Are We Preaching with Power?
When Paul preached to the Roman governor, Felix, the Bible says, “as he was discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix became frightened.” (Acts 24.25) Paul’s preaching on these topics brought conviction to the heart. This response is in keeping with the Lord’s promise in Jn 6.8-11. In verse 8, Jesus says, “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment…” The “He” Jesus is referring to is the Holy Spirit. One function of the Holy Spirit in this age is conviction. We would describe Felix in Acts 24 as “under conviction.”
What does it mean to “convict the world”? The word convict tends to have three main senses. The first has to do with convicting someone as in a court of law, proving someone wrong. Evidence is gathered, put on display, the judge or the jury agrees: the accused is convicted.
The second sense has to do with stern admonishment. It includes ideas like exposing the sin or wrong-doing, showing the error publicly, giving a pointed rebuke or reproof. This heaps shame on the head and should bring about a humble confession of wrongdoing.
The last sense of convicted is the passive sense where we might observe someone who received the rebuke (or exposure) who feels the pressure of the accusation and is wrestling within himself about what to do. He’s “under conviction.”
In Acts 24, Paul’s preaching convicted, Felix was under conviction. These highlight the last two senses especially.
The promised convicting power of the Holy Spirit focuses on three areas: sin, righteousness, and judgement. In Acts, the terms used are: righteousness, self-control, and the judgement to come. It seems that preaching in these areas is heavy with convicting power, with Holy Spirit power.
Have you ever sat in a service where the preacher touched on some sin, or some failure to achieve righteousness, or mentioned your accountability to God (judgement) and you felt like the preacher’s name was Nathan and you were David receiving the stern rebuke, “Thou art the man”? (2 Sam 12.7) That’s conviction. That preaching with power.
Now the question of my title is, are we preaching with power?
Are souls falling under conviction under our preaching? Are sinners feeling the convicting pressure of the Holy Spirit that drives them to accept Jesus alone for salvation? Are Christians feeling the conviction that they need change to grow closer to our Lord Jesus and to walk in fellowship with him?
Are we preaching with power?
If not, why not?
Has the Holy Spirit gone on vacation? In the words of my late, great, history prof, “I speak as a fool.”
No, the Holy Spirit hasn’t gone on vacation. I’m afraid the problem lies with us.
Perhaps we are afraid to preach on sin, righteousness, and judgement. We run the risk of people turning away (or turning on us). Felix turned away. The rich young ruler turned away. Perhaps we are conscious that if we preach plain Bible truth, some might turn away. What then would we do if our preaching led to fewer people in our churches?
Perhaps we don’t preach clearly on sin, righteousness, and judgement because we know our world won’t hear of it these days. “Young people don’t like that approach anymore, you need to nuance the message.” (Do you hate the word nuance like I do?) The world doesn’t like the Bible message. It never has. These days, with our 24-7 media culture, the voice of the world is very strong. Yes, many of our young people (and older people) resent Bible preaching. They resent powerful preaching. That’s because there is too much world in them and not enough Jesus. It doesn’t matter how much “Jesus talk” they use, if they will not hear sound doctrine, they love the world, not Jesus.
Perhaps we find ourselves compromised in some area and feel like a hypocrite to preach strong preaching. Maybe that is so. Preach to yourself first then! Repent and confess and get close to God. But also remember, we are, at the most simple level, only saved sinners. All we have is of grace. We are not adequate for these things, but we have a message to bring, souls to save, saints to revive, and God’s work to do.
Let’s take a hard look at our own preaching and beg the Holy Spirit for his power.
Don Johnson is the pastor of Grace Baptist Church of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada.