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The Importance Of Credibility |
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The politicians and pundits sometimes refer to a “credibility gap” meaning “public skepticism about the truth of official claims and pronouncements” (Webster), usually the result of a disparity or a discrepancy in the institution or individual making the statement. To be “credible” means “capable of being believed” (Webster). Credibility is important in business and government, but it is even more important in evangelism. Churches and Christians may be ineffective in evangelism because of a credibility gap in the community. The Sanhedrin opposed the apostles because they preached the resurrection of Jesus from the dead and performed miracles and they also threatened the apostles to stop preaching in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:1-7). Peter and John addressed the Sanhedrin and claimed that physical and spiritual healing was by the power of Jesus (vv 8-12). The response of the Sanhedrin was a tribute to the credibility of the apostles: “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus” (v 13). Even though Peter and John were uneducated Galilean fisherman, their presentation of the gospel was powerful because they were personal witnesses of Jesus; they had truly been with Jesus! The Sanhedrin threatened the apostles again, but there was no credibility gap. Five thousand men were believers! Do we have a credibility issue? Do people realize that we have been with Jesus? We repeatedly shoot ourselves in the foot because we are poor examples of what it means to be followers of Jesus (Matthew 5:13-16). Christians are not perfect, but if we stubbornly refuse to change, even when we know the truth, will we have credibility in the community? How can we convince people of the need to respond in obedience to the truth if we do not respond in obedience to the truth? Christians who have a reputation in the community as a hothead or a troublemaker have no credibility. The result is that the church has a bad name in the community and we lose prime opportunities to teach because of inconsistencies in our lives. We are representatives of Christ and His church in New Martinsville, Paden City, Middlebourne, Sardis, Hannibal, and Woodsfield. Do the people in your community realize that you have been with Jesus or do they realize that you are a hypocrite? The solution to the problem is that we must sincerely repent and be radically transformed by the word of God (2 Corinthians 7:10-11). We will have more credibility in the world if the word of God produces positive change in our lives. Do you have credibility in your community?
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