Let us reason together . . .

 

READ Acts 17–20

In the first quarter of my life, I figured I could talk or debate anyone into anything. As a new Christian, I had to learn that my arguments were worthless when it came to convincing others of their need for salvation through faith in Christ.

However, my hubby often says, “Share Christ with everyone, using words when necessary” which is another lesson God teaches. I find that learning to shut up was not as difficult as learning to speak . . . in the power and grace of the Holy Spirit and with the words of truth that He gives to God’s people.

Paul and other NT saints provide examples:

So (Paul) reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. (Acts 17:17)

And they came to Ephesus, and (Paul) left them there, but he himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. (Acts 18:19)

And when (Apollos) wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus. (Acts 18:27–28)

And (Paul) entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. (Acts 19:8)

Some of the success of reasoning or debating truth with others is their receptivity. For instance:

The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. (Acts 17:10–12)

Some of that success can also depend on using logic well. For example, Paul talked to a group that spent most of their time examining new ideas. He noticed they worshipped but had no idea who or what regarding their gods. Paul pointed out the illogic of idols: How can the God who created us “be anything like gold, silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man”? He then said: “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” (Acts 17:30–31) He sent Jesus, the God-Man who is like them yet so unlike them and definitely not created by their imaginations. This logic worked . . .

And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. (Acts 19:26)

Logic and reasoning work on people who think logically. The silversmiths who made an idol called Artemis were extremely agitated with the Gospel message and its treat to their business, but the town clerk used logic and reasoning to talk them down from rioting.

These days, many people complain that the younger generations (and others) have not learned this art. I hear phrases such as: “They don’t know how to think” and “They cannot connect the dots” and “Reasoning seems beyond their ability” and “Incompetence is far more prevalent than logic and reliability” and “This is the dumbing down of America.” Blame goes to lack of education, too much television, too many computer games, absentee parents, and so on, but perhaps it is the inability of people, even God’s people, to see and address the main issue . . . as the prophet Isaiah put it:

“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 1:18–20)

When an entire nation is unwilling to reason with God about sin and the need for salvation, the consequences are dire. Our lack of logic is only a symptom; the real disease is turning our backs on our Creator and making ourselves the only gods that we serve. May God’s people need very little reasoning to realize how much we need a revival and to return to Jesus, our first love.