One Purpose

And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

I Corinthians 2:1-2

The Apostle Paul had great purpose and was utterly dedicated to it. In spite of all the other issues he could have addressed, he determined not to know anything else except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He did not wrap this message in extravagant rhetoric. He did not seek to proclaim it in philosophical terms or esoteric phraseology. Rather he set forth the message of Christ in the plainest of terms. He summarizes it in 1 Corinthians, ‘For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.’ This was his message. More than that, this was his only message. In spite of every temptation to speak on dozens of other subjects, he made the conscious determination to preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified. This should be our purpose as well. We can spend an abundance of time and effort attempting to combat whatever ills we find around us. We can concentrate all our strength on whatever seems to be the issue of the moment. In a de facto way, we are striking at the branches and leaving the root untouched. The key issue is the Person and work of Christ. He and His message supersede all others. Thus, we too want to preach Christ and Him crucified.

Our Gracious Master and our God,
we rejoice that You have revealed Yourself to us.
We praise You that we have the great privilege
to make You known.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning