The Best Preachers Have Killed The Gospel?

1 Corinthians 1:17
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Apostle Paul wrote several letters to the church in Corinth. In the first letter, Paul begins by addressing divisions in the church. He condemns the divisions in the church and asks the church members to only follow Jesus. He goes further to explain why no one would follow him. He says he is just a preacher. He says he did not preach with wisdom and eloquence therefore he does not expect anyone to be his disciple. He tells us in today’s text that he deliberately avoided wisdom and eloquence so that the gospel does not lose its power.

What is Paul telling us? Is he telling us that if he had focused on being a wise preacher, the gospel would have lost its power? Is he telling us that if he had aimed at eloquence, the gospel would have been emptied of its power? Isn’t wisdom and eloquence the stuff that great preachers are made of? The best preachers have killed the gospel?

An excellent preacher must apply wisdom in the preparation and presentation of sermons. An excellent preacher must be eloquent. Eloquence means he or she can express themselves so well that they are understood. Eloquence is critical in public speaking if one is to be effective. Yet Paul says that he did not preach to the Corinthians and others using wisdom and eloquence as other best preachers do, for that would kill the gospel. The best preachers have killed the gospel?

Paul is addressing a situation where the preacher must decide what shines during the sermon and at the end of the sermon. Paul decided that his wisdom will not shine. Paul decided that his eloquence will not shine. Paul decided that the gospel will remain shining. Anything else that shines, steals power from the gospel. The best preachers have killed the gospel?

To my fellow preachers, what shines as you preach? The resume that was read before you stood up? Is that what shines? The choice of clothes and their cost is so poor or so good that people’s attention is drawn to them? Is it your wide reading as you quote various human authorities from the pulpit? Is it your understanding of language as you juggle vocabularies? Is that what shines? Is it the repetition of your achievements? “When I was at the University” “When I went to a foreign country” “When I bought this or that” Is that what shines? Are your illustrations so hilarious that the sermon may be forgotten but never the jokes you cracked? Is that what shines? Is it your insensitive use of gross language from the pulpit yet parents and children are seated together listening? Is that what is memorable about your preaching?

Paul discovered that though he needed wisdom, it could easily stand out, so he deliberately ensured the wisdom is toned down and the gospel is toned up. Paul realized eloquence is good but it could be the most memorable thing and not the message delivered. So Paul toned down the eloquence and brightened the gospel. What do we need to tone down? The best preachers have killed the gospel?

Many congregations and individuals are scrambling for the few wise preachers and many eloquent preachers. What they do not know is that the gospel could be missing in that outstanding oration of Bible facts. An orator has a gift of speaking, but a preacher has a gift of sharing the gospel. The preacher may be an orator but that is not his strong point. The oration must be toned down so that the gospel is audible. The best preachers have killed the gospel?

There is no doubt that we need good preaching, but not at the expense of the gospel. The remarks we make on social media about preachers eventually reach them. The remarks we make after a sermon to the preacher may affect the preacher. When you seem so captivated by the cracked joke, the preacher will work on more jokes. When wisdom is what thrilled you, expect much more. Your choice of preachers influences other preachers to abandon the gospel and be like the sought-after preachers who could inadvertently be killing the gospel. The best preachers have killed the gospel?

A wise preacher will educate and inform the congregation. Education and information have never converted anyone. Conversion is in the power of the gospel. The congregation may be excited that they now understand, they now see it differently, they now know, but they will remain tribalist and racist. They will fight for church positions. They will not give much when giving time comes. This is because education, information, and clear understanding can not convert a person. Only the gospel can lead to conversion. The best preachers have killed the gospel?

An eloquent preacher is sweet to listen to. You don’t get tired. The preacher is not boring. It is a great experience to listen and listen again. The feel-good effect of eloquence is however not able to convert. Many leave the church after an eloquent sermon and they go straight to adultery, fornication, careless living, drug abuse, domestic violence, etc. Eloquence doesn’t save, only Jesus in the gospel saves. An eloquent preacher may get responses from the euphoria that afterward backslide. Many huge baptisms that are celebrated as news are a total embarrassment when a follow-up of those people is done a few months later. Eloquence brings a short-lived excitement. The best preachers have killed the gospel?

2 Peter 3:15-16
Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. (16)He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

Though Paul toned down his wisdom, it wasn’t completely lost. Peter writes about the wonderful wisdom that Paul used in his ministry. Yet this wonderful wisdom is what Paul tells us he has toned down. Toning down doesn’t mean that we preach poor sermons devoid of wisdom. Toning down doesn’t mean that the art of effective preaching is abandoned. This is a call to tone down that which distracts the gospel from reaching God’s people. The best preachers have killed the gospel?

John 12:32
And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

Our preaching in the past has lifted up wisdom and eloquence. Our choice of preachers in the past has lifted up wisdom and eloquence. Our celebration of preachers we love has shown that we prefer wisdom and eloquence. Ultimately the gospel has become a casualty as we prefer great preachers to the gospel. Our worship events and meetings seem to be in need of wisdom and eloquence more than the gospel. Consequently amongst us, the gospel has lost its power. The best preachers have killed the gospel?

Save me, dear God, from killing the gospel. May my choice of preachers not contribute to killing the gospel. May You point out to me what needs to be toned down so that the gospel gets the clarity it requires, in Jesus’ name, Amen!

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