How Can Christians Persuade Others to Follow Christ?

"Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience." -  2 Corinthians 5:11

Not long ago, I jokingly tried to spark a sense of fear in my wife’s heart.  My son and I were attending a ministry conference in Maryland and an election was held to elect a new president to serve over the association of churches we’re part of.  It’s a demanding job that tends to take a toll on the pastors who serve in the role as well as their families.  My wife was really curious about who was elected as the new president, so I sent her a picture of me with the presidential nameplate on the table in front of me.  She told me she was afraid I was going to get elected to that role, but she also figured out pretty quickly that it was a joke.

Paul begins 2 Corinthians 5:11 by speaking about fear.  Specifically, he mentions the fear of the Lord and he expresses the fact that he knows or is well acquainted with that fear.  What was Paul talking about here?  Was he encouraging us to be afraid of God or is there a more precise meaning to what he's talking about?

The concept of fear that Paul speaks about is synonymous with the idea of having a healthy reverence or respect for someone.  Years ago, I met a former Vice president of the United States.  When I reached to shake his hand, I wasn't afraid that he was going to try to hit me, but I respected his role and likewise respected the Secret Service agents that were surrounding him so I was very careful not to act out of line.  Likewise, God is worthy of our reverence and respect, and the way we conduct ourselves will reflect the depth of our respect for Him.

Paul speaks about knowing the fear of the Lord or having a deep reverence and respect for Him.  That's a very healthy thing for us to be aware of and live with as our mindset.  Practically speaking, you can tell a lot about whether someone has a healthy fear of the Lord by the manner in which they choose to live.  If I revere Him and believe that He loves me enough to discipline me, my life will reflect that.  If I care more about the temptations of this world than I care about showing the Lord respect, then my life will reflect that as well.  (Prov. 9:10)

It's one of my primary life priorities to encourage others to trust in Christ and follow Him.  Every Sunday, I stand up in front of our church family and try to persuade people to give their lives to Christ.  I write books about this.  I record podcasts about this.  I post on social media with regularity with this as the chief aim of my posts.  Many of you do the very same things and even more.  But how persuasive can a messenger of God be if they don't personally fear the Lord?  What about their life would persuade another person to consider following Christ if that's not the dominant pattern of the messenger?

Paul wanted the Corinthians and all people to know Christ deeply, but he also knew that Christ's ambassadors need to carry themselves in this world in such a way that the fear of the Lord is a dominant motivation behind their perspectives and actions.

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"We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you." -  2 Corinthians 5:12-13

Has anyone ever called you crazy? When I was in my mid-teens, while I was trying to figure out who I was and what I was all about, I decided at one point that I wanted my friends to think that I was crazy. Not crazy in the insane sense, but crazy in the sense that if something was going to take place that was outside the norm, I was going to be in the middle of it.  I caused a lot of mischief, pulled a lot of pranks, and made sure not to brag about it because I learned that if you bragged, you got caught. My favorite prank was when I set up a friend's locker to explode with baking soda and vinegar that would mix when he opened the door. But that's not the kind of crazy this passage is speaking of.

There were people who thought the apostle Paul was crazy. People thought he was out of his mind and more than slightly fanatical (Acts 26:24-25). He was intensely passionate about making the gospel known throughout this world, wherever the Lord would give him an open door to proclaim it, because he was so thankful for the fact that Christ forgave and redeemed him, and he wanted that good news and divine gift to reach as many people as possible, even those who hated him and thought he was crazy.

What keeps us from openly sharing the good news of salvation with others? Isn't it most often a fear of what they will think about us or how we think speaking about our faith might make us look? Some Christians in this world are being genuinely and intensely persecuted, but in our country, are we being beaten and put in prison for our faith? Are we being fired from our jobs because we're believers? Is there a risk of us being executed because we bear the name of Christ? The worst thing that tends to happen in our context is someone makes a face at you or says something insulting, and yet, that's enough to keep many Christians quiet.

One of the dominant driving forces in our lives and in the lives of those we know is the desire to be esteemed by others. At times, we become overly concerned with outward appearances and less concerned with what's taking place in our hearts or less concerned with what the Lord wants to do in the hearts of others as they hear the Gospel, trust in Christ, and follow His teaching.

After I returned from the ministry conference that I mentioned earlier, I posted some pictures I had taken. I also posted pictures of the new pastors being ordained to ministry. Another friend of mine commented on the pictures, and the main thing that stood out to him was a bald spot on his head that appeared in some of the photos. So, I jokingly edited one of the photos to add a large sombrero on his head. I still don’t know if he found that funny.  

We can all admit that this world is overly focused on outward appearances. It’s also focused on prestige, titles, and accolades, but the Lord is looking at our hearts, and He knows what truly motivates us. He knows if His glory is the chief aim of our lives or if we’re still boasting in outward appearances.  

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"For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised." - 2 Cor. 5:14-15

What's the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you? On Friday, when I was driving back from Maryland, I saw more billboards than I cared to count. Most were for the typical things we often see advertised, but one billboard stood out to me. In fact, I’ll probably never forget it. It was a man’s picture with a brief message asking if anyone driving by might be willing to donate a kidney to him. It had a website anyone could go to if they felt so led to help. I will be highly curious to see if that approach might work, but it certainly would be a very nice thing if a compassionate person decided to make that donation.

So, what's the nicest thing that anyone has ever done for us? That's answered in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15. Jesus Christ died for us. He took on flesh, lived a sinless life, and died on the cross because of my sin and your sin. Then He rose from the grave and lives forever. He died for us so that we, too, might live and that this new life, this second chance we've been given, will not be lived selfishly. We're told here that the calling on your life and my life, or the way we can say "thank you,” is by living for Him who died on our behalf and was raised again.

Selfishness is the mindset of this world, but it should never be the mindset of one who has been blessed with new life in Christ. Once our hearts and minds grab hold of what Jesus has truly done for us, that produces a change. It takes selfish dead people like we were and makes us selfless people who are alive forevermore in Christ.

It also changes what compels or motivates us. We are no longer controlled by the passions of our old nature. We're controlled by the love of Christ. We aren't controlled by anger, the need to be right, a political or social philosophy, or even fear. Christ's love is now the driving force in our lives, and His love shows itself in many different ways. 

5 Ways Christ's Love Is Evident in Our Lives

1. The way we interact with one another and share life together
2. The way we speak to our spouses or kids
3. The thoughts that we permit our minds to dwell on
4. The what-if scenarios that we used to allow our minds to fear
5. The negative self-talk that we allow to impact our sense of identity or worth

These areas of our lives used to be controlled by this world's agenda, which ultimately produces death, disease, discouragement, and despair. But now we're controlled by Christ's love, and we have hope that isn't anchored in circumstances. Our hope is anchored in Him.

 That is a persuasive way to live. If you and I are changed by Christ, living in respect of God, not boasting in outward appearances but focusing on Christ's work in our hearts as we submit ourselves to His love controlling us, His mission for our lives in this world will be complete and our lives will serve as a powerful and persuasive testimony to others who need His presence as well.

© John Stange, 2024. Originally published at Bible Study Headquarters. Used with permission.
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