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Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Apologetics or Apologies: How to Share Your Faith in Adversarial Settings

Anil Kanda

Where are all the SDA Christian Apologists?

I want to welcome everybody to coming to the seminar called Cutting Edge, Apologetics or Apologies.

The name of this session is called Where Are All the Christian Apologists?

I want to start with a word of prayer, then I'm going to break down this seminar, just show you some of the things that you can expect.

So let's bow our heads for a word of prayer right now.

Father in heaven, we thank you so much again for your grace and for this time where we can learn from your word and from your instruction.

Ultimately, Lord, we need your Holy Spirit.

And so we pray and ask that you would lead us and guide us and instruct us with your eye.

I just want to say this to you, you came to the right class but you also came to the wrong class If this is only going to be the session that you're going to attend in this apologetic seminar.

What we're going to be covering in this first session, we're going to be covering the spectrum of apologetics.

And then in the second session, we're going to be covering questioning the questioner, disarming Pharisees and Sadducees.

The third session, which is going to be very interesting, we're going to be covering lost biblical truths found in world religions.

Lost biblical truths found in world religions.

You're going to find the gospel story in Hinduism and Islam and Buddhism.

And so this is going to be something that you want to attend to.

However, if you can attend all 3 sessions, each 1 of these sessions is contingent upon the other session, and I promise you this, by the end of this session, you're going to walk away extremely blessed.

By the way, I also like an interactive group.

You don't need to stand up and say praise the Lord.

But we're going to have a question and answer session if time permits.

There's also going to be a part where I'm going to ask for some feedback too.

So I'm going to be needing you guys to pay attention and just to be following, all right?

This name of this seminar is called Cutting Edge, Where Are All the Christian Apologists?

You look in our world today, our world today is just covered in darkness, right?

And you look into the newspaper, for example, you will find all sorts of things when it comes to Christianity, when it comes to the Bible.

I was reading the other day about a pastor in London, for example, who has now said that he does not believe in the Bible.

You'd ask him the question, wait, why are you still a pastor?

But you see, this is the world that we live in today.

All sorts of things are just being carried through and all sorts of things are being preached.

I always say this, everybody gets a sermon.

Everyone gets a sermon, whether it's from the devil or whether it's from God, everyone gets a sermon.

And watch what the Bible says here in Isaiah 59 verse 14.

Is that true in our today's culture, yes or no?

I mean, you read the newspaper, you read, well, you don't need to read the newspaper, you read Google front page, right?

And you look onto the various news articles, you will find All sorts of things.

You know what they say about our justice system?

Our justice system is the best justice system you can afford.

That's what they say about our justice system.

Justice is turned away backward and righteousness stands far off.

Now watch what the Bible says is the reason for this.

By the way, what is your definition of the word truth?

Can anybody here give me a definition of the word truth?

That means nothing to someone who doesn't know anything about the Bible.

What is your definition of the word truth?

Now he's quoting from John 17 verse 17 where Jesus says, sanctify them by thy word, thy word is truth.

But to somebody else who knows nothing about the Bible, how would you define what truth is?

Truth is something that you look at at different angles and it doesn't change the same.

Do you know the very definition, the very Greek word for truth is aletheia.

That's what it actually means in its literal meaning.

Now folks, I want you to understand something.

What is the truth that is most hidden in this world?

And so the Bible makes it very clear right here, justice is turned away backward And righteousness stands far off.

Because the truth of God is hidden in this world.

Ellen White says, talking about when Jesus came to this earth, that gross darkness covered this earth.

That the character of God was so hidden in this world.

And the reason why this seminar is extremely important because we want to understand ways, methodologies, in which we can further communicate the truth of God's Word to this world.

Disarming Pharisees and Sadducees

Father in heaven, we thank you again so much for an awesome first session.

And now as we proceed to the second session, we pray and ask that your Holy Spirit would lead and guide us.

Thank you, Jesus, for all your goodness, for all your kindness to us.

Thank you for bringing us here to be able to learn and to experience more.

All right, the first session we dealt with apologetics and apologetics the word is apologia which means a defense or a sort of a defense that takes place in the court of the things that you believe in, right?

A clear and precise defense of the things that you believe in.

We looked at many examples that these aren't just original SDA beliefs, but we learned that there are many scholars, from John Stott to even C.S.

Lewis, who questioned the eternal burning hellfire teaching.

And if you're part of the last seminar, I just want to say this.

The reason why it's extremely important to present what we believe when it comes to our teaching about hellfire is because the world right now has a misconception about God.

Even the devil himself probably would not burn people for all of eternity.

He himself shudders at the results of his own mistakes.

But yet he has placed an image so diabolical, so wicked, so ugly over the character of God that when people look at God, they run.

And this is why it's extremely important to understand this.

So if you missed the first session, you can listen to the audio recording, you can talk to somebody who went there.

It happened at the last evangelistic series I was preaching.

I was preaching on the weekend where I dealt with the state of the dead, and I dealt with the Hellfire, our teaching about Hellfire, annihilation.

And I was preaching, and I was so, I was deathly sick.

And I don't get sick, but when an elk kinda gets sick, I mean, I get sick.

I get bad, I mean, it's just like Ebola virus on an elk.

And so, when I got sick, I had people praying, some people did hydrotherapy.

And as I began to preach, the Spirit came upon me.

And I preached, I mean, I never probably preached a clear and greater presentation about the state of the dead and about our teachings about hellfire.

That same weekend, the pastor of the local mega church had a vision.

And I found out this by 1 of the church members.

He had this vision where he was taken to hell.

He was taken to the center of the earth and he was brought before all these people who were burning and they were moaning and they were just screaming as they were being burned.

And he came out of it and he told his congregation that Sunday morning, he said, I saw hell last night.

And I want to tell you right now, there are people who are burning there and God is, is, is tormenting them because of their sins.

At the same weekend that I was presenting that.

Folks, I want you to understand something.

When you present the truth as it is in Jesus, the devil starts targeting.

The name of this seminar is called Questioning the Questioner, Disarming Pharisees and Sadducees.

Questioning the Questioner, Disarming Pharisees and Sadducees.

And so, watch what Ellen White says right here.

In the Southern Watchmen, September 12, 1905, there are many cases where men who have defended Christianity against skeptics have afterward lost their own souls in the mazes of skepticism.

They caught the malaria and died spiritually.

And by the way, last session we learned about 1 individual like this.

Moses Hall, considered probably 1 of the best Adventist apologists was debating spiritualists, utterly destroying them in the debates.

He himself fell away and became a spiritualist.

Because he would not spend that hour in Jesus.

We need to spend an hour a day regardless of what we're studying.

By the way, you know, I was doing an apologetic seminar with 1 of my other friends, Brian Simmons, and as we were presenting it, we had done a lot of study with, we went, we visited imams, we visited Buddhist priests, we talked to a lot of these people from different religions, Hindu philosophers, and as we were talking to them, it was so easy just to feel sort of the influence that they were presenting.

And I was like, Jesus, keep me close to you.

I never forgot when I was talking to the Buddhist priest.

I mean, she was just like, I can see in your eyes right now.

And you need the rest that comes in Buddhism.

And I was just like, I just blinked and I was like, all right, I need to get going right now.

We need to spend that hour with Jesus each and every day regardless of what we're studying amen otherwise we can be influenced by the world but watch what she says right here they have strong arguments for the truth and much outside evidence but they did not have an abiding faith in Christ if you're gonna study apologetics 1 hour a day with Jesus amen oh there are thousands upon thousands of professed Christians who never study the Bible.

Study the sacred word prayerfully for your own soul's benefit.

This is extremely important when it comes to teaching apologetics, that we teach this truth above any other truth, that an hour a day with Jesus.

Not just studying, but lingering in his presence.

When it comes to people, when it comes to engaging society, we can sometimes sit with people at Starbucks, have a soy milk steamer, or we can go down to, you know, in various classrooms.

Have you ever taken a class on philosophy or religion?

Not found in our Seventh-day Adventist institutions, but found in other institutions, you will often find there are sometimes people who are very antagonistic towards the very things that you believe in.

And many times it can be very difficult when you're trying to share and you can't think at that very moment what to say You've ever been in a situation like that all the time.

Amen, you know, you've been in that situation, right?

You don't know what to say at that very moment when someone says something something right?

But what we're going to be doing today, we're going to be going over some principles of what to do when you're in situations like that.

How do you share with somebody who's very antagonistic, who's throwing all these questions, not in an attitude of genuine search and desire, but an attitude of genuine skepticism?

How do you deal with them in a productive and constructive way?

Oftentimes in our discussions and our witnessing, it can move from a time when there is just good dialogue to a time when something is said, a certain psychological prick takes place, and all of a sudden the person becomes very angry, very enraged, and they begin to show all these questions.

We're gonna find out how Jesus dealt with this issue.

Last time, last session we learned about somebody who asked the question in the philosophy class, can God make a mountain so big that he himself can't move it?

You wanna know the answer to it, listen to the recording.

Everyone take your Bible, we're going to go to a time where Jesus actually dealt with skeptics.

Where he actually dealt with Pharisees and Sadducees who were confused even about the things that they believed in.

The Apologetics of Paul

Father in heaven, we thank you again for grace, for your power.

Thank you that you are not just the light of our world, but the world.

And Lord, you are shining in every man's life in some way.

Father, we pray that you would expose us to this greater picture.

Help us to pan back and see all that you are doing, the 1 who does wondrous things.

Thank you God, in Jesus' name we pray, amen.

Alright now let's start off with an Ellen White quote.

Christ was the originator of all the ancient gems of what?

Through the work of the enemy, these truths have been displaced.

Who can tell me what the word displaced means?

Taken out of context and placed in another context.

Through the work of the enemy, these truths had been displaced.

They had been disconnected from their true position and placed in the framework of error.

Notice this, what she is saying, that these truths were taken away, they were uprooted and placed in an entirely different framework, a framework of error.

Christ's work was to readjust, And by the way, she says another quotation, reset, readjust and establish the precious gems in the framework of truth.

The principles of truth that had been given by himself to bless the world had through Satan's agencies had been buried and apparently become extinct.

Christ rescued them from the rubbish of error, gave them a new vital force, and commanded them to shine as precious jewels and to stand fast forever.

Christ himself could use any of these old truths without borrowing the smallest particle, for he himself had originated them all.

This is very important to understand because you see that the author of all truth is Christ.

Now watch what the Bible starts off with.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, Behold, wise men from the east came from Jerusalem.

Men will come from the east and from the west.

Do you know that those who came from the east in the very beginning of his ministry were the Magi and the Greeks at the very end of his life came from the west.

Now, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he who had been born king of the Jews?

For we have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him.

They belonged to a large and influential class that included men of normal birth and comprised much of the wealth and learning of their nation.

Others were upright men who studied the indications of providence in nature and were honored for their integrity and wisdom.

Of this character were the wise men to come to Jesus.

The light of God is ever shining amid the darkness of heathenism." And by the way, what does Jesus say?

And by the way, I highly recommend that chapter in the book Desire of Ages, because she makes it very clear that Jesus is not just in the Christian church, but he is working in every single man's world, regardless of whether they're Christian or not Christian.

As these magi studied the starry heavens and sought to fathom the mystery hidden in the bright paths, They beheld the glory of the Creator.

Seeking clearer knowledge, they turned to the Hebrew scriptures.

In their old land, this is extremely important, were treasured prophetic writings that predicted the coming of a divine teacher.

And though 1 time a prophet of God, and by the Holy Spirit, he had foretold the prosperity of Israel, and the appearing of the Messiah, and his prophecies had been handed down by tradition from century to century.

The Magi learned with joy that his coming was near, and that the whole world was to be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord." These Magi's did not have the entirety, the totality of the Hebrew Scriptures.

They only had 1 Scripture, and who was it?

It was the writings of Balaam the prophet.

The writings of the Balaam prophet found in Numbers.

And what happened is when Balaam was sent to curse Israel, all of a sudden he began to give these prophetic utterances and talking about this star that would appear that would herald the coming of the Messiah.

Did you know that the word Magi is actually related people many people think that these Magi came from what is what was then known as Persia?

Iranians still have the writings of Balaam today.

They still have the writings of Balaam today.

It's called the Der Ala inscription or Balaam the son of Beor inscription.

And these were writings of Balaam the prophet.

If you want to find out how far he apostatized from God, You write that, you check that up, you can type it up in Google, and you will find out what he says in these writings.

You will find how far he apostatized from God.

And when he showed up, and he began to attempt to curse Israel, God spoke to him.

But folks, I want you to understand something.

There are people, There are people who are in a variety of nations, in a variety of countries, in a variety of religions, just like these wise men who are searching, who are pleading for truth and understanding.

They want to know what is right and what is true.

And God is leading them through His Holy spirit.

And by the way, this is very important to understand.

God does not judge a man based upon what he does not know.

But based upon what he knows and is he faithful to that.

So who do you think is going to be held in even greater responsibility in the judgment?

The Seventh-day Adventist Church will be held to the greatest standard of judgment because we have the greatest collection of truth assembled that has been brought through all the ages, brought down.

There are people who have just a little bit of light, who are faithful to that little bit of light and God is leading them.

And what we're going to see as we go through this seminar presentation, you're going to see various countries, various nations where there are just specks of truth, gospel truth, that has been passed down through tradition, through hand to hand, mouth to mouth, and you will see these truths are very much the Gospel truths.

Ethiopia is a nation defined through its existence by its fidelity to the seventh day Sabbath.

Today the numbers of Sabbath keeping are exploding in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Gabon, Congo, and elsewhere.

Because the work of missionaries in 1800s?

The Sabbath is thriving in Africa because the Sabbath roots of African run deep, both in scripture and in historical practice.

Sabbath roots, it's actually a book written by a Seventh-day Adventist, former president, he's dead, his name is Charles Bradford.

And this is what it says, Sabbath Roots give much fascinating information about the history of the Church of Ethiopia.

Sheba was from Ethiopia and bore a son from King Solomon.

Whether or not that's actually legitimate, we don't know.

But the Fahaslash continued the Old Testament religion.

It was actually a group of Ethiopians who don't eat unclean meat, who keep the Seventh-day Sabbath, and who adhere to Old Testament principles.

They're found there, and they claim to have their lineage from Solomon.

In Acts chapter 8, verse 26 through 40, we are given the introduction of Christian to Ethiopia with the conversion of the Ethiopian treasure by Philip.

The treasure returned to Candace's court, and as a result, Ethiopia became the first Christian nation.

Series

Apologetics or Apologies: How to Share Your Faith in Adversarial Settings

Disarming Pharisees and Sadducees

Transcript

Parent Series

Parent Conference

Sponsor

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