WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26
1 Corinthians 2:1-5
2 Corinthians 4:2

"…save Jesus Christ
and him crucified."

NO CHRIST, NO SERMON

Once again, Paul reminded the Corinthian Christians of how he preached among them in his founding visit (Acts 18:1-18). He was aware that he was a minister of the gospel and not a philosopher. He was not there to speak of his own opinions but to testify for Christ. Thus he sought not to embellish the gospel, but to preach it simply. There must be no addition to or subtraction from God’s Word.

As a well-educated and intelligent man who was well versed in the Holy Scriptures, Paul could have easily wowed the "audience" with a great show of wit and "excellency of speech" (1 Cor 2:1). However, Paul was wary of anything that would detract from the message of the gospel. He was fixed on a singular purpose: at the end of the sermon, the people must know Jesus Christ. The people should not be talking about how intelligent or eloquent Paul was. If the hearer’s focus was not on Christ, the sermon would have been preached in vain. Therefore, there must be no injection of self or any form of "pyrotechnics" at the pulpit. No Christ, no sermon!

In his book Lectures to my Students, Charles Spurgeon commented about a budding preacher who preached an emotional and verbose message. There was one problem though – the young man was trying too hard to impress Spurgeon and the hearers with his oratorical skill rather than to preach Christ. He drew attention to himself rather than to the Word of God. Spurgeon had to rebuke the preacher. In fact, Spurgeon himself confessed that he was often worried that in his own sermons he would end up preaching self rather than Christ. When there is self in the sermon without the cross, the sermon is lost.

We must also be careful that we serve God with the right motives. Are we attracting attention to ourselves, or are we pointing others to Christ? Do not be a show-off!

THOUGHT: "He must increase, but I must decrease." (John 3:30)
PRAYER: Lord, may Christ be magnified in my life.