Thirdmill Online Courses

Spiritual Formation Exercise

Lord willing, speak again with the unbeliever you have met. Put into practice what you are studying in the course, showing him the inconsistencies of his convictions.

First, try to discover his or her presuppositions. Do it very carefully and with great respect, because it is not easy for a person to lose confidence in his convictions and begin to feel insecure. It is like a man who goes to the doctor and discovers that he is seriously ill. Pray that the Lord will guide you in the conversation and that He will touch the heart of the unbeliever.

Ask him why he believes what he believes. Keep asking "why?" and "why?" he believes it until you reach the starting point for his beliefs. What is his basic criterion for deciding what is true? He might say that he trusts logic or his five senses, or some other source of authority. But try to make him see that deep down, he decides for himself what is true. Possibly he will defend himself by saying that we all decide for ourselves. But you can explain that Christians submit to God as our source of truth.

If he admits that he decides for himself what is true, show him that he can't be consistent with that. Use what you learned in the course about the problems an unbeliever has in his worldview that doesn't center on God. He knows that he doesn't know everything, and he knows that he can't decide for himself what is true. Therefore, he loses certainty.

Furthermore, he has a God-given sense of God's existence and of God's moral law. To deny God while living in a world made by God and while being a person made in God's image will inevitably lead to contradictions. 

Finally, as he sees his problem and the inconsistency of his views, explain the gospel again. Explain that God created him to live in this world in relationship with Him and in dependence on Him. When he sets himself up as the judge of truth, he is doing what Adam and Eve did. It's like living in this world thinking that the earth is the center of the universe. Things don't make sense until you recognize that the sun is the center. In the same way, things don't make sense until you recognize that God is the center.

Remind him that Jesus came to pay for our sins on the cross and that He rose from the dead, showing His victory over sin and death. He offers us eternal life in a perfect place in perfect relationships with Him and other people.

Note: If for some reason it doesn't work out to talk again with the same non-believer, you can talk to another non-believer, or as a last resort practice this conversation with another believer.

Reflections

Spend about thirty minutes reflecting and answering the following questions:

1. Write down how the conversation went. How did the person respond? Did he come to the point of seeing his fundamental presuppositions? Were you able to show him his inconsistencies? Were you able to explain the gospel and point to Christ?

2. What did you learn through this exercise?

3. How did sharing and defending your faith affect you spiritually?