Contend for the Faith
A fully-equipped apologetic approach functions as both the defense and the offense in the battle for Gospel Truth. And a biblical worldview is the standard bearer in contending for the faith.
Christians have a biblical mandate to “contend for the faith” (Jude 3). Practicing apologetics is the practical, biblical, and intellectual response to this mandate. A well-rounded apologetic approach functions as both the defense and the offense in this battle. Apologetics defends the faith by answering objections to and clarifying misconceptions about the Christian faith by offering reasoned arguments (1 Peter 3:15). Apologetics should also tear down the competing false ideas that people believe (2 Corinthians 10:5) so that they may be ready to receive the truth of the Gospel.
Many approaches to apologetics seek “neutral” ground with unbelievers, as if facts and logic exist in a vacuum, untouched by worldview commitments. But the truth is, there is no such neutrality. Every person interprets reality through the lens of his deepest beliefs about God, truth, and existence. The real common ground for apologetics is not some abstract facts but reality itself. Romans 1:18–21 teaches that God’s existence and attributes are “clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made.” Simply put, everyone lives in the same world God created, and deep down, everyone knows it. But while the evidence of God is plain, people “suppress the truth in unrighteousness.”
The mechanisms people use to suppress the truth are alternative worldviews such as secular humanism, materialism, naturalism, spiritism, and Marxism. The problem with these alternative worldviews is that they either do not match reality or lack intellectual coherence. In other words, false worldviews have inherent contradictions that force unbelievers into a dilemma: either deny observable aspects of reality or ignore the conflict between their professed beliefs and lived experience.
Additionally, these secular worldviews might claim neutrality but ultimately depend on assumptions to justify logic, morality, and scientific investigation that only a biblical worldview can explain. For example, materialists who deny divine design still rely on the uniformity of nature. The uniformity of nature, however, only makes sense if a sovereign and immutable God upholds the laws of nature. The pursuit of scientific knowledge assumes nature is intelligible—an expectation grounded in the belief that a rational Creator fashioned an orderly universe. Similarly, moral outrage at injustice presupposes an objective standard, which materialism cannot provide.
Scripture, on the other hand, bases morality on a transcendent God’s unchanging essence. Without the God of the Bible, there is no reason to trust human reason, condemn evil, or seek truth through scientific investigation. In short, the biblical worldview is not just one option among many; it is the only worldview that makes sense of reality. Every attempt to deny or replace it ultimately fails, either by denying obvious truths or by borrowing from the very worldview it seeks to reject.
To contend for the faith, Christians must arm themselves with the biblical worldview so they can dismantle the truth-suppressing mechanisms unbelievers have adopted. Further, they can then commend Christianity to them because it is the only worldview that consistently and coherently accounts for the world as it actually is. In the end, the unbeliever is brought face to face with the fact that his real reason for rejecting the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not intellectual; it is volitional.
Get Equipped to contend for the faith
Earn a degree in Apologetics from Mid-America and trust you’re learning from a biblical worldview.
Master of Arts in Apologetics
A two-year degree offered through both Mid-America College and Seminary. Available on campus or online.
Master of Divinity in Apologetics
A three-year degree offered through Mid-America Seminary. Available on campus or online.