Michael Milton

Michael Milton and Faith for Living, Inc.

Fragments and Notes on Pastoral Apologetics 

Green, Spring, Wheat Field with Soft Selective Focus

Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. However, do this with gentleness and respect …[1]

What follows are fragments and pieces from a class taught on world religions and apologetics. These fragments are from the final lectures in sharing the Gospel.

Pastoral apologetics is an attitudinal approach in sharing Christ that focuses on shepherding people, enfolding them, not enlisting them, into the Kingdom. It is an awareness of the sense of the sensus religitatus in every person as we witness to the Gospel, and a confidence in ultimate ministry of the Holy Spirit. Pastoral apologetics centers the life of discipleship in Word, Sacrament, and Prayer, as means of attracting and nurturing faith in Christ. It is also an awareness of the dynamic of the centrifugal trajectory of the Gospel in the world.

Pastoral Apologetics

  1. What it is
    1. Attitude and method of personal and corporate Gospel mission based upon
      1. Trust
      2. Obey
      3. Seek and save
        1. Attitude of humility, quiet submission, but obedience determination.
        2. Model: the Good Shepherd (John 10)
      4. How it functions
        1. Proper means
          1. The Church
          2. The Rule of Faith
            1. Word, Sacrament, and Prayer
            2. In Covenanted community (the Church)
          3. Proper basic beliefs
            1. There is a God
            2. But something is wrong
              1. About the cosmos
              2. About me
          4. Clear presentation of the Gospel
  • How it fulfills the Mission
    1. Gospel encounter formed on
      1. The Personal
      2. The Providential
    2. Gospel presentation on existential realities informed and transformed by special revelation of the Gospel
      1. e.g., worldview presentation
        1. Creation
        2. Fall
        3. Redemption
      2. Gospel transformation
        1. Enfolding into the Rule of Faith
        2. Through the Means of Grace

Sharing the Hope of the Gospel

Acts 17:16-34

  1. A WITNESS MUST BE INTENTIONAL. Be an intentional witness.
  2. A WITNESS MUST BE RELATIONSHIP. Build relationships.
  3. A WITNESS MUST SEEK COMMON GROUND TO STAND. Seek common ground out of the person or people’s own culture or experience.
  4. A WITNESS MUST SEEK TO ENTER THE RIGHT TO SHARE THROUGH THE PROVIDENTIAL POINTS OF WELCOME. Identify the most natural entry points for the Gospel.
  5. A WITNESS MUST PROCLAIM. Proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ: (the essentials of the Gospel must be present; following Paul’s proclamation at Mars Hill, one might employ the Worldview model)

    (1) Creation: “Every person is religious in some way. God created us and made us that way. We were made for fellowship with our Creator.”

    (2) Fall: “But sin has entered the world by what is called the Fall of Man. As a result of sin in the world death and pain has entered the world.”

    (3) Redemption: “But God would not leave us to this. He promised to come to us. He gave that promise to Abraham, to Moses and from the Israelites God would bring His promise to bear to all peoples. That promise came true in Jesus of Nazareth. He is fully God and fully Man. He came to live the live we could not live and die as a sacrifice and atonement for the sins of the world. He was crucified by men but raised from the dead in the third day. He was seen by over five hundred and His life began to change even those who had previously sought to kill Him and HIs followers Jesus is not just a historical figure. Jesus is God. Jesus the Anointed One, the “Christ,” redeems us out of sin. He promises Abundant life and Eternal life to any who will repent—confess that they are sinners and fall short of God’s glory, turn from their former sins, including unbelief, and turn to Jesus as the living and resurrected Lord of all.

6. A WITNESS MAKES DISCIPLES.Spiritual growth begins: Be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit;[2] come into fellowship with the Church; begin a life of following Jesus through Word, Sacrament, and Prayer.

Or, the claims of the Gospel (through adaptation of Evangelism Explosion):

Sharing the Hope of the Resurrection

  1. The claim that we are making is that Jesus Christ was dead, buried, and was resurrected to life. Others have been brought back to life only to die. Jesus was resurrected in a glorious in a new way which is the promise for all believers.
  2. The claim is not that:

(1) Resurrection is somehow resuscitation. It is a supernatural act of God in which a dead man is brought to life eternal with the same body but incorruptible.

(2) Or that resurrection is influence or memory.

(3) Not a mere story with moral or inspirational teachings.

  1. The case for the resurrection is central to our faith and cannot be altered or modified.
  2. Evidence based upon:

(1) The Empty Tomb: A man put through the trial of crucifixion would have to roll away the stones. Or the disciples would have to concoct the story. But why use women as witnesses?

(2) The Appearances of the Risen Lord

(3) The Transformation of the Disciples

Crucifixion mentioned in extra Biblical literature. Forty-two authors prior to 150 AD write about it.  Twenty Christian authors write about it before 100-150 AD.

Sharing the Hope of the Word of God

First Presentation: The Bible is the Word of God

  1. The Bible is a generally reliable historical document.
  2. Jesus is a historical figure who is a key figure in the Bible; and Jesus’ disciples and over 500 witnesses, some of whom were alive during the claims written and circulated, testified to the resurrection of Jesus.
  3. Jesus is Deity.
  4. Jesus taught that the Bible is authoritative and trustworthy.
  5. THEREFORE the Bible is what it claims to be, the very Word of the Lord.

Second Presentation: The Bible is the Authoritative Word of God to Man, Trustworthy and without Error

  1. Jesus taught that the Bible is the very Word of God.
  2. Jesus is God.
  3. Therefore, the Bible is the inerrant and infallible Word of God.

[1] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian Standard Version. (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2009), 1 Peter 3:15–16.

[2] If you have not already been baptized. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

Can Love Transform?

  1. Love is what human beings seek. Love is a gift of God that reflects His own attributes.
  2. Thus, love is both a means by which we may present the Gospel and a promise of a divine, eternal love that transcends all others.
    1. This love is fully realized in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, who was God’s love incarnate, God with us. He came to live the life we could not live and died a death on the cross for our sins. He offers forgiveness from our sin, new life, and eternal life if you will commit to Him by repentance and faith.
  3. Therefore love is a powerful apologetic in itself.