Mankind is not morally neutral. When you share the gospel, you don’t speak to someone who is devoid of worldview commitments. You don’t witness in a spiritual vacuum.
The Bible makes this abundantly clear. Consider Psalm 10, where the wicked says in verse five, “there is no God,” and later in verse eleven, “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it.” There is a rejection of God’s existence, then, in the same breath, a fear of God’s judgment. This illustrates that one’s inner knowledge of God cannot be dismissed by merely proclaiming that he doesn’t exist. This cognitive dissonance is as old as the Garden of Eden.
The biblical account of origins takes a tragic turn in the third chapter of Genesis. The earthly utopia of the first two chapters is merely a speed bump on the road to redemption. The rest of the biblical narrative unfolds God’s plot to restore a relationship with fallen man. The biblical storyline makes no sense without an understanding of the fall. And neither will your apologetics.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking neutrality is a viable option for the unbeliever. Everyone brings a set of biases against belief in God (see Ps 10). You will encounter resistance and opposition, and this is to be expected. Stand on the Word of God and trust the gospel as the central answer for man’s ultimate questions.
This post is an excerpt from the Guide to Evangelism edited by Southern Seminary. It is used with permission. You can purchase this resource in its entirety here.
Published November 6, 2017
