How to Tell the Truth: The Story of How God Saved Me to Win Hearts—Not Just Arguments by Preston Perry is a helpful look at the heart of what apologetics is all about. 1 Peter 3:15 (ESV) but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,. Rather than weaponizing Scripture to win an argument, the gospel itself is a story of meeting people where they are and showing them a better way.
I highlighted two key ideas while reading and have posted those notes below…
- The goal of “always being prepared” isn’t to become some kind of Bible Jedi Master, ready to take on any and all objections at once. The goal is to tell the truth of the gospel to others to win hearts, not arguments. It’s to tell the truth in a way that represents God well without it turning into a shouting match, without you completely turning people off, and without you sounding like you don’t know what you’re talking about. p. 55
- The way we represent Christ matters. We should never walk away from a conversation confident that we told the truth but not confident in how we told that truth. The truth of the gospel is offensive enough. We don’t have to add to the offense with our bad conduct. In other words, don’t let your pride murder your message. The bottom line is this: the way we do apologetics looks different when we are motivated not by our desire to conquer the other person but by our genuine love and compassion and by our desire to see people discover God’s life-giving truth. p. 107
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