A Defense of Christianity
Text: Philippians 1:16
Series: Restoration Sermons
Date:
Speaker: Ed Rangel
Location: Waupaca Church of Christ
Bible Version: NASB 1995
Sermon Type: Expository
Learning Objectives
By the close of this lesson the hearer should be able to:
- Give reasons that the Bible is not a human invention.
- Recognize man's religious nature as evidence of a Creator who made him to worship.
- Weigh the gain of being a Christian and act on the evidence.
Thesis
Christianity can be defended: the Bible bears marks no man would or could have forged, man's universal religious nature points to a God who made him to worship, Christianity has elevated mankind beyond anything else, and the wise course is to make one's standing in Christ as sure as it can be made.
Burden
Paul said he was "appointed for the defense of the gospel" (Phil. 1:16), and so is every Christian — "always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you" (1 Pet. 3:15). To defend Christianity is to defend the hope and happiness of the whole human family; ask what would be left if the Christian religion were taken away, and you measure what is at stake. The outline offers a handful of plain reasons — not the whole case, but enough to steady a believer and challenge a doubter. The burden of this lesson is to put solid ground under your faith, so that you hold it not by habit but by conviction, and then act on it.
Introduction
A defense of Christianity is a defense of the hope and happiness of the human family. What would be the result if the Christian religion were taken away — its comfort, its morality, its hope beyond the grave, all gone? The outline builds his defense on four planks: the origin of the Bible, the religious nature of man, the elevating power of Christianity, and the prudence of making one's salvation sure.
I. Who Made the Bible? (2 Timothy 3:16)
Consider who could have produced this book:
- Man did not make it — if a man had invented it, he would fully understand it; yet its depths exceed every human mind.
- No one would have forged such books, for they write their authors' own condemnation — the Bible exposes the sins of its own heroes and writers, which no forger flattering himself would do.
- No one could have forged such a book — it sets forth the highest code of morals ever known; a fraud does not produce the loftiest truth.
- If the Bible were forged, the early Christians would not have accepted it — they were in a position to know whether its claims were true.
- No one knowingly dies for a lie — yet the apostles and many others died for their testimony to Christ. Men may die for what they mistakenly believe true; they do not die for what they know they invented.
- They could not have been deceived about what they saw and handled (1 John 1:1); therefore their testimony stands, and Christianity is true.
The book itself, then, is best explained as what it claims to be — "inspired by God" (2 Tim. 3:16).
II. Man Is a Religious Being (Acts 17:26-27)
- From the lowest to the highest type, man everywhere worships. The impulse to seek God is universal across every people and age.
- That God made man with this nature is itself evidence that God would give him a religion to satisfy it. A Maker who built the soul with a hunger for worship would not leave that hunger without its proper food. The very promptings of the soul — that men "would seek God... and find Him" (Acts 17:26-27) — point to the God who made them to be found.
III. Christianity Elevates Man and Nations Beyond Anything Else (Matthew 5:14-16)
- Wherever it has gone, Christianity has lifted individuals and nations higher than any other force in history.
- Now reason it through: if Christianity were false, then a lie would have done more good for mankind than all the truth in the world — and that cannot be. Falsehood does not outproduce truth in blessing. The conclusion is plain: Christianity is true. (The argument is not a proof in the strict sense, but it presses a real difficulty on the skeptic: he must hold that the greatest good ever to reach mankind rests on a falsehood.)
IV. Make It as Sure as You Can (Mark 8:36-37)
- The Christian is better off even in this life — in hope, in peace, in character, in community.
- And he cannot lose anything by being a Christian. If the believer and the unbeliever both face eternity, the believer risks nothing and stands to gain everything, while the unbeliever risks everything to gain nothing. "What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?" (Mark 8:36-37). The only wise course is to make your standing as sure as it can be made.
Application
Faith is not meant to float free of reasons. The book in your hands is no human forgery; the hunger in every human heart was put there by a God who means to be found; the greatest good the world has known came through Christ; and the man who commits to Him risks nothing and gains everything. So two things follow. If you believe, hold your faith with conviction and be ready to defend it kindly to anyone who asks — you are appointed to it. And if you have been on the fence, weighing Christ as though you had everything to lose, see the account clearly: it is the other way around. Make it as sure as you can, today, while the door is open.
Conclusion
Christianity can be defended — by the Bible no man would or could have forged, by the worshiping heart of every man, by the unmatched good Christ has done, and by the plain prudence of making one's soul secure. The hope and happiness of the human family rest on it. Do not merely admire the case; act on it.
Invitation
If the evidence has reached you, do not stop at being convinced — be saved. Believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; repent of your sins; confess Him before men; and be baptized for the remission of your sins (Acts 2:38; Rom. 10:9-10). Make your standing in Him as sure as it can be made. You cannot lose by it, and you cannot afford to be without it. Come while we sing.
Word Study
| English Term | Greek Term | Basic Meaning | Usage in This Sermon | Sermon Significance | Key Texts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Defense | apologia | a reasoned answer, as before a court | Christianity invites examination and gives an account of itself | Christianity invites examination and gives an account of itself; faith and evidence are not enemies | Phil. 1:16; 1 Pet. 3:15 |
| Inspired by God | theopneustos | "God-breathed" | the Scriptures owe their origin to the breath of God, which is precisely why no merely human authorship explains them | the Scriptures owe their origin to the breath of God, which is precisely why no merely human authorship explains them | 2 Tim. 3:16 |
Scripture Interlock Table
| Theme | Boles' Outline | Supporting Scripture (supplied) |
|---|---|---|
| Appointed to defend the gospel | Text | Phil. 1:16; 1 Pet. 3:15 |
| The Bible not of human origin | I | 2 Tim. 3:16; 1 John 1:1 |
| Man made to seek God | II | Acts 17:26-27 |
| Christianity elevates / believers as light | III | Matt. 5:14-16 |
| The soul worth more than the world | IV | Mark 8:36-37 |
---
Converted from H. Leo Boles, Outline 33. Doctrinal audit: core-framework (evidential defense of Scripture's divine origin and Christianity's truth); no doctrinal correction needed. The arguments are presented faithfully as Boles' classic evidential appeals; where an argument (III, the "a lie does more good than truth" inference; IV, the wager) is rhetorical rather than strictly demonstrative, the conversion notes the limit plainly rather than overstating its force — consistent with sound epistemology and Ed's no-overstatement preference. Style audit: OCR cleanup. Text note: source reads "Phil. 1:17" (KJV versification); the "defense of the gospel" phrase stands at Phil. 1:16 in NASB/ASV, so the text line is set to 1:16 and flagged. This outline carried no Scripture citations beyond the text; all supporting references (1 Pet. 3:15; 2 Tim. 3:16; 1 John 1:1; Acts 17:26-27; Matt. 5:14-16; Mark 8:36-37) supplied in conversion and flagged as supplied.
