Can You Reason People Into Belief? - June 5

Read Acts 17:1-4

Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ. And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.

Reflect

Has someone ever used logic or reasoning to show you the truth of a matter and convince you to change your mind?

Many new believers, as they grow in their faith, are drawn to the field of apologetics. Apologetics comes from a Greek word that means “to give a defense,” thus Christian apologetics just means giving a defense for the Christian faith.

In practice, apologetics goes beyond learning what to believe about Christianity to investigating why it makes sense to believe it’s true. And it allows the believer to better articulate that reasoning to other people. Since so many people have intellectual barriers to Christianity, these intellectual arguments for Christianity could really have a big impact. Many people have been convinced that Christianity is true when presented with logic, reasoning, and evidence.

For example, in today’s passage, the apostle Paul spent 3 Sabbaths reasoning with the Jews in the synagogue. He appealed to their intellect and their ability to reason as he presented evidence from Scripture that Jesus was the Messiah the Jews had been waiting for. And it worked! Acts records that many people were, in fact, argued into the kingdom!

Christian apologist, Greg Koukl, put it this way: “The ability to argue well is vital for clear thinking. That’s why arguments are good things. Arguing is a virtue because it helps us hold to what is true and discard what is false…When arguments are few, error abounds” (Tactics). When the free exchange of ideas is stifled, critical thinking is also stifled and sometimes, that leads to the truth being stifled. This is a big problem because truth is a core tenant of the Christian faith!

Unfortunately, when many think of arguments, they think of angry fighting. They think of yelling matches, personal attacks, bullying, and intimidation. But this is not the kind of arguing the Bible is advocating for.

Paul explained how Christians are to engage in these types of discussions, even if they are controversial: “And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness” (2 Timothy 2:24-25a).

In 1 Peter 3:15, the apostle Peter agreed: “But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being 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.”

As believers, we are called to share our faith. Using logical arguments and appealing to evidence and sound reason is one way to do that. We are also called to defend the faith and take a firm stand for what is true. We should never be rude or argumentative, but we also shouldn’t be afraid to argue the case for the truth of Christianity. You never know who you may persuade with a little gentle reasoning.

Respond

Lord, thank You for making us in Your image and giving us the ability to think and reason. Help me to put logic and reasoning to good use so that I can argue well, gently and lovingly pointing people to Your truth. Amen.

Reveal

Are you prepared to give a defense for the Christian faith? If someone asked you why you believe Christianity is true, do you know what to say? No one has all of the answers but we should be prepared to make a basic defense of our faith (1 Peter 3:15). Don’t get overwhelmed. Just get started! Pick up an apologetics book or go to Gotquestions.org to help you form an answer to that question.