Evangelism, Reason, & Faith
July 31, 2014
Evangelism can be scary. And is to most of us. One of the great persistent fears that many of us wrestle with is, “What if I can’t answer all their questions?” There is no need for such fear. My brothers and sisters in Christ, you don’t need to have all the answers. In fact, you won’t have all the answers!
Many of us fear the questions that may be asked because we consciously or subconsciously believe that we can reason people into salvation. But this is something we never do and never can. Anyone who comes to Him, comes to Him by faith. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:20).
However, let’s be clear, Christianity is quite reasonable. As the Apostle Peter said, “always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Pet. 3:15). We know Christ, so we can articulate the truth of Christ. But we did not come to this knowledge by reason and neither will the person we are sharing the gospel with.
Rationalism, not Christianity, believes that reason is the fundamental source for knowing and explaining the world. Descartes, the celebrated rationalist philosopher, famously said, “I think, therefore I am.” Empiricism is not so different. It stresses experience in the quest for certainty in knowledge. John Lock, the famous empiricist, said, “I experience in order to believe.” Both rationalism and empiricism have an overbearing optimism when it comes to reason. The only issue is whether reason is more important than experience or secondary to it. This runaway optimism in reason has no place for revelation. As Christians, we assert that revelation has the primary and principle place.
We do not dismiss reason or experience, but clearly articulate that they are not the gateway to truth. Christianity, says, “I believe so that I may understand.” Thomas Watson, that ever quotable Puritan, once said, “Where reason can only wade, faith swims.” We are a people who have accepted revelation. We believe that God has spoken (John 1) and that what He has spoken is true (Hebrews 6:18). This is our foundation for true and certain knowledge. And this revelation is only accepted by faith, which we only obtain as a gift from God (Eph. 2:20).
Don’t let the fear of not having a ready answer to every question stymie your freedom to share the gospel. You don’t need to have every answer for someone to come to saving faith. Reason won’t win the day. You just have to be willing to share the truth of God’s revelation with them and pray that God grants them the gift of faith. “So faith comes through hearing and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17).
Share the truth of God’s Word. This is divine revelation. Trust its efficacy, for it does not return void (Isaiah 55:11). If we know Christ, then we know enough to share Christ. Even if we don’t have all the answers, we can point them to the One who does.
This content was originally published on The Gospel Coalition