Understanding God, Myself, and the WorldSample

The power of conviction

For many of us, sharing the Gospel with others can seem quite daunting. It may feel like a burden that we would much rather avoid. Some of us may be intimidated by the thought of approaching someone we do not know and talking about something as personal as religious convictions. It could be awkward. It may be even more awkward with someone we know. 

Often, discussions on evangelism primarily revolve around different kinds of effective evangelism techniques. This can make things even more complicated for us. Which technique is the best and how can we learn to master it? But in reality, there is no single effective technique, nor should there be. Now, it is completely fine to practice sharing the Gospel with people and to have some sort of structure or understanding of what a Gospel message should include, but when we look at Peter’s sermon in Acts 2:14-42, we see that he did not prepare a speech beforehand. It happened in the spur of the moment. And we see that many people came to Christ through Peter’s message. 

What exactly made Peter’s message so powerful? Was it because he was a powerful public speaker? No. Was it because he knew how to manipulate the crowd so that they would respond in the correct manner? Also, no. Peter’s message was powerful because he lived it. There was conviction in what he said. Conviction means that we have complete confidence in something or someone. Peter’s conviction did not drop into his lap. It grew over time as he grew in knowing and loving Jesus and as he made mistakes along the way. It came from experience. It also came from being empowered by the Spirit. Peter’s boldness in delivering this sermon was the direct result of the Spirit being poured out at Pentecost. And his conviction moved people. It convicted them to listen and receive the message of Jesus. 

So, conviction is important because it indicates the impact that the Gospel has made on us. The role of conviction lies in our experience of the truth of the Gospel. Conviction goes to the heart of why we share the Gospel. We are moved by conviction because we are moved in our confidence in the message and work of Jesus. We share the Gospel because we see the need for salvation in another person and we know Who will save that person, because we have experienced salvation ourselves.

Make it a priority to share your testimony with someone else this week. 

We hope this Plan encouraged you. Explore other resources from Shofar Bible School.