The Gospel and Persuasion

Three considerations:

1. We must be prepared to accept the biblical truth that the Gospel message is the height of foolishness to the unbelieving world (Note: 1 Cor. 1:18 “μωρία” or moronic). Nevertheless, an essential part of sharing the Gospel message is persuading people otherwise.
2. We must also understand the place of persuasion in relation to the Gospel. While it is true that the Holy Spirit does not work in a vacuum, it is equally true that the Gospel is exclusively God’s means of salvation and wholly dependant upon His mercy and power and not on the eloquence of the evangelist (1 Cor. 1:18; Rom. 9:15-16; Tit. 3:5). “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel–not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power” (1 Cor. 1:18) “For he says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’ It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy” (Rom. 9:15-16). “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy” (Tit. 3:5).
3. This is not to denigrate persuasive argument or apologetics. These are important as a means to breaking down barriers and clearing the pathways of the mind and heart in demonstrating the relevance of the Gospel message. However, persuasive argumentation, illustrations, and life experiences are merely subjective human expressions apart from the Spirit’s implantation and application of the Gospel message upon the heart. In other words, sharing the Gospel is neither a tactic, art form, nor a formula.