Preach (and live) the Gospel

 Deuteronomy 30-31; Psalms 40; 1 Corinthians 1

“For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel – not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.  For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

1 Corinthians 1:17, 18

Paul was clear that Jesus had sent him with a mandate to preach the Gospel, rather than just baptize converts. The earlier controversy in John’s baptismal ministry was whether those baptized by John would follow Jesus. This same personality conflict emerged in Corinth with the ministry of Paul and Apollos. Paul’s preaching of the Gospel was not with words of human wisdom, but with demonstrations of the Spirit’s power which illustrated the power of the cross. The Gospel calls us to die to our life of sin and self and be filled with the new life of the Spirit. When the Gospel is reduced to a baptism event, rather than a new life to live, its power is diminished. To those who have yet to surrender to Christ, the cross is foolish. To those who have died-to-self and daily followed Christ, the cross is a symbol of the ongoing power of God to defeat sin and death, filling us with resurrection life through the Spirit.

“Lord Jesus, you are my life; all I have is yours, for your glory.”