Christian Power of Persuasion
11 Knowing, then, the fear of the Lord, we persuade people.
Recently, a friend asked me, “Johnnie, what do you know now, that you didn’t know before you got involved in politics?” It’s a great question. I think he meant was “What is the curse that comes with being a politician?”
At first blush, I would say knowing how inside politics really works is a curse of sorts. When I hear someone mouthing off about politics, I want to say, “Pal, you don’t know the half of it.”
Yet, the inside political experience is more than never seeing things the same way again. It’s the haunting knowledge that I am compelled to fight for the conservative movement every day for the rest my life - I have been persuaded.
Truthfully, I didn’t know that I would be come an ideologue, a ‘believer’ in the righteousness of the conservative cause, convicted to share the message of personal freedom and free market economics with others. It is life changing indeed, and being convicted, I try to persuade people.
Part of persuasion is telling your audience that they are going to be ‘glad to hear’ your message and that the listener will be ‘proud’ of his or her commitment to the cause. That is why the Ronald Reagan, the father of modern conservatism, became know as the ‘great communicator.’ The dynamic combination of his star power, self-effacing humor and palpable belief that government was not the answer, persuaded his listeners to believe and take pride in the conservative movement.
In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul continues to prove that he was the Christian ‘great communicator.’ Paul had established the church at Corinth, but in Paul’s absence a dynamic, but shallow, group of teachers filled the void. As is typical, these false teachers attacked everything about Paul, even saying he was out of his mind. Beginning in verse 11, Paul is speaking mainly to those Corinthians who continued to follow his leadership, building them up and equipping his friends to defend Paul against the accusation that he was a crazy ideologue.
11 Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too. 12 Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart. 13
Thousands of ‘how to’ books on the ‘power of persuasion’ line the shelves of bookstores and pop up on an Internet search, but it doesn’t take an expert to know that sincerity is the key to persuasion. (That’s why Bill Clinton was a powerful persuader – because he was absolutely sincere about whatever he said at the time he said it, maybe not later, but when he said it!)
If you think about it, persuasion is one of mankind’s basic activities of daily living. It can be used for good or evil. Satan is an excellent persuader, is he not? For example: “So they persuaded some men to lie about Stephen, saying, “We heard him blaspheme Moses, and even God.” Acts 6: 10-12 Persuasion can turn the heart of the highest earthly leaders: “Patience can persuade a prince, and soft speech can break bones.” Proverbs 25:14 For example: “Agrippa interrupted him. “Do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian so quickly?” Acts 26:27 We all know exactly how to persuade, when it is necessary.What is the last thing you persuaded someone to do? Think about it a minute. Yes, we are all pretty good persuaders. Why can’t we employ our power of persuasion for Christ?
Paul continues the contrast between himself and his detractors (sincerity as opposed to pomp) by supplying a way for his friends to counter the slander that Paul was crazy. Paul simply admits to it, just in another context.
13 If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. 14 Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. … 16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! 17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
Just as I never saw the world the same after politics, Paul makes the exciting point that a new Christian will never see his or her ‘world’ the same again. The old life is gone and a new one has started - what a wonderful promise! That is the real miracle of Christian persuasion – that Jesus enlisted us to be a conduit through whom he saves lost and worldly people. Yes, we now have a higher purpose in life. Any life goal that you formally held pales in comparison to the prospect of being an ambassador for Christ. God doesn’t need us, but he has decided to work through us – who wouldn’t be crazy with joy about being selected as Christ’s ambassador with only one simple task – reconcile people to God. So, get on with it.
18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. … he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”
Enjoy the free gift of salvation and share it with others – you have the power of persuasion. What else do you need to get started!
