Becoming Persuaded

It’s not unusual to receive a report from Open Doors or Voice of the Martyrs (organizations that monitor the persecution of Christians) about a woman or man who formerly would have identified as Muslim but has now converted to Christianity, being threatened with death unless he or she converts back to Islam. It's humbling to hear of the threatened brother or sister holding “fast the confession of our hope without wavering” (Hebrews 10:23). Why would they rather die than yield up their belief in Christ? It can only be that they have become persuaded that faith in Christ is more valuable than even life itself.

Persuading people is at the heart of the gospel enterprise, while “point-of-the-sword” conversions, like the kind alluded to above, are anathema. Though the church has been guilty of promoting such spurious “conversions,” it was not the practice of the apostles and cannot be the practice of any gospel believing and preaching church.

The gospel is a message to be proclaimed and believed. Both activities engage the heart and mind. Coercive practices subjugate them.  A person might submit out of fear, but fear is not faith – and faith is what is called for by the good news.

In this vain, it’s important to acknowledge that Paul says that he could have “commanded” Philemon to receive Onesimus back but preferred to appeal to him (Philemon 8-9). This is because, I would suggest, Paul trusted the gospel way of getting things done. He wanted his friend to be personally persuaded that forgiveness, love, and reconciliation was the right course of action for a Christian. And being persuaded, he could meet the personal and societal challenges of such a turn of events with persevering faith.

So, whether it’s first coming to faith in Christ or pressing on in the new life set before us, being persuaded as to the goodness of the person, purposes, and power of God is key. Without being convinced of these things we will not joyously follow Christ out of love and faith. Our hearts will lack ardor and our faith will prove tentative and, as we will be prone to doubts and fears, the ability to confess, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13) will not be ours.  The best we will be able to offer him is grudging, reluctant, and timid obedience.