Debating the Dead
The Gospel is not a message that can be reasoned into the heart. It is not a philosophy to be adopted after careful consideration. It is a miracle. A divine act. A resurrection.
Why the Gospel Cannot Be Argued Into the Heart of Stone
“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”
—1 Corinthians 2:14 (ESV)
The Futility of Persuasion and the Necessity of Resurrection
In an age obsessed with persuasion—where data, debate, and design are wielded like weapons to win minds—the gospel stands apart. It is not a message that can be reasoned into the heart. It is not a philosophy to be adopted after careful consideration. It is a miracle. A divine act. A resurrection. The unbeliever is not merely uninformed; he is spiritually dead. His ears are deaf to truth, his heart is stone, and his mind is veiled. To argue him into faith is not only ineffective—it is a fool’s errand. Scripture does not call us to win debates but to bear witness, trusting that God alone raises the dead.
The Natural Man: Spiritually Dead and Deaf
Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 2:14 are not hyperbole. They are diagnosis. The natural man—the one untouched by the Spirit—is incapable of grasping the things of God. The gospel is not merely confusing to him; it is foolish. It violates his categories, offends his pride, and exposes his rebellion.
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins…”
—Ephesians 2:1
Death is not metaphorical here. It is spiritual reality. The unbeliever is not sick, not struggling, not searching. He is dead. And dead men do not respond to arguments. They do not weigh options. They do not choose wisely. They rot.
This spiritual death manifests as hostility:
“For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.”
—Romans 8:7
The fleshly mind is not neutral. It is antagonistic. It cannot submit. It cannot understand. It cannot believe. The problem is not lack of evidence—it is lack of life.
The Heart of Stone: Resistant to Truth
The prophets echo this diagnosis. Ezekiel describes the unregenerate heart as stone—unfeeling, unyielding, impenetrable.
“And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”
—Ezekiel 36:26
This is not a self-help promise. It is divine surgery. Only God can perform it. The heart of stone cannot be softened by logic or warmed by emotion. It must be replaced.
Isaiah’s commission underscores the tragic irony: the people hear, but do not understand; see, but do not perceive.
“Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes…”
—Isaiah 6:10
This is not accidental ignorance. It is judicial blindness—God’s righteous response to persistent rebellion. Isaiah’s commission came after Israel had already hardened their hearts against repeated warnings. God’s hardening is both punishment for past rejection and a means of preserving His purposes through a remnant. The truth is present, but the capacity to receive it has been judicially removed as a consequence of willful rejection.
The Veil: Satanic Blindness and Divine Sovereignty
Paul expands this theme in 2 Corinthians:
“In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers…”
—2 Corinthians 4:4
Satan is active in this blindness, but he is not ultimate. The veil he casts is permitted by God, and only God can remove it.
“But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.”
—2 Corinthians 3:16
Turning to the Lord is not a human initiative. It is a divine gift. Jesus affirms this:
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.”
—John 6:44
The drawing is not gentle persuasion. It is sovereign summoning. It is Lazarus in the tomb, hearing the voice of Christ and rising.
The Fool’s Errand: Debating the Dead
The biblical “fool” is not merely someone lacking information, but one who has rejected God’s authority (Psalm 14:1). This moral and spiritual condition, not intellectual capacity, defines biblical foolishness.
Scripture warns against the futility of arguing with fools:
“Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself.”
—Proverbs 26:4
This is not a call to silence but to discernment. Engaging the fool on his terms is self-defeating. He does not seek truth; he seeks to mock it.
This wisdom requires discernment between the genuine seeker with honest questions and the scoffer who mocks truth. We engage thoughtfully with the former while avoiding futile arguments with the latter, always remembering that God can transform any heart.
“Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words.”
—Proverbs 23:9
Jesus echoes this in Matthew:
“Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs…”
—Matthew 7:6
The gospel is not a trinket to be tossed into the mud. It is treasure. And it must be stewarded with wisdom.
This does not mean we abandon proclamation. It means we abandon the illusion that cleverness converts. We speak truth, not to win arguments, but to bear witness—to be the voice that God may use when He raises the dead.
The Miracle: Resurrection, Not Persuasion
Conversion is not decision. It is resurrection.
“The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.”
—Acts 16:14
Paul spoke. But Lydia believed because the Lord opened her heart. The gospel was the means. God was the actor.
“Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.”
—Luke 24:45
Even the disciples, after years with Jesus, needed divine illumination. Understanding is not natural. It is supernatural.
This is why evangelism must be prayerful. We do not argue people into the kingdom. We plead with God to raise the dead.
Returning to the Foolishness
“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him…”
—1 Corinthians 2:14
The gospel will always seem foolish to the natural man. It is not a flaw in the message. It is a feature of the condition. The fool cannot understand because he is dead. And only God raises the dead.
So we preach. We proclaim. We bear witness. But we do not debate as if the outcome depends on us. We speak into tombs, trusting that the voice of Christ will call forth life.
This understanding should humble us in evangelism while encouraging faithful proclamation. We cannot manufacture faith through clever arguments, but God may choose to use our faithful witness as the means through which He calls the dead to life. Our confidence rests not in our persuasive power but in the power of the gospel itself (Romans 1:16).
To argue with the dead is a fool’s errand. To proclaim resurrection is the mission.
Editor’s Note: Having been in many conversations over decades with spiritually dead people—atheists, agnostics, religious people—this has always been the case; no amount of sound reasoning will reach their mind (heart) when they are spiritually dead. Only a divine initiated miracle of new birth—spiritual birth—by God will awaken a dead person to Christ. Do share the gospel, give them a reason for the hope that is in you, then spend your time and efforts getting to know God through His word, and pray. Pray that God will have mercy on the unsaved so that they will repent and be born again. Pray without ceasing.