Giving a Reason for Our Hope by Grover Gunn

Giving a Reason for Our Hope

by Grover Gunn

In the seventeenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, we have an account of the clash of the Titans. The Apostle Paul, that educated, intelligent and erudite defender of the Christian faith, visited Athens, the philosophical center of the pagan world. There at the Areopagus, also known as Mar's Hill, the apostle Paul boldly defended the Christian faith. He proclaimed the Christian message in that ancient citadel of worldly philosophy, that intellectual stronghold of the enemy. Paul there did battle with the philosophical Goliaths of his day. Mt. Zion confronted the pagan Mar's Hill. The heavenly Jerusalem did battle with worldly Athens.

But Paul is not the only apologetic warrior we read about in the book of Acts. We also read about Peter, the man not trained at the feet of Gamaliel but trained to be a fisherman. Acts 4:13 says,

"Now when [the members of the Sanhedrin] saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus."

I find great hope is this verse. Peter was no Paul, certainly not in terms of education, perhaps not in terms of native intelligence and mental ability. Peter even mentions that certain things in Paul's writings are "hard to understand" (2 Peter 3:16). God, however, used Peter as well as Paul as an apologist. Similarly, you may not be another Cornelius Van Til or another Greg Bahnsen in terms of education and intelligence, but God can use you just as He used Peter. God can use you as an apologist, a defender of the Christian faith.

There is a sense in which every aspect of every Christian's life is part of the Christian apologetic. There is something similar in regard to evangelism. Not every Christian is a gifted evangelist. God has not called every Christian to dedicate all his energies to evangelistic preaching or to efforts such as tract ministries. Not every Christian is an evangelist in the narrow sense of the word, but every Christian is an evangelist in a broader sense of the word. The life of every Christian should be a living epistle proclaiming the good news that Jesus delivers His people out of the bondage of sinful living and into the freedom and meaning of righteous living. In that sense, all of life is evangelistic. Similarly, we are not all called to be apologists for the faith in the narrow sense, but in the broader sense of the word, all of life is a defense of the faith. The life we live either adds credibility to our message, or it takes away from it.

Let's now look at what Peter, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, said about the apologetic task. Our Scripture reading is 1 Peter 3:15, perhaps the most basic verse on apologetics to be found in the Bible. Some call it the Magna Charta of apologetics.

"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear."

Apologetics is the science of giving a reasoned defense of the Christian faith, and that is what this verse commands us to do. We are to give a defense, and the Greek word translated defense is apologia, the word from which we get the English word apology. And in this context, an apology is not an expression of sorrow for something wrong one has done nor a request for forgiveness. Apology in this context is a rational defense of the faith.

Apologetics, the defense of the faith, is the responsibility of every Christian. It is the responsibility not only of people such as Paul of Tarsus, the brilliant student of Gamaliel, but also of people such as Peter, the fisherman who was categorized by his opponents as uneducated and untrained. Peter says to all Christians, "be ready to defend the faith." Notice some of those to whom Peter is writing: to babes in Christ, to wives, to younger people, to slaves, and to the lower classes who have no social protection against persecution. To all of these, Peter says, "be ready to defend the faith."

I am reminded of what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 about the social status of many Christians:

26	For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.
27	But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;
28	and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,
29	that no flesh should glory in His presence.

These are the people called to be apologists for the faith. Apologetics is not a task assigned only to well educated scholars, only to well read philosophers, only to trained logicians, only to skilled debaters. It is assigned to all Christians regardless of their gifts and training.

We too easily think of apologetics as if it were strictly an intellectual enterprise such as a game of chess. We line up our evidences for the faith like so many chessmen on a game board. Then we try to move them with such skill and strategy that our opponent is forced into a corner where he has to concede intellectual defeat. When we start thinking about apologetics that way, we want to leave it to the experts, those masters of strategy who are skilled in debate and well read in philosophy. Either that, or we engage in apologetics ourselves and are tempted with pride because we view ourselves as one of the gifted few. We can become more concerned about winning a debate than about winning a soul. We can become more concerned about demonstrating our knowledge and intellectual sophistication than about defending the gospel message.

Peter is not calling us all to become rhetorical gladiators, people skilled in debating strategy, erudite in the fine points of philosophy, adept in the forceful use of logic. What then does it mean to be an apologist for the Christian faith? The answer is found in 1 Peter 3:15. This passage gives us insight into the apologetic method, which is usually our focus in apologetics. 1 Peter 3:15 also, however, tells us about the apologetic moment and the apologetic manner. I want to look first at these two more neglected aspects of apologetics.

THE APOLOGETIC MOMENT

First, let's consider the apologetic moment. What does it matter if one has honed his apologetic skills to a fine art if he never has an opportunity to use them? Before one can defend the faith, he must first earn a hearing for the faith. I believe the foremost duty of the Christian apologist is to live his daily life in obedience to Jesus in the power of Jesus. That is what, more than anything else, will earn a hearing. It will draw the interest and attention, the amazement and wonder of a watching world. Beloved, we don't earn a hearing for the gospel by parading our intellectual achievements and capabilities.

This passage describes the apologetic moment. It is when someone approaches the Christian and asks him to give a reason for his hope. 1 Peter is written to Christians in a time of persecution, and it gives guidance on how the Christian is to conduct himself during such times of tribulation. It is this supernaturally empowered conduct that causes the world to approach the Christian and to say,

"Give me a reason for the hope that is in you. Your life has caught my attention, and I want to know."

Even when the words "Give me a reason," are uttered as a hostile challenge and are intended as verbal persecution, these words have been inspired by the observation of a life style that is strikingly different.

Beloved, if we are not living in the power of Christ, then we can have the most intellectually sophisticated arguments for Christianity which the world has ever heard, and the world could not care less. Apart from a Christ honoring and Christ empowered life, our intellectual arguments for Christianity will be like those scholarly articles buried in academic journals which no one reads. The Christ honoring life is the cutting edge of apologetics. The Christ empowered life is the foot in the door. It is the necessary price we must pay if we are to earn a hearing.

It is only logical that it would be easier to sell ice skates in Canada than it would be to sell them in Mexico. Similarly, the gospel message is more persuasive where the church is strong than where it is weak, where Christians are living out the gospel message than where the they are living as hypocrites.¹ By keeping covenant, by obeying God's law, by loving God with all our being and our neighbor as ourselves, by doing this without complaint, even with a joyful spirit, in the daily grind of the circumstances where God has placed us, we are living out a powerful apologetic, a powerful testimony to the truth of the gospel.

It is when we experience difficulties in life that we are given special opportunities to bear witness with our lives. It is when we are experiencing life's difficulties that others sense that they have more of a window into our souls. We should recognize that our difficulties are not accidents. There are no accidents, only divine assignments because God plans everything that comes into our lives. When we experience material loss, physical sickness or social persecution, we should view it as a providentially given opportunity to bear witness by bearing the fruit of the Spirit.

J.I. Packer described the fruit of the Spirit this way: "Each is a habit of reaction that is most strikingly seen in situations where, humanly speaking, a different reaction would have been expected."² There is a moment of decision between the stimulus and the reaction, and in that instant, that twinkling of the eye, one's heart character takes over and dictates the response. That response reveals one's inner character to others. Here is where ethics and apologetics overlap. One is in a painful, unfair, tense situation. How will one respond? With love or with bitter hatred? With joy or with self-pity? With peace or with enmity? With patience or with a short fuse? With kindness or with a spirit of revenge? With gentleness or with forceful rage? With self-control or with uncontrollable emotions?

Beloved, even though I speak the apologetic message with the eloquent tongues of angels, without the fruit of the Spirit, I have become a sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. The fruit of the Spirit is a sine qua non of an effective apologetic.

Think a moment about a water saturated sponge sitting on a table. If we push down with our finger even slightly, water runs out onto the table. We immediately know what fills the interior pockets of the sponge. The same is true with people. A watching world can tell what fills the Christian on the inside by observing what comes out when the Christian is under pressure. ³ Respond to life's miseries with the fruit of the Spirit, and the world will say, "Give me a reason for the hope that is in you!" That is the apologetic moment. Respond to life's miseries as the world responds to them, and your apology for your faith will fall on deaf ears.

This key to the apologetic moment is a large part of the message of 1 Peter. Repeatedly this epistle refers to the trials of life and the need to endure them in a matter that brings glory to Christ and which also develops one's Christian character (cf. 1 Peter 1:6-7; 2:12, 19-20; 3:14-18; 4:12-13)

Look again at 1 Peter 3:15. Notice that before one gives a defense, he is to sanctify the Lord in his heart. To sanctify the Lord in one's heart is to set Him apart as someone special, to reverence Him as Lord of all of life, to look to Him as one's hope and stay. Doing that will produce the life that inspires the apologetic moment. It will also enable one to defend the faith with meekness and fear. Setting apart Jesus as Lord not only inspires the apologetic moment but also enables the apologetic manner.

THE APOLOGETIC MANNER

Again, we put so much emphasis on the correct apologetic method that we forget the importance of the apologetic manner. And dare I say it? Our apologetic manner can speak louder than our apologetic method. We can be precise and pure in our method, and yet the harshness and the arrogance of our manner can overpower and drown out our technically correct message. Who can hear the delicate tune of our reasoned message when it is drowned out by the discordant blare of aroused emotions?

Let's say that one man is an evidentialist who argues for the faith with a gentle and loving spirit, and another man is a presuppositionalist who argues for the faith with an arrogant and harsh spirit. Which of these two does the most good? Which of these two does the most harm? I would say that there is no way to know as a general rule. We would have to evaluate each specific case, but the presuppositionalist with the immature manner will in some cases be the one who does the least good and the most harm.

For over five years, my wife worked in the libraries of two different seminaries. She often had to tell seminary students that their library books were overdue and that they owed a fine. She learned rather quickly that being advanced in doctrinal knowledge and precision is no guarantee that a person is emotionally mature.

"And though I understand all mysteries and all knowledge, but have not love, I am nothing."

The apologetic manner is important. What we say is important, but so is how we say it. 1 Peter 3:15 says that we are to give our reasons with meekness and fear. This is the proper apologetic manner.

MEEKNESS

We tend to misunderstand what it means to be meek as the Bible uses that word. J. Upton Dickson founded a group called DOORMATS. That stands for "Dependent Organization Of Really Meek And Timid Souls." Their motto was: "The meek shall inherit the earth -- if that's okay with everybody." Their symbol was the yellow traffic light, whose message is, Slow down and prepare to yield the right of way to others. ⁴

That's not what the Bible is talking about when it speaks of meekness. The biblical concept of meekness does not imply softness or weakness. It does not mean wimpy. We know this because of whom the Bible sets before us as the premiere examples of meekness. The Old Testament model of meekness is Moses (Numbers 12:3), and the New Testament example is Jesus (Matthew 11:29). Whatever Biblical meekness is, it is not being a doormat. All we have to do to know this is to think of Moses confronting Pharaoh or to think of Jesus with a scourge of cords driving the moneychangers out of the temple.

The root of Biblical meekness is a total dedication to doing the will of God, out of which grows both gentleness and strength. We see meekness in the life of Moses. Though Moses was raised as a prince in Egypt, he chose to identify with God's people in spite of their low position as persecuted slaves. In submission to God's will for his life, he left his luxurious station in Egypt and endured forty years of obscurity as a shepherd in the wilderness. After his encounter with Jehovah God at the burning bush, Moses obediently returned to Egypt to confront Pharaoh, the most powerful man on earth, not with military might but in the power of the living God. When the redeemed masses of Israel lacked faith to enter the Promised Land, Moses continued as their leader and wandered with them in the wilderness. Moses finally submitted without complaint to God's judgment upon him that he could see the Promised Land from a distance but not enter it himself. Here we see a selfless submission to the divine will which resulted in a forceful boldness when confronting God's enemies combined with a patient gentleness when shepherding God's people. Moses stands out as an example of meekness under the old covenant.

We see meekness even more clearly in the life of Jesus. Moses left the treasures of Egypt, but God the Son gave up the riches of heaven. "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9). "... [A]lthough He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:5-8, NAS).

Again, the root of meekness is a total dedication and submission to the will of the Father. The climax of Jesus's submission was His willingness to experience the shameful and painful death of the cross in obedience to the will of His Father. At Gethsemane, He prayed "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." The writer of Hebrews comments on this prayer, stating that Jesus "offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear" (Hebrews 5:7). God the Father answered Jesus' prayer for salvation from the death of the cross but not by enabling Him somehow to escape the ordeal as He had requested. The Father's answer to the prayer of Gethsemane was Jesus' resurrection from the dead on the third day. Jesus humbly submitted to the will of the Father in this matter, selflessly putting aside His personal desire. Jesus "endured the cross, despising the shame," for the joy of victory which was set before Him (Hebrews 12:2). He was like an athlete who endures the agony of competition for the sake of the anticipated joy of victory. Jesus' anticipated joy was the completion of the work of redemption which would result in our salvation and the Father's glory. This is meekness.

This meekness produces a gentle spirit. Isaiah prophesied concerning the Messiah, "A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench" (Isaiah 42:3). The bruised reed is close to being broken, and the smoking flax is close to being extinguished. These represent the broken and downtrodden masses who are easily overcome by brute force. Yet Jesus in compassion healed their diseases even while their leaders plotted His death (Matthew 12:14-21). The Son of Man exercises His authority not by forcing others to serve Him but by serving others even to the point of giving His life a ransom for many (Mark 10:42-45).

There is a good example of Jesus' gentle patience near the end of His earthly ministry. When Jesus had "steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem," a Samaritan village refused to receive Him during His journey. James and John suggested to Jesus, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?" Jesus responded, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them." They then went to another village (Luke 9:51-56). Here is gentleness rooted in a singleminded dedication to the will of the Father. Here is gentleness rooted in a sense of mission.

This is the sort of meekness which makes the difference between a wild stallion and a trained war horse. Both are strong, but the war horse is dedicated to doing the will of his master. The war horse will selflessly charge into the line of battle at his master's command, and the war horse will calmly ignore any challenge apart from his master's command. Meekness is this gentleness rooted in a devotion to God's cause and a confidence in God's strength.

How will this meekness affect our apologetic manner? It will eliminate any defensiveness, any proud concern about our winning the argument, any protective sensitivity about our reputation. It will give us patience. It will enable us to ignore personal affronts. It will enable us to maintain a quiet dignity. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that the meek will inherit the earth. The meek will also prevail in defending the faith. The meek are those who care the least about obtaining any personal honor and acclaim, and they are also those most likely to win the apologetic victory.

FEAR

The other component in the proper apologetic manner is fear. Fear can refer to a respect of our fellow man as a creature created in the image of God. The Christian's respectful attitude, however, goes beyond the image bearer to the Creator Himself. The fear of God is the beginning of all true wisdom.

I have just finished reading through C.S. Lewis' Narnia series with my family. Here is an interchange from The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, the first in the series, which illustrates a proper reverence toward God and Christ:

"Is - is he a man?" asked Lucy.

"Aslan a man!" said Mr. Beaver sternly. "Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-Beyond-the- Sea. Don't you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion - THE Lion, the great Lion."

"Ooh! said Susan, "I'd thought he was a man. Is he - quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion."

"That you will, dearie, and no mistake," said Mrs. Beaver, "if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they're either braver than most or else just silly."

"Then he isn't safe?" said Lucy.

"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver. "Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you."

"I'm longing to see him," said Peter, "even if I do feel frightened when it comes to the point." ⁵

And here is a quotation from another book in the series, Prince Caspian:

"Hush!" said the other four, for now Aslan had stopped and turned and stood facing them, looking so majestic that they felt as glad as anyone can who feels afraid, and as afraid as anyone can who feels glad. ⁶

A fear of God will have two effects upon the apologist. First, when he defends the faith, he will treat the issue with a respectful seriousness. He will remember that the apologetic contest is not an intellectual game. It is a very serious matter. It is spiritual warfare. The eternal destinies of people are at stake.

Secondly, the fear of God imparts a gentle boldness. Men with a vision of God can speak with confidence before emperors. They are not overwhelmed by outward trappings of power or by diplomas and titles and respect or even by threats to their own safety or prosperity.

I am reminded of the bold fearlessness of Elijah at Mt. Carmel when he mocked the priests of Baal. Baal was the storm god, and his statues often modeled him with a thunderbolt in his hand. Yet this god Baal was not able to light a fire on an altar. As Baal's priests cried out to him to light the fire, we read in 1 Kings 18:27 that Elijah mocked them,

"Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened."

According to the notes in the New Geneva Study Bible, the word busy here is probably a euphemism for a trip to what the British call the necessary room. There is a place for bold fearlessness in apologetics.

I am also reminded of the martyrdom of Polycarp as recorded by Eusebius. In the arena at Smyrna, the Roman proconsul tried to persuade Polycarp to deny Christ and to swear by the genius of Caesar. There Polycarp gave his famous reply:

"You threaten with fire that burns for a time, and is quickly quenched, for you do not know the fire which awaits the wicked in the judgment to come and in everlasting punishment. But why are you waiting? Come, do what you will."⁷

The beast can order as many as will not worship his image to be killed, but the angel of God cries out, "If anyone worships the beast, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation." (Revelation 13:15; 14:9-10).

The man who fears God fears no man. The man who sees a vision of the Lord upon His throne in all His splendor cries out, Here I am! Lord, send me! 2 Corinthians 5:11 says, "Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men" (NIV).

Does apologetics sometimes degenerate into an argument, into an intellectual contest, into a matter of pride and a question of who's right? That will not happen if we have the correct apologetic manner. In Revelation 5, we read that the apostle John heard the words "Behold, the Lion." John looked and saw "a Lamb as though it had been slain." The Christian apologist is to have the humble gentleness and the servant's heart of the sacrificial lamb, and yet the Christian apologist is also to have the bold fearlessness of a lion. We certainly see both in the life and ministry of our Lord. We are to follow His example by giving our reasoned defense with meekness and fear.

THE APOLOGETIC METHOD

The correct apologetic method is what we normally think about when we think about apologetics. Yet I have put the apologetic method third after the apologetic moment and the apologetic manner. The Christ-like life is what gets the world's attention so that someone asks for a reason for the Christian's hope. The Christ-like manner as expressed by the words meekness and fear is what keeps the world's attention as the Christian defends the faith. What one says, the apologetic method one uses, is also of great importance. Our discussing the apologetic method last is not meant to downplay its importance.

First, we must think through our apologetic method and message ahead of time so we will be ready to give a defense. The main problem today with the typical effort to defend the faith is a lack of knowledge. Christians today have a shallow understanding of the Bible and its teachings. One can't really defend what one is unfamiliar with. One can't really defend what one doesn't understand. Getting to know the Bible is, of course, a life long process. One has to prepare.

Second, one must be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks for a reason for the hope that is within him. Now what does that mean? Notice the three words, defense, reason, and hope. Defense refers to one's apologetic; reason refers to the rational, logical use of human intelligence; and hope refers to the essence of what one believes, to faith as it looks to the future and sustains one in the present. The key question is this: in one's apologetic defense, what is the relationship between reason and faith? The answer to this question will determine one's apologetic method.

Now consider carefully the wording of 1 Peter 3:15:

"Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you."

Notice that the apologetic defense involves both reason and hope, and thus reason and faith because faith is implicit in the concept of hope. Notice secondly that the reasoning is done in the context of hope or faith. The reason explains and confirms the faith which already existed prior to the explanation and confirmation. This use of a reasoned defense in the context of faith, is the basic methodology of presuppositional apologetics. The presuppositionalist uses reason in the defense of the faith without abandoning his hope in the Christ of the Bible in the process.

FIDEISM

Now notice what Peter did not say. To use a play on Paul's words in Philippians 4, Peter did not say:

"Bear witness to the hope of God which, transcending all understanding, guards your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

If Peter had said that, he would have been advocating fideism, which is an apologetic with faith divorced from reason. Our apologetic would be reduced to a bold assertion. Our assurance would be based solely on a deep inner encounter with God which does not involve the mind. Our faith would be a leap into the dark which we cannot rationally explain, much less defend.

One tends to associate this sort of apologetic with cults that define true religion as an ecstatic emotional encounter. Such cults sometimes defend this position by arguing for a strong dichotomy between mind and spirit. The mental process is defined as a function of the soul, and we are admonished to be spiritual and to reject all soulish religion. Therefore there is no place for logical reasoning in our apologetic.

One also associates this sort of apologetic with neo-orthodoxy. Karl Barth believed that apologetics is an illegitimate pursuit. Neo-orthodoxy teaches that God is transcendent or wholly other in the sense that He cannot communicate to us in a manner we can comprehend with our minds. Thus the Bible is not the Word of God. The Bible contains the word of God in that when we read the Bible, God can communicate to us through a spiritual encounter deep within our being, a spiritual encounter which does not directly involve the mind. Thus, to use the language of neo-orthodoxy, God is wholly revealed to us in terms of an irrational encounter but He simultaneously remains totally hidden from us in terms of our mental comprehension.

RATIONALISTIC EVIDENTIALISM

Also, to use a play on Paul's words in Ephesians 2, Peter did not say:

"Use the world's reason, which has no hope and is without God, to establish and prove your hope in God and Christ.

If Peter had said that, he would have been advocating rationalistic evidentialism. This viewpoint says to the pagan inquirer,

"I want to reason as you reason so that you will accept my reasoning. I don't want to argue in a circle and beg the question by assuming what I am trying to prove. Therefore, I will set aside for the moment my belief in God, my belief in Christ, my belief in the Bible as a divinely inspired book. I am going to set aside my faith in everything but my faith in my own ability to reason, and then I will use that ability to prove my faith in God, Christ and the Bible."

This viewpoint advocates autonomous human reason as a foundation for faith. This viewpoint makes faith in human reason more foundational than faith in God and His Word. 1 Peter 3:15 begins by saying, "Sanctify the Lord in your hearts." From the very beginning of our apologetic, we must set Jesus apart as the Lord of our thoughts; we certainly must not set Him aside as epistemologically irrelevant in our quest for common ground with the nonbeliever.

CONCLUSION

Presuppositionalism incorporates the strengths of both fideism and evidentialism while avoiding their weaknesses.

Like fideism, presuppositionalism recognizes that God is incomprehensible. One cannot fit God within the confines of the human cranium. We may not be able to fully understand the trinity or creatio ex nihilo or divine sovereignty, but that does not mean that they are not true.

Like evidentialism, presuppositionalism recognizes that God is knowable. God's communion with us is not limited to the emotional. God has revealed truth about Himself that can be intellectually digested and rationally understood.

Like fideism, presuppositionalism recognizes that God's Word is the most ultimate authority. One can't elevate human reasoning as a self-authenticating final authority and then use it to authorize Scripture as a legitimate and genuine authority.

Yet, like evidentialism, presuppositionalism acknowledges a place for human reasoning in apologetics. Human reasoning can confirm and bolster and strengthen our faith in the Bible as life's self-authenticating and final authority. Reason is a mental tool, an intellectual facility which God has given us to use. We can use it profitably in submission to God's Word. The Bible commands us to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ and to love the Lord God with all our mind.

Like fideism, the presuppositionalist recognizes that the gospel in the power of the Spirit is more powerful than human logic. Spurgeon put it this way:

"Suppose a number of persons were to take it into their heads that they had to defend a lion. There he is in the cage, and here come all the soldiers of the army to fight for him. Well, I should suggest to them that they should kindly step back, open the door, and let the lion out! I believe that would be the best way of defending him. And the best 'apology' for the gospel is to let the gospel out. ... Preach Jesus Christ and him crucified. The Lion of the tribe of Judah will soon drive away all his adversaries."⁸

Yet, like evidentialism, presuppositionalism recognizes that we have a responsibility to try to persuade people of the truth of Christianity. God has given weak and fragile humans the honor and privilege of bringing His message of grace to the world. "... [W]e have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us" (2 Corinthians 4:7). In Acts 10, God sent an angel to visit the Roman centurian Cornelius to instruct him to meet with the apostle Peter, and God gave a divine vision to Peter to prepare him to meet with Cornelius. God chose to use both the angel and the vision, not to communicate the gospel message to Cornelius, but to enable and facilitate Peter's sharing the good news with Cornelius.⁹ God has chosen to work through human agents in proclaiming the gospel, including their skills of persuasion.

Man was created in God's image, and that image testifies deep within the heart of man that the Gospel is true. Like fideism, presuppositionalism recognizes that that image is not limited to the intellect. There are voices deep within the heart of man which cry out that the message of the Bible is true. The intellect is not the only witness to God's truth which fallen man has to suppress.

Yet, like evidentialism, presuppositionalism recognizes that the image of God within man includes the intellect. Jesus is to be Lord of the mind. Peter says "gird up the loins of your mind" (1 Peter 1:13). Paul says, "bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). We are to love God with all our heart, all our soul, all our strength, all our mind. Christianity is not a mindless religion.

THE PLATINUM ROD

Allow me to close with an analogy. W.A. Criswell, in his book The Bible for Today's World, wrote,

"Washington, D. C., is the home of The Bureau of Standards. Every weight and every measure that is used in the United States is a copy of the standard that is kept inviolate by the Bureau in Washington. In that Bureau there is a perfect inch, a perfect foot, a perfect yard, a perfect gallon, a perfect pint, a perfect millimeter, a perfect milligram. Every weight and measure that we have finds its standard in that Bureau in Washington, and all are judged by that standard."¹⁰

Let's say that in the Bureau of Standards in Washington, D.C., there is a platinum rod that defines the length of the yard. How do we know that that platinum rod is really one yard long? Should we all get out our wooden yardsticks and measure it just to make sure? No, that would be senseless. Doing that would test not the rod but our yardsticks because that platinum rod defines exactly how long a yard is. That rod is the standard by which we measure all our yardsticks, and no yardstick can sit in judgment over it.

The evidentialist is like a person who insists that his wooden yardstick proves that the platinum rod is one yard long. He treats his wooden yardstick as if it were the national standard and the definitive measure.

The fideist is like the person who burns all his wooden yardsticks. He says that the platinum rod is all he needs. Who needs a wooden yardstick?

The presuppositionalist agrees with the fideist that the platinum rod, not a wooden yardstick, is the final and definitive measure of the yard. Yet the presuppositionalist agrees with the evidentialist that wooden yardsticks are important and have their use. After all, the wooden yardsticks are modeled after the platinum rod, and that is why they are reliable measures. Our experience of their reliability in measurement confirms our faith in the platinum rod. That's because the platinum rod was the standard by which all the wooden yardsticks were manufactured.

The presuppositionalist is the one who believes both in the final authority of the platinum rod and in the use of wooden yardsticks. Presuppositionalism incorporates the strengths of both fideism and evidentialism while avoiding their weaknesses.

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FOOTNOTES

1	William Edgar, Reasons of the Heart (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1996), 60.
2	J.I. Packer, Rediscovering Holiness (Ann Arbor, Michigan: Servant Publications, 1992), 240.
3	Craig Brian Larson, editor, Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching from Leadership Journal (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1993), 22.
4	taken from the INFOsearch illustration collection, P.O. Box 11749, Arlington, TX 76003, 817-468-0074.
5	C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (New York: MacMillan Publishing Company, 1950), 75-76.
6	C.S. Lewis, Prince Caspian (New York: MacMillan Publishing Company, 1951), 148.
7	W.H.C. Frend, Martyrdom and Persecution in the Early Church: A Study of a Conflict from the Maccabees to Donatus (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1965), 271.
8	Tom Carter, compiler, 2200 Quotations from the Writings of Charles H. Spurgeon (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1988), 13; see page 256 of volume 42 of Spurgeon's sermons in their original printed form.
9	William Edgar, Reasons of the Heart, 39.
10	taken from the INFOsearch illustration collection, P.O. Box 11749, Arlington, TX 76003, 817-468-0074.