Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions by Gregory Koukl

The apostle Peter makes apologetics a mandate for every believer. In 1 Peter 3:15, he exhorts his readers to “always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” The word “defense” in the verse is the Greek word “apologia,” from which we get our word “apologetics” and refers to clearly articulating and defending the truth claims of the Christian faith against the attacks of skeptics and atheists.

If you struggle to effectively defend your faith—or simply try to avoid these conversations altogether—one resource that will equip you to “give a defense” is Greg Koukl’s book, Tactics. Greg is a Christian apologist and founder of Stand to Reason, an organization committed to “training Christians to think more clearly about their faith and to make an even-handed, incisive, yet gracious defense for classical Christianity and classical Christian values in the public square.”

While there are many books that defend the Christian faith, Tactics equips you to actually do it.

Tactics is a wonderful training guide designed to keep you in control of those often awkward and challenging conversations about faith. For example, instead of allowing critics to make assertions we have to counter, simply ask questions that make them defend their own view. According to Koukl, critics often don’t expect us to reverse the burden of proof.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and heartily recommend it without reservation. Since a study guide is also available with this book, it makes a great curriculum for a Sunday School class or small group study. While there are many books that defend the Christian faith, Tactics equips you to actually do it. I think this is important for three reasons.

1. The increased intensity of attacks against Christianity.

Secular culture takes offense at the gospel, and increasingly, people view it as hateful and insulting to modern sensibilities. Believing the Bible now means being on the “wrong side of history.” This should not surprise us since Jesus said, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” (John 15:18) Younger generations that have been bombarded with anti-Christian thought their entire life prove fertile soil for anti-theist lies and distortions. Now, more than ever, Christians need to be able to calmly answer the vitriol and lies hurled at God’s truth.

2. The epidemic of biblical illiteracy.

Researchers George Gallup and Jim Castelli observed, “Americans revere the Bible—but, by and large, they don’t read it. And because they don’t read it, they have become a nation of biblical illiterates.” You know it’s bad when the majority of professing Christians can’t name all four gospels, identify more than three disciples, and can’t state half of the Ten Commandments. This ignorance of the Bible only increases the need for apologetics.

Without question, the most important book we need to study in order to defend what we believe as Christians is the Bible. In the book of Acts, Apollos was said to be “competent in the Scriptures” and therefore able to “powerfully refute” those who opposed Christianity. (Acts 18:24-28) So, in addition to the Word of God, consider Tactics an additional resource that is very practical in terms of engaging people in conversations about faith and religion.

3. The need of a lost and dying world.

People without Jesus are lost, and believers have been commissioned by Jesus Christ to proclaim the good news to every person. At the beginning of Tactics, Koukl makes it clear that we are called to be “ambassadors for Christ.” As such, he says Christians need to know what they believe and how to effectively communicate it, while living a life that commends the message.

Tactics is not a long book, nor is it overly complicated. Koukl supplies adequate examples and stories that illustrate the various maneuvers he teaches. I would recommend reading Tactics with a pen and highlighter handy, and perhaps a notebook to write down your own thoughts and other topics you may want to research. I urge you to read Tactics because unless you’ve been trained in apologetics, you need this book and a lost world needs an answer.