When Christians Misunderstand the Message of the Gospel, Part 3...

Yesterday, I wrote about how a man named Paul revealed for us how the message of the gospel is able to overcome the opposition of religious and irreligious people through the wisdom and power of God. But while the message of the gospel is able to overcome the opposition of religious and irreligious people, as Christians we can act unchristian by minimizing the message of the gospel's ability to overcome the opposition of religious or irreligious people.

And to prove his point, Paul in his letter delivered an argument that also reveals a third result that occurs when Christians misunderstand the message of the gospel. And that third result is that misunderstanding the message of the gospel results in pride. We see this result revealed for us in 1 Corinthians 1:26-31:

For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, "LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD."

The point that Paul is making in these verses is that God does not invite us into a relationship with Him based on our status or prominence in the world. Instead, God had a specific purpose and reason in mind, which was that the message of the gospel would put to shame the wisdom and the power of the world. Paul’s point is that God chose what the world would consider to be foolish to put to shame the human wisdom and understanding that people take pride in; He chose those who would be considered weak to put to shame what the world considers strong and takes pride in; God chose what would be considered insignificant and of no value to cause the things that the world considered significant and valuable to lose their power and effectiveness.

And God made His choice so that there would be nothing that a religious or irreligious person could take pride in before God. You see, it is not what we do that earns us favor with God; it is what God graciously chooses to do in our lives that earn us favor with God. God makes His gracious choices with the overarching goal that no man could boast before God.

Paul makes this point abundantly clear in verses 30-31, when he states that by His doing and by His invitation that brings us into a relationship with Christ. And it is God’s doing and invitation that reveals God’s wisdom and power through transformed lives, so that people would take pride in God’s activity for all humanity through Christ. Paul then quotes Jeremiah 9:23 to explain that the message of the gospel is divinely designed to put the focus off of man and toward God’s wisdom and God’s power.

So, do you understand that the message of the gospel is divinely designed to point others away from us and towards God’s activity in and through us? Or are you a Christian who acts unchristian by presenting the message of the gospel in a way that focuses on self and your spiritual pride?