Overly Pious Apologetic Practitioners

Often people argue that conversions do not come about through argument. The idea is that faith in the Gospel alone is what saves. We cannot argue anyone into the kingdom. So we should just preach the Gospel.

The suggestion is superficially insightful. It sounds pious to preach the Gospel. And it is. But imagine preaching the Gospel to those who vocally reject its most basic tenets. Once the Gospel has been preached, and the unbeliever persists in his or her statements to the effect that God does not exist, sin is a psychological trick to get children to behave, Jesus is a myth, and physical resurrection is impossible, is our job done?

Certainly not. Or so I would argue. Moreover, the person who patiently hears such objections and lovingly refutes them is, in my opinion, exercising a great deal more biblical wisdom than the person who merely preaches the Gospel to someone and upon hearing that person’s rejection of the message, walks away.