Scripture defines the state of unbelievers as such: suppressing the truth because they have pleasure in righteousness (Rom 1:18). That means, their hearts are no longer bothered by any thought of God; his holiness, and His coming judgment. To them, life is all about “doing what is right in their own eyes, even if it means lying, cheating, and killing other humans.
This, dear Christian, is where you and I come in. To rescue this dying world that has chosen this deadly path by awakening their consciences. To re-kindle those hearts into the reality of God. The reality of their present condition of death. To remind them that they are not here on earth to live like animals, but that there is accountability; a day of reconning before the Almighty. To inform their hearts about the fact that life is not as long as they think it is, in fact, their days are as numbered as 1,2,3. And that there is an end result for everything they do on this borrowed planet, good or bad. “The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.”
You see my brethren, if ever we are going to win this world to salvation, honesty is the place to start. That is, we must tell them the truth. The truth about them before the Holy One, and the truth of where they are going if they continue in this lifestyle. Think about a medical practitioner who has examined the patient's blood and seen the deadly disease that has bewitched him. What a wicked doctor would he be not to tell that patient the reality of his illness, because he thinks the patient might feel uncomfortable? In the same way, what a wicked preacher have you become such that you don’t tell men about the reality of their sin, but instead motivate and encourage them into that death trap. “When He, the Spirit of truth has come, He will convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment,” says my Lord. What does “to convict” mean, this thing that the Holy Spirit came to do? It is to awaken the conscience of the sinner about his condition so that he can see his need for a Redeemer!
Most people don’t see any problem with themselves. They might as well live like devils for all they care, while still calling themselves “Christians.” Their consciences have been misinformed. They need to be awakened back to the reality of what really is the Gospel. What does it mean to be a believer? All that needs due diligence on our part the faithful ones. To preach loud enough to be heard. To teach scripture clearly enough to be understood and to pray for them as often as the Lord helps us. Whatever we do, we must not be silent! As Dr Steve Lawson says, as a preacher, we need more of your preaching, not less. Just like our watchdog, we must continue barking and bothering their sleeping consciences. Who knows, in due season someone’s heart will have the light of Christ shining in them; when they finally see the beauty of the Gospel after all these years of being blinded by the prince of this world. It is to continually plow those hard hard hearts so that we can plant the life-giving word of God.
All this evil, crime and corruption that we see in our communities today is a direct result of consciences gone wrong. If only Gospel ministers would just preach the pure, simple Gospel as they are called to do, guaranteed we will see a changed society; starting with the home all the way to the government. I can’t help but be impressed by Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost, where we are told that Peter’s words “cut to the hearts” and they asked, “What shall we do?” (Act 2:37). Just imagine a scenario where sinners are inviting themselves to salvation amid the sermon. This is what we need in this modern African church. I mean, how many unbelievers visit our church buildings each week, who leave the same way as they came. Because there is no sense of the holiness of God in our gatherings whatsoever. Nothing to warn their rebellion. Nothing to stir their dead souls into life. If anything, we now seek to entertain them with jokes and stories, further hardening their hearts against the message of salvation. What is wrong with us?!
For the last time I plead, next time you are given a chance to minister, don't just aim to educate the mind, but prioritize engaging their conscience; their inner man, because that is where the real battle is. In fact, as a point of encouragement: human conscience is not the enemy of the Gospel, but the very friend. It means they already know the difference between right and wrong. Hence as you present the true condition for their sin through the Gospel, his conscience will only agree to that reality, leaving him with only two options: kill the dog and go back to sleep or heed the alarm, rise up, and kill the intruder.
Sinothi Ncube
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