October 27, 2024
A long time ago, when I was on our debate team in high school, our debate coach told us about a couple of old adages that are helpful in debate. The first one is, when in doubt, at least sound convincing. The second piece of advice says if you can’t convince them, confuse them. I fear our politicians use this tactic quite often. However, others who often use this tactic unfortunately include Christians. Many times, we use lofty religious language and confusing rhetoric when we try to share the gospel with unbelievers. The most important thing we do as Christians is share the gospel with others. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 14:19 that he would “rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in an (unknown) tongue.” In other words, five plain, simple words go a lot farther than ten thousand confusing words (some of us preachers could probably use a refresher course in this area). Paul also said to this same audience in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” Paul tells us the gospel is plain and can be summed up in nine words “Christ died for your sins, was buried, and arose.” When we share the gospel with others, we need to be crystal clear. People are sinners in need of a Savior. People can’t save themselves, but Jesus died on the cross to save them. Then, like others who have died, Jesus was buried. However, on the third day after His burial, He arose from the grave. Because He lives, we can too! We need tell others that Jesus did everything that had to be done to obtain our salvation on the cross. If people would simply put their faith and trust in Christ and His finished work on the cross, they can be saved. We can’t afford to add to or take away from this message, nor can we afford to deliver a confusing twist to the good news of the gospel because eternity hangs in the balance.
Be blessed and then go be a blessing . . . Bro Andy
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