Preaching That Converts

EVANGELISM ARTICLE | Sean P. Cavender | Bald Knob, Arkansas

The work of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ is one of the greatest and most important things someone could ever be involved in. Preaching is simply announcing and proclaiming the words for salvation (Acts 11:14). Preaching is something that is desperately needed if souls are to be saved. There is a time and a place to talk and chat about the Bible, but there is also the ever-present need to announce the gospel.

Why Preaching?

I remain firmly convinced that preaching is something the church needs. However, not any kind of preaching will do. Preaching that is not driven by the word of God is unhealthy and detrimental to churches and Christians. Far too often preaching is seen as a time to not open up the Bible for study of the Scriptures; instead, preaching turns into a motivational/persuasive speech. While everyone needs encouragement and motivation, preaching is a much more serious endeavor. Preaching the word of God is about converting people to be faithful to God. Preaching is about saving the preacher’s soul and the people who hear him (1 Timothy 4:16).

Is Preaching Effective?

There are no magic pills for the work of evangelism. It is work. It’s “personal” work – it requires us to get busy and it is something no one else can do for me. Our culture has definitely changed over the past few generations. However, preaching is timeless and can still be effective today. Sometimes we may encounter people who “don’t want to be preached at.” We certainly should not have a sense of arrogance or a “holier-than-thou” approach in our discussions with people, but what I fear is often the case when people say they don’t want to be preached at is they don’t want to encounter plain, distinctive announcements of Jesus, the church and morality. Hearing a difficult and distinctive message would require them to respond to the words of Scripture and be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. Preaching will not win every soul to Christ; Jesus was forsaken because of His hard words and teaching (John 6:60-66). Yet, it would be a mistake to think of preaching as ineffective in the work of converting souls.

Paul’s Example

While Paul traveled on his second missionary journey, he came to the city of Thessalonica. He followed his normal custom by attending the Jewish synagogue and using the scriptures to support his preaching of Jesus Christ (Acts 17:2,3). Due to his persuasive preaching, some believed and joined Paul’s group of preachers, while others did not believe (Acts 17:4,5). The unbelieving Jews grew angry and desired to get rid of the apostle. Paul was forced to flee for the sake of his life. On account of his rushed exit, Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica, reminding them of the circumstances by which they were introduced to the gospel of Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 2:1-8). It is in this passage of Scripture that Paul describes the manner in which he came to them, preaching the doctrine of Christ which led to the conversion of the Thessalonians.

Some things never change, especially in relation to the preaching of the gospel. Some will always have ulterior motives for preaching the gospel. Others will use flattering words to deceive their listeners. For these reasons, Paul affirms several characteristics about his preaching. The way and manner Paul preached was successful in penetrating the hearts of his hearers. He was unashamed of how he preached. If we want to have the kind of preaching that will lead lost souls to the saving gospel, then our preaching must be like Paul’s!

Bold Preaching

The way in which Paul introduced the gospel to the brethren at Thessalonica was in a bold manner (1 Thessalonians 2:2). Strong’s defines the word bold as “to be frank in utterance, or confident in spirit and demeanor.” Bold preaching does not seek to disguise itself, but lays everything out in the open, being easily understood. Boldness is a quality that does not hide sin but exposes it. Bold preaching will not excuse the ignorance of false teachers, but openly shows their falsehood.

Many people are ashamed of bold preaching. Many are fearful bold preaching will run people away from the church. People will accuse the preacher of being mean and demeaning or unkind and unloving towards others in their preaching. The sad reality is that anyone ashamed of bold preaching is ashamed of powerful, effective preaching. They are ashamed of the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16).

Consider the preaching of several ministers of the gospel: Isaiah was bold in his preaching (Romans 10:20-21); Stephen told the Jewish council they were uncircumcised in their hearts and ears – bold words (Acts 7:51); Paul is also described as a bold speaker, who was incredibly brave in the face of serious consequences (Acts 14:2-7).

Do we pray for boldness in our preaching? The apostles considered the need to beseech the Lord in prayer for boldness in their preaching (Acts 4:29-31). A spirit of boldness is not about being self-reliant and belligerent, but about relying upon God.

We should never become ashamed fo the truth contained in God’s word. We must be bold and distinctive in our preaching. Those distinctions will be easily seen as we preach the truth of the one church (Ephesians 4:4), the necessity of water baptism for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38), and the error of instrumental music (Ephesians 5:19). Bold preaching will expose sin, command repentance, hold the standard of holy and righteous living, and warn of God’s judgment against sin. Bold preaching will be void of any area of compromise with denominations/sectarians, postmodern philosophies, and political persuasions. Bold preaching will not make excuses for moral failures, nor will it seek to rationalize blatant sexual immorality (homosexuality, transgender, adultery, fornication, etc.). Any type of preaching that is not characterized by boldness is not biblical preaching! Preaching that is full of cowardice will certainly not convert anyone to the obedience of faith in the God of heaven.

Honest Preaching

Perhaps the most difficult thing for Christians to realize is that some do not preach the gospel out of sincerity. Some preachers have evil motives for preaching, thus it leads to a kind of preaching that is contrary to the gospel itself. Their preaching is full of lies – deceptive preaching. Paul affirms that his preaching was full of honesty and integrity (1 Thessalonians 2:3-6).

His preaching was not of “uncleanness” or “guile.” He did not try to “please men” nor did he use “flattering words.” Paul’s preaching was never intended to deceive his audience. Honest preaching will never seek to deceive or manipulate the hearers of God’s word. If there is anything that would distract listeners from receiving the honest truth of the gospel, then it must be removed.

A preacher must live an honest life. Hypocrisy in the life and words of a teacher will cause people to believe they are being deceived and they will not trust the teachings they hear. James warned about hypocrisy in teaching (James 3:1). How can a man teach one thing and practice another? It makes him a hypocrite and he will be judged for the life which he lives (James 3:1, 10-12).

Motives for preaching will become evident soon enough. If our intent in preaching is about gaining respect, admiration, and appreciation from our listeners, then we must be careful (cf. Luke 6:26). Honest preaching will have high regard for those who are being taught so they may be saved.

One reason many teachers fill their preaching with empty promises, shallow explanations, and deceptions is because some people do not want the honesty contained in God’s word. They would rather believe a lie (2 Timothy 4:2-4). Since they love unrighteousness, God allows them to believe a lie to their own destruction (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12).

No matter how unpopular honest preaching may become, we must be ready to present the word of God in a manner that is faithful to the message. God is a witness in our preaching (1 Thessalonians 2:5). He will judge all who teach and preach in accordance to how we handled His word. The word of God is what will give unbelievers faith (cf. Romans 10:17), not the lies conceived in the minds of men.

Affectionate Preaching

Paul described his preaching as a mother who gave everything of herself in order to nurse her children (1 Thessalonians 2:7,8). His preaching was characterized by affection, concern, love and adoration for those to whom he spoke. Affection needs to be directed towards the soul of mankind and we must treat them with the same sort of concern that Paul had for them.

We must learn to join love and truth together (Ephesians 4:15). Preaching without love will only cause harm and destruction to a church. An abrasive attitude can turn people away from the Lord. Some do not look within themselves as they preach and teach. They do not reflect on their personal attitude or else they would see a mean-spirited attitude in their preaching the truth. They feel entirely justified in their attitudes. Do we believe that if we make a stand for the truth with no regard for love, perhaps causing some to run away from the church, that the Lord is pleased with us? We are sadly mistaken.

Affection should not be mistaken for tolerance though. Love demands discipline, just as a father who loves his child must correct him when he does wrong. Love will not excuse sin, nor does it ignore rebellion (cf. Hebrews 12:6,7).

Affection and love must be attributes of effective preachers.

Conclusion

Too many preachers are concerned with only preaching in a way to gain favor with their listeners. They turn to means and methods that are contrary to the gospel of Christ. Some advance a social gospel while others are praised for their encouraging words of the “health and wealth” gospel. This only leads to developing weak-minded people that have no genuine interest in spiritual matters. Sin is never condemned, nor is repentance expected. This is weak and insipid preaching that breeds weak believers and weak churches.

Let us all work to have an effective kind of preaching; preaching that is effective in presentation of God’s word, edifying the body of Christ, and in converting lost souls. This is the kind of preaching characterized by the apostle Paul. We can easily demonstrate this kind of preaching in our sermons too.

19.01.01 | GROW magazine