When I was young and naïve I used to think that the key to leading a person to faith in Jesus Christ was the clarity of the message. If I could just put it in the right words, use the right scriptures, and come up with the best illustrations that most people would obey the good news. But over the years both experience and the scriptures have convinced me I was wrong.
Of course a good clear statement of the message is important. And the message is what communicates the new life:
“. . . you have been born again . . .through the living and abiding word of God; . . .And this word is the good news that was preached to you.” (1 Peter 1:22–25)
But all of the supporting evidence in the world will not convince a person who is already determined not to submit to God’s will. Jesus makes exactly that point:
“. . .‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’ ” Luke 16:27–31
He also said of his own teaching:
So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. 17If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. John 7:16–17
An honest exposure to the message of salvation will reveal the state or our hearts (Heb. 4:12). John records an occasion when God actually spoke to Jesus from heaven in the hearing of a large crowd (John 12:28-31). Some recognized it as a voice from heaven, but the crowd said that it had just thundered! The very same phenomenon, but diametrically opposite responses! I have heard people say “If God would actually speak to me from heaven, then I would believe.” But the answer from the scriptures is: “No you wouldn’t!”
In Acts chapter two when Peter preached his first gospel sermon on the Day of Pentecost, he and the other disciples began miraculously speaking in the various native languages of the hearers who had gathered. Some of the crowd recognized it as a miracle that these Galilean disciples could praise and extol God in languages that they have never learned, but others said, “They’re just drunk.” Same phenomenon; two diametrically opposite responses. Why?
Because the issue is not the evidence or the message; it’s the heart of the hearer, regardless of whether we’re already saved or not. That’s why Jesus warned a crowd that included his disciples: “Take care how you hear.” (Luke 8:18)
This also why, way back in Psalm 95, God exhorted his own people:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
8do not harden your hearts. . . (Psalm 95:7–8 )
Or in the book of Revelation Jesus says to Christians:
20Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:20)
So what about you? How are you listening?