Controversy is nothing new to me. When one takes a stand on the word of God it is inevitable that someone will challenge what you are saying. If we are to follow the Biblical examples of the early Apostles then we must be bold and proclaim the truth in the face of persecution. There will be mockers, but we must continue to move forward in the power of the Holy Spirit.
I don’t see any examples of Jesus debating a scribe or pharisee. The pastors of his day would often try to trick him or trap him theologically to make Him look bad. This often backfired. Instead of backing down to the challenge, Jesus would turn the tables on them and call them out on their ignorance.
I am convinced that we cannot out argue the Devil. He is a master at mental illusions and building fanciful arguments based on unwarranted assumptions and faulty interpretations. Instead of arguing, the best approach is often to continue proclaiming the truth in a confident manner while asking the Holy Spirit to break through the blindness of the persons heart.
The devil is everywhere and he loves to masquerade as an angel of light or a minister of righteousness. Not everyone who disagrees with us is an agent of the devil, but the devil can often use these disagreements as opportunities for temptation. One of the traps we can fall into is bitterness and mistrust. We must always show love for the sinner while calling out their sin.
Spiritual blindness is a curse. It can only be overcome by proclaiming the word of God. The word of God that called light out of darkness is still powerful enough to dispel the darkness of this evil world.
Stephen Beagles (2020)