Jump Start # 653

2 Corinthians 5:11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences.

Our verse today gives some insight into the work of the apostle Paul. He feared the Lord. He was manifested to God. He persuaded men. Let’s look at that last expression.

Being persuaded by someone can have a sour taste in our mouth. It sounds as if someone talked a person into doing something that they didn’t want to do. The image of a pushy salesman comes to mind. I ran into one recently at a store. He must have contracted with the store to sell satellite TV. I have cable. I’m happy with my cable. This salesman trashed my cable, told me I was wasting my money and basically was an idiot for not signing up for his satellite TV. I came to the store not to talk about TV’s, but to look for something else. I made up my mind very quickly that I was not engaging in this conversation and found the earliest way out and away from that guy as I could. He was trying to convince me to buy something that I didn’t want to buy. He was turning on the heat, but I wasn’t going for it.

That image is not what Paul did. Sadly, this is how some preachers and churches come across. They scare people. They make it that many do not even want to talk to anyone associated with a church lest they get a “sales pitch.” This is not Biblical preaching. Anyone who has been talked into something that they didn’t like usually has “buyers remorse.” After they get back home and think about what they just signed up for, they have a change of heart. They wished they hadn’t bought what they just did. They feel suckered, tricked and taken advantaged of. Many want out of the deal.

Paul wasn’t traveling the world “tricking” people into being Christians. He wasn’t a salesman that twisted people’s arms. Those tactics never work with Christianity. The result would be a disaster. There would be people who are Christians in name only and not in heart. They don’t want to be Christians and therefore they will be weak at the best and at the worst, they would have nothing to do with the Christian system. This is not the results Paul was after. He was not working on commission nor was he simply trying to fill church buildings (church buildings did not even exit in his day).

Persuading men is a change of heart and mind but it doesn’t come about by tricking people nor talking them into something they do not want. Paul preached Christ. He did that every where. He taught the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. He taught the coming judgment. He persuaded people with facts. He connected the dots from the O.T. to Jesus. He taught consequences of a life without Jesus. He persuaded. He did so using the Bible. People changed not because they were pressured, but because God’s word is living and active. They saw the truth. They saw what could be. They saw what would happened if they didn’t. They came to know God and love Jesus. They came to see God’s will.

The result of Paul’s preaching was powerful Christians who stayed with it even when the strong hand of the Jews and Romans tried to strike them down. They stayed with it because it was right. They knew what God wanted. It was a faith based upon the word of God and not the smooth talk of a cleaver salesman.

We need preachers who are preaching and not selling. We need preachers who love the Lord and what to share that with others. We need preachers who point to Jesus and keep themselves out of the picture.

Persuaded—it’s not a bad word when you understand it. Persuaded by the Gospel. Persuaded by facts. Persuaded by God. That kind of faith will stay with it. That kind of faith takes hold of a person and keeps them going. Paul would be the first to tell us not to get excited about the messenger. It’s the message that matters. We may have a favorite preacher, but we can get a bit goofy about that stuff and lose sight of the real things, Jesus Christ.

Convinced—that’s what it means to be persuaded. Convinced. Are you? It will make a difference in your life and it will show. Convince others that Jesus is the answer. How do you do that? It’s not by telling your story, but rather, telling His story. He is the answer. He is the way. He is the life. He, is Jesus.

Roger