Have you ever had someone try to
persuade you to do something you were reluctant to do or even determined not to
do? In my (much) younger days, I went to a theme park with some of my cousins.
The guys wanted to ride a roller coaster that turned upside down, and I said,
“absolutely not”. (It was relatively new at the time.) So, I removed myself
from the line for that ride and told them to have fun. The next thing I knew, I
was being lifted from my place outside the line back inside the line. Guess
what I did. I rode the roller coaster. Did I enjoy it? Of course, I did! The
only reason I didn’t want to ride it in the first place was because it was not
familiar to me and I was afraid. I just needed a little persuasion.
Riding or not riding the roller
coaster really made no difference in the quality of my life, even though I
still remember it after all those years. But being persuaded or not being
persuaded to follow Christ will make all the difference for now and eternity.
To persuade someone means to appeal
to them by advising or urging them to do something or believe something. One
who is persuaded by this urging becomes fully convinced and will carry out
their belief until it is entirely accomplished. The proof of someone’s
persuasion is in their actions, not just their words.
On one occasion, the apostle Paul was
taken from his prison cell to state his case before the Roman Governor Festus
and King Agrippa who was visiting Festus. First, Paul acknowledged that he was happy
to speak before King Agrippa because the king was well-versed in the Jewish law
and was also knowledgeable of Jesus and His works, crucifixion and resurrection.
After that Paul gave an account of his own life as a Pharisee and a persecutor
of those who followed Jesus until he met Jesus personally. He told them of his
conversion when Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus and changed his
course. He also gave a testimony that Jesus is the Messiah they had been
waiting for. “Then Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time [and with so little
effort] you [almost] persuade me to become a Christian.”
My cousins’ “persuasion” to
change my mind was physical. They actually lifted me back into the line with
them. But we can’t do that in trying to persuade someone to follow Jesus. We
cannot lift them into a place of full surrender. That is entirely up to the
individual.
Agrippa knew about Jesus firsthand.
He knew the Jewish laws and traditions. He knew the prophecies about the
Messiah. Now he had heard Paul’s testimony. And he was almost convinced to
follow Christ, but he didn’t. ‘Almost’ is still a negative. Almost is very
nearly, but not quite. If someone almost dies, they are still alive. If someone
almost wins, they have still lost. It remains that they did not die or they did
not win. The end result is not altered by ‘almost’. Being almost persuaded is
not receiving the gospel. Having respect for those who follow Christ and
acknowledging holy things as holy is not receiving the gospel of Jesus Christ. King
Agrippa’s “almost persuaded” status left him just like he had been, or maybe a
little worse because he had heard the truth and rejected it. He had a divided
heart. It seems he believed mentally but not enough to change his course. He wanted what he had in this world more than
Jesus Christ. He received nothing because he did not surrender to Jesus as the
Christ, the Son of the Living God. We must be all for God, His Kingdom and His
will. We cannot have a heart half-way for God. He will not accept it. We must
give Him all. Those who are almost persuaded are still outside the kingdom of
God.
Abraham was a different story. “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was
strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what He
had promised, He was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him
for righteousness.” (Romans 4:20-22)
Abraham was fully, completely,
entirely persuaded that what God said was true. He was certain that everything
God said would be entirely accomplished, so he obeyed everything God told him
to do. If you receive a box containing all the pieces to construct a bookshelf
and you follow the directions on how to put it together, you will get a
bookshelf just like the picture on the box it came in. You were promised the
outcome and were given the instructions on what to do to get the promised
results. But only if you are fully persuaded that whoever wrote those
directions knows how to deliver what they promised will you actually follow the
directions. Abraham believed, so he followed God’s instructions, and he saw the
promise come to pass. If Abraham had not believed God’s Word to him and had not
acted on it, God would not have bestowed on him the blessing of being “the
father of many nations” and “the friend of God”. But Abraham was fully
persuaded, and he fully followed God’s instructions, so he received exactly
what God promised.
Abraham even believed for things he
knew he would not see in his lifetime. Much of what God promised him was for
his descendants. But there was no unbelief in him, and everything God promised
him happened. God blessed Abraham immensely both physically and spiritually
because of his faith and even declared him righteous by faith. Because Abraham
was fully persuaded, it changed the course of his life and the course of many
lives.
We find in the Bible that God has
promised great things to those who believe Him enough to follow His directions
and give their all to follow Him completely. But we must be fully persuaded. We
cannot be persuaded “all except”. We may not understand it all, but faith means
we believe God anyway. Abraham didn’t understand it all, either.
We are not fully persuaded if we
have a divided heart. If we believe part of God’s Word, but not all of it, we
have a double heart and try to take the place of God by determining which part
is true and which is not. Those who are fully persuaded have an undivided heart
and their actions prove their persuasion. Whatever God says is true and they
believe truth whether they understand it perfectly or not.
When King Saul rebelled against
God’s instructions, God rejected him. Saul obeyed part of what God told him to
do, but not all of it. Saul himself decided to determine how the spoils of
battle should best be used, putting his own judgment above God’s. So, God
rejected him and chose David to succeed him on the throne of Israel. It didn’t
happen immediately. Many years went by before it came to pass, but David
believed what God had promised him. And quite some time after the death of Saul
it happened. Warriors from each of the twelve tribes of Israel came to David to
make him king over all Israel, “to turn over the kingdom of Saul to him.” These
men are described like this: “All these, being men of war arrayed in battle
formation, came to Hebron with a perfect (committed) heart to make David king
over all Israel; and all the rest of Israel were also of one mind to make David
king.” These men were trustworthy, men of honor without any sort of hidden
agenda or double purpose.
God had already turned the kingdom
over to David. The people were now confirming God’s choice and making His will
their own. They joined the kingdom God had already declared many years before.
They placed themselves under David’s command willingly and unconditionally.
Although they came from many tribes, they gathered for one purpose – to
acknowledge David as king. They were fully persuaded.
If we are fully persuaded to follow
Jesus, we must come with an undivided heart; no hidden agenda, no double
purpose. We must come fully surrendered to Jesus’ rule over us willingly and unconditionally,
and acknowledging what God has already declared – Jesus Christ is King of kings
and Lord of lords, now and forevermore! Everything is under subjection to Him,
and the day is coming when “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of
things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that
every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father.”
Those who are only almost persuaded
are still outside the kingdom. Those
who are fully persuaded and have given their all to Jesus will receive His
righteousness, wisdom, discernment, and an inheritance as His children. One day
we will all bow and confess Jesus as Lord. Why not today?
Are You Fully Persuaded?
