Articles
How Will You Respond?
How Will You Respond?
The evangelist is charged to “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2). It is a serious responsibility. But what is the responsibility of those who hear that preaching? What is the right engagement and response?
When Paul preached in Athens, some responded by mocking. “And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked…” (Acts 17:31). The idea of the resurrection of the dead did not fit the philosophies of many Athenians. Some mocked and some joined Paul and believed, yet they all heard the same message. Today, some may not openly mock when they hear truth taught from the Scriptures, but they may say to themselves, “that’s ridiculous” or “that’s over the top” or “I don’t care” because it does not fit with what they were taught in the past or what they are used to. These are the Athenians of today. We should ask ourselves: Is this my response?
Then there are the angry hearers. We find this response when Stephen spoke before the Jewish council in Acts 7 after some Jewish people, the elders, and the scribes were stirred up by dishonest men. He was brought before the Jewish council and preached, among other things, “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it” (Acts 7:51-53). Stephen preached the truth with convincing and rebuking. His message should have been taken to heart personally by each hearer to whom it applied. But “when they heard this, they were infuriated, and they began gnashing their teeth at him.… they shouted with loud voices, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one mind,” and “when they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him” (Acts 7:54, 57, 58). Today, some may hear the gospel preached with specific sins identified and condemned, and recognizing that it applies to themselves, they may respond with only hurt feelings and anger or bitterness toward the preacher. We could say these are the Stephen-haters of today. We should ask ourselves: Is this my response?
But then there are the hearers who have honest and good hearts. When Peter preached to Jews on the day of Pentecost, he showed them that in crucifying Jesus they were guilty of crucifying not a blasphemer and fraudster but the Son of God whom God has made both Lord and Christ. Being convicted of their own sin by this convincing and rebuking sermon, the Bible says, “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’” (Acts 2:37-38) These surely listened intently. These surely made personal application. And their response demonstrated a desire to act. We should ask ourselves: Is this my response?
The New Testament shows us many examples of varied responses to gospel preaching, but one stands out above the rest as the right one, and that is the response of “What must I do?” and the attitude behind it. That attitude involves listening that searches our own hearts with the truth preached and asks ourselves to answer the questions “how does this apply to me?” and “what am I going to do about it?”
