Christian apologist Gavin Ortlund’s journey toward sharing the Gospel online began during a season of “angst,” uncertainty, and questions.
“I’ve actually been through two seasons like that, where I was just asking questions of, ‘How do I know for sure?’” he said. “I know Christ. I experience Him, but I have questions coming at me, and I wanna think through the answers.”
Ortlund said that, through these experiences, God gave him a real passion for other people and a heart to try to help people coping with doubt. Unfortunately, he said, too many people don’t see the church as a place where they can find help navigating doubts.
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“So they just kinda keep it quiet and don’t talk about it,” he said. “So I just want to pastor people who are going through their own doubts. I long for non-Christians to come to know Christ.”
Ortlund said reasoning is a way to help people see the truth, but the Holy Spirit must lead the conversation. When it comes to apologetics tools, he said the supernatural is actually a powerful opportunity to help people see the Lord.
“I used to think that the weird parts of the Bible were a kind of liability that we needed to make up for with these more robust arguments to get people to sort of convince them to accept the weird things,” Ortlund said. “And I wouldn’t have worded it like that … but that’s how I was functioning and, I think, over time, I’ve come to see sometimes the weird parts are themselves an asset that we can lead off with.”
He continued, “And by ‘weird,’ you know, the supernatural — angels and demons, for example, God’s miraculous healing of people, … things like that.”
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Rather than feel shame or remain silent on miracles and the supernatural, he encouraged people to lean in.
“It’s easy to be embarrassed when we should actually just lean into [it],” Ortlund said. “If we believe in the Scriptures, then we have to believe in a God who intervenes in history, and He heals people, and He supernaturally bestows His Holy Spirit in a way that none of us can understand.”
Seeing darkness leave a person or showcasing the power of a miracle can actually help point people to the Gospel in a palpable way. Ortlund said there’s consistency when it comes to how God acted in the Bible and how he still behaves today.
“If we believe in the Gospels, then we have to believe that Jesus has the power to heal and is willing to heal,” he said. “Think of the man who says, ‘If you are willing, you can make me clean,’” he said. “And Jesus has a heart of compassion for people. I think when people come sincerely to Christ, and they’re laying aside their pride, and they’re just asking for help, I think the heart of Christ is compassion, and He says to that person, ‘I am willing.’”
Ortlund continued, “I believe the heart of Christ has not changed. He’s still compassionate.”
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