I Kings 19:2
Convincing the Un-convincible
Should we debate with unbelievers?
1 Kings 19:2, Elijah has just finished calling fire out of heaven, God has made His presence known in a supernatural, un-denying way, yet Jezebel, Ahab, and the rest of their crowd still will not recognize there is a God.
In this New Testament era, God has revealed Himself once again by fire. There is evidence of His presence all around as a consuming fire.
The Holy Spirit has manifested itself greatly in the lives of so many believers that our testimonies are enough to turn skeptics toward faith in God.
Yet they choose to not believe. In one facet they choose not to accept the faith that they could have. Faith is not of our own ability, but it is given to us from God, Rom. 12:3. We can ask God for more, Luke 17:5. Without faith it is impossible to please God, Heb. 11:6. To please God begins with believing in Him.
How can we convince people that there is a God? We must:
1. Plant: Present them with the Word of God. Plant a seed of truth. The Gospel of the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most powerful truth that can be told to any individual on earth.
2.
Pray:
Trust God to do His work through the Holy Spirit.
Once we share truth, it is up to that person to obey the truth.
The work that God will do through the spirit is much more effective than
the work we can do through hour intellect.
(1 Cor. 2:1-5, with the emphasis on verse 5.)
Rom. 10:16, they have not all obeyed.
This is proof from the Bible that not all will obey the truth revealed
through the Spirit of God even though they have heard the truth very plainly.
It is still our responsibility to pray that they hear the truth, they receive
the truth, and they are affected by the truth.
3.
Practice:
Mat. 5:16. It cannot be argued that
our actions speak loudly as Christians.
The way we present ourselves in front of this wicked and ungodly world
has a large effect on unbelievers.
The majority may be hypocrites, they may be a bad testimony for the Gospel, but
you don’t have to be.
Phil. 2:15; 2 Tim. 2:24-26