Defense of God

But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be in dread, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, but with gentleness and respect; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who disparage your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong. I Peter 3:14-17

Paul states in Philippians, “Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from goodwill; the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; (Phil. 1:16).

In the book of Titus Paul writes about overseers and says, “holding firmly the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it.” (1:9)

And in Corinthians the Apostle writes, “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 2 Corinthians 10: 4-5.

My purpose in this work is not to speak against anyone, but to defend the truth. The Bible is clear – we are to be prepared to give an answer to everyone for the hope we have, defending the Word of Truth. And this includes opposing and correcting those who tell lies and destroying their arguments of darkness.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. Romans 1:18-20

It is clear from this passage that we are without excuse, God has revealed himself in nature and what he has made. Those who suppress the truth will be judged for their unrighteousness and God is not a mystery really, he has made himself plain by the creation of the world. Dark minds may ramble on about how God does not exist or cannot be proven, etc. but it is plain. When we look at creation, the stars in the heavens and all that is in the earth, we perceive the truth of who God is as our creator redeemer. Our purpose is to defend the truth, draw others who do not yet know Christ to him, and to destroy false arguments that oppose God and participate with darkness.

So, where shall we begin? There are many arguments for God, but I will explain seven. There are many more, but for simplicity we will consider seven basic areas.

1) Cosmos – origins of the universe

2) Miracles – if they are real, then all should believe

3) Near Death Experiences (NDEs) – evaluate people’s experiences of the supernatural and/or heaven

4) Philosophy – worldview

5) Psychology – the duality of the mind and brain, intentionality and the soul

6) Resurrection of Jesus Christ – proof of this claim cements the gospel message

7) Bible – is it true? Consider proofs of Daniel, Isaiah and the New Testament

Let me be clear, what we are talking is critical and important, we cannot expect to be taken seriously if we cannot tell people what we believe and defend it. There are many lies our culture is being told, and because of the prevalence of the media as a form of communication, we are losing the battle simply because people are being indoctrinated with lies through media without really thinking through the arguments of what is actually true. I propose that as we continue down the anti-God path in the culture, things will continue to get worse if we allow the media (and social media) to dictate to us what to believe instead of using the written Word and sound argument based on reason and faith.

It is my hope that as we discover or re-discover sound truth, we not only find what we believe but also the knowledge and training needed to defend the truth of God effectively. We must either follow God’s word and speak out for truth or honestly we will lose our culture completely. It is up to us, who hold the truth in our hearts and minds, to speak up. Do not wait another day, prepare, learn and apply God’s truth. We don’t know how much longer God will tolerate the iniquity of our land to continue. We must stand, fight and speak the truth so generations to come will be able to distinguish between truth and falsehood!