Often, Christians view open debate as something either too cerebral or too confrontational. I remind you that Jesus debated with Pharisees all the time. In fact, if we removed such conversations from the Bible, our Gospels would be very brief. In Acts, we also read about a man named, Apollos:
Acts 18:28
“For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.”
And let us not forget the very first Christian martyr, Stephen, who was stoned to death for being too persuasive during a debate. Was this some cerebral, fleshly, unspiritual skill? On the contrary, we are told that his wisdom came from the Holy Spirit ( Acts 7).
“Yeah, but what was the point? All it did was get the crowd stirred up and the man died. Who was even convinced?”
A man named Saul of Tarsus was in the crowd. He later became the Apostle Paul and turned the world upside down for Christianity. I have to believe Stephen gave Paul something to think about inasmuch as he admitted to a sensitive conscience on the matter prior to his encounter with Christ. Evidently, Stephen’s debate accomplished quite a bit.
It is unfair to preach a message as life changing as the Gospel without verification. Think about it. We are literally telling people that they will end up in hell for all of eternity if they do not accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. Nobody wants to end up in hell. At the same time, nobody wants to dedicate his or her life to a fantasy or a waste of time. People have a right to ask the very understandable question, “How do I know this to be true? You have asked me for a life commitment and painted a horrific picture of what will happen if I refuse. Please convince me that I am committing myself to something real!”
At this point, the smiley Christian replies, “You must accept it on faith.”
Do you see why atheists have a heyday with Christianity? Why should people follow something that is not true?
CONCLUSION: All of us have been in troublesome arguments where people were yelling at each other and not truly listening. But a formal debate need not be like that. It can be done in friendliness. It can be done with respect. And yes, debates are very biblical.
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