and he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.- [acts 19:8]
he spoke boldly
paul had a life-changing message and he was not going to hide it! he often began in the synagogue. but why?
prior to his conversion, paul had heard the truth of Christ proclaimed, and vehemently opposed it.
as a jew, with zeal for the law (phil. 3:6), and a pharisee of pharisees (acts 23:6), he first brought the gospel to those who were most like him. to those with whom he could share his experience and say something like,’i was wrong when i refused to believe. don’t make the same mistake!’.
in the synagogues, he didn’t dance around the gospel – he spoke boldly, and his bold words convinced many of the truth of Christ. but he also made enemies of others who refused to believe.
reasoning and persuading
the gospel draws out deep emotions, but it is also a thinking and reasoning faith.
ours is a faith which gently feeds the heart in need of the deepest of loves, while challenging the mind in need of the deepest of thoughts.
belief in Christ doesn’t require giving up reason. to the contrary, the God who created us with minds to think and reason is evident in logic and reasoning. paul didn’t have to talk his listeners out of thinking for themselves; he had to talk them into it.
i thank God for those in my life who reasoned with me, sharing the gospel boldly , and for those who continue to do so.
~ jason soroski