Miguel Labrador's Blog

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Advent Apologetics Day #5 – It’s Humane

An Advent Apologetic is one that speaks to the entire person. It speaks to the intellect, emotion, imagination, and experience. Focusing on the rational or intellectual may have been appropriate in the age of enlightenment, but it is insufficient in our post-modern context.

Apologetics is no longer about answering questions and defending the answers alone. An Advent Apologetic seeks to answer the person behind the questions. Ultimately, apologetics is about souls or people and not theological problems and puzzles. John MacArthur once said;

“If the truth offends, then let it offend. People have been living their whole lives in offense to God; let them be offended for a while.”

While I understand the above statement, it still sounds overtly superior. In contrast, lets look at Paul’s advice to Timothy:

“And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth.” (2 Timothy 2:24,25)

Paul doesn’t separate apologetics from people. He is not inhumane. We don’t have to be either. While planting a seed of hope is much more difficult than defending a stance, our target is the former. Our goal is to augment faith, not argue someone into it. Sinclair Ferguson once said;

“We best defend the Lord’s glory by speaking first TO Him about unbelieving men rather than speaking first ABOUT Him to unbelieving men.”

There’s our ready posture, our premeditated hope, and our inclination to be human. We identify with image of God in others, amongst others, and for others. We finitely incarnate, to the best of our ability, the infinite person/human of Jesus.

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* For the past 7 years, my wife and I have been adventing by providing tons of food to the families in need during the holiday season. It’s not a fanfare and forget event. We go back throughout the year and visit with them, pray with them, and give them a message of hope. Please consider sponsoring one family this year. Find out more here.

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