Conversion at the Conscience

Apologetics are wonderful (check out Stand to Reason for some of the best stuff out there.). Apologetics are very useful for refuting refuse like the claims of DaVinci Code, the gnostic gospels or evolution. To some, evidence is helpful in considering issues of faith, but ultimately, the conversion does not lie in the head alone.

Consider the Flood

Because other cultures have a "flood story," the skeptic argues that the Noah account must be borrowed from others. Since people who have never heard of the Bible believe in a flood, this must prove that Moses stole the story from someone.

To the believer, the flood stories are easily explained...everyone is a descendant of someone who got off the ark. Abraham was called out from among people who were all offspring of the family of Noah. The fact "Ark accounts" are found with people of unreached people groups proves that they have descended from the same source.

You can go around and around with this discussion, but a presupposition can stop a person from seeing with logic. It often proves unfruitful to continue in a debate over these issues (not because you don't have a case, but because you won't be listened to). The guys at Way of the Master regularly remind listeners to go to the conscience. The flood is a great opportunity to do so. A few quick questions can get you there?

Are you aware why the Bible says the flood had to occur? The Bible claims it was due to sin. Have you ever sinned?

How could God be good and kill people in a flood?

The second question is actually my favorite. A person may originally react that God is not good because He would kill people in a flood. However, you think explain to people that because God is good He must respond to sin. A God who does not react to sin is actually evil. Which leads to the final question:

Why has God not reacted yet to your sin?

Paul reminds us that a person can not understand the things of God unless the Spirit open their eyes. You can not argue, debate or convince a person of their need for Christ apart from the Spirit removing the veil. Yet, Paul's response was that he commends himself to every man's conscience. Romans 10 also reminds us that "with the heart a person believes" (10), and that "faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ" (17).

Our faith is based on facts, but faith is born in the heart.