The Warrior Within (Part 1)

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Should we engage in the fight of ideas and try persuading unbelievers, or decide to stay on the sidelines because whatever we say cannot make "fools" change their minds? Or worse, do we half-heartedly talk to an unbeliever because we are commanded to, without any real hope for positive impact or victory? Is this what Paul did?

Over the last ten years or so, it has become clear to me that, as bearers of truth for the advance of the Kingdom of God, we are fighting against ideas and not people. We are not fighting a particular person or sets of persons, though we engage them personally. It is their ideas, such as radical Islam (a tautology in my opinion), socialism, Marxism, relativism, naturalism and so on, that we are attempting to destroy. These types of false ideas blind the persons we are engaging and taint their worldview. These ideas are the types of fortresses Paul warns the Corinthians about:

"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (2Cr 10:3-5)

Did Paul regard unbelievers as fools without free will that could not be persuaded no matter what? Here are some passages that suggest quite the opposite.

Paul on Mars Hill in Athens, Greece, in Acts 17:17 is relentless,

"So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there."

After he left Athens he went to Corinth,

"And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks." Acts 18:4

Then Acts 18:19 tells us that he again reasoned elsewhere with unbelievers,

"And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there, but he himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews."

The Holy Spirit of God has no doubt his own work cut out, but we need to worry about our own role. Giving people reasons for why we believe the things we believe is of utmost importance. If Paul reasoned with unbelievers with that type of fervor, there is good reason to believe that there is value for us in presenting good arguments and evidence for Jesus Christ to the unbelieving crowd.

But why would God and Jesus, who trained 12 people to be "fishers of men" or Paul, engage unbelievers if they cannot discern the truth?

Did God not say: "Come now, and let us reason together," or "argue this out," as the NLT translates it (Isaiah 1:18)? In other words everyone is free to choose to follow or not, based on the arguments (see also Acts 17:11).

Paul explains that God is evident to all men first in his creation:

"Because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse" (Rom 1:19-20)

and in his absolute moral law:

"For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them" (Rom 2:14-15)

Now perhaps certain people have rejected God and God has "hardened their hearts" in a way that no arguments will ever convince them, but note that they first rejected God. We just cannot assume that.

We can see that the creation screams to all men that God exists. Energy in the universe is running out which implies it was full or had a beginning at some finite point in the past. If that wasn't enough the universal moral law "written in their hearts" speaks to their conscience. Find out what relativists hold dear and see how quickly they change their position when you threaten what they value. If we appeal to creation to point to a creator, and absolute moral law which implies a moral law giver, we can successfully persuade others that Christianity offers insight into the true nature of God.

IN BATTLE WE WILL BE VICTORIOUS!