Winning Arguments vs Winning Souls

Jun 02, 2024

Colossians 4:6

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer everyone.

I want you to keep the above scripture at the forefront of your mind as you read through this. That scripture highlights exactly how Jesus drew so many to Himself and how Peter, Paul, and others in the 1st Century church drew so many to Jesus.

What is our goal?

What should be our goal and what turns out to be our goal can often be completely different things. Even worse? We are frequently deceived about this. We think we are pursuing the Great Commission, yet we are pursuing being right. Being right is not the Great Commission.

Let’s take a look at what Jesus commissioned us to do:

Matthew 28:19-20

19 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

We don’t see anywhere where Jesus commanded us to be right or, in other words, to win arguments.

If we were to read everything that Jesus taught, showed, and did, we would not see Jesus seeking to win arguments. In the Bible, we never see Jesus immediately gunning people down with His words and boasting about how right He was.

In fact, the Bible commands the opposite.

Titus 3:9-11

9 But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, quarrels, and fights about the law because they are useless and empty. 10 Reject a divisive person after one or two warnings. 11 You know that such a person is twisted by sin and is conscious of it himself.

What we just read should be a sobering warning. Paul, writing under direct inspiration from God, tells us not only to avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, quarrels, and fights about the law but also that people who argue about these things are divisive and twisted by sin.

Let that wake us up! God sees people who argue twisted by sin!

The Fruits Of Winning Arguments

Let me emphasize that we are going against the Great Commission when we seek to tell everyone just how wrong they are.

Those who may not be of God often think they are of and for God. Take a Roman Catholic as an example. My wife, who grew up Roman Catholic and came out of it at about the age of 19, was often told by other Roman Catholics how Protestants would walk up and accuse them of being idolaters, worshipping Mary, and other things. The fruits of such were reinforcing what they already believed in Roman Catholicism and how horrible Protestants and Protestantism were.

The Protestants may have won arguments, but they lost innumerable souls.

We can use the example of Muslims being accused of worshipping a moon god or any other religion.

Let me ask you this. If a religious Jew accused you of being an idolater and polytheist because you believe in the Trinity, how would you feel and react? Would the way they came at you cause you to rethink your walk with God, or would you want to fight back with words?

I will bet that 100% of the time this happens, those on the receiving end of accusations shut down to communicating.

How did Jesus react when he talked with Nicodemus? How did Paul ever reach the Gentiles, who actually were polytheists and idolaters?

What Are We Supposed To Do Instead?

Thankfully, the Bible tells us exactly what we are supposed to do.

2 Timothy 2:23-26

23 But reject foolish and ignorant controversies because you know they breed infighting. 24 And the Lord’s slave must not engage in heated disputes but be kind toward all, an apt teacher, patient, 25 correcting opponents with gentleness. Perhaps God will grant them repentance and then knowledge of the truth, 26 and they will come to their senses and escape the devil’s trap where they are held captive to do his will.

We see here that the Lord’s slave must not engage in heated disputes.

Let’s look at the word slave. In the Greek, it means:

doulon Root: δοῦλος/duolos
1) a slave, bondman, man of servile condition 1a) a slave 1b) metaph., one who gives himself up to another's will those whose service is used by Christ in extending and advancing his cause among men 1c) devoted to another to the disregard of one's own interests 2) a servant, attendant.

We see here that we are slaves of the Lord Jesus Christ and give ourselves up entirely to serving and advancing the cause of Christ. We see Paul using similar language in Romans 6, and especially in verse 22:

22 But now, freed from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit leading to sanctification, and the end is eternal life.

We see dichotomous language being used to differentiate being a slave to sin or to God. It’s also reminiscent of what we read in Titus 3 when we are told that people who argue about these things are divisive and twisted by sin. In other words, people who want to win arguments have mastery of them, at least in this area, if not their entire life.

What we are supposed to do as those who advance Christ's cause is correct opponents with gentleness. Perhaps God will grant them repentance and knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 2:25). Notice how we are supposed to correct with gentleness, not be jerks.

We see there is a guaranteed result: they will come to their senses and escape the devil’s trap, where they are held captive to do his will.

So, if we are set on winning souls instead of winning arguments, the result will be people's salvation.

Keep Christ At The Center

If we seek to keep Christ at the center of our entire lives, then we will live out our lives as Christ did and draw all people to Him.

Shouldn’t that be our goal?