THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith" (Romans 1:16-17).

Devotion 19 of 27

NOT SENT TO BAPTIZE

Jesus told His chosen followers to "make disciples" and "baptize them" (Matt 28:18). He meant precisely what He said, and no person representing Him can afford to fail in either responsibility. While men have chosen to argue over these matters, particularly baptism, they must do so with either their Bibles or their minds closed. There is not a solitary syllable spoken against baptism throughout all of Scripture--no question about its validity, effectiveness, or necessity.

However, the objective was not simply to baptize numerous people, thereby swelling the numbers of the church. Emphatically Paul affirms his mission was NOT to baptize. "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect" (1 COR 1:17, NKJV).

This is not to be construed as a repudiation of the need for baptism, or a relegation of the "washing of regeneration" to the realm of unimportance. Paul himself provided extensive teaching on the subject of baptism, showing it as a focal point in spiritual life (Rom 6:1-10; Col 2:11-12). Scriptural baptism, however, results from Gospel preaching. Paul, as well as the other Apostles, were to major on the cause, not the effect!

Not With Wisdom of Words

The effectiveness of the Gospel is not advanced by the use the "words of human wisdom (NIV)." The more that earth, in any form, is mixed with the message, the less powerful it becomes. The propensity to earthly preaching, that so dominates religious circles today, is a point of much concern. The power of God cannot be contained in, or transmitted by, the vessel of man's wisdom. Those who imagine that oratory, rhetoric, simplistic illustrations, and humor add to the effectiveness of the Gospel are deceived. The Gospel itself is the power of God. Divine influence travels with it. That Divine power is totally absent from the wisest of the wisdom of this world, even if it is religious.

With spiritual determination, Paul refused to diminish the power of the Gospel by filling his message with the language of this world. There is a remarkable absence of humorous anecdotes, mundane experiences, and lightheartedness in the preaching of Jesus and the Apostles. Scripture is not flavored with these things either. The reason for their absence is clear; they neutralize the power of the message.

This approach to preaching may be entertaining, and some may imagine that it is actually profitable. However, the Apostle did not employ such tactics in His preaching. After all the explanations have been provided by the religious sophists, Paul simply says he does not employ "words of human wisdom" in preaching the cross. He knew, and it is to our advantage to also know, that this would empty the cross of Christ of its power! Anyone failing to see the gravity of those words stands in serious need of spiritual understanding.

It is time for the church to return to the powerful preaching of the Gospel of Christ--preaching that is not peppered with humor or salted with earthly illustrations, language studies, and other earthly observations. To insist on giving weight to such things only makes the cross of Christ "of no effect" (NKJV), "emptied of its power" (NIV), and "made void" (NASB). It is difficult, if not impossible, to think of anything more contemptible. How shall those who indulge in such abuses escape the judgment of God?

PRAYER POINT: Father, through Jesus Christ, give me grace to shun anything that robs the preaching of the cross of its power!

-- Tomorrow: LIKE A PELICAN, OWL, and SPARROW --