Theology & Life

Society is saturated with apologizers. Every which way we turn, someone is apologizing for something because it offended someone. It’s a vicious cycle. And Christians are, in part, included in this mess. We may not necessarily say, “I’m sorry” for a particular doctrine or Bible verse, but we sometimes may try to downplay it in order to soften its blow. Don’t soften the blow.

Sometimes we don’t stand up for what we believe in. And, when we do, we then cave if there is pushback. We don’t want criticism thrown our way; we are afraid of any name-calling or slander. So, instead of planting our feet even further, we draw back. We backtrack. We apologize.

Christian, we should never apologize for what the Bible teaches.

Our attitude should be what the late R.C. Sproul spoke about:

I’ve mentioned many times my reaction to the Christian bumper sticker: “God says it. I believe it. That settles it.” Huh? God says it. I believe it. Now, it’s settled? No, if it’s going to be a Christian statement, you say, “God said it. That settles it.” It doesn’t matter whether you believe it or not. If it’s God’s Word, beloved, it’s settled, and this is what the psalmist understood, and he says, “It has been settled in heaven from eternity.”

The Bible says it, I believe it. That should be the posture of our mind and heart in all scenarios. No matter the teaching, no matter the offense—if the Bible says it, we ought to believe it. Period. We should never apologize for what the Bible says. That doesn’t mean we become gratuitously offensive (I may have written a book on that?). It means we understand that the Bible is going to offend; we let it loose, and stand firm regardless of the vitriol we receive in return.

And if we ever do apologize for what the Bible says, we need to ask ourselves a genuine question: Do we really believe the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God?

If yes, then we must do some soul-searching. Do we have a problem with fear of man? Do we care a little too much about what other people think? We must take the attitude of the Apostle Paul in Galatians 1:10, which says, “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ” (ESV).

To please God means, when rubber meets road, that we must never apologize for what God has said. It comes down to wanting the approval of God rather than the approval of man.

From the Bible’s teaching on sexuality and gender to the exclusivity of Jesus Christ, there are always going to be unpopular doctrines to the world. There is always going to be something that offends them. Let them be offended. We simply need to make sure we are humble, gracious, and that we remain grounded on the Word of God, despite the criticism we may receive.

We stake our lives on the reliability and truthfulness of Scripture, which is a reflection of the character and nature of God Himself. Why would we ever apologize for that? We shouldn’t let the fear of man overpower the fear of God. At the end of the day, God is the ultimate Judge—not man.