Some have suggested that in the United States we may be experiencing another “great awakening” of sorts. You may be asking, what is meant by great awakening? As explained by Britannica, “The Great Awakening represented a reaction against the increasing secularization of society and against the corporate and materialistic nature of the principal churches of American society.” It was push back against the world that was making inroads in religion. Although it was rooted in Calvinism, something that I do not agree with, it does reveal a time when religion stood up against the influence of contemporary society. This great awakening, which is said to be taking place today, centers around the death of Charlie Kirk, who was openly defending biblically moral truths in a society which, like that of many years ago, has wandered far away from God. Subjects like gay marriage, transgender, homosexuality, the reality of absolute truth and of course, the gospel itself, are things many feared to talk about because of the strong opinions and intense emotions that come with it.
When we look at the life of Jesus, we see someone boldly and persuasively endeavoring “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). And as we were reminded just a couple weeks ago, this was the exhortation Jesus gave his apostles in the great commission, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20). His mission remains the same to this day for us, His church. To proclaim Him to a lost and dying world. The apostle Paul is a wonderful example of this very thing. Let us see what we can learn.
“And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months,
reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God.” (Acts 19:8)
It is obvious, the apostle Paul was bold! The Greek word used here means to speak freely, boldly; to be confident. We find other examples of his boldness in the book of Acts. While in Corinth, “Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks” (Acts 18:4) which was his custom (Acts 17:2). Was this boldness simply who he was or was it something more? In Ephesians 6:19-20 we find him asking the church to pray “for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” So, he needed and sought the Lord’s help to be bold for Christ. This is something we find the early church doing as well; that is, praying for boldness and receiving it (Acts 4:29-31). Paul’s boldness was rooted in his conviction of the gospel as well. For he reasoned, “Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech…” (2nd Corinthians 3:12). Boldness then, is the byproduct of two things: first, it comes from God and second, it is anchored in Christ. This boldness gave Paul the confidence to act on behalf of Christ.
This idea of “reasoning and persuading” seems intimidating. If you have the NIV, you will find the words “arguing persuasively” while the KJV reads “disputing and persuading” which makes it seem even more intimidating. Unfortunately, there seems to be a contradiction when we speak of sharing the gospel and somehow arguing persuasively. Are we not to stay away from “foolish and stupid arguments” (2nd Timothy 2:23)? Of course, the answer is yes but only concerning foolish and stupid things. When it comes to the gospel of Christ, which includes the biblical plan of salvation and the scriptural church which would arise from the proclamation of it, nothing is foolish or stupid. The word “reasoning” means to converse, discourse with one, argue, discuss. It is translated “persuaded” in Acts 17:4, describing how Paul dialoged with people about Christ and salvation in hopes to “persuade men” (2nd Corinthians 5:11). Such discourse would be necessary because he was endeavoring, with the use of God’s word, to show people the whole message of the risen Christ. The problem was, many of his hearers, because of their religious Jewish background, did not see any problem with what they believed. They believed in the Messiah but, in their eyes, he had simply not come yet. They believed in the kingdom, it too had simply not come yet. Paul’s mission, at least in part, was to try and convince them of the complete truth about Christ and His kingdom.
Well, does any of this sound familiar? We have around us many sincere people, just like Paul did, who believe in the Messiah and His kingdom. They too, need to hear the complete truth and it is our mission as God works through us to try and persuade them. Using His word and boldness of faith, we need to engage those around us in hopes to “explain to them the way of God more adequately” (Acts 18:26). To do this, like the apostle Paul, we need to be persuaded about Christ. And like Paul and the early church, we must pray that God grant us boldness.
Biddeford Church of Christ 