OBJECTIONS TO THE GOSPEL DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS

OBJECTIONS TO THE GOSPEL Apologia – to give an answer, a defense 1 Peter 3:15,16 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

OBJECTIONS TO THE GOSPEL Communication Principles Your Life is the most persuasive defense of the gospel 1 Peter 3:15,16 – “set apart Christ as Lord” & “good behavior in Christ”

OBJECTIONS TO THE GOSPEL Communication Principles Your Life is the most persuasive defense of the gospel How you say what you say matters Gentleness and Respect Listen, listen listen It’s okay to say I don’t know

OBJECTIONS TO THE GOSPEL Communication Principles Your Life is the most persuasive defense of the gospel How you say what you say matters Only God can change a person’s heart

OBJECTIONS TO THE GOSPEL Objection: “Isn’t the Bible filled with errors, inconsistencies and violence” Response: Bible all-time bestseller Bible claims to be inspired – 2 Tim 3:16,17 Incredibly complex collection of 66 books written over period of 1500 years by 40 different authors Most “inconsistencies and errors” in Bible are due to lack of misunderstanding context, historical background, theological frameworks and literary genres Jesus high view of scripture – Matt 5:17-19

OBJECTIONS TO THE GOSPEL Objection: “Isn’t the Bible filled with errors, inconsistencies and violence” Matt 5: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

OBJECTIONS TO THE GOSPEL Objection: “Christians are a bunch of hypocrites” Response: Sad, but true Christians still struggle with sin Not all that call themselves Christians truly are Jesus had harsh things to say about hypocrites You can’t judge a worldview based on the abuse of that worldview You need to decide for yourself who Jesus is – Luke 9:18-20

OBJECTIONS TO THE GOSPEL Objection: “Christians are a bunch of hypocrites” Luke 9: Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?” 19 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.” 20 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”

OBJECTIONS TO THE GOSPEL Objection: “I believe in God but I’m not sure about Jesus. I do think he was a good moral teacher.” Response: God reveals himself as three in one Jesus claimed divinity – John 10:30-33 C.S. Lewis trilemma argument – Lord, Liar, or Lunatic

OBJECTIONS TO THE GOSPEL Objection: “I believe in God but I’m not sure about Jesus. I do think he was a good moral teacher.” I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.... -C.S. Lewis-

OBJECTIONS TO THE GOSPEL Objection: “Christians are so narrow minded to say that their religion is the only way.” Response: Truth is exclusive All religions/worldviews make exclusive truth claims

OBJECTIONS TO THE GOSPEL Objection: “Christians are so narrow minded to say that their religion is the only way.” “Jesus was a good man just like Buddha, Mohammed, and ourselves. We believe he was a good teacher of morals but we believe that his good morals are really bad. We believe that all religions are basically the same, at least the one we read was. They all believe in love and goodness, they only differ on matters of creation, sin, heaven, hell, God, and salvation.” -Steve Turner-

OBJECTIONS TO THE GOSPEL Objection: “Christians are so narrow minded to say that their religion is the only way.” Response: Truth is exclusive All religions/worldviews make exclusive truth claims Jesus is what makes Christianity unique

OBJECTIONS TO THE GOSPEL Objection: “Christians are so narrow minded to say that their religion is the only way.” John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

OBJECTIONS TO THE GOSPEL Objection: “I can’t believe in a God that allows the suffering and evil in the world today” Response: This is a difficult question Objective moral values can’t exist apart from God Limited human perspective Free creatures living in a fallen world God himself suffered

OBJECTIONS TO THE GOSPEL Objection: “I can’t believe in a God that allows the suffering and evil in the world today” Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

OBJECTIONS TO THE GOSPEL Objection: “I can’t believe in a God that allows the suffering and evil in the world today” Response: This is a difficult question Objective moral values can’t exist apart from God Limited human perspective Free creatures living in a fallen world God himself suffered Christianity offers hope. Suffering has a purpose and God will ultimately deal with sin, death and pain

OBJECTIONS TO THE GOSPEL Objection: “I can’t believe in a God that allows the suffering and evil in the world today” Revelation 21:1-5 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

OBJECTIONS TO THE GOSPEL Be prepared to give a defense… Apologetics Resources Ravi Zacharias – RZIM C.S. Lewis William Lane Craig – Reasonable Faith Your life is the best defense of the gospel

OBJECTIONS TO THE GOSPEL DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS