Apologia

If apologia means "to make a defense" and in 1 Peter 3:15 we read, "always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you" (bold mine) it stands to reason that apologetics is meant for both those within the church as well as those without.  Why? 

Because "everyone" is an inclusive statement.  This "pas" (Strongs entry G3956) is the same word used in John 3:16 when we read "whosoever."  The entry gives the following as the definition of pas: 1) individually: a) each, every, any, all, the whole, everyone, all things, everything; 2) collectively: a) some of all types.

Therefore, the "everyone" or "every man" (KJV) of 1 Peter 3:15 we are charged to be ready to give this defense to is not restricted by church lines.

I see that apologetics as a means to look more deeply into the things of faith, to understand the position of those we would approach, as well as understanding not just what we say but what they hear.

Everything needs to return to Christ.  He is the answer.  This is what Christians profess.  But how do we present the Gospel in a way that is palatable?  How do we "become as all to all that we might win some?"  We meet people where they are, understand how they view the world, their weltanschauung, and then we seek to open clean the dusty windows of that worldview with the Truth of Christ.

Often new converts enter the church and carry much of their old worldview with them.  It is imperative that those within the Body, whether pastors or pew-warmers, are ready to not only answer the questions of babes in Christ, but that we beg the questions so that we might build one another up.

Apologia... give a reason... not an apology.

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth" Romans 1:16

SDG