Daily Devotional | A Reasonable Faith

Faith and reason are often viewed as opposites. In the beloved Christmas film, Miracle on 34th Street, the lawyer Fred Gailey tells Susan, “Faith is believing in something when common sense tells you not to.” While there indeed is more to faith than common sense, it is also true that faith does not ignore reason.

In his defense before Agrippa, Paul appealed to both personal experience and Scripture. His argument from experience focused on his former life as a persecutor of Christians. His view changed when the risen Jesus appeared to him and said that He had appointed Paul to be “a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me” (v. 16). Paul’s message was not based on philosophical or theological speculation. He knew it was true because he had seen and heard the living Christ.

Yet at the very heart of Paul’s defense was an appeal to Scripture. The main reason Paul changed his view was his realization that the Christian message claimed: “nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen—that the Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles” (vv. 22–23). No wonder Paul said that his message was “reasonable” (v. 25). Rather than being insane, as Festus asserted, the things Paul said were the sober truth. Paul had said no more than what God had already predicted in the Scriptures. Paul’s claims were also based in fact. The things he spoke about were “not done in a corner” (v. 26). They had been seen by many.

>> Reason alone will not lead someone to faith in Christ. That is why engaging in argumentation rarely produces converts. But we also know that the Christian faith is not unreasonable. The gospel message is based on facts and the sober truth of God’s Word. If you know an unbeliever, challenge them to study the Scriptures, and then believe!

Pray with Us

Jesus, author of our faith, we pray for those in our lives who don’t know you or have turned away from faith. Holy Spirit, work in their hearts and bring them to the Savior. Amen!

BY Dr. John Koessler

John Koessler is Professor Emeritus of Applied Theology and Church Ministries at Moody Bible Institute. John authors the “Practical Theology” column for Today in the Word of which he is also a contributing writer and theological editor. An award-winning author, John’s newest title is When God is Silent: Let the Bible Teach You to Pray (Kirkdale). Prior to joining the Moody faculty, he served as a pastor of Valley Chapel in Green Valley, Illinois, for nine years. He and his wife, Jane, now enjoy living in a lakeside town in Michigan.