Preaching Christ Crucified 1 Corinthians November 21, 2010

Transcription

1 Preaching Christ Crucified 1 Corinthians November 21, 2010 Introduction: What makes for a great preacher? That was the question I posted on Facebook a few weeks back in preparation for this sermon. My Facebook friends are a fairly good mix of both believers and unbelievers so I was interested in what people would have to say. Of those that responded I received answers such as: a great preacher is someone who has strong convictions; uses good illustrations; is willing to be open and vulnerable; is someone people can relate to; is entertaining and humorous; is animated and upbeat. For the most part, I think the items mentioned were typical characteristics people would like for a pastor to have: people remember great illustrations and are attracted to pastors who are upbeat and can use humor in a sermon. They like sermons that are relevant to them and for their pastor to be warm and personable. All of those are good characteristics for the most part; but they re mostly all stylistic things. Those are things we value not just in pastors but in motivational speakers and television personalities. For example, where would Oprah Winfrey be today if it weren t for her ability to be personable and relate to her audience? People love Oprah because she can bring tears to your eyes with the way she tells the heartbreaking stories of the guests on her show or how she connects with her audience through her gentle humor and vulnerability. While Oprah is not a pastor, she fits the bill when it comes to the stylistic characteristics people look for in a great preacher. These characteristic are in great demand in churches today. People flock to churches where the pastor is personable and humorous, where he uses illustrations guaranteed to make you laugh or cry, and where he delivers an applicable message about how to be a good steward of your money, or how to improve your marriage, or how to be a godly parent in an ungodly world. If you re gifted with great communication skills and come across as humorous, touching, and most importantly relevant then there s no limit to how much your church can grow. The largest church in America is currently Lakewood Church in Houston TX that meets in what was the former arena for the Houston Rockets. They have an attendance of over 43,000 people and the pastor, Joel Osteen, has these particular characteristics in droves. He s funny, he s a fantastic story-teller, he is immensely personable, and his messages are upbeat. encouraging and very applicable to people s everyday lives. It s no surprise that people pack out his church, listen to his messages on television, and buy his books. Joel Osteen is the prime example of the perfect mix of characteristics people look for in a great preacher. But is that all there is to it? Is a great preacher simply a person who is relevant, humorous, vulnerable, articulate, personable, and a great story-teller? If the Apostle Paul was my friend on Facebook and saw my question, I think he would give a rather different answer to the question, What makes for a great preacher? According to the passage that we ll be studying together this morning, I believe Paul would give an answer that nobody else gave in my little unscientific Facebook poll. Paul s answer to the question What makes a great preacher? would be, That he preaches Christ crucified. For Paul, the preacher s style - 1

2 such as his personality, his ability to tell a moving story, his sense humor - all of these are secondary to the content of the message. Instead, it all comes down to whether one preaches the message of Christ crucified for sinners. According to Paul, a great preacher consistently calls his listeners back to the cross of Christ; any preaching that does not do this, no matter how skilled, humorous, personable or relevant the sermon might be, is not great preaching; it is faulty, deficient preaching unworthy of even being called preaching because it is preaching devoid of Christ. But let me stop telling you what the apostle Paul would say and allow him to say it for himself. To that end please open your Bibles with me to 1 Corinthians 2. I will be reading v. 1-5 from the ESV. And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. So as you can see, the Apostle Paul had a singular devotion in his preaching to make sure nothing distracted people from the message of Christ crucified. So as we delve into these five verses more closely this morning, I believe we can sum up what Paul is teaching us about what makes preaching truly great like this: Main idea: Powerful preaching is Christ-centered preaching. While this passage is primarily about Paul s approach to preaching, this is not a message only applicable to pastors. It has something to say for each of us in two ways. First, it challenges us to rightly assess good preaching from bad preaching. Like the Corinthian believers, we can easily be swayed by style over substance. Paul s words call us back to remember that being eloquent, witty and humorous does not equal good preaching. Then second, it reminds us that when we ourselves preach the gospel by proclaiming it to others, our message needs to be centered on Christ and the cross. You haven t proclaimed the gospel unless you ve pointed people to the person and work of Christ. I ll come back to those two ideas as we get into the passage more, so let s dive right in by considering our first point that Paul addresses in the passage, which is the question of 1. What we proclaim (v.1-2) Right before this passage, at the end of chapter 1, Paul challenged the Corinthians to consider their own calling and how the simple message of Christ crucified saved them. Now beginning here in chapter 2, he refers to his own practice when he planted the church in Corinth as an example of the power of the message of the cross. So he says in v. 1-2, And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 2

3 Paul immediately reminds the Corinthians that when he was present with them, his preaching wasn t in the style they ve become so fond of - it wasn t with lofty speech or wisdom. Rather Paul made a decision not to employ any impressive oratorical style or discuss any number of high-brow topics which would be certain to impress them with his stunning intellect. Instead Paul says he decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. We must remember once again that this message of a suffering Messiah who was executed on a Roman cross was not a message that won you gold stars in any social circles. As Paul said earlier in chapter 1, the message of the cross was considered to be complete and utter foolishness to most who heard it. The Jews were expecting a conquering king like David and the Greeks had little time for stories of some executed criminal who died in a back-water Roman province. If there were marketing gurus around back in Paul s day, they would have told him, Well Paul, I hate to tell you this but your sermons about Christ and the cross really aren t cutting it with folks. You need to address more of the felt needs of your audience. People these days want to hear about things that are interesting and relevant to them. If you really want to build a growing church in Corinth, stop talking all the time about a crucified Messiah that s not very uplifting, don t you think? How bout you try to be a bit more upbeat, more positive and encouraging, maybe add a little more pizzazz to your messages and tell more heart-warming stories people can relate to. There is a danger in allowing the whims and desires of the congregation to determine the content of a pastor s preaching. Too often what we want to hear from the pulpit is not what we need to hear. People today want upbeat messages that are relevant to their lives, delivered with moving illustrations, snazzy PowerPoint presentations, and maybe a few funny or moving video clips thrown it along with it. So in the interest of growing the church, a pastor will give people just that. He ll provide the church with a diet of topical messages on marriage and parenting, finances and the workplace and how to control your anger and a host of other pop-psychology subjects all delivered in a warm, conversational style with video clips, clever props, humorous illustrations, and of course a few Bible verses peppered in throughout to help remind you that you re at church. If you re a skilled speaker and do those things, your church will grow because that s what attracts people. The proof is in the pudding because this approach is currently working quite for many large growing churches across America today. But note how different Paul s approach to preaching is than what is prevalent in our American church culture today. Paul refuses to give in to the pragmatic approach of growing a church by giving the Corinthians what they want. He knows they delight in lofty speech. He knows they ll gather around to hear speakers who can impress them with their wisdom about life and culture. Yet Paul says he decided only to speak on the ineloquent and unimpressive message of Christ crucified. He wasn t going to give them what they wanted to hear: he was committed to give them what they needed to hear. Paul wasn t going to trade the riches of the message of the cross for the cheap porridge of worldly wisdom that so easily impressed the Corinthians. 3

4 This is the reason I do expository preaching and not topical preaching. I m not against you having a better marriage or learning how to manage your money successfully or helping you deal with the problem people in your life. But the way best to address those issues is not to turn the Bible into a self-help book. If I m going to take the grand story of Scripture and reduce it down to a handbook of little moralistic principles, that all I m going to create is little moralistic people. I refuse to cheapen Scripture that way just so I can attract a larger crowd. No, what I need to do is follow Paul s example and point you to the one whom all of Scripture points to: Christ. Then those other concerns will be addressed, because if you love Christ more deeply, then you ll love your spouse better. If Christ is your heart s treasure, then your worldly treasures will be put into proper perspective. If Christ is your greatest passion, then that will automatically set in proper perspective the others passions of your life. We do not need a Christian version of Dr. Phil in our pulpits: we need a clear picture of Christ, who died, rose again, and will come again for us in glory and that comes from preaching the Word of God in its fullness. Jesus told the men on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24 that all of Scripture pointed to him. So if that is true and I tend to believe what Jesus said), then preaching Scripture should be a pastoral priority. My primary job as a pastor is to explain what Scripture says and this is best done by going through it verse by verse, paragraph by paragraph, and chapter by chapter. That way I let Scripture set the agenda, not what I think will mostly likely draw a crowd. Additionally then as your pastor I should show you how the passage points to Christ. If I m not pointing you to Christ in my sermons, then according to Jesus I ve failed to understand Scripture properly, since he said it all points to him. Great preaching is preaching that explains how a text of Scripture points back to Christ. As the great prince of preachers, Charles Spurgeon, once said, The motto of all true servants of God must be, We preach Christ; and him crucified. A sermon without Christ in it is like a loaf of bread without any flour in it. No Christ in your sermon, sir? Then go home, and never preach again until you have something worth preaching. [Exposition of Acts 13:13-49 published in 1904] So great preaching is Christ-centered preaching. But I need to add at this point that what Paul says here has additional application to all the non-pastors among us: when proclaiming the gospel, you must make Christ central. Don t allow yourself to go off on a tangent. Conversations with unbelievers may begin by discussing hot button issues like abortion or gay marriage or politics or whatever, but those issues aren t the issue. The issue is Jesus Christ and what he did for us on the cross. I remember many times having a discussion with my dad about various topics he would bring up to show why he thought Christianity was wrong, and my job in those conversations was to always bring the discussion back to Christ. He wasn t going to be saved by being convinced that abortion was murder; he was only going to be saved by hearing the good news that God so loved the world that he sent Christ to suffer and die in our place. Always point people back to Christ. Furthermore, your testimony isn t the gospel. It s great to tell others how Christ changed your life, but testimonies are ultimately about you and your experience; you need to move from telling people about what Christ did for you to what Christ has done 4

5 for them on the cross. Always point people back to the gospel of Christ dying on the cross for our sin to satisfy God s wrath. The power to save souls from sin and death comes not from your experience, persuasiveness, or apologetic skills it comes from the simple message of Christ crucified for sinners. So then, what we proclaim the content of our message is vitally important. But Paul also says something about how he went about proclaiming the good news of Christ crucified. So let s consider our second point this morning 2. How we proclaim (v.3-4) Look back in your Bibles at v And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power Paul states here what he first touched on in v. 1 when he said he didn t come to them with lofty speech or wisdom. He reiterates that idea at the beginning of v. 3 saying that his speech wasn t in plausible words of wisdom. Paul refused to employ the grand rhetorical style of speaking that was so prevalent in the ancient world not that Paul couldn t have done so. Even unbelievers can recognize Paul s skillfulness with words and the beautiful prose he wrote. But when he was with them, Paul didn t use any of that. He didn t impress them with lofty words and flowery speeches. Instead, what does he say about his method of proclamation in v. 3? He says he was with them in weakness and in fear and much trembling. We don t know all the details of what exactly Paul meant by this. We know that Paul suffered from a thorn in his flesh which was likely a physical ailment. It s possible that Paul is referring to that here: there was something about Paul physically that made him appear less than impressive, that made him look weak. Furthermore, we re not sure why Paul ministered in Corinth with fear and trembling. Certainly Paul was not one to be timid about proclaiming the gospel! Perhaps he was overwhelmed by the task of reaching such a large and cosmopolitan city like Corinth or possibly the threats of persecution he constantly faced weighed heavily upon him. Regardless of the exact details, Paul paints a picture of himself as a church planter in Corinth who is in every respect unimpressive. Paul wasn t going to be invited to be the keynote speaker at the next Promise Keepers in Corinth. He doesn t look like much physically and his speech is not at all polished and lofty like the high-profile philosophers. But for Paul, this was not a problem to him. In fact, it s exactly what he wanted. Paul doesn t want people to be impressed with him: he wants people to be impressed with Christ. If his weakness and unimpressive speech takes the focus off of him, well, then all the better! Paul knows how fickle people can be, how easily they ll follow polished speakers who will impress them with their great oratory skills. Paul doesn t want people to follow him; he wants them to follow Christ so he gladly speaks and presents himself in such a way that will cause people to make less of him and more of Christ. 5

6 Now it needs to be said at this point that a pastor cannot use this as an excuse to fail to do due diligence in preparing a sermon. You cannot hastily throw together a message late Saturday night and deliver a rambling sermon on Sunday and claim, I m just being like Paul! If anything Paul s example calls us to greater diligence in sermon preparation. This passage should cause every person who preaches to ask himself: is my approach to preaching making much about me or much about Christ? Am I relying on my charm to win people over? Am I trying to manipulate people s emotions by using particular stories and video clips? Am I depending on external things like lighting and music to create an atmosphere conducive to the response I wish to get? We need to ask ourselves: were we to take away all the dramatic lighting, the rockin worship set, the snazzy video clips, the tear-jerking illustrations, and polished delivery and witty words, do we really believe the simple, unadorned message of Christ crucified has the power to change lives? Paul certainly believed it did, and to that end he purposefully de-emphasized anything about himself which could cause people to make much of the messenger and not the message. And as a point of application to those of us here who aren t pastors, let me say beware of subtle temptation to manipulate people when proclaiming the gospel. You may be very skilled as a salesman and know how to connect with a customer and effectively utilize all the tactics to convince people to buy whatever it is you re selling, but set aside those skills aside when it comes to proclaiming the gospel. If we manipulate people into making a profession of faith, then all we ve done is make a false disciple. The power of the gospel is found in the content of the message, not the charisma of skillfulness of the messenger. Proclaim the gospel simply and clearly. Make little of yourself and much of Christ. Point people to Jesus and trust that God will use that to open up spiritual blind eyes to see and believe. Furthermore, I want you to see that there s something deeply encouraging about the implications of Paul s approach here. Paul is de-emphasizing oratory and wisdom in the proclamation of the gospel because he knows the power of the gospel is found in content of the message and not the competence of the messenger. So for those of us who have no delusions about our speaking ability, who stumble over our words, who worry that we won t be able to answer a question our unbelieving friend asks us, Paul says to you here, You don t need to be a polished speaker or seminary graduate to proclaim the gospel. In fact, it may be better that you aren t so that it can be clearly seen that when salvation comes, it comes not as a consequence of your eloquence or persuasiveness but rather because of the power of God working through the simple message of Christ crucified. Do not let your inability to speak well or answer difficult questions prevent you from telling others about Christ. The power to save does not reside in your giftedness: all God asks of you is your faithfulness. Go and proclaim Christ crucified. So we ve consider what it is we should proclaim and how we are to proclaim it. Now we need give our attention to the last point of the sermon this morning which is 3. Why we proclaim (v. 5) Look back in your Bibles with me starting at v. 3 but focusing particularly on v. 5. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and 6

7 my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. The reason Paul proclaimed the unglamorous message of Christ crucified without any gimmicks, without any rhetorical eloquence, without any impressive show of wisdom and philosophical insight is so that their faith would not rest on the wisdom and abilities of men but on the power of God. He doesn t want to create disciples of Paul; he wants to create disciples of Christ. Paul knows it doesn t take much to create a following. One only needs to look at the legion of fans of any given movie star, sports hero, television personality, or musician. Provided you re gifted enough and famous enough, you ll have no problem getting people to attend your concerns, buy your books, watch your talk show, listen to your albums, take your picture, and wear your jersey. The Corinthians were no different than we are: it s just that their cultural superstars were different: they idolized people who could speak with great eloquence and insight; we idolize athletic millionaires who can throw oddly shaped balls across large fields of grass. Creating followers of a gifted man is easy; creating followers of Christ is a different matter entirely. To do that takes the power of God. When Paul says at the end of v. 4 that he came in a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, he s referring to the work of the Holy Spirit who transformed their hearts through the new birth. Paul proclaimed the good news of Christ crucified and through that God granted to those ordained to believe a spiritual rebirth, by which the spiritual blindness and hardness of their hearts was removed and they responded in faith and believed upon Christ as the atoning sacrifice for their sins. As a result, the Corinthians knew firsthand the reality of the power of God. As Paul says here at the end of v. 5, as a result of his preaching their faith rests not on the wisdom of men but in the power of God. The fact that they are new creations in Christ is proof positive that the real power in preaching comes not from style or technique but from a singular focus on the message of Jesus Christ, crucified for sinners. Conclusion So as we draw this to a close, I think these five short verses addressed to the Corinthians contain an immensely valuable reminder for us as American believers: do not get caught up in style over substance. Just because a pastor can speak eloquently and be entertaining with props and heart-warming illustrations and discuss relevant topics with great insight does not mean he s a great preacher. The hallmark of truly great preaching according to Paul has nothing to do with style and everything to do with content. The only preaching that has the power to actually transform lives is preaching that is consistently focused on Christ and the cross. If as a pastor you re preaching the Word of God, calling people back to Christ s atoning work on the cross by demonstrating to them how all of Scripture points back to Jesus 7

8 Christ, then you re a great preacher, even if you don t pastor a mega-church or write books and even if you at times stumble over your words and have lame illustrations. Conversely if you have all the bells and whistles at your church that our popular culture loves so much, with heart-warming messages that seek to help you be a better parent or spouse or claim to enable you to live your best life now, yet do not make much of Christ or you only mention Scripture in passing as a proof text to make your relevant pop-psychology message seem biblical, then you have failed at preaching, no matter how large your church is or how well people speak of your preaching ability. The measure of great preaching according to Paul here in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 is found in preaching that exalts in the simple message of Christ crucified. May we as American Christians no longer be easily satisfied with the cotton candy diets of relevant preaching that disguises pop-psychology in the form of a sermon sprinkled lightly with proof-texts. All such so-called sermons may be sweet to the ear but they will over time rot our minds and starve our souls. Instead, let us insist upon the meat of God s Word that consistently points us back to Christ crucified, for it is there in the message of Christ and only there - where the true power of God resides to change our hearts and transform our lives for His name s sake. Let s pray. This sermon was addressed originally to the people at Grace Brethren Church of Waterloo, IA by Pastor Rob Borkowitz. Copyright