Alba 2-9-2024
THE GOSPEL IN PLAIN LANGUAGE
I Corinthians 2:1-5
I’m sure most of us here have encountered a slick talking, smooth speaking, silver tongued, spell binding salesman. You know the type. And somewhere between the “I’m not interested”, and “I’ll take two”, something happens and we’re not really sure what. But when all is said and done, we find that we have a new: vacuum cleaner, extended warranty, set of encyclopedia’s, insurance policy, phone service or discount tickets to the car wash for 10 years.
Many salesmen are trained to speak in such a way that they can convince people to buy things that they don’t need, don’t want, can’t really afford, to impress people they don’t really like. But when the apostle Paul was preaching the gospel, he wasn't like that. And he reminds the people in the church in Corinth of that fact. In I Corinthians 2:1 he says, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God.”
Paul was not concerned with entertaining his listeners. Paul was more concerned about the message than the recognition of his preaching. I don’t believe that Paul was a bad communicator, but he didn’t attempt to impress people with his style of speaking. In verse four he says, “my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom.”
Then in verse three he says, “I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.” He came in weakness, he was afraid, his knees were shaking. Why would that be? Now we need to understand that Paul had just enter a city of 700,000 people who were unbelievers and very immoral. How would you feel in his sandals? A person could feel scared and inadequate in that situation. But it also might be that he knew the importance of the message he was bringing to them, and wanted to be sure that the message of salvation was clearly understood. He was a preacher of the Word and not a salesman or a showman. He was a spokesman, wanting people to hear from God through the preaching of the Word.
Whatever caused his concern, the Lord calmed his fears. In Acts chapter 18, it tells the story of Paul's ministry in Corinth. And when trouble broke out, verses nine to eleven say this, “Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, 'Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.' And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.”
But after leaving them, he writes to them this letter. He is concerned about the divisions in the church. They were divided as to which apostle or preacher they should follow. Paul wants them to understand that their faith should not be based on a particular preacher, but on the message being communicated. Preaching, in the mind of Paul, should be valued by the core truth, not by the charisma of the speaker!
Martin Luther is quoted as saying “He preaches best who aims at being understood rather than being admired”. And to the Galatians Paul wrote in Galatians 1:10, “Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
In I Corinthians 2:2 Paul reminds them that no matter how eloquently the gospel is presented, it is the simple truth of Jesus crucified as the substitution for our sins that alone can attract and save the sinner. That verse says: “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” In The Message version of scripture, verse two reads this way: “I didn’t try to impress you with polished speeches and the latest philosophy. I deliberately kept it plain and simple: first Jesus and who he is; then Jesus and what he did - Jesus crucified."
So to share the gospel in plain language...
1. Just tell about Jesus
The social programs in the world can take a drunk and put new clothes on the man. But they can't put a “new man” in the old clothes. But the Gospel of Jesus Christ has power to revolutionize men and women from the inside out. Again, no matter how eloquently the gospel is presented, it is the simple truth of Jesus who gave Himself for our sins that alone can attract and save the sinner.
God will use all that we have to offer, the gift of speech, our personalities, our minds, but only the truth about Jesus can save humanity. Paul preached Jesus because he knew two things; #1 - That Jesus is what the Corinthians needed, and #2 - That Jesus is all they needed. You see, Paul knew that if they had Jesus, if they really had Jesus then they would have everything.
There were a lot of people then, and there are still a lot of people today, searching for answers, looking for hope, trying to find meaning and purpose for their lives. And there are many smooth talkers out there claiming they have just what people need. But ultimately we all need Jesus.
That is why we don't preach Christ as the great model and example for us, even though He is that. We do not preach Jesus as the great teacher, even though He excelled at that. We do preach Jesus as the central theme of the Bible. The Written Word reveals the Living Word. Jesus tells us in John 5:39 “Search the scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life: and these are they, which testify of me.”
And we do preach Jesus as the only means of our salvation. There was one mother who wrote the name of her son on the birth certificate as Nosmo King. Somebody asked the mother where she got a name like that. It turned out the mother was illiterate, so she just copied down the No Smoking sign in the room and wrote it “Nosmo King.”
That boy's name may be strange, but names are important.
We are told in Ephesians 1:21 that there is one name above every other name. And that name is Jesus, Jesus Christ. And Acts 4:12 says, “There is no other Name, given among men, by which we must be saved”. And 1 John 5:11-12 say, “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” If we are going to share the gospel, just tell about Jesus.
Also, to share the gospel in plain language...
2. Just tell about the cross
Every great Christian doctrine has its roots in the cross of our Lord Jesus, the atoning death which is associated with it, and our Lord’s bodily resurrection which followed three days later. So Paul did not come with elaborate words to the people of Corinth, but with a simple message. Remember in verse two he wrote: “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”
Christ crucified! The very Son of God, creator of the world, crucified! We have hope, for God Himself has made His only begotten Son a sacrifice for our sins! This was Paul’s message. This is still the message of the gospel. Paul was not saying that he only had one sermon. He is not admitting that he was a lazy preacher who never spent time in diligent study. Rather, He is saying that all of his sermons were cross-centered. He preached about “Jesus Christ”, who He is. And he preached about “Him crucified”, what He did. “Jesus Christ and Him crucified” is the substance of the gospel.
However, as chapter one tells us, many people find the cross offensive. Marisol Arroyo-Castro found that out recently. She is a Catholic lady who has taught in the Connecticut public schools for 32 years For the last 10 years, while teaching in the New Britain School District, she has placed a crucifix by her desk along with other personal items such as student artwork and a church calendar.
But then, in early December 2024, Marisol was brought into a meeting with the vice principal and abruptly told that unless she removed the crucifix by her desk by 8:00 a.m. the following Monday morning, she would be charged with insubordination. The principal told her that the cross was just an idol. To her, that was offensive. The chief of staff suggested she put the crucifix in a drawer. But Marisol explained that she would feel bad, like she was putting Jesus in a drawer. Marisol received a letter of reprimand, explaining that her actions were “insubordinate.”
When she responded that she could not in good conscience remove the crucifix, she was then suspended without pay for two-days. Right now she is on administrative leave during the grievance process. In January of this year, First Liberty and the law firm WilmerHale took up her case demanding that the school reinstate her.
Keisha Russell, Senior Counsel at First Liberty Institute said, “Requiring a teacher to purge their workspace of anything religious is blatant hostility that violates the First Amendment. The Supreme Court said in the recent Kennedy decision that teachers have the right to engage in personal religious expression under the Free Exercise Clause, including when students are present.” You can find more information about this case on the First Liberty website.
So why is the cross so offensive to some? Well for one, it points people to Jesus. But also, the seriousness of our sin is made known in the cross. It reminds us that the payment for our sin is death. That is how serious sin is! The cross shows us our great need. Jesus died for us when we were helpless and ungodly, when we were sinners, when we were enemies of God. That's why the cross is so offensive.
But that is not the whole story. For those who are saved, the cross shows us God’s great love. What King has abandoned his throne so that he could die for his enemies? But Jesus did... because He loved us! What righteous man ever let himself be charged with the evil crimes of another person, and then die a felon’s death for them? Yet, that’s what Jesus did!
Jesus shed His blood on the cross. The reason? Hebrews 9:22 says, without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. And in Ephesians 1:7 it proclaims, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”
The gospel message Paul had, and the message we have, is the beautiful message of Christ and the Cross. It is the message of God’s amazing love for sinful mankind. It is the message of His amazing love for you and for me. No wonder Paul said in Galatians 6:14, “God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The gospel doesn't require fancy words or great wisdom. When the gospel of Jesus and the cross is shared in plain language then...
3. Just let the Spirit work
In verses four and five of our text, Paul says, “And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”
In Acts 1:8 Jesus promised the apostles, “But you shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” God wants to use us in powerful ways. But He will not be able to do that if we rely on our own wisdom and our own strength. It is only when we get plugged into God. Only when we allow God’s Spirit to work in our lives. That is when God will do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine!
Paul knew that his preaching ability was not sufficient to change lives. Only the power of the Holy Spirit can do that. The real power does not lie in the person or presentation of the preacher, or whoever is sharing the gospel, but in the work of the Holy Spirit.
In John chapter 16 Jesus explained what the Holy Spirit's purpose is. He said in verses eight through eleven, “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”
It is the Holy Spirit who can convict. It is the Holy Spirit who can convince. It is the Holy Spirit who can convert a sinner from his ways. Paul was very careful to rely upon God’s power and not his own wisdom. Paul was probably smart enough to talk people into being saved like a vacuum salesman talks a person into buying something he really doesn’t want. But he was aware that if someone's faith was resting in his wisdom and not God’s power, they would be on shaky ground.
We do not need to come with elaborate words, but with a simple message: Christ, and Him crucified! The Son of God, creator of the world, crucified. We have hope. For God Himself has made His only begotten Son a sacrifice for our sins! This is the gospel. This is our message.
CLOSE:
A certain church had a beautiful stained glass window behind the pulpit which depicted Jesus Christ on the Cross. The story is told that one Sunday there was a guest preacher who was much smaller than the regular minister. A little girl listened to the guest for a time, then turned to her mother and asked. “Where is the man who usually stands there so we can’t see Jesus?”
We need to be sure that in the way we live and the words we say, people will be able to see Jesus.
Jesus said, “If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to me” (John 12:32). He was lifted up on the cross. Now, we need to lift Him up before people as we share this good news so that they can see His salvation and follow Him in obedient faith.
