“But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense (apologia) to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence” (I Peter 3:15).
Apologetics has nothing to do with apologizing. The Greek word apologia in the New Testament means to reply or make a defense as to why we believe such a thing as the gospel of Jesus Christ, the integrity of Scriptures, or the existence of God.
In the early 1970s, the publication of Josh McDowell’s “Evidence That Demands a Verdict” caused a sensation. The thick book was eagerly devoured by pastors and laity, college students and campus ministers, housewives and college professors, seekers and skeptics, all searching to know more about the logical and historical basis of the Christian faith.
In 1972, I was 32 years old when that book appeared on the scene, and was ministering to college students by the hundreds. The book was a Godsend. Heaven alone knows its full impact.