I Corinthians 1:21
Since God in His wisdom saw to it that the world would never know Him through human wisdom, He has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe.
I Corinthains 1:18
The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who ARE BEING SAVED know it is the very power of God.
Every day I am alive, I look to these verses and see greater and greater evidence of their truth in our culture, and in out time.
I see God being relevated to something that is understood and grapsed with the human mind. I see the Word of God being reduced to a tug-of-war among those who like to argue "the finer points." The Word of God is to be applied to life, not argued over.
Somehow I think I want to try and keep it all on the level of "I'm one of those foolish things God decided to use." I have no problem with that. In fact, over the past year, I have had several encounters with others who feel a strong desire to prove their beliefs to me. Now don't get me wrong...I am always up to checking out what I believe against the belief of others. But it profits us nothing if such becomes a point of contention. If our interaction is merely to drive home a point of "I'm right and your wrong" then we are no better than the Pharisees we read about in the New Testament. I don't know if you realized it or not, but Jesus wasn't to pleased with that bunch.
"Well in the Hebrew, Jesus meant this!"
"The Greek gives us the REAL meaning of what Jesus was trying to say."
I understand those who have a burning desire to look into such areas. But you know what? I don't think I've ever had anyone who was struggling with addiction stop to ask me how I felt about the Greek or the Hebrew behind what Jesus was telling us in the Bible. I never been stopped from praying for someone because my theology didn't match up with theirs.
I realize that there is a place for apologetics...
I understand the need to be Scripturally correct....
I am not saying that we should chunk all study of the Bible...
But the bottom line is that the most incredible student of Scripture, outside of Christ Himself, made the statement in I Corinthians 2:2 that "For I decided that while I am with you, I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified." Is that incredible or what? Paul determined.....set his mind on.....fixed his heart to focus only on Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Why? Because the entire structure of Scripture falls away without this act by Jesus.
So why do I consider this to be my theology? Because those I have been called to have to have a starting point in meeting my Jesus. The cross is that starting point. We all stand on level ground at the cross of Christ. The death and resurrection of Christ is the invitation given by God to us to enter into a new way of living. We are either drawn to this invitation......or we are driven away by it. No matter which direction we choose to go in...either toward the cross, or away into the darkness..the truth of the cross of Christ stands.
So while we do need scholars and theologians to delve into the Scripture...
we need a healthy dose of Spirit directed-common sense. We need plain language and a heart of love to work with those God brings in and out of our lives. One of my most favorite lines from a movie comes from "GETTSYBURG". In it, several high ranking officers are introducing themselves to a visiting British Officer. One particular officer is introduce along with a disclaimer about his military prowess. "He has a tendency to complicate the obvious and trivialize the momentous." Sometimes I think the church operates in this manner. We think we need to create hoops and steps for people to move through in order to get to God. When in fact, we need to boil the Gospel message down to its simplest and purest form...."God died for you so that you could have life with Him." We start with that premise.
Like I've said before....
You've got two people who claim to be followers of Jesus...
One who has little understanding but walks fully in the light that they have...
The other is very astute when it comes to understanding the Scriptures, but doesn't apply to their personal life, or walk in the light of their understanding.
Who is better off....
I will always come down on the side of the person who walks fully in the light they have.
Be a student of God's Word...
Read it....
Study it....
Apply it to your personal life...
Then go out an walk in it......
Maybe...
Just maybe..
You'll relish what God has done to you and through you as you realize, "Hey, I'm one of those foolish things mentioned in I Corinthians Chapter One!"
God on you...
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