The Gospel-Simple Yet Profound

“And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom declaring unto you the testimony of God.  For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”  I Corinthians 2:1-2

The gospel is really very simple.  Some folks like to make it seem like it’s complicated by adding all their rules and regulations, but Jesus has already done all the work and cut through the “red tape” so to speak.  He said in John 6:29 that the only work for us is to believe in Him.

The Apostle Paul was a great preacher of the gospel.  He kept it simple, plain, and to the point.  He didn’t use fancy words or deliver his message as a know-it-all, he just preached about Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross to save sinners.  He went on to say that he felt weak and fearful when he presented the gospel because, I suppose, he never knew how he would be received.  However perhaps his greatest fear was that people would not understand what he was presenting.  That’s why he made it clear and specific.

He experienced beatings and imprisonment for preaching the gospel but that didn’t stop him.  The worst reaction that we experience when witnessing to someone is rejection or ridicule.  Paul said later that the natural man, i.e. one who does not believe in Christ cannot receive the insight and knowledge of the Spirit of God.  The unbeliever considers those things as foolishness because he or she can’t understand them.  One must have spiritual discernment to understand spiritual things.

Paul finished Chapter 2 by stating that those who truly believe in Christ have the mind of Christ.  In other words, one in whom Christ dwells has the privilege of thinking like Christ.  And that is indeed a privilege that can save us a lot of heartache down the road.