1 Corinthians 2:2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 1. The great men of the world are those who discover or apply great truths to the times in which they live, in such a manner as to work effectual reformations of society. A man is great, not by the measure of his faculty, but by the results which he produces in life. Paul was, then, one of the greatest. 2. It is more than a matter of curiosity, when a man has been raised up of God to do great things, to have him give a view of his own life, its aims and methods. Paul here sounds the keynote of his life and course. You will take notice, in all the preceding chapter and in this, that it is not Christ, but Christ crucified, Christ with His Cross, that was the essential qualifying particular. Paul did not mean, then, to be a skirmisher, nor an elegant trifler. He did not propose to be a routinist, either through ceremonies or dialectics. For it was his business to work a thorough change of character in the men that came under his influence, and so to lay the foundation for the renovation of society itself. What could be greater than this work? 3. Many things were going on for the renovation, or rather the restraint, of men's passions? But it was a work imperfectly understood, and not done. Paul declared what was the power by which it might be achieved. He did not declare that he meant to exclude everything else. The declaration is only a comprehensive renunciation of secular interests and influences as working powers. When a man goes into a community to work, he instinctively says, "How shall I reach these men? What things shall I employ for their renovation?" The apostle says, "After looking over the whole field, I made up my mind not to rely on my power to discourse eloquently, nor upon my intellectual forces. This had been done by many a man with great cogency. But Paul, looking at such men as Socrates and Plato, said, "I determined that I would rely upon the presentation of God's nature and government as manifested particularly through the Christ as a sacrifice for sinners. By these I meant to get a hold upon men's conscience, affections, and life." A warrior preparing for battle walking through his magazine passes by bows and arrows, and old-fashioned armour, and says, "They were good in their time and way, but I do not intend to rely upon them." But when he comes to the best instruments of modern warfare, he says, "Here are the things that I mean to depend upon." Therefore, when the apostle said, "I determined not to know," &c., he avowed his faith that in that there is more moral power upon the heart and the conscience than in any other thing, and his determination to draw influences from that source in all his work. In view of this I remark — I. THE PERSONAL INFLUENCE OF CHRIST UPON THE HEART IS THE FIRST REQUISITE FOR A CHRISTIAN PREACHER. We may preach much about Christ, but no man will preach Christ except so far as Christ is in him. There are many men that by natural gifts are qualified to stand pre-eminent above their fellows, who exert but little religious influence; and, on the other hand, there are many of small endowment whose life is like a rushing, mighty wind in the influence which it exerts. The presence of Christ in them is the secret of their power. II. A MAN'S SUCCESS IN PREACHING WILL DEPEND UPON HIS POWER OF PRESENTING CHRIST. There is a great deal of useful didactic matter that every minister must give to his congregation. There is a great deal of doctrine, fact, history, and of description that belongs to the ministerial desk. The Bible is full of material for these things, and ethics should occupy an important place. But high above all these is the fountain of influence, Christ who gave Himself a ransom for sinners, and now ever lives to make intercession for them. Though one preaches every other truth, if he leaves this one out, or abbreviates it, he will come short of the essential work of the gospel. Put this in, and you have all, as it were, in brief. III. THERE CAN BE NO SOUND AND EFFECTIVE METHOD OF PREACHING ETHICS, EVEN, WHICH DOES NOT DERIVE ITS AUTHORITY FROM THE LORD CHRIST. The motives derivable from the secular and human side of ethics are relatively feeble. Whatever method is pursued, the indispensable connection between the spiritual element and the practical development should be maintained. Morality without spirituality is a plant without root, and spirituality without morality is a root without stem and leaves. I have a right to introduce into my sermons all secular topics as far as they are connected with man's moral character and his hopes of immortality. If I discuss them in a merely secular way, I desecrate the pulpit; but if I discuss them in the spirit of Christ, and for Christ's sake, that I may draw men out of their peculiar dangers, and lead them into a course of right living, then I give dignity to the pulpit. IV. ALL REFORMATIONS OF EVIL IN SOCIETY SHOULD SPRING FROM THIS VITAL CENTRE. It is a very dangerous thing to preach Christ so that your preaching shall not be a constant rebuke to all the evil in the community. That man who so preaches Christ, doctrinally or historically, that no one trembles, is not a faithful preacher of Christ. On the other hand, it is a dangerous thing for a man to attack evil in the spirit of only hatred. The sublime wisdom of the New Testament is this: "Overcome evil with good." Was Christ not a reformer? Did He not come to save the world? And did He not hate evil? And yet with what sweetness of love did He dwell in the midst of these things, so that the publicans and the sinners took heart, became inspired with hope, and drew near to Him. Christ reformed men by inspiring the love of goodness as well as by hatred of evil, and He drew men from their sin as well as drove them from it. V. HENCE ALL PHILANTHROPIES ARE PARTIAL AND IMPERFECT THAT DO NOT GROW OUT OF THIS SAME ROOT. When philanthropy springs from this centre, and is inspired by this influence, it becomes, not a mere sentimentalism, but a vivid and veritable power in human society. Philanthropy without religion becomes meagre. It is the love of man uninspired by the love of God! VI. ALL PUBLIC QUESTIONS OF JUSTICE, OF LIBERTY, OF EQUITY, OF PURITY, OF INTELLIGENCE, SHOULD BE VITALISED BY THE POWER WHICH IS IN CHRIST JESUS. There are other motives that may press men forward in a little way, but there is nothing that has such controlling power as the personal influence of Christ. (H. W. Beecher.) Parallel Verses KJV: For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.WEB: For I determined not to know anything among you, except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. |
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