There was a cartoonist in the early 1900’s named Rube Goldberg. He was known for drawing extremely complicated contraptions which performed very simple everyday tasks. I wonder if we haven’t done that to some degree or another with our faith.
Paul says that when he came to Corinth and preached the Good News it wasn’t complicated. There weren’t big complicated arguments or proofs. He says, “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”
Simple.
The thing that is so brilliant of about this is where it focuses – strictly on what God has done. It’s not about us, what we know, how eloquent we are or how well we can argue. Our faith is about Jesus and what he did for us.
It’s interesting though that when we are pressed by tough questions or criticism from the world it seems that instead of resting in our message, we want to run all over the place to respond to them. We come up with books of “proofs” that Jesus lived and died, “proofs” that God exists, or “proofs” of other events from the Bible. Then we want to pull out complicated answers that make us sound smarter than our “opponents.” All of a sudden, you almost have to have a Ph.D. in classical era archaeology to be able to share your faith! No wonder so many people cringe when they hear the word “evangelism.”
Perhaps the best answer is the simplest. Trusting in Jesus, we can live our lives and tell others what Jesus has done for us. What is the value of Jesus’ death and resurrection for you? Where has Jesus’ forgiveness impacted you? Why does his salvation matter to you?
Please don’t here what I’m not saying. I’m not saying that people who dig into history, archaeology, and literature to form complicated arguments are wrong to do so. I do this myself sometimes. But you can’t prove faith. We can show that what we believe is rational to a degree. (I mean, our hope hinges on the resurrection, a rather un-rational idea.) We can show that we have a good understanding of history, and that the historical record can support what we believe. We can also show that our belief in creation, flood, etc. can be supported in scientific evidence. But at the end of the day do these prove our faith? No.
There is plenty of wisdom and depth to our faith. There are deep mysteries. The Spirit of God reveals these things to us sometimes. But the deepest mystery, the most profound wisdom is a simple belief: The Lord of glory became a human being to bear our sin and be crucified.
There are things in life that are complicated. The foundation of our faith is not intended to be one of them.
Paul says that when he came to Corinth and preached the Good News it wasn’t complicated. There weren’t big complicated arguments or proofs. He says, “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”
Simple.
The thing that is so brilliant of about this is where it focuses – strictly on what God has done. It’s not about us, what we know, how eloquent we are or how well we can argue. Our faith is about Jesus and what he did for us.
It’s interesting though that when we are pressed by tough questions or criticism from the world it seems that instead of resting in our message, we want to run all over the place to respond to them. We come up with books of “proofs” that Jesus lived and died, “proofs” that God exists, or “proofs” of other events from the Bible. Then we want to pull out complicated answers that make us sound smarter than our “opponents.” All of a sudden, you almost have to have a Ph.D. in classical era archaeology to be able to share your faith! No wonder so many people cringe when they hear the word “evangelism.”
Perhaps the best answer is the simplest. Trusting in Jesus, we can live our lives and tell others what Jesus has done for us. What is the value of Jesus’ death and resurrection for you? Where has Jesus’ forgiveness impacted you? Why does his salvation matter to you?
Please don’t here what I’m not saying. I’m not saying that people who dig into history, archaeology, and literature to form complicated arguments are wrong to do so. I do this myself sometimes. But you can’t prove faith. We can show that what we believe is rational to a degree. (I mean, our hope hinges on the resurrection, a rather un-rational idea.) We can show that we have a good understanding of history, and that the historical record can support what we believe. We can also show that our belief in creation, flood, etc. can be supported in scientific evidence. But at the end of the day do these prove our faith? No.
There is plenty of wisdom and depth to our faith. There are deep mysteries. The Spirit of God reveals these things to us sometimes. But the deepest mystery, the most profound wisdom is a simple belief: The Lord of glory became a human being to bear our sin and be crucified.
There are things in life that are complicated. The foundation of our faith is not intended to be one of them.
Comments