An Objection Is an Open Door
You have told someone about Jesus, and he says, “But what about...?” Your stomach drops. It does not have to. An objection means he is thinking, and he is still talking to you.
“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:”1 PETER 3:15 · KJV
Peter wrote that to ordinary believers. Notice the order. Christ comes first in your heart. Then comes readiness. Then the manner: with meekness and fear. The word translated answer is apologia, a reasoned reply. It has nothing to do with being sorry. Paul adds that our speech should be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man (Colossians 4:6).
You do not need to be a scholar. The same eight or so objections come up again and again, and each has a short answer that an ordinary believer can learn. This study gives you a way to respond and a few sentences for each. These are starting points, not scripts. Put them in your own words.
This is the short version, for the lunch table. Each answer links to the full study behind it. Putting It Into Practice goes further into how to hold these conversations.
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For Deeper Study
- When Skeptics AskAmazon Norman L. Geisler and Ron BrooksA handbook of short answers to common objections. Geisler allowed for an old earth, which we reject.
- The Big Book of Bible DifficultiesAmazon Norman L. Geisler and Thomas HoweClear answers to alleged errors, book by book, first published as When Critics Ask. Keep it on the shelf for the verse someone asks about. The same note on the age of the earth applies.
- Is Jesus the Only Savior?Amazon Ronald H. NashA clear answer to pluralism and to the view that people can be saved through other religions without knowing Christ, by a philosopher who taught at Reformed Theological Seminary and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
- How Long, O Lord? Reflections on Suffering and EvilAmazon D. A. CarsonA careful and pastoral book by a Baptist New Testament scholar. He is Reformed on God's sovereignty, where we differ.
- Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian ConvictionsAmazon Gregory KouklPractical help for using good questions in everyday conversations. Koukl holds an old earth, which we reject.
- Foxe's Book of MartyrsAmazon John FoxeThe classic Protestant record of those who died for the faith, from the early church to the English Reformation.
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How to Share the Gospel
Sharing the Gospel is a conversation in which a believer listens, tells who Jesus is and what He did, and asks for a response, leaving conviction to the Spirit and the decision to the one who must believe.
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