The last time that you engaged someone in conversation concerning their relationship with Jesus Christ; meaning, witnessing to them as to their need to receive God’s gift of eternal life [salvation] through faith in Jesus Christ – did the conversation result in “arguing” over the Scriptures or did it manifest itself in “reasoning” through the Scriptures. If truth be told, we often find ourselves caught in the former instead of the latter. The most common reason for this occurrence is that we are prone to seek a quick result / response instead of taking the time to allow the other person to consider what the Scriptures are actually stating to them, and allowing the Holy Spirit to bring about conviction and drawing them to the saving knowledge found only in Jesus Christ.
As born again children of God, we have an innate desire to see our loved ones, neighbors and acquaintances receive Christ as their Savior – so that they too will be able to secure a home in Heaven. Unfortunately, though, during the training session on “how to witness”, one of the most overlooked techniques that should be included / studied is “how to reason from the Scriptures”. The prophet Isaiah recorded,
Isaiah 1:18,
“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”
It would seem that the traditional school of thought has been to just quote the “Roman Road” and that would be sufficient to win someone to the Lord. (Granted, that is a broad brush statement.) But, just “quoting Scriptures” does not really allow for the hearer to internalize that they are a sinner; that Jesus died in their stead and paid their sin debt; that if they die in their unbelief they will spend an eternity paying their sin debt; that if they will believe in their heart that Jesus was raised from the dead for their salvation, and call upon His name, they shall be saved. Thus, there is the need to sit down with the unbeliever; show them the Scriptures; reason out of the Scriptures who they are apart from Jesus Christ; explain to them how to receive God’s gift of salvation, and who they will become by trusting in Jesus Christ as their Savior; then, step back and allow the person to really hear what God’s Word is saying to them personally through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
The apostle Paul was keenly aware of the need to reason from the Scriptures. First, we find that Paul (formerly Saul) heard what Stephen stated concerning Jesus when Stephen was on trial [cf. Acts 6:8-7:60]. Paul saw a man who did not equivocate as to who Jesus Christ is – but, he saw and heard a man who reasoned from the Scriptures that Jesus is the one who fulfilled all of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the coming Messiah, and that those sitting in judgment against him also needed to embrace Jesus who is the Christ. This made a marked impression on Paul, and we find that he had to fully internalize who the Messiah truly is when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, and thusly repented and received Christ as his personal Savior. Second, the apostle Paul then followed the same course of reasoning out of the Scriptures.
Acts 17:1-4 states,
“Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ. And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.”
When Paul was on Mars Hill, he likewise reasoned from the Scriptures and note the results.
Acts 17:32-34,
“And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter. So Paul departed from among them. Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.”
As we see, some mocked, some wanted to hear more, and some readily believed. And this is the outcome that will be experienced every time we share the Gospel and reason from the Scriptures. Ultimately, everyone is going to have to internalize what they have heard concerning the Gospel and decide for themselves if they are going to receive God’s gift of salvation through faith. If you have never received Christ as your Savior, and/or you want to know more about Jesus, then “come now, and let us reason together.”
