Not to Baptize or to Use a Slick Tongue!

Tuesday morning, February 5, 2008
This is what Paul (the apostle), had to say concerning God’s reason for his existence: “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, that the cross of Christ should not be made void. For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:17-18). Incredible words, especially when read in light of the fact that they came from the man who loved the church more than any other person (except Jesus!) who has ever lived.
His “God did not send me to baptize” would not fit well in most protestant churches, especially the evangelical variety. From what I have been able to observe, getting people baptized (usually with no regard for the preaching of the gospel) is the single most important mission of most churches, and for this reason—churches are in competition with one another and the evidence of growth lies in the numbers of baptisms. Obviously, Paul would not qualify to be the pastor of most churches, and he certainly would not qualify to serve on a church growth committee. Go figure!
For Paul, the main thing was always the main thing—the preaching of the gospel! For him, nothing was more important, not even getting people baptized; His “Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel” make this unmistakable clear. Sadly, the church has veered off course, so much so that in many churches Jesus is never even mentioned, much less is the gospel preached; consequently, people by the thousands (literally) are weary, frustrated, and disappointed with church, and, as a result, they are leaving, looking for life in other places.
For me, Paul’s “. . .not in cleverness of speech” is very significant and it is for this reason: In most cases, the church would never consider someone, who did not have a “slick tongue”, i.e. the gift of eloquence; yet, Paul tells us that God did not send him to preach the gospel using a slick, clever, eloquent tongue. In other words, God sent Paul to impress the people with the gospel, not with his eloquence. Funny how God chose Moses, one who, by his own admission, did not have anything even close to the gift of eloquence, to be the one who would speak in His behalf to the Pharaoh. Surely, Paul’s point is evident: the gospel, not man’s clever speech, is the power of God for salvation! “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation. . .” (Romans 1:16a). The preacher probably should be ashamed of many things, especially his lack of eloquence, but NEVER of the gospel because it is God’s power for salvation (I am tempted to elaborate upon that but I will save it for another “perspective”).
Now, listen up: “that the cross of Christ should not be made void”! I love it! Paul is telling us that God did not send him to baptize, or to preach the gospel with a slick tongue, and He did not because He knew that the church, with man at its centerpiece, would become just what it has become. The fact is this: baptisms and slick tongues are two of the main reasons people are so disenchanted with church. You think about this—really! [For the record: I am not meaning to imply that baptizing believers should be avoided, but I am meaning to imply that “getting people baptized” has become more important than the preaching of the gospel!]
Why have church leaders allowed such foolishness to go on within the church and for so long? Paul has the answer: “For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness. . .” Any more questions? THE WORD OF THE CROSS IS FOOLISHNESS TO THOSE WHO ARE PERISHING and, consequently, the word of the cross will not be allowed in the “church of the perishing”.
There is more, however, and it is this: “. . .but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God”. Wow! I really like this: to those of us who are being saved, the word of the cross (the gospel) is the power of God (for salvation!). Can you see what this does for us? It eliminates all the stress of trying to get people baptized by using a slick tongue to persuade them to “walk the aisle”! In other words, the success of the church rests on God’s shoulders, not ours. Our privilege is to simply preach the gospel—the offensive word of the cross—both in season and out of season!
Now for the question of the day: Has it dawned upon you that the same Christ who sent Paul to preach the gospel has also called you to preach the same gospel and to do so without your becoming its centerpiece? If it hasn’t, I trust that it will—soon!

Just thought I would remind you of what you already know—