Paul reveals two temptations he faced in spreading the gospel; to water down his approach to avoid more persecution and to demand he be heard based on his authority as an apostle. He rejected both, choosing to rely on the Holy Spirit to awaken the hearts of men to the truth (1 Thessalonians 2:2, 5-6).
It is imperative that we rest in God's power to convict men of the truth when we speak. To attempt to persuade by any other means is to insult God. It is as though we are saying he is incapable to save people. We are to speak the truth because he has given us that directive, but it is God who does the convincing (Mt 28:20; Mt 16:18; John 17:18-20; John 16:7-11).
