1 Corinthians 2:1-2 - 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.
If you have been a Christian for any number of years and have been a part of a small group or Bible study, you know how times of discussion can go between believers. There are people that seem to have very little difficulty in coming up with something to say, and others who feel like if they open their mouth then they might say something really dumb and never live it down.
One of the reasons that some Christians don’t talk a lot during group discussions is because they don’t quite know how to say what they want to say, and they are sure that someone else can probably say it better than they could. They might think of themselves as not being very smart, or well read, or even immature.
When it comes to Christian doctrine and talking about scripture, there are people who are able to quote loads of verses, think of quotes from books, or even elaborate on philosophy. It can seem like this is the goal, being able to speak with great breadth and depth about God and his word. However, Paul puts some of that to rest with what he writes here.
Paul was well-educated, especially in religion, and he could have said any number of things to the Corinthians. However, when he was with them, he didn’t teach them with big words and clever phrases. On the contrary, he gave the testimony of God to them with simplicity. It’s not that he didn’t talk with them about difficult things, but what he wanted them to know most of all was not his skills in speech or theology, but rather the person of Jesus Christ and his crucifixion.
At the core of the Christian life is the truth that Jesus Christ was crucified for our sins. In order to understand why that matters we have to look at what Jesus said and what he did. As we read the gospels, we begin to understand why we as sinners need Jesus as our savior. It is this simple message of Jesus’ death for us that forms the cornerstone of everything we believe.
This leads to the point. What matters is how central and important Jesus Christ is to you, not how well you talk about him. What is going to change your life and the lives of those around you is recognizing that Jesus died for your sins, and if you hold on to that truth, then you can live as a free person in this world. You see, we get bogged down with how we speak and how lofty our words should be, but in reality, God’s gospel is understandable from the very young to the very old.
There is much that you can know today, but at the very top of the list should be these things. If you find yourself unsure of what to say about God, whether that be with unbelievers or other Christians, then simply go back to what you know about Jesus and the cross. You never know how that straightforward message could change a life for an eternity. Who is Jesus and what has he done? Can you think of any more valuable conversation to have than that?
