{"product_id":"pulpit-apologetics-a-christ-centered-apologetic-for-gospel-proclamation","title":"Pulpit Apologetics: A Christ-Centered Apologetic for Gospel Proclamation","description":"\u003ch6\u003eBook Description\u003c\/h6\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePreaching and apologetics were never meant to be strangers.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHow should apologetics shape the pulpit?\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHow do we expose unbelief while exalting the sufficiency of Christ?\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHow do we preach sermons that both commend the gospel persuasively and confront unbelief faithfully?\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor too long, preaching and the defense of the faith have been treated as separate callings—one for heralding truth, the other for answering objections. But in the New Testament, they are tied at the hip: proclamation carries its own persuasion, and\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eapologetics flows through the veins of gospel preaching.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003ePulpit Apologetics\u003c\/em\u003e, Dr. William Robert Edwards draws on the theological vision of Cornelius Van Til to show\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ehow apologetics flows naturally from Christ-centered proclamation.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eRather than seeing apologetics as a bolt-on argument or academic exercise, Edwards demonstrates that true persuasion comes through pressing the claims of Christ upon the conscience in the very act of preaching.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis book is for\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003epreachers\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eseminarians\u003c\/strong\u003e, and\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003echurch leaders\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ewho long to\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003epress the crown rights of Christ\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003ewith\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eclarity\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eboldness\u003c\/strong\u003e, and\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003epersuasion\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ein an age of skepticism and unbelief.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch6\u003eAuthor\u003c\/h6\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWilliam Robert Edwards\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e (DMin, Westminster Theological Seminary) is Associate Professor of Apologetics and Pastoral Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary. He is ordained in the Presbyterian Church in America. Prior to joining Westminster's faculty, Dr. Edwards served in ministry for over twenty years, as a campus minister with Reformed University Fellowship, and as a church planter and pastor. He is co-editor of the volume \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eTheology for Ministry\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, and has contributed articles and essays to various journals and edited volumes, including \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Future of Reformed Apologetics\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch6\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEndorsements\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h6\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“I’ve taught both the theory and the practice of Christian apologetics for two decades. One common question I receive from students is, “How can I use apologetics in my preaching ministry?” I fear that I have never given a fully satisfactory answer to that question, but now I have a simple one: just read Rob Edwards’ book \u003cem\u003ePulpit Apologetics\u003c\/em\u003e! Dr. Edwards has given this question more careful thought than anyone else I know. His book makes a persuasive case for the necessity of apologetics in preaching and provides helpful how-to guidance. It is brimming with insightful theological application and practical wisdom.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJames N. Anderson,\u003c\/strong\u003e Carl W. McMurray Professor of Theology and Philosophy, Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Never since the early Christian apologists has it been more needful to weave the defense of the faith into our preaching. Even the faithful need to be persuaded of the goodness, truth, and beauty of Bible’s message, especially as it points us to the risen Christ. This book is a timely remedy to the lack of apologetics in contemporary preaching.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMichael Horton\u003c\/strong\u003e, J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics, Westminster Seminary California\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“It might be thought that all has been said and done on the subject of Cornelius Van Til. That simply is not true. One area still not thoroughly developed is Van Til’s approach to preaching. Some has been done, but the pages by Rob Edwards are the “pièce de résistance.” Van Til is indeed the main focus here, but even without that they would contain extremely valuable insights on all preaching. This is indispensable reading for anyone in our times wishing to be more biblically faithful to this fine art.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWilliam Edgar\u003c\/strong\u003e, Professor Emeritus of Apologetics, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“This book’s concern is with the apologetic aspect, too often neglected or underappreciated, that timely and effective communication of the gospel demands. Edwards’s thorough and penetrating analysis of Scripture shows, with the proclamation of Jesus and Paul as notable examples, that God’s special revelation in Christ has its saving sense and efficacy only as it discloses and addresses unbelief, whatever its specific and varied manifestations, as rooted in the sinful suppression of God’s general revelation in creation. His thoughtful reflection on the apologetics of Tim Keller is a definite value added.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRichard B. Gaffin, Jr.\u003c\/strong\u003e, Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology, Emeritus Westminster Theological Seminary\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Rob Edwards has done pastors a great service by equipping them to bring the apologetic discipline to their primary task in ministry, preaching. With a unique blend of scholarship, lucidity, pastoral insight, and warmth, Edwards’s work will train pastors to both commend and defend the faith both to the church and the many yet to be won.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohn Currie\u003c\/strong\u003e, Senior Pastor, Proclamation Presbyterian Church, Bryn Mawr, PA\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“If our apologetic is not easily merged with the ministry of the pulpit, then something is amiss. Van Til once wrote that his academic degrees—his Th.M. and his Ph.D.—were nothing more than means whereby he might be true to his primary degree, his V.D.M. (Verbum Dei Minister). As penetrating as Van Til’s insights are in Christian apologetics, the telos of that Reformed defense of Christianity, which is often missed, is to exalt the self-attesting Christ of Scripture. Dr. Edwards’s book uniquely guides us toward that telos. This book ably demonstrates the gospel power of a consistently Reformed apologetic, as well as its seamless application to homiletics. Unfortunately, there are too few books that show the deep connection between a Christian defense and Christian preaching. Fortunately, Dr. Edwards’s work is now available for all of us.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eK. Scott Oliphint\u003c\/strong\u003e, Former Professor of Apologetics and Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“In his provocative \u003cem\u003ePulpit Apologetics\u003c\/em\u003e, Dr. Rob Edwards applies Cornelius Van Til’s presuppositionalism to the church’s mission to proclaim Christ’s gospel, especially to unbelievers. Dr. Edwards argues that more significant to the preacher’s task than our hearers’ cultural context are their covenant consciousness of accountability to their Creator, the integral unity of God’s special and general revelation, and the goal of “implicating” hearers in the biblical text. We who appreciate Tim Keller’s contextualized, Christ-centered proclamation-as-persuasion will learn from wrestling with Dr. Edwards’s respectful but not uncritical engagement with Dr. Keller’s homiletic-apologetic practice. In fact, Pulpit Apologetics will fortify all heralds of the King with wisdom and boldness.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDennis E. Johnson\u003c\/strong\u003e, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Practical Theology, Westminster Seminary California\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Given Van Til’s preeminence as an apologist and theologian, it’s easy to overlook the fact that he was also a preacher. The students at Westminster knew it. His neighbors knew it. The bustling crowd on Wall Street even knew him as a street preacher. Dr. Rob Edwards has provided not only encouragement and equipping for the homiletic task that is true to Van Til, but he has done it in the trajectory of Van Til’s greatest mentor and teacher of Reformed theology, Geerhardus Vos. Here is a rich feast of biblical-theological, covenantal apologetic homiletic help, that will increase your confidence in your preaching of Christ and, moreover, in the Christ you preach.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDavid O. Filson\u003c\/strong\u003e, Associate Pastor, Christ Presbyterian Church, Nashville, Tennessee \u0026amp; President’s Professor of Apologetics and Systematic Theology, Westminster Theological Seminary\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“In this wonderful volume, Rob Edwards presents a rich and thoroughly Reformed Christ-centered apologetic preaching methodology. His exploration of the biblical text, biblical theology, and historical theology undergird the proposal that Christian preaching has always needed to be apologetic, regardless of whether it was so in reality. Beginning with the Reformed idea of covenant-consciousness and considering the alternative accounts of unbelief that permeate our culture, Edwards proposes a way to preach the text of Scripture in a way that exposes unbelief, implicates how listeners inhabit the world of unbelief, and draws them to Christ. The result is a philosophy of preaching that addresses one of the major weaknesses of recent trends in preaching and supercharges preaching with apologetic power. I can’t recommend this book enough!”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMark Farnham\u003c\/strong\u003e, Professor of Apologetics, Lancaster Bible College; Founder and Director, Apologetics for the Church\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“\u003cem\u003ePulpit Apologetics\u003c\/em\u003e addresses a weakness in preaching in many of our pulpits (including my own!)—which is a lack of persuasion. Too often, preaching is more informational than transformational. \u003cem\u003ePulpit Apologetics\u003c\/em\u003e offers a helpful corrective, and does so from a Reformed, covenantal approach. Drawing from the deep wells of men such as Cornelius Van Til and Geerhardus Vos, Edwards convincingly demonstrates the important place of apologetics in pulpit ministry and does so by showing how often this is the type of preaching modeled in Scripture itself. As Edwards shows throughout, “God’s world needs God’s word.” May God use \u003cem\u003ePulpit Apologetics\u003c\/em\u003e to encourage those who preach, trusting that by it the Holy Spirit will convince and convert the lost, and build up God’s people.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEric B. Watkins\u003c\/strong\u003e, Director of the Center for Missions and Evangelism, Mid-America Reformed Seminary \u0026amp; Church Planter for the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Daytona Beach, Florida\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“I thoroughly enjoyed reading Rob Edwards’s \u003cem\u003ePulpit Apologetics\u003c\/em\u003e. What does preaching have to do with apologetics, and vice versa? Apparently a lot, as Edwards persuasively demonstrates. I appreciated Edwards’s exploration of the relationship between preaching and apologetics. And for one wanting to think through the wisdom that Cornelius Van Til provides for that relationship, this book is a great place to start.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBradley G. Green\u003c\/strong\u003e, Professor of Theological Studies, Union University, Jackson, TN\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch6\u003eAdditional Information\u003c\/h6\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCover: Hardcover\u003cbr\u003eNumber of Pages: 205\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Westminster Seminary Press\u003cbr\u003ePublication Date: March 2026\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Edwards, William Robert","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48379520286961,"sku":"9781955859240","price":35.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0449\/8731\/8425\/files\/9781955859240.png?v=1783356047","url":"https:\/\/reformedbookservices.com\/products\/pulpit-apologetics-a-christ-centered-apologetic-for-gospel-proclamation","provider":"Reformed Book Services","version":"1.0","type":"link"}