (1 Corinthians 10;24); count others as more significant than ourselves (Philippians 2:3). In other words, we are to continually be those who are looking for ways to build others up, to be true to the Lord, be true to the church, be true to others, rather than living in a selfish exalted way that will destroy us. Exalt yourself and you will be destroyed. Crucify yourself and Christ will live in you and build you up. “I’ve been crucified with Christ. It’s no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh. I live by the faith and son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). These are just a few of several statements (moral platitudes) that you will see posted over and over. All are out of harmony with what it means to know the objective truth that does not change.
Truth is Universal
When I say “truth is universal,” it means that all people everywhere have to acknowledge this reality. Like the previous statements—"Kentucky is north of Tennessee, God is real, Jesus is risen from the dead”—truth is true for all people at all times. History, math, physics, truth is truth regardless of time or place. Look at a couple of universal truths that you and I need to acknowledge and then share: The words of Jesus are going to judge humanity (John 12:48). There will be a time when all will be judged by the words that Jesus Christ has spoken. The name of Jesus will be confessed by all (Philippians 2:9-11). This is a situation where it is not only the case that we must acknowledge that truth is objective and universal, but in that situation, we must say that this applies to all people at all times. If you have ever drawn a breath, there will be a time when you will stand before the Lord in judgment. There is coming a time when you will spend eternity somewhere. That was another statement my grandfather said frequently. He wrote a book about it: Immortality—All of Us Will be Somewhere Forever. That is a universal truth. Every single person will exist forever either in Heaven or Hell. If we do not understand these two core concepts about the truth, that it is objective and universal, then we have lost. As we go about our daily lives, as you see continual contradictory messages, return to this: truth is true all the time everywhere. Truth is objective, does not change, and universally applies to all people in all places.
Truth Sets Us Free
Truth is objective; Truth is universal; Truth is what sets us free. It is also what allows us to live the best life. Remember the young lady who said, “I can see it. I can put the pieces together and the information seems to be the case that yes, Jesus did rise from the grave, but I don’t feel like that’s a good thing because it doesn’t let me live the way I want to live. And so until it lets me live the way I want to live, I’m not going to acknowledge that.” Instead of focusing on whether something is true, focus has now turned to is it good. Somebody may say, “Well, yeah, it might be true, but is it good? If it’s not good, I don’t want anything to do with it.” That is a crazy thing to say. However, that is where we are. In our everyday apologetics, it is so important to say, “Yes, it’s true and I can show you it is true.” We can also say it is what leads us to the best life. It is what allows us to live the most fulfilling, most flourishing best life. Submitting to the truth is what leads to the best life. From the days of Moses, while he was leading the people and sharing the law with them, God said, I’m giving you this law. Why? For your good you follow this law, you submit to this rule of mine and it will be to your benefit. To the times we now live in: if we acknowledge that there is this standard of truth and we submit to it, it will actually lead to our best life. It will set us free. Knowing and following the truth changes us for the better. It makes us our very most authentic selves. If you want to be your authentic, genuine self, then live the way you have been designed to live by Almighty God.
Here is a statement that is dumbfounding. Someone desired to live an immoral lifestyle, and had left their family to go live an immoral lifestyle. When their religious friends reached out and said, “Whoa, you can’t! You have to throw the brakes on. You can’t live like this. You have to change.” The dumbfounding reply was, “If you want to change me, you do not love me. If you feel warm towards me, but also believe I’m going to burn in Hell, you don’t love me.” Now, that is just one example, however, that is indicative of a generation of thought. “If you love me, you will never ask me to change. If you love me, you will embrace and champion and celebrate any places I want to go.”
Does this sentiment harmonize with Scripture? Notice what Jesus said to the rich young ruler in Mark 10:17-22. Did He say: “Okay, just go do whatever you feel like is going to make you the happiest. That’s what I embrace as well.”? No. Jesus told him to go sell all he had. He told him, you have to change. You have a problem in your heart. You have idols set up in your heart which need to be eradicated. And because Jesus loved him, He told him he had to go change. Does disagreement equal hate? No. Does love require agreement and celebration? No. Is it wrong to try and convert someone who does not know Jesus? No.
Encouraging someone to change means you have no love for them has been revealed in the last few years in this digital generation. Please do not believe the lie that says love does not demand change. Because for each and every single one of us, I do not just mean the evangelist who is out in foreign mission fields, or the one who is going out into the streets, if we do not change, we do not see Heaven. Repentance is all about change (Luke 13:3, 5). It is about a change of direction. It is about a change of commitment from self to God. It is about a change of priorities. It is about a change of heart. Repentance is all about change. If you and I do not change, we do not see Heaven. So, please do not believe the lie that says love accepts and embraces any and all ideas and any and all actions. In fact, just the opposite is true. First Corinthians 13:6 tells us that love does not celebrate iniquity. Love does not celebrate and uphold sin. Love rejoices in—TRUTH. When talking about love, we have to talk about truth. That is why I am convinced that this is an important concept for us to think through. If we are going to be powerful, pertinent, relevant, godly apologists, doing it every single day, not just on Sundays or Wednesdays, but every day, having conversations with people that we know and love, go to school with, work with, we must understand the concept of truth because there are lies that say love just embraces anything. The Lord says love rejoices in the truth. Jesus told those that He was addressing that if they would abide in His word they would be set free (John 8:31-32). “The truth sets you free.” It is the same for all people in all places. It is liberating because Jesus tells us that the truth can be known and in knowing that truth, we can be set free.
Here are some of the ways that knowing the truth is liberating. Knowing the truth takes us out of the darkness and brings us into the light. Why is this good? It is terrible to spend extended periods of time in the darkness. And that could be literal or metaphorical. The power goes out for more than a day and we panic, stumbling into furniture, yet still expecting the lights to turn on when we absent-mindedly turn the switch on. How much worse is it to be in a state of darkness morally or spiritually, being desperate to get somewhere good, but you do not know where to go? We have a world of people who are desperate for something that shows them they matter, for something that shows them there is a way out of the darkness, out of the pain. There is a way out of the ugliness. The Lord told us that by abiding in His word and walking with Him, we can be set free. We can share that with others. You want out of your pain. You want out of your indecision. You want out of your moral conundrums. You want out of these things. You are brought out of that with the truth. Knowing the truth brings us from darkness into the light.
Knowing the truth keeps us safe, whether it is about road conditions or food you might be eating. I know it is a very important thing. We have women that run our kitchens at camp. They are concerned with food allergies because this is a serious thing. If you mix something up for some child and they get sick, we have a problem. What about warnings as far as the weather goes? We recently returned from a trip on the west coast (Washington, Oregon). As we were getting home, the area we visited was getting hit with a tsunami. I am thankful we got out of there in the few minutes that we did. But you know what? The people who were there are thankful they were warned. I actually saw a headline that said, “Don’t go down to the beach to watch the tsunami.” Can you imagine? Numerous people have gone down to the beaches to watch tsunamis in the past. Someone needed to tell them going to the beach to watch the tsunami is foolish. They needed to be told the truth. Going to the beach to watch the tsunami will kill you. You and I are in a position to know the truth about what comes next. Remember the universal truth, a judgment day is coming. And we know it. We know that is coming. The obligation is upon us to warn others and tell them because it is the truth that actually keeps us safe. The truth brings us from a place of ignorance and darkness into a place of knowledge and light. The truth keeps us safe from those things that hurt us.
Knowing and obeying the truth of Jesus sets us free in every kind of way. Specifically, it sets us free spiritually. We go from bumbling around in the darkness, not knowing if our next step will bring pain, to confidently walking in the light, knowing that we are free from guilt, knowing that we are free from consequences of sin, knowing that Heaven is our home, knowing that we are safe in the arms of the Lord. When you know that, when you know that is the truth, it changes everything about the way you approach life. “When you were slaves to sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of these things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin, have become slaves of God. The fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end eternal life. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:20-23). What we think about the truth affects everything about us.
I hope you will remember the Lord expects us to be apologists. The Lord expects you to defend the truth (1 Peter 3:15). Everyday Apologetics starts with knowing what it means to say something is true. That is a big deal. You may have taken it for granted in the past, but in this day and age, we must stop taking statements like that for granted.
Everyday Apologetics starts with knowing what it means to say this is true. It is true that Jesus died. It is true that Jesus was buried. It is true that Jesus rose again. It is true that He ascended to the right hand of the Father. It is true that He ever lives to intercede for us now. And it is true that He is coming back. It is true that there will be a judgment day. He is the truth. May we all help a confused and broken world to see that.
Originally delivered
July 30, 2025
Edited for publishing