12 Bible Verses about Apologetics

but in your hearts reverence Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and respect;

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ,

Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone.

And Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, arose and disputed with Stephen. But they could not stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.

And every Sabbath he was reasoning in the synagogue, and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.

he must hold firm to the sure word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to refute those who contradict it.

for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, proving by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.

So Paul stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens, I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along, and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.'What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, since he is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by hands;read more.
nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all men life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of men to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being,' as even some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given proof to all men by raising him from the dead."

And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, arguing and persuading about the kingdom of God. But when some were stubborn and disbelieved, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them, and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus. This took place for two years, so that all who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

After three days Paul called together the local leaders of the Jews; and when they had gathered, he said to them, "Brethren, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. And when they had examined me, they were willing to release me because there was no ground for putting me to death. But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesarnot that I had any charge to bring against my own nation.read more.
For this reason therefore I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain." They said to him, "We have not received letters from Judea concerning you, and none of the brethren who have come here has reported or spoken anything bad about you. But we desire to hear from you what your views are; for concerning this sect, we know that everywhere it is spoken against." When they had appointed a day for Paul, they came to him at his lodging in great numbers. And he explained the matter to them from morning till evening, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the law of Moses and from the prophets. Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. When they disagreed among themselves, they began to leave, after Paul had made one final statement: "The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet: saying, 'Go to this people and say, "you will be ever hearing, but will never understand; and you will be ever seeing, but will never perceive. For this people's heart has become dull, and with their ears they scarcely hear, and their eyes they have closed; otherwise they might see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them."' Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen." (...) And he stayed there two whole years in his own rented quarters and welcomed all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ quite openly and unhindered.

When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. And he was with them moving about freely in Jerusalem, speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord.read more.
And he was talking and arguing with the Hellenistic Jews; but they were seeking to kill him. But when the brethren learned of it, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: "Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day; but this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:read more.
'And in the last days it shall be, God says, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come. And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' "Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know this man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put him to death. But God raised him up, having loosed the agony of death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power. For David says concerning him, 'I saw the Lord always before me; for he is at my right hand, so that I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue rejoiced; moreover my flesh also will live in hope, because you will not abandon my soul to hades, nor let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the ways of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.' "Brethren, I may say to you confidently of the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. And so, because he was a prophet, and knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to hades, nor did his flesh see decay. This Jesus God raised up again, and of that we are all witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which you see and hear. For David did not ascend into heaven, but he says himself: 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."' Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?" And Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, for all whom the Lord our God will call to himself." And he testified with many other words and exhorted them, saying, "Save yourselves from this perverse generation." So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.