The Gospel In Plain Language

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.