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Christ and Communication · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

0:00
So Christ in Communication, and if we were to subtitle the sermon, it would be Redeeming Eloquence for the Glory of God.
0:06
! So I want to pause right there to ask for your prayers, because what I'm essentially battling against all morning is speaking well for any purpose other than the glory of God.
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Which is tough when you're actually talking about speaking well. So if you'll join me in praying and continue praying for the grace to get through this and to do it well, I would appreciate that.
0:39
Let's petition the Father now together.
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God, you're a great God, an awesome, mighty God, sovereign over all things.
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Yet you've chosen to use your servants to accomplish your will. You've chosen human means to accomplish divine purposes.
1:01
Let it be so this morning that you move powerfully in each of us, through each of us.
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Use the words that I've prepared and the words that I speak to impact all of us in such a way that we might live more to the glory of God.
1:19
That we might experience the joy of loving and serving Christ more through this message.
1:26
What's the reading of your word?
1:30
What's this time that we might all be filled up?
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Not only challenged to change, to repent, but encouraged to fight the good fight.
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In your name, amen.
1:43
Okay, so I have...
1:45
I'm notoriously long-winded.
1:47
I know that, and I'm trying to work on that.
1:50
With that said, I've cut quite a bit of the sermon that I prepared, but you can get the full thing on my website.
2:00
We'll talk a little bit about using resources like the internet this morning.
2:05
But westshallnot.com sometime tomorrow.
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I'll have all my notes up there.
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So I'm going to talk as fast as I can without stumbling to try to get through what I feel like is really powerful truth.
2:19
The truth that I've had to really wrestle with this week.
2:23
So we're going to dig into it, and I'm going to really be moving fast.
2:27
So if you're keeping notes, I'm going to give you the four main bullet points up front.
2:32
And then you can fill the rest in as we go, or you can go online tomorrow.
2:36
So let's go ahead and work on a definition of eloquence, and then we'll look at the text.
2:42
For today, purposes of today, eloquence is going to be defined as a style of speaking or writing that is intrinsically pleasing.
2:51
Okay.
2:51
Style of speaking or writing that is intrinsically pleasing.
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Eloquence seeks a powerful verbal impact through an artistic, surprising, provocative, or aesthetically pleasing application of language.
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So if you're taking notes, here are the four points that I'm going to try to work out today.
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Basically, that there are right and wrong ways to use eloquence as Christians.
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The wrong ways are anti-oratory.
3:20
We're going to talk about what that means.
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And over-eloquence.
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Anti-oratory and over-eloquence.
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And the right ways are self-humiliation and Christ-exaltation.
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Self-humiliation and Christ-exaltation.
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Okay.
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Now, but before we talk about eloquence, we have to discuss the building blocks of eloquence, which are words.
3:41
And the Bible is slap full of commandments on words, and of course it's made up of words.
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The Bible has a lot to say about words, so we're just going to focus in on one part of Scripture as it relates to words,
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and that's the Gospel.
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So the Gospel as it relates to words, first, God has holy standards for how we are to speak and listen to words.
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If we were to look at Matthew 12, verses 36 through 37, Jesus says,
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I tell you, on the day of judgment, people will give an account for every careless word they speak.
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For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.
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Also, in Ephesians 4, 29, Paul says,
4:18
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up as fits the occasion,
4:23
that it may give grace to those who hear.
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Second, outside the completion of our sanctification,
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the Bible teaches that we won't fully live up to God's holy standard regarding the use of words.
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We see that in James 3, 8, where James writes,
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No human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
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Next, we see in Scripture that Jesus fulfilled what humanity failed to do.
4:50
His words were perfect words, without sin.
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By his substitutionary death, his words became ours.
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His punishment for our words, indeed his punishment for all of our failings,
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the punishment that we deserved, he took on himself.
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So we see in Hebrews 4, 15,
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Jesus is our great high priest who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
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And in 2 Corinthians 5, 21,
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For our sake he made him to be sin, who knew, knowed sin, that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
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The final point that I want to talk about regarding words and the gospel
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is that our day-by-day failure to use words properly, catch this,
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our day-by-day failure to use words properly comes from a functional rejection of Christ,
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the one true word.
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If we accept that God has given us words for his purpose,
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which I hope by the end of the day we will,
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then when we reject the purpose of words through the way that we use them,
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it proves that we have rejected the giver of the words as well.
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So I'm going to illustrate what I mean.
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Let's say that Nathan were to give me a Gibson J45, which is an acoustic guitar.
6:00
It's like the acoustic guitar.
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Elvis played it, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan.
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It's the rock and roll acoustic guitar.
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So let's say that Nathan gave me a mint condition, 1965 J45.
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And the next time he came over to my house,
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I showed him the J45 that I had cut a hole in and turned into a wall caulk.
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That would be not only the stupidest thing I've ever done,
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but it would prove two things.
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It would prove I didn't really care for the gift,
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and that I wasn't considerate at all of the giver.
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The same thing is certainly true of the way that we use words.
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If we view words as a gift from God,
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and then we misuse them,
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then we're not only proving that we don't care about the gift itself,
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but that we don't care about the giver or the intention of the giver.
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We have to accept that language and words are God's.
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He used them first.
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They were his idea.
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In fact, he created all that is through using words.
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And beyond that, he has a very specific purpose for words,
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which is not primarily to make our lives more comfortable and convenient.
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So any time that we use words,
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we're always borrowing from him.
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If we find that we habitually misuse his gift of language,
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we can know something about ourselves.
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Luke 6, 43-45.
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Jesus said,
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For no good tree bears bad fruit,
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nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit.
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For each tree is known by its own fruit.
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For figs are not gathered from thorn bushes,
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nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush.
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The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good.
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An evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil.
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For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
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So when our words get us into trouble,
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it's only ever secondarily because of our minds.
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What I mean by that is that our poor vocabulary or inferior diction
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or total disregard for proper grammar
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get us into trouble, but only secondarily.
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The trouble in communication is primarily a concern of the heart.
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Our words get us into trouble because our hearts crave anything but Christ.
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Paul David Tripp said,
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I am my greatest communication problem.
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The greatest difficulty, the greatest danger,
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and the everyday traps of communication that we fall into
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exist inside of me, not outside of me.
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He went on to paint a picture of two kingdoms,
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of my kingdom and God's kingdom,
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and pointed out that our words are tools.
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They're just tools that we use for communication.
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Those tools always serve the king of the kingdom.
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And if I'm the king of that kingdom,
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then it's a pretty small kingdom.
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It's just as small as my life,
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my mundane life.
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And in fact, those words die with the kingdom.
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But if God is the king,
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then the words serve an eternal kingdom,
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and they fulfill the purpose for which God's grace of words
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to us was given.
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So Dr. Tripp concluded,
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you know nothing about the kingdom of God
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unless you understand that it is a kingdom of love.
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When you are filled with the glory of that love,
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when your heart is taken up by the mystery of that love,
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when what daily fills your heart is deep in worshipful gratitude
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for the miracle of divine love,
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then your words begin to be words of love,
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words of service,
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words of grace,
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words of encouragement,
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words of peace,
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and words that heal.
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So if we find that our words are serving us and not Christ,
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if our words are hurting others and not helping,
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if they're tearing down instead of building up,
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if they're propelled by anything other than love,
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then we can be assured
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we need Jesus to repair not our tongues,
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not our speech,
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but our hearts.
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So if you find that that's the case with you,
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then pray to him now where you are.
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I'm yours, Lord.
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Save me.
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There is no greater joy than to be his,
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to be redeemed by his blood and secure forever.
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Remember, don't let such an opportunity pass by
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because we're not guaranteed another.
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Confess your sins to God.
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Turn from them.
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And believe that Christ has been crucified on your behalf,
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substituting the righteous for the unrighteous.
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He's now seated at the right hand of God the Father,
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interceding on behalf of his children.
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Make no mistake,
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one word meant for the harm of another person,
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one word meant to bring any attention to you
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rather than Jesus as an offense against the eternal God
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and is therefore deserving of eternal punishment.
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So before I talk about eloquence,
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start at the beginning.
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Words are a matter of the heart.
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Do not delay in turning
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from the disastrous course of rebellion
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to the delightful path of his grace.
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Words are a matter of the heart.
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God, I pray that that would be the case
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if anyone here stands apart from your grace,
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that you would regenerate their hearts,
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that you would give faith to them,
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that you would move in our congregation
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in a powerful way this morning
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because Christ is all and in all.
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God give light to the rest of the circle
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that those who do know you
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might be challenged to live more light.
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Words are a matter of the heart.
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Let's revisit our definition of eloquence
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because I do want to get into talking about that.
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Eloquence is a style of speaking or writing
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that is intrinsically pleasing.
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Eloquence seeks a powerful verbal impact
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through an artistic, surprising, provocative,
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or aesthetically pleasing application of language.
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Our text this morning is 1 Corinthians 1.
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You'll turn there.
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1 Corinthians 1.
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We're going to read verses 10 through 31,
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and then I'll refer to just a couple of the verses
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as well as give some background
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to what Paul was talking about.
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1 Corinthians 1, beginning in verse 10.
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I appeal to you, brothers,
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by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
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that all of you agree
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and that there be no divisions among you,
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but that you be united in the same mind
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and the same judgment.
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For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people
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that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.
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What I mean is that each one of you says,
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I follow Paul, or I follow Apollos,
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or I follow Cephas, or I follow Christ.
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Was Christ divided?
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Was Paul crucified for you?
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Or will you baptize in the name of Paul?
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I thank God that I baptized none of you
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except Crispus and Gaius,
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so that no one may say
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that you were baptized in my name.
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I did baptize also the household of Stephanas.
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Beyond that, I did not know
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whether I baptized anyone else.
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For Christ did not send me to baptize,
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but to preach the gospel,
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and not with words of eloquent wisdom,
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lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
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For the word of the cross
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is folly to those who are perishing,
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but to us who are being saved
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it is the power of God.
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For it is written,
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I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
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and the discernment of the discerning
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I will thwart.
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Where is the one who is wise?
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Where is the scribe?
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Where is the debater of this age?
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Has not God made foolish
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the wisdom of the world?
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For since in the wisdom of God
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the world did not know God through wisdom,
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it pleased God through the folly
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of what we preach to save those who believe.
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For Jews demand signs,
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and Greeks seek wisdom.
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But we preach Christ crucified,
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a stumbling block to Jews
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and folly to Gentiles.
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But to those who are called,
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both Jews and Greeks,
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Christ, the power of God,
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and the wisdom of God.
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For the foolishness of God
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is wiser than men,
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and the weakness of God
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is stronger than men.
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For consider your calling, brothers.
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Not many of you were wise
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according to the worldly standards.
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Not many were powerful.
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Not many were of noble birth.
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But God chose what is foolish in the world
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to shame the wise.
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God chose what is weak in the world
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to shame the strong.
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God chose what is low
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and despised in the world,
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even things that are not,
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to bring to nothing things that are,
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so that no human being might boast
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in the presence of God.
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He is the source of your life,
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Christ Jesus,
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whom God made our wisdom
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and our righteousness
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and sanctification
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and redemption.
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Therefore, as it is written,
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let the one who boasts
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boast in the world.
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So pay special attention
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to verse 17.
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Paul says,
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For Christ did not send me
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to baptize,
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but to preach the gospel,
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and not with words
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of eloquent wisdom,
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lest the cross of Christ
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be emptied of its power.
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So remember,
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we're talking about eloquence,
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and Paul here seems to be
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treating eloquence
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with a fair amount of negativity,
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and we're going to talk about
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whether or not there even is
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an appropriate way
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to use eloquence
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by our definition of it,
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but to begin with,
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let's talk about the wrong ways,
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anti-oratory over eloquence.
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I want to clarify a statement,
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and I hope you'll agree with me,
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that sin is by its very nature
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anti-social.
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Sin,
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in the case of eloquence,
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sin works itself out
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by alienating our hearers
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from our message.
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So if we're sinning
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in the way that we speak,
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we're alienating people
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from either ourselves
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or from the message,
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the truth.
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And it does that
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in primarily these two ways,
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anti-oratory being the first.
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John Piper said that eloquence
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can either be
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what he called high eloquence
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or low eloquence.
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What he meant was that
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our words can either be
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distractingly over people's heads
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or they can be distractingly
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dressed down and messy
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and profane.
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Ephesians 4.29 says,
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let no corrupting talk
15:49
come out of your mouths,
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but only such as is good
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for building up
15:53
as fits the occasion,
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that it may give grace
15:56
to those who hear.
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So anti-oratory
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is an application
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of these types of words
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or word styles,
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which is aimed at harming
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either the message
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or the hearer,
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in many cases the reader.
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While dulling the clarity
16:11
of the idea conveyed
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either by intentional
16:14
misuse of language
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or by habitual neglect
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of one of God's
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greatest physical gifts,
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brains,
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anti-oratory portrays
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the speaker as crude
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and careless.
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The scope of this way
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of communicating,
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this very base way
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of communicating,
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spans from grammar
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and vocabulary
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all the way to posture.
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Being that we're
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in the deep south,
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I'm going to just guess
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that I don't have
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to belabor this point
16:40
because I'm sure
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that most of you
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at some point
16:42
heard your mom say,
16:43
watch your mouth.
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And you know
16:45
what I'm talking about
16:46
when I say
16:46
distractingly dressed down,
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messy,
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full-bane,
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this language.
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But,
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because a lot of us
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are probably
16:55
in our minds
16:57
kind of replaying
16:58
worn-out recordings
16:58
of some southern preacher
16:59
rattling off a list
17:01
of mortal sins
17:02
that include
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drinking,
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smoking,
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cussing,
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hanging out
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with people who do.
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Let me take
17:07
just a moment
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to kind of clarify
17:09
something about that.
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And it is an aside,
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but I hope we'll see
17:13
the value in it.
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All language
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is necessarily
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socially defined.
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That's to say
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that words are
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culturally generated
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symbols
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that convey ideas.
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Just like different
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cultures use
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different words
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to describe the same ideas,
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such as Spanish-speaking
17:30
and English-speaking people
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describe the same ideas
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with different words.
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Different cultures
17:35
also use the same words
17:37
to describe different ideas.
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And profanity
17:41
is not the only example,
17:42
but it is an example.
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I work with a lot
17:45
of international students
17:46
at Truett,
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and let me just tell you
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that if I wasn't aware
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of the fluidity,
17:53
cultural fluidity,
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of the meaning of words,
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I could have definitely
17:56
gotten my feathers
17:57
rough a couple of times
17:58
because people in Europe
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use language differently
18:00
than we do.
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They regularly use some words
18:03
in their homes,
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which when I was growing up,
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if I had pronounced
18:07
some of the words
18:08
that I've heard them
18:08
use on the phone
18:09
with their parents
18:10
in the room,
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I would have had
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a bar of soap
18:12
in my mouth
18:13
for four hours.
18:13
And I would have been
18:14
standing up
18:14
because I would have been
18:16
too sore to sit down.
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But they can use
18:19
that kind of language
18:20
because culturally speaking,
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it's more acceptable.
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it has a different meaning
18:26
or a different emotion
18:27
when they say it
18:31
because they're
18:31
in a different culture.
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Just because a person
18:33
speaks English,
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that doesn't mean
18:34
that their words
18:35
mean the same thing
18:36
as yours or mine,
18:37
vice versa.
18:38
There's no such thing
18:39
as a universally
18:40
defined cuss word.
18:42
That's a gray area
18:43
in our speech
18:44
that permits us
18:45
to use words
18:45
to best communicate
18:47
our ideas
18:48
to our intended audience.
18:49
Now here's the word
18:50
of caution.
18:51
While some words
18:53
that are considered
18:53
bad words
18:55
are really just
18:55
generally impolite words,
18:57
there are some words
18:59
which in our culture
19:00
are intended
19:01
only to hurt,
19:02
not to build up.
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There are condemning,
19:05
judgmental,
19:05
ungodly words
19:06
as well as
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graphically sexual words
19:09
that bring to mind
19:10
terrible ideas
19:11
and there is no place
19:12
for words like that
19:13
in the Christian dialogue
19:14
at all.
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I'm not going to
19:16
make a list.
19:16
I think we can
19:18
piece those together.
19:19
But I don't want you
19:21
to miss the point
19:22
that the biblical principle
19:23
of Ephesians 4.29
19:25
is that wholesome communication
19:27
must not be reduced
19:28
to a certain set of words.
19:31
The biblical standard
19:32
is the intention
19:33
of the heart.
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It's much higher
19:34
than a list of
19:35
you can't say these things,
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you can't say these things.
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Just like the biblical
19:39
calling on Christians
19:39
is much higher
19:40
than you can't do
19:41
these things,
19:42
you must do these things.
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There's a lot of liberty
19:44
to please God
19:45
with the way
19:46
that we speak.
19:47
Furthermore,
19:51
our calling as Christians
19:52
goes way beyond
19:53
what is culturally acceptable.
19:55
So just because
19:55
some words,
19:56
culturally speaking,
19:57
may not be inerrantly wrong,
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our calling as Christians
20:00
goes beyond
20:01
what is culturally acceptable
20:03
and love
20:03
always willingly sacrifices
20:06
our own rights,
20:08
even our rights
20:08
to vocabulary,
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in order that we might
20:12
give grace to others.
20:13
And that's the point
20:13
of that text in Ephesians.
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So if you use,
20:17
if you can use any word
20:18
in a way that
20:19
gives grace to your audience,
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then do it.
20:22
But if not,
20:23
don't.
20:24
Okay?
20:25
So let's look at
20:26
over-eloquence.
20:28
And this, I think,
20:29
for most of us,
20:29
because of where we've grown up,
20:31
I think this is a
20:32
greater temptation.
20:34
This certainly is
20:35
a temptation for me.
20:38
I think that
20:39
this is a great temptation
20:41
among anyone
20:42
who can speak well.
20:45
And the temptation
20:46
is to use that gift
20:47
in such a way
20:48
as to elevate themselves.
20:51
This was the case
20:52
for a certain group
20:53
of people
20:53
whom Paul was addressing
20:55
in our text.
20:55
So if you look back
20:57
at 1 Corinthians 1,
20:59
verse 17,
21:00
he's actually talking
21:01
about a group of people
21:01
called the Sophists.
21:03
That's where we get
21:04
our word sophisticated from.
21:06
The Sophists used
21:07
eloquent language,
21:10
style of speaking,
21:11
as a goal in itself,
21:14
an intrinsic end.
21:15
And I get that phrase,
21:16
intrinsic end,
21:16
from Dennis Donahue.
21:17
He wrote a book called
21:18
On Eloquence.
21:19
And he defined eloquence
21:21
very similar to the way
21:22
the Sophists would have.
21:23
He said,
21:23
eloquence is a style
21:24
of speaking or writing
21:25
that is intrinsically pleasing
21:27
without any reference
21:29
to other aims.
21:30
So he made a distinction
21:31
between rhetoric,
21:33
logic,
21:33
which had a goal in mind,
21:36
a place that the audience
21:37
needed to get to.
21:38
He made a distinction
21:39
between that
21:39
and eloquence
21:40
just being beautiful language
21:42
for the sake of beauty.
21:43
Like a lot of art
21:44
is just pretty
21:45
to be pretty.
21:47
And the Sophists
21:47
really focused on
21:48
using form of speaking
21:50
and form of writing
21:51
just to be beautiful.
21:53
Now we've already charged
21:54
that Christians' speech
21:56
is to be propelled
21:57
by love of God
21:59
and love for others.
22:00
Since love was defined
22:01
for us,
22:02
primarily in the act
22:03
of the crucifixion
22:04
of Jesus,
22:05
we know that our words
22:06
will always be a misuse
22:08
if they don't come
22:10
from a desire
22:11
to see God magnified
22:12
and others served.
22:14
That's what Christ
22:15
was doing on the cross
22:16
and if we're to love people
22:18
with our words,
22:19
then that's what we must do
22:19
with our words.
22:20
It doesn't matter
22:21
how much they deserve
22:23
our love.
22:24
It doesn't matter
22:24
how much they might be able
22:26
to reciprocate our love.
22:28
That's the calling
22:28
that we have
22:29
and that's the way
22:29
that our words
22:30
need to work themselves
22:31
out in love.
22:32
But 2 Corinthians 5.15
22:34
teaches us that sin
22:36
causes us to live
22:37
for ourselves
22:38
instead of for others.
22:40
But Christ died
22:42
to free us
22:43
from living for ourselves
22:44
and that is central,
22:46
central not only
22:47
to the way that we speak
22:49
but the way that we live
22:50
as Christians.
22:51
We live for ourselves.
22:52
We need to understand
22:52
that we're living in slavery
22:53
and that Christ has already
22:55
died to set us free
22:56
from that.
22:57
So back in our text,
22:58
the Corinthians
22:59
had bought into this
23:00
sophist idea
23:02
that eloquence
23:03
was an end in itself.
23:05
And so what we find
23:06
them doing
23:07
is that they were
23:08
aligning themselves
23:09
within the church
23:10
with their favorite
23:11
preachers.
23:12
And this never happens
23:14
in America
23:15
so it's not that relevant.
23:18
Totally kidding.
23:20
Look at verses 10 and 12,
23:22
10 through 12.
23:23
Paul says,
23:24
I appeal to you brothers
23:24
by the name of our Lord
23:25
Jesus Christ
23:26
that all of you agree
23:28
and that there be
23:28
no divisions among you.
23:30
that you be united
23:31
in the same mind
23:32
and the same judgment
23:33
for it has been reported
23:34
to me by Chloe's people
23:35
that there is quarreling
23:36
among you my brothers.
23:37
What I mean is that
23:38
each one of you says
23:39
I follow Paul
23:40
or I follow Apollos
23:41
or I follow Cephas
23:42
or I follow Christ.
23:44
So two things
23:45
to note here.
23:46
One is that
23:47
Paul's opponents
23:48
had openly mocked him
23:49
for a lack of eloquence.
23:51
Which when you read Paul
23:52
today I'm like
23:53
are you kidding me?
23:54
He's a really eloquence writer.
23:55
But by the standard
23:56
of his day
23:56
he really wasn't.
23:57
And we see that
23:58
in 2 Corinthians 10.10
24:00
if you're taking notes.
24:02
Acts 18.24
24:03
tells us that
24:04
Apollos
24:04
was a very eloquent speaker.
24:07
He was from Alexandria
24:08
which is where
24:09
Philo had worked.
24:10
And Philo was kind of
24:11
like the front runner
24:12
of the Sophist movement.
24:14
So history tells us
24:15
that there was
24:16
a strong infiltration
24:17
of Sophists
24:18
in the education system
24:20
of Alexandria.
24:21
And Apollos
24:21
no doubt
24:22
being from Alexandria
24:23
being noted
24:25
as a well speaker.
24:26
He spoke like a Sophist.
24:27
He was slick-tongued.
24:29
Very enjoyable
24:30
to listen to.
24:31
To clarify
24:32
that doesn't mean
24:33
that he was
24:33
a false teacher.
24:34
Just that he was good.
24:35
He was a clever wordsmith.
24:37
And people were
24:38
gravitating towards him
24:40
because of the way
24:41
that he spoke
24:41
rather than because
24:43
of what he said.
24:44
They were doing
24:45
the same thing
24:45
with Paul
24:46
and with Cephas
24:47
and Paul just said
24:47
that's enough.
24:48
We're not putting up
24:49
with that.
24:50
Paul rebuked them
24:51
for caring more
24:52
about the way
24:53
that the gospel
24:53
was presented
24:54
than about the gospel
24:55
itself.
24:57
The trap
24:57
that these Sophists
24:58
had fallen into
24:59
and that these
25:00
Corinthian believers
25:01
had fallen into
25:02
was that they were
25:03
seeking their own glory
25:05
or the glory
25:07
of a person
25:08
as their achievement.
25:10
Their message
25:11
wasn't
25:12
Emmanuel
25:12
God with us.
25:14
Their message
25:14
was me.
25:15
Not me with you.
25:16
Me over you.
25:18
Me better than you.
25:19
Smarter than you.
25:20
And unreachable by you.
25:22
John Piper said
25:23
pride-sustaining,
25:24
self-exalting
25:25
use of words
25:26
for a show
25:26
of human wisdom
25:27
is incompatible
25:28
with finding your life
25:30
and your glory
25:30
in the cross of Christ.
25:33
So what Paul did
25:34
was he didn't try
25:35
to dress up the gospel
25:36
to make it easier
25:37
to understand
25:38
or easier to swallow.
25:39
He spoke plainly
25:41
about Christ
25:41
crucified.
25:43
He expected
25:43
the Holy Spirit
25:44
to do the work
25:45
of conviction,
25:46
of regeneration,
25:46
and of sanctification.
25:48
He fully understood
25:49
that his words
25:49
were only a conduit
25:52
of God's grace.
25:53
And that there was
25:54
no point in him
25:55
trying to persuade people
25:56
or to trick people
25:57
into believing
25:59
because ultimately
26:00
it's the Spirit
26:01
that does that.
26:02
Derek Webb said
26:03
it's not like
26:04
I'm some kind of
26:05
Holy Ghost
26:05
come to change
26:06
people's hearts.
26:08
And that's really
26:09
what Paul's getting
26:09
at here.
26:10
He said,
26:10
I'm not going to
26:11
play your games.
26:11
I'm not going to
26:12
try to dance around
26:13
some of the harder
26:14
issues of the gospel.
26:14
I'm just going to tell it to you.
26:16
And then God will work.
26:17
And the snare
26:18
of over-eloquence
26:20
has its roots
26:22
in a deep sin.
26:25
It's the same sin
26:26
as ethnocentrism,
26:28
which is just
26:28
the common human problem
26:30
of refusing to empathize
26:31
with other people groups.
26:33
Assuming that our way
26:34
is the best way,
26:34
our culture
26:35
is the best culture,
26:36
everybody else
26:37
just learned to be like me
26:38
and they'll be better.
26:40
It's the sin
26:40
that led to the Holocaust.
26:42
It led to America's
26:43
aberrant brand of slavery
26:44
and it leads to
26:45
modern-day racism
26:46
and hate crimes
26:47
every day.
26:48
It's the sin
26:49
of selfishness
26:50
and self-worship.
26:53
I struggle with this
26:54
a lot.
26:55
I hate it.
26:56
This study,
26:57
in fact,
26:57
has made me
26:58
more aware
26:59
of my problem.
27:00
Even in writing
27:02
these words,
27:02
I was aware
27:03
that I want
27:04
to lift myself up.
27:06
I want you to see me
27:06
as intelligent
27:07
rather than see
27:08
Christ as magnificent.
27:12
I believe it's one
27:13
of the most
27:13
pervasive sins
27:15
for me
27:15
and for us
27:16
because it's
27:18
infected us
27:18
on a more core level
27:20
down into the fiber.
27:22
We actually believe
27:23
we're better than others
27:24
at something
27:24
and so we act
27:25
and speak
27:26
so as to try
27:27
to persuade others
27:28
to believe it too.
27:29
It's the darkest
27:30
of lies
27:32
and if we're
27:34
to give grace
27:35
with our words
27:35
then we have to
27:36
cut the head
27:36
off of that serpent.
27:37
The serpent lives
27:38
in our hearts.
27:39
It's not something
27:40
outside of us
27:40
as we've said before.
27:41
Remember that
27:42
communication problems
27:43
are heart problems
27:44
and I'm telling you
27:45
that my heart problem
27:47
when it comes to
27:48
communication
27:48
is selfishness
27:49
and pride.
27:51
I hate the number
27:52
of times I had
27:53
to plead for forgiveness
27:54
and plead for grace
27:56
in writing the sermon
27:57
because I was
27:58
choosing words
27:59
that were the best
28:00
words for the idea
28:01
rather than the best
28:02
words for you
28:03
to understand the idea.
28:05
I was thinking
28:06
about myself
28:07
rather than you.
28:09
The sin of
28:09
self-worship
28:11
worked out
28:11
and over eloquence
28:12
had us
28:13
teach English
28:14
to whole tribes
28:15
of Native Americans
28:16
give them Christian names
28:17
and rob them
28:19
of their cultural identity
28:20
in the name
28:21
of evangelizing
28:22
the people group
28:22
rather than
28:23
becoming all things
28:24
to all people
28:24
learning their culture
28:25
and their language
28:26
and preaching the gospel
28:27
to them
28:28
in their words.
28:28
the
28:29
story
28:33
some
28:34
of
28:34
some
28:58
The problem is self-worship.
29:02
It tells us that we're better than others.
29:04
It tells them that if they want to be right, then they have to be like us.
29:12
And ultimately, it elevates the way that I present my message
29:17
over how important it is that you hear the message.
29:22
It shouldn't matter to me as much as it does that Christians use proper grammar all the time
29:31
in their online posts.
29:34
It shouldn't matter that we disregard classical grammar rules.
29:40
I mean, so what if the rule of the official language demands a comma?
29:45
If people don't understand my eloquence, then I may as well be speaking to them in another language.
29:50
I may as well be speaking to them in a language that nobody knows but me.
29:54
Their ignorance of the gospel is infinitely more a hazard
29:58
than their ignorance of how to use the thesaurus.
30:01
In North Georgia, this means that most of us need to familiarize ourselves with Spanish
30:06
so that we can speak words of grace to our neighbors
30:08
rather than allow our laziness to all but ensure their eternal definition.
30:14
It means that some of you who have gifted minds for understanding language
30:18
should take courses to become experts in exotic languages
30:21
that don't yet have a translation of the Bible
30:23
in order that God's lost sheep in other parts of the world
30:26
might hear and read the gospel of Jesus Christ
30:29
in words that resonate with them.
30:32
It means that others of us, most of us,
30:36
learn the language of our day,
30:38
the way that people best connect with it,
30:40
and in the method that they best connect with
30:42
in order to cross the cultural barriers of age and technology
30:45
and inject truth and love and grace into their lives.
30:50
Did you guys know that Ruth Cantrell has an email address?
30:54
She, I don't mean to throw you under the bus,
30:56
Ruth is the oldest person, oldest woman in our congregation,
31:00
and she's an email theme.
31:01
I mean, she will light you up with some emails.
31:03
But if Ruth can use the internet to encourage the members of the church,
31:11
then you can learn to use Facebook for the glory of God.
31:15
And not just to build imaginary kingdoms
31:18
or to gather and disseminate the latest gossip,
31:22
but to actually glorify God.
31:25
I know, I fully will confess to you
31:28
that I'm not the best example of redeeming the internet
31:33
and what that looks like.
31:34
Not by any stretch.
31:35
I've put my digital foot in my proverbial mouth
31:38
countless times
31:39
after tweeting or blogging something.
31:43
And it doesn't matter how truthful the words were.
31:46
I've said things online
31:47
that have hurt my brothers and my sisters.
31:51
I'm trying to do better about that.
31:53
I'm trying to use the tools of our day
31:55
to communicate words of grace
31:59
to people in their language
32:01
and by their cultural means.
32:04
And you should too.
32:06
A refusal to meet people where they are
32:08
is absolute selfishness.
32:10
It's the opposite of love.
32:11
It's blatant sinfulness.
32:13
And it's not at all following the model of Christ.
32:17
So we should avoid, at all cost,
32:21
eloquence that is base,
32:24
is lower eloquence.
32:27
But we should also avoid eloquence
32:28
that's high eloquence.
32:29
We should not try to speak underneath people
32:32
or over their heads.
32:34
And two ways to judge our use of eloquence,
32:38
whether it be good eloquence or not,
32:42
are self-humiliation and Christ exaltation.
32:45
And we're wrapping this up.
32:46
I know we all have physical limitations
32:49
and attention is one of them,
32:51
so bear with you.
32:54
But self-humiliation is the first.
32:56
And we see that in our text,
32:57
1 Corinthians 1, 26-29.
33:01
It says,
33:01
So God's design in the cross and in election
33:26
is that no human being might boast
33:29
in the presence of God.
33:30
So two questions you can ask yourself
33:32
to consider
33:32
if your eloquence is self-humiliating
33:36
the way that it should.
33:38
These questions are,
33:39
Do my words feed boasting?
33:40
If the answer is yes,
33:43
then don't use those.
33:45
And do they come from an ego
33:47
in search of exaltation
33:49
through clever speech?
33:51
If the answer is yes,
33:52
then don't use those words.
33:55
The positive is Christ's exaltation.
33:58
We see that in the final verses of our text,
34:00
verses 30 and 31.
34:02
And because of him,
34:03
you are in Christ Jesus,
34:05
who became to us wisdom from God,
34:07
righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
34:09
so that as it is written,
34:11
let the one who boasts
34:12
boast in the Lord.
34:14
So God's design in the cross
34:15
and election and in regeneration
34:17
is that all boasting be in him.
34:20
The question that we can ask ourselves is,
34:22
Do my words exalt Christ,
34:24
especially him crucified on my behalf?
34:27
And if the answer is yes,
34:29
then that's a proper form of eloquence.
34:31
We can use eloquence in a way
34:35
that glorifies God.
34:37
It shouldn't altogether be avoided
34:39
as long as it meets those criteria.
34:42
In fact, the Bible is full of eloquence.
34:45
I want to read one passage to you
34:47
from Deuteronomy
34:48
that's absolutely beautiful.
34:49
Give ear, O heavens,
34:53
and I will speak
34:53
and let the earth hear
34:54
the words of my mouth.
34:56
May my teaching drop as the rain,
34:57
my speech distill as the dew.
34:59
Let gentle rain upon the tender grass
35:01
and like showers upon the earth.
35:04
For I will proclaim
35:04
the name of the Lord.
35:06
Ascribe greatness to our God.
35:09
Eloquently,
35:09
the scripture.
35:11
In fact,
35:11
Proverbs 15, 23, 25, 11,
35:14
and 26, 7,
35:15
as well as Colossians 3, 17,
35:16
actually encourage
35:18
and command us
35:19
to speak well,
35:20
to give thought
35:21
to the timing,
35:22
appropriateness,
35:22
and potential impact
35:24
of our words,
35:24
and to make every one of them
35:26
an honor
35:27
to the name of Christ.
35:29
So we have to accept
35:30
if we're going to be
35:31
true to scripture
35:31
that God is absolutely
35:33
sovereign over all things
35:35
and yet
35:36
He chooses
35:37
to use human means
35:38
to accomplish His will,
35:39
just as I prayed earlier.
35:41
Now, He certainly doesn't
35:42
need our eloquence.
35:44
That's what I'm getting at.
35:45
But,
35:45
He can and does
35:47
use it
35:48
to accomplish His ends.
35:49
If we use eloquence properly,
35:51
we can hope for at least
35:52
five positive,
35:54
God-glorifying outcomes.
35:55
I know some of you are going,
35:56
I'm kind of hungry
35:57
for five good points,
35:58
but I promise
35:59
these will be
35:59
brief and easy to swallow.
36:02
If we use eloquence properly,
36:04
we can hope at least
36:06
for five positive,
36:07
God-glorifying outcomes,
36:08
knowing full well
36:09
that it is the Holy Spirit
36:10
who convicts
36:11
and regenerates
36:12
and sanctifies,
36:13
and that He may
36:14
at any time
36:15
and in spite of our
36:16
eloquence or lack thereof,
36:17
intersect our dialogue
36:18
and work in the life
36:19
of our audience.
36:21
And when I say audience,
36:21
I don't necessarily mean
36:23
this kind of audience.
36:23
An audience can be
36:24
one-on-one.
36:25
Okay.
36:26
So, five potential
36:28
positive outcomes
36:29
of Christian eloquence.
36:30
I'm borrowing these
36:31
from a book called
36:33
The Power of Words
36:34
and the Wonder of God
36:35
by John Piper
36:36
and Justin Taylor.
36:38
If you're,
36:39
the word you need
36:39
like me,
36:40
you'll really enjoy that book.
36:43
But those five
36:44
positive outcomes
36:45
are keeping interest,
36:47
gaining sympathy,
36:49
awakening sensitivity,
36:51
speaking memorably,
36:52
and increasing power.
36:55
I'm going to run
36:55
through those
36:55
just in brief.
36:57
The first is
36:58
keeping interest.
36:59
And in Matthew 26,
37:01
near the end of that chapter,
37:02
Jesus is taking
37:02
the disciples up
37:03
to the Garden of Gethsemane
37:05
to pray,
37:06
and they all fall asleep.
37:07
And He says to them,
37:10
the Spirit is willing,
37:11
but the flesh is weak.
37:12
He highlights
37:13
that we all have
37:14
a physical weakness.
37:15
The implication is,
37:16
I know you guys
37:17
wanted to pray with me.
37:19
Maybe if you got
37:19
more rest earlier,
37:20
you could have stayed
37:21
awake and done.
37:23
We, in our speaking,
37:24
need to help
37:25
people's physical weakness.
37:27
If the word
37:29
is a spring of life,
37:31
then eloquence
37:32
is a well-paved,
37:33
beautifully adorned road
37:34
through the spring's garden
37:35
that not only leads
37:36
to the water,
37:37
but beckons travelers
37:38
to drink.
37:39
Do you see that?
37:40
My presentation
37:41
of truth
37:43
has no bearing
37:43
on the reality
37:44
of that truth.
37:46
But whether you hear it
37:47
is in very large part
37:48
a factor
37:48
of how well
37:50
I present it.
37:53
Eloquence may
37:54
keep people awake
37:56
or focused
37:57
because they find it
37:58
interesting or unusual
38:00
or pleasing
38:01
for reasons
38:01
that they
38:02
can't articulate.
38:05
Sleeping people
38:05
or distracted people
38:06
don't hear the word.
38:08
And faith comes
38:09
by hearing
38:09
and hearing the word.
38:11
Therefore,
38:11
eloquence
38:12
is like a good night's sleep.
38:15
It won't save your soul,
38:16
but it might keep you awake
38:17
to hear the word
38:18
which can.
38:20
So the second possible outcome
38:22
is gaining sympathy.
38:23
Nathan talked about this
38:24
a little bit last week.
38:26
A writer and blogger
38:27
named John Acuff
38:29
describes people
38:31
as having a rock
38:32
in their hand
38:32
and that rock
38:33
is made up of
38:33
all of their cultural
38:35
and experiential baggage.
38:37
It's a rock
38:37
that they intend
38:38
to clobber us with.
38:39
The moment
38:39
that we begin to act
38:40
like they expect us
38:42
to act
38:42
is the fact of
38:43
whatever stereotype
38:44
that rock represents.
38:45
Well, if that's true,
38:47
then eloquent language
38:48
can take the rock
38:50
out of their hand.
38:50
It can disarm them.
38:52
Eloquent language
38:53
isn't always
38:54
speaking in a high way.
38:56
It's communicating
38:57
people's common language
38:59
and doing it well.
39:01
So when we begin
39:01
to connect with people
39:03
on a verbal level,
39:04
it disarms them.
39:05
It replaces
39:06
their anger
39:08
or boredom
39:09
or resentment
39:09
with respect
39:11
and attraction
39:11
and interest
39:12
concentration.
39:14
So,
39:15
possible and
39:16
positive outcome
39:17
of eloquence
39:17
is gaining sympathy.
39:19
The third thing
39:20
is awakening
39:20
sensitivity.
39:22
Eloquence may not
39:23
bring about regeneration.
39:25
Certainly it doesn't.
39:26
But as a means
39:27
to that end,
39:28
it may awaken
39:29
the emotional
39:30
and intellectual
39:32
sensitivities
39:32
for more serious
39:34
and beautiful things.
39:36
That's why we see
39:37
David writing in
39:37
Psalm 19.
39:39
He says,
39:40
The heavens declare
39:40
the glory of God.
39:41
And then a little bit
39:42
later he says,
39:43
In them he is set
39:44
a tent for the sun,
39:46
which comes out
39:46
like a bridegroom
39:47
leaving his chamber
39:48
and like a strong man
39:49
runs its course
39:50
with joy.
39:51
So why would he
39:52
compare the rising sun
39:53
to a bridegroom
39:54
and a runner?
39:55
To help the dull mind
39:56
awaken to the joyful
39:58
beauty of the rising sun.
40:00
In the hopes
40:01
that this natural
40:02
kind of awakening
40:03
might lead to
40:04
a spiritual sight
40:05
that nature is all
40:07
about the glory of God.
40:08
So speaking beautifully
40:09
can awaken people's
40:12
awareness of beauty
40:13
in order that they
40:13
might see God
40:15
who is ultimate.
40:18
Fourth is speaking
40:19
memorably.
40:21
Certain kinds of eloquence
40:22
like cadence
40:23
or parallelism,
40:25
meter, rhyme,
40:26
alliteration,
40:27
even brevity,
40:28
which I haven't
40:29
displayed a lot of today,
40:32
may not only
40:33
interest and awaken
40:34
the heart,
40:35
but increase the impact
40:36
of the message
40:38
by making what is said
40:39
memorable.
40:42
Finally,
40:43
we can hope
40:44
that our eloquence
40:45
increases the power
40:46
of our message.
40:48
John Piper said,
40:49
the attempt to craft
40:50
striking and beautiful
40:51
language makes it
40:52
possible that the
40:53
beauty of eloquence
40:53
can join with the
40:55
beauty of truth
40:55
and increase the power
40:57
of your words.
40:58
When we take care
40:59
to create a beautiful
41:00
way of speaking
41:00
or writing about
41:02
something beautiful,
41:03
the eloquence,
41:04
the beauty of form,
41:05
reflects and honors
41:06
the beauty of the
41:07
subject,
41:08
and so honors the truth.
41:09
So there's a synergistic
41:10
power of two things
41:11
working together
41:12
to accomplish a greater
41:13
good in combining
41:15
beautiful presentation
41:16
with beautiful truth.
41:18
And that's why fajitas
41:19
taste so good.
41:21
You guys didn't?
41:22
There's an example
41:23
of eloquence.
41:24
You didn't expect that,
41:25
did you?
41:26
Fajitas do taste good,
41:28
though,
41:28
and the reason
41:29
is that because
41:30
before we ever get
41:31
to taste it,
41:32
all of our senses
41:32
are telling us
41:33
this food is going
41:34
to be good.
41:35
And we hear it
41:36
come out of the kitchen.
41:38
We smell it,
41:38
it's bright,
41:39
and it's exciting
41:40
to look at.
41:41
And when it gets
41:41
to the table,
41:42
the waiter drops
41:43
a shot of tequila
41:44
and lights it on fire.
41:45
I mean,
41:45
what's more exciting
41:46
than your food
41:47
being literally
41:47
on fire in front of you?
41:50
We've become
41:51
so engrossed
41:53
in the experience
41:54
of being served
41:55
the food
41:56
that we're able
41:57
to most fully
41:58
appreciate its flavor
41:59
because our attention
42:00
has already been drawn
42:01
to the excellence
42:02
of the food
42:03
before we taste it.
42:05
People who can't yet
42:06
see the beauty
42:07
of Christ
42:08
should receive
42:09
in our language
42:10
both a witness
42:10
to his beauty
42:11
and an invitation
42:13
to behold it
42:13
with us.
42:15
They should,
42:15
in effect,
42:15
hear us say,
42:17
the beauty of my words
42:17
is a shadow.
42:19
Christ,
42:20
who created
42:20
and sustains
42:21
and thankfully,
42:23
mercifully,
42:24
accepts imperfect beauty
42:25
as the substance.
42:27
Turn to him.
42:28
Go to him.
42:28
And that's the calling
42:30
for each of us
42:31
as we fix our attention
42:32
once again
42:33
on Christ,
42:34
crucified on our behalf,
42:36
becoming sin
42:36
that we might become
42:37
the righteousness
42:38
of God in him.
42:39
As we prepare
42:41
to take the Lord's Supper,
42:43
turn to Christ,
42:44
look to Christ,
42:46
just as our words
42:48
are symbols
42:49
that convey meaning,
42:50
the elements
42:51
of the Lord's Supper
42:51
are elements
42:52
that convey meaning.
42:55
They're symbols.
42:57
The bread represents
42:58
his body
42:58
that was broken
42:59
for us.
42:59
The juice represents
43:01
his blood
43:01
that was spilled.
43:03
So,
43:03
as we consider
43:04
the extreme offense
43:07
of the cross,
43:07
but also the beauty
43:09
of what was happening,
43:11
I would plead with you
43:13
to turn to Christ.
43:16
Go to him.
43:17
Pray with me.