Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there. Acts 17:17

We cannot be reasoned into the kingdom of God, nor can we reason anyone else in. That does not mean, however, that Christianity is unreasonable. It is absolutely reasonable. The problem is, we are all born sinners. A sad reality of being born in sin is that our ability to make sense of spiritual truth is severely compromised. As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:14:

But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Therefore while no one can be reasoned into saving faith, when we talk about Christ and the Gospel, what we say is reasonable and as we talk about Christ, we are reasoning. While our reasoning alone cannot convert anyone, we rely on the Holy Spirit to regenerate people, enabling them to understand our most reasonable faith.

Because the unconverted (even as we were) have a predisposition to reject Christ and the gospel, the unregenerate comfort themselves in their unbelief by believing a number of untruths. These commonly held untruths are posed as reasons not to believe. They are “roadblocks” standing in the way of belief. As we reason, our job is not to convert (that job belongs solely to the Holy Spirit), but to remove the excuses people hide behind. Humanly speaking, we do this by reasoning. Spiritually, the Holy Spirit removes the veil of one’s understanding (regeneration). The result is conversion.

The importance of being able to reason will be in tomorrow’s post.