Monday, May 4, 2009

PERSUASIVENESS OF SPEECH

Col 2:4 Now this I say that no one may delude you with persuasiveness of speech.

What would constitute persuasive speech? In light of the context of Paul's letter here, I am convinced that it has to do with things that actually seem to make perfect sense, because they are based on things so familiar to us. For example, behavior is a very big means of presenting a persuasive argument. For example, I know someone, a believer, who cries alot, as she is a very emotional person. She had a fellow believer tell her once that she doubted that she was a believer, because "believers don't cry all the time. They have joy in the Lord."

Now, that is certainly a persuasive argument, for she took a look at something we all can relate to-crying, a form of behavior, and then compared it to some verse in scripture which speaks about joy in the Lord, and based on what she saw, or, in this case, didn't see, (a perceived lack of joy) this friend came to the conclusion that she might not be a believer.

Compare this with telling her she is full of joy, and peace. Which to you sounds more persuasive? I think you see what I am getting at.

Let me share one more example to demonstrate what I mean:

Imagine you, as a believer, looking at someone who also is a believer, and in looking, you notice that he always speaks so powerfully of Christ. Every subject he is able to bring some scripture to bear on it. And he is also known to pray at least 6 hours a day. People have witnessed this in the church you all go to. Everyone is so enamored with him, because he is so kind and gentle, and outgoing. Then you look at yourself. You are NONE of these things compared to him. Heck, you struggle to even pray a little to God. Reading the Bible seems to be a chore to you, let alone trying to speak about it. You seem like such a clutz compared to this guy.

In the comparison of yourself to him, ask yourself which of the following arguments seems most persuasive:

1) You are as holy and righteous as Christ himself. Christ is perfectly pleased with you. You have absolutely no blemishes in God's sight.

2) You have quite a ways to go yet. You are still so immature. Why can't you be like him? Look at you, you are so jealous of that guy and that is so bad as well. You call yourself a believer?

No need to think too long on this one. The obvious answer is #2. Why? Because it is based on things that actually APPEAR to be true. We relate to what we see, and also to comparisons that put one thing higher or lower than ourselves. The only problem with that is it is all based on FLESHLY reasoning. THIS is the persuasiveness of speech Paul is speaking about here.

Here is something else to consider, even more subtle. How often have we compared our lives to Christ's, and come away with the same obvious thinking? Surely that must be different, you might think. Is not his life the model for us to follow? Yes it is. But it is one thing to follow it after the flesh, comparing fleshly things to fleshly things, with the mentality of us separate to him and trying to somehow measure up to that, and quite another to again see that even that comparison is a bogus one, one that is just as fleshly and worldly as the comparison to the believer who seems to have it all together. There is another way to look at this whole issue, one that we will look at now.

What then is the proper comparison? I believe we all know the answer but here it is, just as a reminder:

Col 2:8 Be careful that you don’t let anyone rob you through his philosophy and vain deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the elements of the world, and not according to Christ.

Yes, all things are to be compared, not TO Christ, but ACCORDING TO Christ. You see, the difference is that Christ is not a point of comparison to be made by us, in relation to which we are more or less, for that puts us as separate from him. Rather, the point is that finding ourselves IN Christ, make the relationship equal, he being the very life we live. Not equal in that we are Jesus, but equal in that what he is, we are. We see the power of this in this: Being in Christ removes ALL means of comparisons for us, whether it be to Christ, or each other. All comparison is in the hand of the Father alone, and the only one he is comparing is Christ himself, and I think we know what Father thinks of him. So too, he thinks of us in the EXACT same way.


Ron

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