12 Bible Verses about Apologetics

but reverence Christ in your hearts as Lord, and always be ready to make your defense to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that you have. But do so gently and respectfully,

I destroy arguments and every obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God, and I take captive every thought and make it obey Christ,

Use wisdom in dealing with outsiders, making the most of your opportunities. Always put your message attractively, and yet pointedly, and be prepared to give every inquirer a fitting answer.

Stephen, greatly strengthened by God's favor, did remarkable signs and wonders among the people. But members of the synagogue known as that of the Libyans, Cyreneans, and Alexandrians, and men from Cilicia and Asia undertook to debate with Stephen, but they could not meet his wisdom and the inspiration with which he spoke.

Every Sabbath he would preach in the synagogue, and try to convince both Jews and Greeks.

standing by the message that can be relied on, just as he was taught it, so that he may be qualified both to encourage others with wholesome teaching and to show the error of those who oppose him.

for he vigorously refuted the Jews in public, and showed from the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.

Then Paul stood up in the middle of the council and said, "Men of Athens, from every point of view I see that you are extremely religious. For as I was going about and looking at the things you worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: 'To an Unknown God.' So it is what you already worship in ignorance that I am now telling you of. God who created the world and all that is in it, since he is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples built by human hands,read more.
nor is he waited on by human hands as though he were in need of anything, for he himself gives all men life and breath and everything. From one forefather he has created every nation of mankind, and made them live all over the face of the earth, fixing their appointed times and the limits of their lands, so that they might search for God, and perhaps grope for him and find him, though he is never far from any of us. For it is through union with him that we live and move and exist, as some of your poets have said, " 'For we are also his offspring.' So if we are God's children we ought not to imagine that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, wrought by human art and thought. While God overlooked those times of ignorance, he now calls upon all men everywhere to repent, since he has fixed a day on which he will justly judge the world through a man whom he has appointed, and whom he has guaranteed to all men by raising him from the dead."

He went to the synagogue there, and for three months spoke confidently, holding discussions and trying to persuade them about the Kingdom of God. But as some of them were obstinate and refused to believe, finding fault with the Way before the people, he left them, and withdrew the disciples, and held daily discussions in the lecture-room of Tyrannus. This went on for two years, so that everyone who lived in Asia, Greeks as well as Jews, heard the Lord's message.

Three days later, he invited the leading Jews to come to see him, and when they came he said to them, "Brothers, I have done nothing against our people, or the customs of our forefathers, yet I was turned over to the Romans as a prisoner at Jerusalem. They examined me and were ready to let me go, as I was innocent of any crime that deserved death. But the Jews objected, and I was obliged to appeal to the emperor??ot that I had any charge to make against my own nation.read more.
That is why I asked to see you and speak with you, for it is on account of Israel's hope that I have to wear this chain." "We have had no letters about you from Judea," they answered, "and none of the brothers who have come here has reported or said anything against you. But we want to hear you state your views, for as far as this sect is concerned, we understand that everywhere it is denounced." So they fixed a day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying, and from morning till night he explained to them the Kingdom of God and gave his testimony, trying to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and the Prophets. Some of them were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. As they could not agree among themselves, they started to leave, when Paul added one last word. "The holy Spirit put it finely," he said, "when it said to your forefathers through the prophet Isaiah, " 'Go to this Nation and say to them, "You will listen, and listen, and never understand, And you will look, and look, and never see! For this nation's mind has grown dull, And they hear faintly with their ears, And they have shut their eyes, So as never to see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their minds, and turn back, And let me cure them!" ' "Understand then that this message of God's salvation has been sent to the heathen. They will listen to it!" OMITTED TEXT So he stayed for two full years in rented lodgings of his own, and welcomed everybody who came to see him, preaching the Kingdom of God to them and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ openly and unhindered.

When he reached Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, and they were all afraid of him, for they could not believe that he was really a disciple. But Barnabas got hold of him and introduced him to the apostles, and he told them how on his journey he had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken to him, and how boldly he had spoken for the cause of Jesus at Damascus. After that, he associated with them freely in Jerusalem,read more.
and spoke boldly for the Lord's cause, talking and debating with the Greek-speaking Jews. But they tried to kill him. When the brothers found this out, they took him down to Caesarea, and sent him away to Tarsus.

Then Peter stood up with the eleven around him, and raising his voice addressed them. "Men of Judea," he said, "and all you residents of Jerusalem, let me explain this to you, and pay attention to what I say. These men are not drunk as you suppose, for it is only nine in the morning. But this is what was predicted by the prophet Joel,read more.
" 'It will come about in the last days, God says, That I will pour out my Spirit upon all mankind; Your sons and daughters will become prophets, Your young men will have visions, And your old men will have dreams. Even on my slaves, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, And they will become prophets. I will show wonders in the sky above, And signs on the earth below, Blood and fire and thick smoke. The sun will turn to darkness, And the moon to blood, Before the coming of the great, splendid Day of the Lord. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' "Men of Israel, listen to what I say. Jesus of Nazareth, as you know, was a man whom God commended to you by the wonders, portents, and signs that God did right among you through him. But you, by the fixed purpose and intention of God, handed him over to wicked men, and had him crucified. But God set aside the pain of death and raised him up, for death could not control him. For David says of him, 'I constantly regarded the Lord before me, For he is at my right hand, so that I may not be displaced. Therefore my heart is glad, and my tongue rejoices, And my body will still live in hope. For you will not desert my soul in death, You will not let your Holy One be destroyed. You have made the ways of life known to me, And you will fill me with joy in your presence.' "Brothers, one may say to you confidently of the patriarch David that he died and was buried, and his grave is here among us to this very day. But as he was a prophet, and knew that God had promised him with an oath that he would put one of his descendants upon his throne, he foresaw the resurrection of the Christ and told of it, for he was not deserted in death and his body was not destroyed. He is Jesus, whom God raised from the dead, and to whose resurrection we are all witnesses. So he has been exalted to God's right hand, and has received from his Father and poured over us the holy Spirit that had been promised, as you see and hear. "For David did not go up to heaven, but he said, 'The Lord said to my lord, Sit at my right hand, Until I make your enemies your footstool.' "Therefore the whole nation of Israel must understand that God has declared this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ." When they heard this, they were stung to the heart, and they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" Peter said to them, "You must repent, and every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, in order to have your sins forgiven; then you will receive the gift of the holy Spirit, for the promise of it belongs to you and your children, as well as to all those far away whom the Lord our God calls to him." He said much more besides in giving his testimony, and urged them to save themselves from that crooked age. So they welcomed his message and were baptized, and about three thousand people joined them that day.