When I came to you, brothers, announcing the testimony of God to you, I did not come with brilliance of speech or wisdom. For I didn’t think it was a good idea to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I came to you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom but with a powerful demonstration by the Spirit, so that your faith might not be based on men’s wisdom but on God’s power. – 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 (HCSB)

The church I attend has begun focusing on 1 Corinthians in recent weeks. Yesterday, the first 10 verses of 1 Corinthians 2 were discussed. So often in my life, I have considered [in my own arrogance] myself to be somewhat of an intellectual. I have placed a great deal of importance on my level of intelligence and those I associate with. I have come to realize how important it was for me in my life to “dumb it down” and accept things on faith that God has revealed to my spirit. By the way, I have discovered that I am not as smart as I think I am, and wisdom that is not applied to one’s life is wasted on unbelief!

At this point in my walk, I have discovered a great necessity to simply follow the example that Paul set and preach only “Christ — and Him crucified” to those who will listen. The deep theological discussions of doctrine and eschatology can wait for another day, and have no saving power in and of themselves. If I can resist the temptation to debate such things, I can focus on the core message of the Gospel — Jesus and what He did for us and continues to do today.

I am not about to criticize those who devote much time and attention to such things as what Revelation is trying to teach us about end times or whether or not dispensation theology has merit, among other debates. If we could perhaps leave such topics alone for a while and devote our lives to preaching Christ crucified, it would go along way in healing our divisions and thwarting the plans of the devil. Don’t you agree?