Public Debate

Acts 18:28 For he vigorously refuted his Jewish opponents in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah.

Our world thrives on secret footage, clandestine recordings, anonymous sources. We seemingly can’t get enough of the stuff. Headlines are made. Political ambitions are ruined. Some very good people are ruined. Some bad people are exposed.

But what we truly lack at the present moment is actual public debate. Both sides getting up and stating facts, not fiction. But there would be no headlines in this, no profit to be made, no sensational gossip to pass along. Boring!

But the Gospel is best spoken in the full light of day. When it gets presented in person, face to face, with question and answers, then it is more likely to be believed. The Gospel is meant for the light.

Paul is one of those people who loved to share the Gospel in the light of day. He would go just about anywhere if it gave him a chance to share the truth of the Gospel. And when he went, there was often open discussion, a presentation of the facts, and people responded to the facts.

But unfortunately, we have drifted away from discussion based on facts. Instead we are run on emotion, and emotion always trumps facts. They have a greater voice than the facts, so facts become irrelevant.

But Paul’s audiences wanted the facts. They wanted explanations based on the Scriptures. They wanted to know that Paul’s teaching was in line with what they had already learned in the Scriptures. Was Jesus the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises or not? That was their bottom line.

So Paul openly debated this opponents. He wasn’t afraid to go on their territory and defend the message he had been sharing. Paul knew that what he was sharing would stand up against the strongest attacks because it was the Truth.

I am wondering how many of us could prove from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah?