Every time our culture erupts in political debate, the conversation turns to the Christian faith—and to how Christians behave. I want to offer some thoughts on being a persuasive Christian. While you won’t find any political pieces I’ve written arguing the right or the left (those pieces don’t exist), you could find many I’ve written concerning the church and how she behaves when the world shifts beneath her feet or the cultural landscape is in upheaval.
To put it plainly, I don’t write as a Republican or Democrat to my fellow citizens of the United States of America; I write as a church member to her church.
A lot of Christian voices out there seem to think moments like this are a pretty big gospel opportunity; I tend to agree.
- Jordan3h
genuinely asking. i grew up in church and left at 19. every time something like this blows up, the meanest people in the replies are christians. why would anyone want what you have?
There is a whole lot of conversation going on. A whole lot of people leaning in who never have before. It would be so beautiful if we were found in the end to have been a faithful, persuasive bunch who made much of our God in all this, wouldn’t it?
To persuade in a biblical sense is to use sound reasoning, truth, and love to lead others toward faith in God.
Here are a few things that get in the way, and a few that help:
Contempt for Sinners Who Are Doing What Sinners Do
In all your conversations—especially those with the lost—keep in mind what grace did for you.
We know when we’ve forgotten what grace did for us when we look at others and we’re repulsed. When we eye roll, when we can’t help but rant and rant and rant about their “stupid, disgusting views,” when we’re utterly shocked and appalled and just can’t even believe they would…fill in the blank.
The problem isn’t in seeing sin as disgusting, shocking, or appalling.
The problem is in acting like we would choose differently if it weren’t for grace.
We wouldn’t.
If we know any truth, if we live our lives by any good truth at all, it is only because God, in His grace, chose to open our eyes to it. If He had not, we would not. We were dead in our trespasses too, until God made us alive (Ephesians 2:1–5).
We should not be surprised when sinners are doing what sinners do, and we also shouldn’t behave as if we’re superior to them if we’re not engaging in that particular sin or believing that particular lie.
Spiritual pride tends to speak of other persons’ sins with bitterness or with laughter and levity and an air of contempt.
Hating sinners (or ranting about them, or mocking them—publicly or privately) for doing what sinners do before they find grace is not only spiritually immature, it shows a profound lack of humility.
Real spiritual growth is always growth downward, so to speak, into profounder humility…
I’m a trillion times more likely to say this to a born-again, Bible-believing member of the church than I ever would to a lost soul in the dark who hasn’t found the truth—but as a church, we need to grow up. Our contempt for sinners says more about our understanding of the gospel than it does about theirs.
Winning the Argument for the Sake of Winning the Argument
Remember that the point of conversation, as a persuasive Christian, is to win a soul to Christ, not to win an argument.
You can completely disarm a person you’re in debate with—tear down every argument they have, prove them wrong, catch them slipping, poke holes in all their lies—and still do absolutely nothing for the kingdom. The goal is not to bury a person, even if you can. Even if it’s easy. Even if it’s “funny.”
The goal is to use sound reasoning, truth, and love to bring. them. to. Christ.
It’s not just about delivering all your points successfully and pulling the rug out from under them—they’re not the enemy. They’re the prize. We want to gain them as a brother or a sister, not a humiliated foe.
When they’re lying on the ground and you’ve got your foot on their chest, how likely do you think they are to reach up and say, “Oh dear saint, you were right, I must have what you have! Please, tell me about your Savior!”
They have to be able to hear the gospel from you, and feel it. “The Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness” (2 Timothy 2:24–25).
Snark: One of the Greatest, Most Subtle Enemies of Christian Persuasion
Most Christians assume everyone is mad at us all the time because of the gospel, because we’re saying the truth and the world hates it. Sometimes that’s true.
But I’ve seen many a debate, many a social media thread, many a conversation where a Christian had the truth in one hand, and a gift-wrapped opportunity to engage with a non-believer in the other, and flubbed it all because they chose to use snark or sarcasm rather than patience and gentleness.
Make no mistake. Snark serves our pride and it serves the enemy—it does not ever serve the kingdom.
Snark is a blend of sarcasm and smugness. It’s a cutting (usually cynical) tone used to mock, belittle, or dismiss an “opponent’s” viewpoint, and it always, always, always undermines effective Christian persuasion.
Jesus approached sinners with compassion and a desire to heal and restore, not to mock or shame them. It was, “this person is sick and I’m the Physician” (Mark 2:17), not “look how dumb this lost sinner is.” Yes, Jesus had sharp words—but He saved them for proud religious leaders who should have known better, not for the lost who came to Him.
Snark—while it might seem humorous to us or those looking on—is fueled by a sense of superiority and disdain. Snark is the moment where you’ve poked the hole, torn the thing down, backed the person into the corner, and then you turn to the crowd watching and you say, “Ha. Look at this idiot.” And you can do that with your words, with your tone, with a look on your face, or with your social media memes and posts. It doesn’t matter how or where you employ your snark, it prioritizes making yourself look superior in the argument rather than loving the soul on the other end of it, and it is the exact opposite of Christ’s example.
The result? You lose that person’s ear. Immediately.
Recently I found myself watching the comments section of a rich debate and a very capable, competent Christian entered the chat, and all I thought to myself was “let’s gooooo.”
But within seconds it was over. The opportunity was flubbed because they saw a platform to get likes and laughs and make a subtle dig, and they took it.
I was left with a sentiment I feel too often when observing Christians in debate:
Gosh darn it. You had something true to say, but you wrapped it in snark and you lost their ear. Was it worth it? That’s a soul.
We have to ask ourselves again and again, what is really the goal?
Because if the goal is to actually be heard, we can’t behave in ways that cause the person we’re trying to reach to throw up an emotional barrier. But when we mock them, even in small, subtle, passive-aggressive ways, we earn ourselves that barrier; we don’t deserve their ear anymore, because we chose haughtiness over real gospel witness.
There is no way around it: snark is incompatible with humility, and true, effective Christian persuasion requires humility. True, effective Christian persuasion recognizes that we are sinners ourselves, saved only by grace, and our message is from God, not from our own cleverness.
Snark, by its very nature, is arrogant. It says, “I am smarter than you, and I will prove it by making you look foolish.” Any time we use it—in debates, in memes, in sermons, in political speeches, in conversations with a lost and dying world—we make the gospel seem ugly, and that makes us poor, pitiful representatives of a beautiful God.
We should not try to convert men to our opinions, but to Christ; and the best way to do this is to let them see Christ in us.
God made us perceptive beings.
People see the smirks and the snarls. We do things with our words and with our faces and our body language that say, “I’m right about this and you’re wrong and it makes you dumber than me,” and they feel that.
That is not what disciple-makers should want potential disciples to feel like.
At all costs, avoid snark when engaging with those you want to persuade with the gospel.
What You Say and How You Say It
It takes a tremendous amount of wisdom, discretion, and self-restraint to think through—in real time—how to say what you need to say in a way that will not needlessly stir up offense in others.
The gospel will be offensive enough to the world. If it genuinely is the truth itself that’s upsetting those we engage with—let it be. Be bold in Christ. I would never suggest not saying the truth. Peter simply tells us to make our defense “with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).
But half the people who are mad at us because we “shared the gospel” with them never even actually heard the gospel, because we said it like jerks or weirdos.
I like to think of every new conversation with a non-believer like a field laid out in front of me. I want to put a lot of thought into which seeds to plant where, and how and when I water them for the best chances of fruit. In other words, I put a lot of care into which words are the wisest words to use, and where and when to use them. I’m not walking on eggshells, but there’s no need to stir someone up unnecessarily because I was careless with the way I phrased things or didn’t think through how it might be perceived. When that happens, we never even end up getting to the good part. And when the seed does land well, I remember whose field it is: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:6). My job is to sow with care; the fruit is His.
Keep control of your language and use it carefully, authentically, and wisely. Sometimes syrupy, cliché, overly “affected,” flowery “Christianese” language can be just as off-putting as snark or insult. Give thought to which words accomplish your goal—and how to say those words so they have the best chance of genuinely landing on good soil. “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt” (Colossians 4:6).
The Role of the Word
Lastly, we can’t do this without the Word.
A lack of biblical literacy is likely at least one reason the church today struggles to engage in effective, charitable conversation with the world.
Biblical and theological literacy don’t just give us the answers we need to defend and share our faith—they help the Word get in our hearts and take root, so it can build in us the character and virtue we need for such an incredible (but challenging) kingdom opportunity as sharing the gospel with the lost.
The Holy Spirit has but one instrument with which to work, and that is the Word of God.
If you’re gearing up to take some light out into the darkness—and I think many are—remember, you won’t be able to do it without deep, consistent study and application of the Word.
Know the Word, remember the grace that found you, and speak like someone who wants the person in front of you to find it too.
Jess Davis is a writer, Bible Teacher, and homeschool mom of three. She is passionate about deep discipleship in the local church, and helping women and families know, love, and understand God’s Word.
Scripture passages in the verse previews are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
