“Then, Agrippa said to Paul, ‘Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?’” Acts 26:28, NIV.
Paul called preaching the power of God. He had seen it work in the marketplaces of the pagan world. Jews locked to synagogue worship had broken away to the freedom of Christ through preaching. On Mars Hill the preaching of the Gospel had countered the great philosophies of Greece.
Paul did not regard it as a personal achievement. The power did not come from him but from the Christ he exalted. Therefore, even Agrippa could feel its power. In the short hour of opportunity, Paul called this Jewish ruler to decision. He turned a deaf ear to Paul.
What went on in Agrippa’s mind? We sense a little of the conflict by the words he chose. Paul had been in front of him only a few minutes and now asked him to rule on the truth about Jesus. What did he expect? Did Paul want him to play the part of a Christian? Agrippa plucked from his vocabulary the technical words used by an actor. The persuasion was powerful. He had come close to choosing a new role, but he stopped short.
Paul had put Agrippa in a dilemma. If he denied the prophets (Acts 26:27), he could no longer claim orthodoxy, very important to him as a ruler of the fractious Jews. If he said he believed, then he must agree publicly with Paul. He escaped the dilemma by putting off any decision.
In a world full of technical wizardry, of audiovisual extravaganzas, of multiple social media platforms, contemporary media streaming modalities, where lies the power of preaching? To learn of its power, talk to a preacher. To know what it has done, talk to the congregation.
But Paul would not let Agrippa escape his dilemma easily. The persuasion that leads to faith had spoken that day. It was a time to remember. Perhaps the time was too short; but short time or long time, Paul left the decision to nag at the consciences that the Spirit had troubled. He would now pray that all there would believe in Christ.
The power of the preacher’s persuasion begins and ends with its purpose. It uses the Word of God to show Christ and His saving love. The Spirit enters and makes more of the event than mere words and man ever could. And so, we hear not just God’s man, but the Word from God.
“Men will believe, not what the minister preaches, but what the Church lives,” Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 21.
Just before Christ returned to Heaven, He repeated His commission to His disciples. “Go ye therefore and teach all nations … and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” How could they do this? The secret is found in the 18th verse of Matthew 28, when Jesus said, “All power is given unto Me in Heaven and Earth.” The power of persuasion through Pentecost 2025 in the Southern Union will be evidenced as 3,000 people will be baptized each quarter and saved into everlasting life. –RCS
Southern Union | June 2025
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