 Okay, welcome back everyone to our second lecture, BC212 Christian Apologetics, recording is on and I'm going to just go ahead and share the PDF so we can look at the notes and continue. Okay, can you see the PDF? Alright, so what we were saying is that biblical apologetics and Ravalli was asking this question during the break, biblical apologetics includes both wisdom and demonstration, that means both the teaching or the reasoning plus the demonstration of the power of God. That's biblical because we see it in the ministry of Jesus, Peter, Paul, the Apostles, they did both, they reasoned and demonstrated and so I want to encourage us also to follow that pattern. What Ravalli was asking was that in the church today, typically we see only the reasoning part. We don't see the apologists in the church today, if somebody says, okay, he or she is an apologist, most of the time you'll see them only doing the reasoning part, that is they will, from a philosophical point of view, they may give some reasons or some of them may be scientists or from a scientific perspective, they'll give some reasons, some of them may be archaeologists, so they will give, you know, they say, oh, we found this, we found that, they give reasons, but you don't find people who necessarily give reasons and also depend on the supernatural, the demonstrations, right? So what I want to emphasize to us is we need to do both, we do it the biblical way, the biblical way is reason and demonstrates. So I put that statement there, Paul reasoned and demonstrated, so must we. A very interesting case, there are many things you can look at, but in Acts chapter 17, when Paul is on his Paul and Silas, when they're on their second missionary journey, they go through, you know, many important cities in those days, of course, in Bible times. So in Acts chapter 17, they go through Corinth and from Corinth they come into Athens and these are very important cities in those times and Athens in those days, Bible times was like the intellectual capital of the world, right? So we had these great philosophers, Greek philosophers, who all studied and practiced in Athens. So it's like that was their hub, as you can say, an educational hub in those times, you know, and all these great philosophers were there. As a Paul in his journey, he comes there, you know, and so you can imagine, Paul of course is a very scholarly man. So God uses him in Acts chapter 17 to speak to the Aeropagus. Aeropagus means in Athens, they had a select group of people who were like the core group of intellectuals. They're like the elite people, usually about, you know, maybe about 2021 people, right? And Paul is invited. So if you look at Acts 17, let's look at, you know, I just want to point out these scriptures, Acts 17 and verse number two was to, it says, as his custom was, Paul, as his custom was, went into them and for three Sabbaths, reasoned with them from the scriptures. So now this is in Thessalonica, before he comes all the way to Athens. He's in Thessalonica. Notice what is Paul doing? He's reasoning with them from the scriptures. So this is theological reasoning. So we said, you know, one branch of apologetics means is theological, we're using the scriptures. So in this particular case, because he's speaking to Jewish people, he's reasoning from the scriptures. He's saying, hey, see, scriptures are saying this, so you should believe he's reasoning from the scriptures. So that was part of what Paul would do if he was speaking to the Jews. See, depending on his audience, he knew how to speak to them. So to the Jews, he will reason from the scriptures. He could point from the scriptures. I'll point to you, show you that Jesus is Christ, the Messiah. So he's reasoning from the scriptures. Now, when he comes over to Athens, and this we skip now to Acts 17, chapter 17, verse 16, when Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw the city was given over to idols. There he reasoned in the synagogues with the Jews and with the Gentile worshippers and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there. So now he's come to Athens. These are not Jews. These are Gentiles, their idol worshippers and philosophers and all those kinds of people in Athens. He's also reasoning with them. But no, he's not reasoning necessarily from the scriptures. You will see that when he is invited, verse 19, and they took him and brought him to the Aeropagus saying, maybe know what this new doctrine is of which you speak. For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore, we want to know what these things mean for all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time and nothing else, but either to tell or hear something new. Then Paul stood in the midst of the Aeropagus and said, men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious. But as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription, who the unknown God, therefore the one whom you worship without knowing him, I proclaim to you. So now you think about this. He's brought before the Aeropagus. Aeropagus, like I said, they're the elite, the chief people, philosophers, thinkers in that city, Athens. So they bring him and actually they used to sit on a place called Mars Hill. I mean, there's a hill in Athens still there. They call it Mars Hill. They'll sit there and they will listen. Okay, some new person is telling something new. You speak to us. We will ask you questions. So you can imagine Paul was brought to Mars Hill in front of the Aeropagus, about 20, 21 people, chief people. And they say, well, you tell us, you're saying something. You tell us what it is. And to them, you see how he speaks. He says, hey, I was doing sightseeing in your city. I saw that you're very spiritual. You worship so many idols, so many gods. You even have one idol that says to the unknown God. And that God whom you are worshiping without knowing, I want to talk to you about him. You see how smart he is? So he is reasoning with them using their own thoughts and ideas. You're saying I'm worshiping unknown God. I know that God. I'll tell you about him, who that unknown God is. And he talks to them. And then he actually quotes from their own script, not for scriptures, their own poets. He says, as one of your own poets said in verse 28, so he even knew something about their literature. Ah, see, you have this poet who said, in him, we move and live and have a being. You see, so he's using their own literature and talking to them. So to the Jews, he would reason from the scriptures to these Gentiles, idol worshipers, philosophers. He is using something in their own understanding. And he's reasoning with them, presenting the Gospel. So Paul reasoned with people, and he did it very intelligently, depending on whom he is speaking to, he could present Jesus to them. And in fact, by the time he finishes, end of Acts 17, some of them said, okay, we will go think about it, which is typical answer, we'll get Acts 17, verse 32, some of them mocked, when he spoke about Jesus rising from the dead, Acts 17, 32, some said, we will listen to this again. And then verse 34, some joined and believed. That means from this group of people, this is very important, from this core group of people. So you can imagine, 2020 people like that very top, some of them laughed, he's saying, somebody rose from the dead, others said, oh, we need to think about it. And then in that core group, some said, some were persuaded and they believed, it says here. And they mentioned the name, Dinosius, the Arabic guy, it's a woman, a woman named Demaris and others were done. So there were, you know, and out of 20 people, we get three, four, you know, these are all thinkers, philosophers, they believed. So Paul reasoned with them and through his presentation of the gospel, they believed. But we also know that wherever Paul went, he also demonstrated, you know, he not only preached, but he also demonstrated, he did that. And you can see that in the other scriptures. So for us, I want us to follow Jesus, follow Peter, follow Paul. That is, we reason and demonstrate. That's biblical apologetics. So if we see people only doing the reasoning part, we're saying, well, they're only doing 50%. You know, they're not doing the real biblical apologetics. They should, we should do reasoning and demonstration, believe God for the supernatural. Now, I want us to change our thinking a little bit now and talk about the spiritual side to all of this. That means remember that even in the thought process that people have, there is demonic influence in the thought process. So example, if you're speaking to an atheist, atheism, there is no God. Ah, I don't believe in God. No, everything happened by, you know, examine. So the big bank or universe came through the evolutionary process life came. I don't believe in God. So that philosophy or that thought, that idea is not just his way of thinking. It's not just his way of thinking because behind that thought, that idea is demonic influence. We'll see it in scripture. So in our presentation of apologetics, that means when we are presenting our defense or our arguments or our reasoning, we're presenting, understand that our battle is not just with flesh and blood. We are not just fighting in arguments. We are not trying to convince this person, hey, God exists. He says, I'm an atheist. So we must understand, he may not know, but we must understand that behind this idea of atheism, there is a demonic influence. It is beyond more than just countering thought to thought. So let us see that in scripture. Second Corinthians, chapter 4, verses 3 and 4. Paul is writing, he says, but even if our gospel is wailed, it is wailed to those who are perishing, whose minds the God of this age has blinded, who do not believe. There's a light to the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God, should shine on them. See, if our gospel does not preach, it is wailed, it is hidden from those who do not believe, they're dying, but what about them was for their minds, the God of this age has blinded. That means minds, meaning we're talking about their thought process, their thinking, their reasoning has been blinded by the God of this age, demonic promise, the God of this age has blinded their minds. And what's he trying to do? He's trying to prevent the light of the gospel from shining in. So that wrong idea, wrong thought, you know, atheism or any of these other things that the ideas that we will have to respond to is actually an attempt by the enemy to prevent the light of the gospel from coming in. It is an attempt to blind their minds. Must understand. The God of this age has blinded their minds, their thinking. We see in 2 Corinthians 10 verse 4 to 6, again this is verse as we know, but he's saying that there are thoughts, 2 Corinthians 10, for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments, every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. I'm bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. So there are strongholds, arguments, every high thing. And some versions will say reasoning that is opposing the knowledge of God, is opposing the truth. So in the minds of people, there are these strongholds, arguments, reasonings, thoughts that opposing the the knowledge of God, but we have spiritual weapons that can pull these things down. So while we are making the presentations, while we are sharing the truth, there is also a spiritual battle involved. It's not just about, okay, I give the right, I said the right things, whatever I learned in the course, I said it. It is part of it. You can say you should share it, but also remember there is a spiritual battle. We have to pray, we have to pull down these strongholds in the minds of people which are against the knowledge of the truth. They are opposing, in their minds it is contradicting, in their minds it is opposing the knowledge of the truth. It is a spiritual battle. Chapter 11, Second Corinthians 11, even for believers, you know, Paul is writing to believers, he's writing to the Corinthians, he says, you know, I'm jealous for you with the godly jealousy, that's verse two, verse three, I fear somehow as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. Even believers sometimes can have their minds corrupted. Paul is writing to believers, so just like how the devil deceived Eve, sometimes even believers can get their minds deceived, corrupted from the truth. So there is a battle that is going on in the minds and we have to be mindful of that. And in 1 Timothy chapter 4, especially in the times we are living in, 1 Timothy chapter 4, Paul says that in the times we live in the last days, 1 Timothy 4 verses 1 to 4, he says, the Spirit expressly says, or very, very clearly he's saying, 1 Timothy chapter 4 verse 1, that in the latter times, some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons. Think about that, 1 Timothy 4 1, deceiving spirits, that means there are spirits that are actually trying to deceive, cheat, you know, in the minds and doctrines are teachings of demons. Even demons like to teach, teachings of demons, that means they are promoting some idea, some philosophy, some argument, teachings of demons and they can come through, you know, can come through any form, whether it's some idea from a scientific lab or some philosophy from some, you know, great leader or spiritual person, whatever, can come to so many different ways, but they are deceiving spirits, teachings of demons coming through. So I'm highlighting this so that we understand that there is a spiritual battle even when we are presenting, you know, our arguments, our reasoning, our explanation, there is something going on in the minds of people that's preventing them from receiving. So it is not going to be just our argument, our reasoning, but there is our prayer and our spiritual work that we do that's going to help them receive from the Lord. Then understand that as we are presenting our response, we are presenting our defense, there could be different kinds of human responses. In 2 Thessalonians chapter 3 Paul says, you know, 2 Thessalonians 3 verse 1 and 2 says, brethren pray for us that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified just as it is with you that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men for not all have faith. So there will be sometime, second, people who are unreasonable and wicked. There are no ways so they will be people who oppose what you're saying. They sound very unreasonable. You can't even reason with them to want to listen. No, no, you guys are gone, gone case, madmen unreasonable and wicked not all have faith. So we will face people like that. But I want us to, and then in 1 Timothy 6, Paul says that even in the church, there might be people who have it in years. That means they don't want to listen to the truth. They only want to listen to what they want to listen to. 1 Timothy, sorry, this is verse 20, 21. Sorry, that was 1 Timothy chapter 6 verse 20, 21. Okay, sorry, that was my mistake. It was earlier in chapter 6, but in verse 20, 21, Paul says, tells us something different. 1 Timothy, guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge by professing it. Some have straight concerning the faith, grace be with you. So 1 Timothy, avoid some of these things. Don't even get involved with that. But there are people who are trying to contradict what you are saying using what is falsely called knowledge. They just, they think, oh, I know something about this philosophy, this idea. They're opposing, fighting. So just avoid it. Don't even get involved with this. Just avoid it. Guard, we have to protect the truth. Guard what I have committed to you. Don't get involved with these kinds of things. And some have gone away from the faith. I want us to look at 2 Timothy chapter 2. We'll spend some time on this. 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 23 to 26, because this teaches us how to interact with people who oppose us. 2 Timothy chapter 2, verses 23 to 26. All right, so let's look at that carefully. 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 23 to 26, Paul tells Timothy, he says, but avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel, but be gentle to all, able to teach patience, in humility correcting those who are in opposition. If God perhaps will grant them repentance so that they may know the truth, that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will. So very important. This passage is very important. So Paul is saying, don't get into verse 23, foolish and ignorant disputes or debates, arguments, don't get into that. And sometimes people, for the sake of arguing, they will argue, whether they understand what they are saying or not, they'll argue. Paul is saying, hey, avoid these kinds of things, debates, disputes, arguments, avoid it, because it only gives rise to strife. And then you want to punch each other's face. Okay. So don't even get into that. Don't get into such things. So we must answer genuine questions. But if people are coming to us just to argue, fight, don't avoid. I mean, just avoid. Don't get into. Because why? If you say something, they say something, they say something, and then it just becomes verse verse, and then you get very angry. Avoid. Yeah, I've had this, both in the church and outside the church, because even church people won't argue. When I see, so first, you know, when people come and they ask a question, you think, okay, very genuine, then you see, they start coming back. Then when I know that this thing is becoming a argument, a debate, a dispute, I will just say, hey, I would like to end this conversation here. Doesn't matter whether you think you won or I won, there's not the issue of who won. Doesn't matter. I want to end it here. Why? Because I'm seeing it's going to get into where it is getting, you know, it's just becoming a fight. Here, I'd like to end this here. Let us, I'll leave the conversations. They can think what they want. It doesn't matter. They can think, oh, he's scared, or he doesn't know the answer, or he's trying to escape. It's okay, you think like that if you want to. But for me, following this instruction is important, right? Paul said, avoid foolish and ignorant disputes. Avoid it, because it only is giving rise to strife. I don't want it even to go there. Let us stop here and then peacefully leave. Don't continue the conversation. So he says in verse 24, a servant of the Lord must not quarrel. So don't get into that quarrelling. So the moment you're seeing some discussion is going that direction, just stop it. Don't get into it. Servant of the Lord must not quarrel. Sometimes quarrelling happens on email. You sign one, they'll send another one. You say no, they'll send another one. Hey, this is not going anywhere. I'm not going to reply. Just stop. You know, it's just meaningless. Now if they ask a genuine question, you give an answer. But then it becomes a quarrel on email. No, no, just stop. Leave it. I'm not responding. Thank you very much. Leave it. Servant of the Lord must not quarrel. But how much, what must our approach be? Be gentle to all able to teach patient. So be gentle, be willing to teach, that is your willing to explain and be patient. So from my side, we must be gentle, explain properly, be patient from our side. But if it is getting into a dispute, getting into quarrel, you will stop. I'm ready to be gentle. I'm ready to be patient. I'm ready to explain. But if it's going in the wrong direction, don't want to get into it. Then notice verse 25. In humility, correct those who are in opposites. So there will be people opposing our ideas around what we are saying. In humility, we will speak the truth. So they say there is no God. Okay, I will explain to you why we believe there is truth. In humility, we'll do it. Humbly we'll do it. They're in opposition, they're opposing us, but we will do it in humility. But notice what it says here. If God will perhaps will grant them repentance so that they may know the truth. So God has to change their minds. Repentance is a change of minds. Only God can do that. On our side, in humility, we will correct. In humility, we will respond. They're opposing us. We will be humble. We will give them the truth, but only God can give them repentance. Only God can change their minds. Only God can grant them repentance so that they may come to the truth. And then he noticed he adds this, verse 26, that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil having been taken captive by him to do his will. So even Paul here is recognizing there is another dimension that is the devil has them captured. This is another dimension here. So it's not just about me correcting. In humility, I will correct them. They're in opposition. In humility, I will give them the truth, but it is God who is going to give them repentance and it is only God who's going to bring them out of the snare of the devil. The devil's taking them captive. Only God can get them out. So we do our part, but this is how we should do our part. Don't get into dispute, don't get into strife, don't get into quarrel, but in gentleness and humility, patience, you teach and correct. That's how we will do. Only God can change their minds. Only God can bring them out. Yeah, good. Go ahead. Just because somebody does not believe in the devil, does it mean the devil is not there? They say, I don't believe in devil. If you don't believe in devil, that doesn't make the devil go away. It's still there. And the fact that even that thought is inspired by the devil. Oh, I am not here. But then when they see somebody manifesting, see somebody, hey, how could you say devil is not there? Look, devil is there speaking, doing things. So there are people who say, hey, I don't believe in anything outside of the natural. I don't believe in angels. I don't believe in devils. I don't believe in God. Your Christians are crazy. You're saying there is God, there is angels, there is devil. Just because you don't believe doesn't mean it makes it go away. It is there. Only he's saying it's absent. But when he has an encounter with either God, angels or demons, it will make a believer know it is. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So the devil has blinded their minds so they don't accept the truth. Now, we would not say that every person who believes in the wrong thing is possessed, no. Possession is totally different. This is just the mind is blinded with some wrong ideas, with some untruths, deception, you know. So they've embraced a lie. They've accepted a lie, example atheism. They've accepted a lie, something else, except so that is the mind has been deceived. That's why they think like that. So we in gentleness, patience, humility, we bring them the truth. Correct them. Ideas. See, it can, I would say normally it will be their own understanding, right? Or the lack of knowledge of the truth, their own understanding. Sometimes they could also be further instigated by the demonic influence, especially when they start getting violent and agitated and things like that. So normally it's their own thinking, you know, that they're arguing from their own thinking, but it could go beyond. Yeah. All right. So again, I would highlight 2 Timothy chapter 2, verses 23 to 26, as this is the way we must do it. Paul is going to say very clearly, this is how you work with people who are in opposition. They're against us, but take do it like this and depend on God to give them repentance. Okay. And just 2 more things I just want to highlight is our dependence is on the Holy Spirit, right? So John 16, 7 to 11, Jesus says that one of the ministries of the Holy Spirit is towards the world. One of the work he will do is towards the world. In John 16, he says he will convict the world. John 16, 7, he says verse 8, when he comes, he will convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. So the work of the Holy Spirit is to convict. It's not our work. Our work is to present the truth. It's the Holy Spirit's work to convict. Sin, righteousness, judgment. Sin, they don't believe in Jesus. That's the sin he's going to convict them of. Righteousness, the Prince of this, sorry, the Lord has gone to the Father because I go to my Father and you see me no more. So we can be made righteous in Christ and of judgment even Satan has been judged. So the Holy Spirit will convict. We present the truth. Holy Spirit, only you convict the heart. So we depend on the Holy Spirit. Second, Peter teaches us that God will use our life to challenge them. So if you go to 1 Peter chapter 2, he says, on the day of visitation, 1 Peter, chapter 2, verse 11 and 12, verse 12, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers they may buy your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. So he's saying, believers, you just maintain your good testimony, your conducts. They may speak against you now, but in the day of visitation, when God visits them, what will happen? They buy your good works which they observe, they glorify God. So you just maintain your conduct, you just live like, you know, not only Christian, I've just lived that before them. When God visits them, they will glorify God when they see your good works. So that means your life which you're living is going to impact them when God visits them. Then they will understand, oh, so and so. See how they lived, why they lived like that? That's because of Jesus. So your conduct will impact their lives. Right? And the last thing we must understand is also, 2 Corinthians 12, 2 Corinthians 3, 12 to 16, Paul says something very interesting. He says, you know, that sometimes people, not sometimes, many times people believe first and then they understand. 2 Corinthians 3, 12 to 16. So he's talking about, you know, the Jews under the Old Covenant. He says, you know, he says, we use great boldness of speech, unlike Moses was 13. He had his face covered and verse 14, the minds were blinded. They couldn't see what God was doing. Verse 15, even today, the whale lies on their heart. Verse 16, when one turns to the Lord, the whale is taken away. So verse 16, what he's saying is, when the heart turns to the Lord, that whale is taken away. That means the heart believes, the heart man believes. The Holy Spirit convicts them. They believe. So the heart believes, then the blindness is very interesting. So in our apologetics, we are trying to address this confusion, this question. So it was good. But remember, when the heart turns to the Lord, sometimes they may believe, even though all their questions have not been answered, because something inside them has convicted them. Something is convicted in the heart. The heart turns to the Lord. The whale is removed. The blindness is, of course. So don't feel bad if you have not answered every question. Don't think that that person will never come to Jesus. No. Sometimes we have maybe have answered one out of 10 questions. It's okay. God, you turn the heart. Because when the heart turns to the Lord, the whale is removed. The mind will follow. The heart comes, mind follows. That's the work of the Holy Spirit. He convicts them. And they believe. They believe the mind, the understanding will come. All these questions will get answered. So it depends on the Holy Spirit. That is, the power of a life will live well. And remember, the head follows the heart. So the heart turns to the Lord. The mind will come. The understanding will come. So let's pause here. I had a few more thoughts, bottom of page 5 and so on. We will complete that next week and then move forward from there. So we'll talk about the power of the gospel next week and finish that up. Any questions? Let me see if there are any questions on the online students. All right. Any questions? So there's something here. Sometimes we see even in families, there are people who come back towards time and again to enforce their ideas in us. But although the Holy Spirit doesn't want us to oblige them in any way, be it our own parents or our close circle, how to get away without getting emotional, argumentative, where they then sometimes catch us with our own words. Okay. Justin, I hope I have understood your question correctly. The point, I mean, the approach we take is that even if people, so if people come to us with genuine questions, of course, we can sit down and explain. But if we feel that, especially if it's our own family or close friends, and we feel that this is more likely to get into a dispute and argument, then we can just politely say, you know, I do have an answer for it, but I would prefer not to discuss it at this time. Something we can defer it off to a later time and then see if they come back with that, you know, they can come back and say, hey, remember, you know, last time I'd asked you this question and you said we'll talk about it later. They come back and, you know, when there is some gen-win-ness in this, there's a sense, like, okay, we can have this conversation peacefully, then of course we can talk to them about it at that time. Yeah, I hope I understood your question correctly. If that's the scenario that we're talking about. Otherwise you can ask me a follow-up question. I can clarify. Okay, fine. Okay, that was it. All right, so any questions from here? All fine? Okay. All right, so let's close and prayer for today. We'll pick this up next week. Take it forward. Father, we thank you for the time in your word, the time of learning. And as we consider these things, we pray that the Holy Spirit will be our teacher. The Holy Spirit will establish these things for us and as we journey forward, let things become clearer and clearer for us and equip us to speak into the lives of people. And Lord, I pray you will set up opportunities for all of us as we go about our daily life. Give us opportunities to speak truth, in love, in humility, to touch the hearts of people and see you work in their lives. Thank you, Father, in Jesus' name. Amen. Okay, thank you, everyone. See you again next week. Bye now.