Why don’t people believe the gospel? It often looks like people have an intellectual problem with our message. They can’t believe in miracles, they tell us. Or they can’t reconcile God with suffering. It’s a problem of the head.

It's a Heart Problem

But Romans 1 points to a bigger, underlying issue. Paul says the truth about God is plain for all to see. The problem is not that people can’t believe. The problem is that people won’t believe. We suppress the truth about God in our wickedness. We don’t want to believe because we don’t want to obey. It’s a problem of the heart. So by all means, engage with a person’s intellectual questions (what we might call rational apologetics). But recognize the need for relational apologetics. We need to show people that it’s good to live under God’s reign (Deuteronomy 4:5-8). We’re to be a light to the nations. As Blaise Pascal put it, we need to make people want to believe our message before we can persuade them that our message is true. And pray. Ultimately, only God can open blind eyes.