It’s no secret among my friends that I love apologetics. Not everyone does, I know. Not everyone even knows the word! It’s from the Greek word for “reasons” or “defense” in 1 Peter 3:15, and it’s the name for the field of study that explores all the great reasons we have to believe in Jesus Christ.

I really do love it. I love to read apologetics blogs, study apologetics books and have apologetics conversations. But there is a constant temptation I have to battle, that I believe is common among many apologists: the temptation to simply study apologetics, and not put it into practice.

Let me state something clearly up front so I am not misunderstood: Studying apologetics has tremendous value in its own right. After all, learning how to defend the faith can bring both clarity and confidence in God and Scripture.

Apologetics isn’t meant to be kept in the realm of speculative discussion. It’s for getting us “in the game,” applying our knowledge to real life.

Nevertheless, apologetics isn’t primarily for the person who’s doing the study. It has an outward focus instead. It’s about being equipped to give gracious answers to tough questions, questions that trouble both believers and non-believers in their understanding of God and salvation (e.g., 1 Pet. 3:15; Jude 3).

So, why would someone study apologetics but never put it into use? There are probably thousands of reasons. But I suspect one reason is that it’s much easier, and more comfortable, to discuss apologetic matters on a theoretical level. It’s less risky to debate the age of the earth or fine points of theological philosophy with a fellow believer, than to discuss the evidence for the resurrection with a non-believer. What is there to lose in an “in-house” discussion?

As easy and tempting as this can become, Jesus took another route.

Christianity is Personal

Jesus obviously knew the Scriptures well. Obviously he was eager to discuss them. But he regularly put his knowledge into practice. In John 4, for instance, Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well. Wanting to keep religion as an abstract matter, she raised the question as to whether one should worship in Jerusalem or Samaria. Jesus could have entertained the question merely as a theoretical exercise, but he didn’t do that. He made the issue personal by discussing her five husbands and how God wanted her to worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24).

My point isn’t that we should necessarily confront other people in their sin, as Jesus did in John 4. There is a time and place for that, as Scripture teaches (e.g., Matt. 18:15-20), but it certainly isn’t every time.

Rather, my point is that apologetics isn’t meant to be kept in the realm of speculative discussion. It’s for getting us “in the game,” applying our knowledge to real life. It’s for equipping us to change lives. Jesus refused to keep religious issues entirely in the abstract. He made them personal. And so should we.

A Study Worth Sharing

Pastor Dan Kimball wrote an insightful (and convicting) chapter in Apologetics for a New Generation called “A New Kind of Apologist.” He tells the story of how apologetics played a key role in his conversion to Christianity. As a new Christian, Dan was eager to share his faith, so he quickly began to immerse himself in apologetics. He read books, went to conferences, watched videos, studied debates and more.

But ironically, he noticed a disturbing trend: The more he studied apologetics, the less he was really doing apologetics and evangelism. In other words, his study of apologetics actually drove him further away from the practice of it.

Fortunately, Dan noticed this trend early in his journey and did a 180. As a pastor, he still studies apologetics and writes apologetics-related books, but always with an eye for how he can apply it to life and ministry. Like Jesus in his conversation with the woman at the well, Dan refuses to keep apologetics in the theoretical realm. He wants to make it personal.

Some people shy away from apologetics because they think it’s too theoretical, too disconnected from life. I’d do the same if that were the way it really was. But it isn’t, or at least it isn’t meant to be. Learning apologetics can be one of the most practical, life-changing steps you could take — not for yourself, but for someone who needs what you can share with them.

Sean McDowell, Ph.D. is a professor of Christian Apologetics at Biola University, best-selling author, popular speaker, part-time high school teacher and the Resident Scholar for Summit Ministries, California. Follow him on Twitter: @sean_mcdowell and his blog: seanmcdowell.org.

Adapted with permission from SeanMcDowell.org.