Gospel Defense
Part 4

What to Avoid When Defending the Gospel

by Scott Price

"But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes. And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will." II Tim 2:23-26

    Anyone that puts forth the effort enough times to communicate the gospel to family, friends, co-workers, or even strangers, at some point has probably run into people asking foolish and unlearned questions. Just when you are dealing with some good gospel nugget like the sinless humanity of Christ, His Deity, the imputation of sin to Christ, His satisfaction of the law, His righteousness established, and all of a sudden the person says to you, "Yeh, but what about life on other planets?". Foolish and unlearned questions range from "Can God make a rock so big He cannot lift it", to "Are people in heaven able to fly through the air by thought projection?".

    Foolish and unlearned questions are things that simply are not revealed in God's word. Man foolishly tries to be wiser than God and talk about what he knows nothing about. God's people are not to strive and debate with others concerning these things. Even unclear secondary issues that are not gospel issues should not be fought over. Just a very quick reading in the gospels you will see some foolish and unlearned questions that folks asked Jesus and some of the questions even came from His disciples. We now have the advantage of learning from other's mistakes and that still does not make us mistake proof. The point is we need to focus on what God has clearly revealed in a gospel context when we are evangelizing.

    In the defense and confirmation of the gospel we must speak "thus saith the LORD." Paul said we should not speak with man's wisdom, fancy talk, or eloquent language that is above everybody's intellectual level so as to bring attention to the one speaking. People in the past have asked me, "What should I say to the Jehovah's Witness when he comes to my door?", as if there is some magic bullet they want to use. The answer I give is...THE GOSPEL! Same gospel is to be preached for the Mormons, Christians Science, 7th Day Adventists, Catholics, Freewillers, or any other works based false religion. If you deal with an evolutionist should you become an evidentalist or "Christian scientist" and spend years studying fossils, laws of cause and effect, laws of science, and archeology, to prove God created the world? If you convince him of creation you have only made a lost creationist that does not believe the gospel. The gospel of grace is our only message God uses to save His sheep.

    Christ, Paul, and some of the other Apostles discussed, disputed, deliberated, reasoned, argued, debated, when preaching and teaching the things concerning the gospel. They warned to do this in the right attitude which is love. The above text says to be gentle and patient. Being gentle and patient does not mean to scream, spit, hit, insult, make fun of, look down on, etc., but rather lovingly communicate the gospel as clearly as you know how answering all questions by whatever sound explanations the Bible gives.

    Disputing, debating, and arguing, has it's place if done in the properly prescribed manner. The gospel message should be what offends, not the messenger. If the gospel is not an offence then maybe the messenger is holding some truth back? Is the preacher leaving room for sinners to boast? Is he leaving room for the sinner to glory in something besides the cross of Christ? Is he describing a christ that does not equal the Christ of the Bible? Is he so focused on side issues and "how to" messages that the glory of God in Christ is not touched on? Avoid foolish and unlearned questions and get to the heart of the matter...in love.... Christ and Him crucified.