I suppose it is certain that the Christian faith (God’s truth, the everlasting gospel) has always been under attack and has always needed to be defended. Even in the days of Noah, that preacher of righteousness, it can’t have been easy for him to defend his actions in the building of the ark in front of sceptical onlookers who had never even seen rain! And no doubt Noah sought to persuade them (and many others) to join in with him as well. Truth needs to be both defended and actively promoted.

In Matthew 22:42, the Lord Jesus asks the Pharisees that all-encompassing question, “What think ye of the Christ?” – and in the various encounters our Lord had just had with differing groups of his enemies (those religious leaders of his time) we can see two different approaches to Christian communications and discussions.

In his previous encounters, we see the Lord Jesus adopting a more defensive mode in answering and debating, and yet always overthrowing their onslaughts which sought to  try and trap him in his words, either to make him look foolish and a fraud, or to alienate him with the Roman state authorities on the one hand,  or on the other hand to  put him out of favour with the common people amongst whom he was generally so popular. Each time there was a spectacular failure in his enemies’ attempts.

So, we see in these debates a demonstration of what is the more backfoot approach to Christian testimony, often referred to as “apologetics”: the defence of the truth and summarised for us in 1 Peter 3:15, where we are instructed to be always ready to give an answer, or to give a reason for the hope that we have. As the passage says, this must be done with meekness and fear, i.e. reverently and with respect. However, this more defensive approach in speaking about the Christian faith is always responsive to another’s interest or sceptical questioning, and so we might get into conversations with others about all manner of topics wherein our Christian worldview shows itself, and we have opportunity to answer queries and even hostilities and often misunderstandings, about what we believe.

However, there is that other approach to Christian outreach, which our Lord demonstrates in the passage referred to above. This is the much more front foot approach, where the Christian initiates his/her own questions to try and lovingly expose the other person (or persons) and thereby to show up the inadequacy of their worldview and its shaky and fragile foundation. We call this more front foot approach “polemics”. This is clearly a more confrontational method, and potentially more likely to inflame and disturb, as it is a debate initiated by the Christian. But we can find both the Lord and his apostles engaging in this front foot (polemical) approach to their Christian outreach and evangelism. Asking questions, seeking to unravel and bring out a person’s thinking on matters of life and death and meaning. So, whether it’s apologetics or polemics, the Christian needs to be always ready and equipped for both; to both defend the Christian truth when challenged, as well as taking the truth actively and boldly into the public discourse and into our engagement with others.

So, our Lord asks: “What think ye of the Christ?” – thus the Lord begins his polemical counter attack; from defence to offense, from the backfoot onto the front foot, and seeking now to expose these religious leaders’ shallow and hypocritical stance. He then continued on in this initial polemical exchange with even more questions, to challenge their inadequate and incomplete understanding of their own Scriptures concerning the nature of Messiah. He does this by using Psalm 110:1 to bring to light the reality of the divinity of the coming Christ, and to show up their ignorance. Thus, they were all left speechless and were understandably fearful about asking him any more questions.

So, there is a time to be silent, but there is also a time to speak and to speak up. There is a time to defend but there is also a time to attack, to probe, to ask good questions and launch into a debate – all the while seeking to promote the Christian truth and if by any means win others to the Christ – however hostile their intentions may be.

How masterful were all the Lord’s answers and engagements with his debaters – this is the one “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). May the Lord help us all in our Christian testimony, whether it is apologetics and/or polemics.

Neil Beatson