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By: Michael Tao
There are times during the church service, the congregation responds to the preaching by saying "Amen" , which is to show their agreement with the message, to praise God and to give encouragement to the preacher. This is biblical, when Moses charged the people with God's commandments in Deuteronomy 27, people responded by saying "Amen". Then it became a praise used by the Jews to God (Psalms 106:48). This has also later become a custom in the Jewish synagogues.
The word "Amen" was frequently used by Jesus too, which is "verily". When Jesus began His teaching with "Verily, verily, I say unto you...", what He actually said was "Amen, Amen, I say unto you...". So the word "Amen" when used in the beginning of a conversation, carries the meaning of "surely", "truly", and "of a truth". When "Amen" is used at the end of a conversation or writing, it has the meaning of "so be it", "so it is", "may it be fulfilled". So by saying "Amen" to the preaching, we actually make the substance uttered our own.
Christians sometimes say "Amen" when some good things happen in their lifes. For example, when they find their lost wallet, when they know a friend is coming to visit , or even when supper is ready. I do not see there is anything wrong with that, because nothing happened by chance in a Christian's life. We all live within God'ss eternal planning. In all God's promises, everything is "yea and Amen" (2 Corinthians 1:20). One may think this should be the most commonly used kind of "Amen", but I have to say it is not so.
The most commonly uttered kind of "Amen" is the kind that shows agreement to the messages preached. However the real attitude is: "I totally agree - as long as I do not have to do it". Christians can say "Amen" as loudly as they want, but if their action tells the opposite, then they will be judged by God because of their hypocrisy.
The kind of "Amen" which will glorify God, will honour Christ, will encourage the pastor, will motivate the church, is the kind of "Amen" that followed by action and has life changing effect. By saying "Amen", he literally means: "I totally agree, and it is time to make a change".
It may not be everyone's conviction to respond "Amen" publicly, however it is vital to respond with inward and outward changes, when God uses the message to call us into repentance. In Psalms 51:17 says, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise".
