Al Mohler calls on all believers to be defenders of the faith

Jude 3 "Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints."

The Apostle Paul told the Christians at Phillipi, "...Just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace." (Phil 1:7)

To be a partner with Paul in defending and confirming the gospel is a high call. Many Christians today would immediately shrink back with fear and a sense of inadequacy. However, I assure you that you can and must be a defender and confirmer of the faith. By God's grace and for His glory do not give in, give up, retreat, or surrender.

Give yourself to prayer and to the study of sound doctrine. Remember Paul's instruction to Timothy, "Be diligent to present yourself approved of God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (2 Tim 2:15) and to Titus, Paul said, "But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine." (Titus 2:1)

Here are some practical things you can do to begin to be a "defender of the faith" -

1. Study scripture daily. Read the Bible through in one year. There are many Bible reading programs that can aid you in doing this. My personal favorite is to read one chapter from each of the major sections of the Bible each day. (Books of the law, historical books, wisdom books, prophets, and the new testament) By reading one chapter each day from these 5 major sections of the Bible, you will read the entire Bible in close to one year!
2. Ask your pastor to give you a recommendation of a good book on systematic theology. Begin studying Christian doctrine and why you believe what you believe. I recommend Wayne Grudem's "Systematic Theology".
3. Find out who some of the great men of God are that God has used to communicate vital truth from His Word to the church. Begin reading their works and think deeply on the whole counsel of God. I recommend reading Charles Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards, George Whitfield, A.W. Pink, John MacArthur, John Piper, and Al Mohler. (There are others of course, but these men of God will get you started on the right track.)
4. Get under the preaching and teaching of God's Word. Get into a Bible believing, Bible Preaching church and learn. Ask the pastor questions. Think critically (not with a critical spirit) about his messages.
5. Do ministry! Don't just be a hearer of the Word and deceive yourself. Do the work of the ministry in your church, in your home, in your community, and in this world.

Al Mohler has written an excellent article on Christian Apologetics in the current culture. Here is an excerpt:

"Christians today are called to serve the cause of Christ at one of the crucial turning points in human history. The generations now living have witnessed an explosion of knowledge, the collapse of distance, the rising and falling of empires. Cultures and societies have been radically transformed, and expansive wealth has brought great material comfort even as the most basic structures of society are undermined. Families are fractured, lawlessness abounds, violence invades, and the media bring a constant stream of chaos into our lives.
The reality of truth is itself denied. Postmodern Americans accept meaning as a replacement for truth, and exchange worldviews as quickly as they try on new clothes.
This is a very strange time to proclaim and defend the Christian faith. Evangelism is difficult in an age when most persons think their most basic problems are rooted in a lack of self-esteem, and when personal choice is the all-determining reality of the marketplace. In the same way, the task of apologetics is complicated by the postmodern condition. How does one defend the faith to persons unwilling to make any judgment concerning truth?"

Read the rest of his commentary here.