Christ and Communication

So Christ in Communication, and if we were to subtitle the sermon, it would be Redeeming Eloquence for the Glory of God.

! 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.

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.

Let's petition the Father now together.

God, you're a great God, an awesome, mighty God, sovereign over all things.

Yet you've chosen to use your servants to accomplish your will. You've chosen human means to accomplish divine purposes.

Let it be so this morning that you move powerfully in each of us, through each of us.

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.

That we might experience the joy of loving and serving Christ more through this message.

What's the reading of your word?

What's this time that we might all be filled up?

Not only challenged to change, to repent, but encouraged to fight the good fight.

In your name, amen.

Okay, so I have...

I'm notoriously long-winded.

I know that, and I'm trying to work on that.

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.

We'll talk a little bit about using resources like the internet this morning.

But westshallnot.com sometime tomorrow.

I'll have all my notes up there.

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.

The truth that I've had to really wrestle with this week.

So we're going to dig into it, and I'm going to really be moving fast.

So if you're keeping notes, I'm going to give you the four main bullet points up front.

And then you can fill the rest in as we go, or you can go online tomorrow.

So let's go ahead and work on a definition of eloquence, and then we'll look at the text.

For today, purposes of today, eloquence is going to be defined as a style of speaking or writing that is intrinsically pleasing.

Okay.

Style of speaking or writing that is intrinsically pleasing.

Eloquence seeks a powerful verbal impact through an artistic, surprising, provocative, or aesthetically pleasing application of language.

So if you're taking notes, here are the four points that I'm going to try to work out today.

Basically, that there are right and wrong ways to use eloquence as Christians.

The wrong ways are anti-oratory.

We're going to talk about what that means.

And over-eloquence.

Anti-oratory and over-eloquence.

And the right ways are self-humiliation and Christ-exaltation.

Self-humiliation and Christ-exaltation.

Okay.

Now, but before we talk about eloquence, we have to discuss the building blocks of eloquence, which are words.

And the Bible is slap full of commandments on words, and of course it's made up of words.

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,

and that's the Gospel.

So the Gospel as it relates to words, first, God has holy standards for how we are to speak and listen to words.

If we were to look at Matthew 12, verses 36 through 37, Jesus says,

Matthew 12:36–37

I tell you, on the day of judgment, people will give an account for every careless word they speak.

For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.

Also, in Ephesians 4, 29, Paul says,

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up as fits the occasion,

that it may give grace to those who hear.

Second, outside the completion of our sanctification,

the Bible teaches that we won't fully live up to God's holy standard regarding the use of words.

We see that in James 3, 8, where James writes,

No human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

Next, we see in Scripture that Jesus fulfilled what humanity failed to do.

His words were perfect words, without sin.

By his substitutionary death, his words became ours.

His punishment for our words, indeed his punishment for all of our failings,

the punishment that we deserved, he took on himself.

So we see in Hebrews 4, 15,

Jesus is our great high priest who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

And in 2 Corinthians 5, 21,

For our sake he made him to be sin, who knew, knowed sin, that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

The final point that I want to talk about regarding words and the gospel

is that our day-by-day failure to use words properly, catch this,

our day-by-day failure to use words properly comes from a functional rejection of Christ,

the one true word.

If we accept that God has given us words for his purpose,

which I hope by the end of the day we will,

then when we reject the purpose of words through the way that we use them,

it proves that we have rejected the giver of the words as well.

So I'm going to illustrate what I mean.

Let's say that Nathan were to give me a Gibson J45, which is an acoustic guitar.

It's like the acoustic guitar.

Elvis played it, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan.

It's the rock and roll acoustic guitar.

So let's say that Nathan gave me a mint condition, 1965 J45.

And the next time he came over to my house,

I showed him the J45 that I had cut a hole in and turned into a wall caulk.

That would be not only the stupidest thing I've ever done,

but it would prove two things.

It would prove I didn't really care for the gift,

and that I wasn't considerate at all of the giver.

The same thing is certainly true of the way that we use words.

If we view words as a gift from God,

and then we misuse them,

then we're not only proving that we don't care about the gift itself,

but that we don't care about the giver or the intention of the giver.

We have to accept that language and words are God's.

He used them first.

They were his idea.

In fact, he created all that is through using words.

And beyond that, he has a very specific purpose for words,

which is not primarily to make our lives more comfortable and convenient.

So any time that we use words,

we're always borrowing from him.

If we find that we habitually misuse his gift of language,

we can know something about ourselves.

Luke 6, 43-45.

Jesus said,

For no good tree bears bad fruit,

nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit.

For each tree is known by its own fruit.

For figs are not gathered from thorn bushes,

nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush.

The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good.

An evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil.

For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

So when our words get us into trouble,

it's only ever secondarily because of our minds.

What I mean by that is that our poor vocabulary or inferior diction

or total disregard for proper grammar

get us into trouble, but only secondarily.

The trouble in communication is primarily a concern of the heart.

Our words get us into trouble because our hearts crave anything but Christ.

Paul David Tripp said,

I am my greatest communication problem.

The greatest difficulty, the greatest danger,

and the everyday traps of communication that we fall into

exist inside of me, not outside of me.

He went on to paint a picture of two kingdoms,

of my kingdom and God's kingdom,

and pointed out that our words are tools.

They're just tools that we use for communication.

Those tools always serve the king of the kingdom.

And if I'm the king of that kingdom,

then it's a pretty small kingdom.

It's just as small as my life,

my mundane life.

And in fact, those words die with the kingdom.

But if God is the king,

then the words serve an eternal kingdom,

and they fulfill the purpose for which God's grace of words

to us was given.

So Dr. Tripp concluded,

you know nothing about the kingdom of God

unless you understand that it is a kingdom of love.

When you are filled with the glory of that love,

when your heart is taken up by the mystery of that love,

when what daily fills your heart is deep in worshipful gratitude

for the miracle of divine love,

then your words begin to be words of love,

words of service,

words of grace,

words of encouragement,

words of peace,

and words that heal.

So if we find that our words are serving us and not Christ,

if our words are hurting others and not helping,

if they're tearing down instead of building up,

if they're propelled by anything other than love,

then we can be assured

we need Jesus to repair not our tongues,

not our speech,

but our hearts.

So if you find that that's the case with you,

then pray to him now where you are.

I'm yours, Lord.

Save me.

There is no greater joy than to be his,

to be redeemed by his blood and secure forever.

Remember, don't let such an opportunity pass by

because we're not guaranteed another.

Confess your sins to God.

Turn from them.

And believe that Christ has been crucified on your behalf,

substituting the righteous for the unrighteous.

He's now seated at the right hand of God the Father,

interceding on behalf of his children.

Make no mistake,

one word meant for the harm of another person,

one word meant to bring any attention to you

rather than Jesus as an offense against the eternal God

and is therefore deserving of eternal punishment.

So before I talk about eloquence,

start at the beginning.

Words are a matter of the heart.

Do not delay in turning

from the disastrous course of rebellion

to the delightful path of his grace.

Words are a matter of the heart.

God, I pray that that would be the case

if anyone here stands apart from your grace,

that you would regenerate their hearts,

that you would give faith to them,

that you would move in our congregation

in a powerful way this morning

because Christ is all and in all.

God give light to the rest of the circle

that those who do know you

might be challenged to live more light.

Words are a matter of the heart.

Let's revisit our definition of eloquence

because I do want to get into talking about that.

Eloquence is a style of speaking or writing

that is intrinsically pleasing.

Eloquence seeks a powerful verbal impact

through an artistic, surprising, provocative,

or aesthetically pleasing application of language.

Our text this morning is 1 Corinthians 1.

You'll turn there.

1 Corinthians 1.

We're going to read verses 10 through 31,

and then I'll refer to just a couple of the verses

as well as give some background

to what Paul was talking about.

1 Corinthians 1, beginning in verse 10.

I appeal to you, brothers,

by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

that all of you agree

and that there be no divisions among you,

but that you be united in the same mind

and the same judgment.

For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people

that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.

What I mean is that each one of you says,

I follow Paul, or I follow Apollos,

or I follow Cephas, or I follow Christ.

Was Christ divided?

Was Paul crucified for you?

Or will you baptize in the name of Paul?

I thank God that I baptized none of you

except Crispus and Gaius,

so that no one may say

that you were baptized in my name.

I did baptize also the household of Stephanas.

Beyond that, I did not know

whether I baptized anyone else.

For Christ did not send me to baptize,

but to preach the gospel,

and not with words of eloquent wisdom,

lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

For the word of the cross

is folly to those who are perishing,

but to us who are being saved

it is the power of God.

For it is written,

I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,

and the discernment of the discerning

I will thwart.

Where is the one who is wise?

Where is the scribe?

Where is the debater of this age?

Has not God made foolish

the wisdom of the world?

For since in the wisdom of God

the world did not know God through wisdom,

it pleased God through the folly

of what we preach to save those who believe.

For Jews demand signs,

and Greeks seek wisdom.

But we preach Christ crucified,

a stumbling block to Jews

and folly to Gentiles.

But to those who are called,

both Jews and Greeks,

Christ, the power of God,

and the wisdom of God.

For the foolishness of God

is wiser than men,

and the weakness of God

is stronger than men.

For consider your calling, brothers.

Not many of you were wise

according to the worldly standards.

Not many were powerful.

Not many were of noble birth.

But God chose what is foolish in the world

to shame the wise.

God chose what is weak in the world

to shame the strong.

God chose what is low

and despised in the world,

even things that are not,

to bring to nothing things that are,

so that no human being might boast

in the presence of God.

He is the source of your life,

Christ Jesus,

whom God made our wisdom

and our righteousness

and sanctification

and redemption.

Therefore, as it is written,

let the one who boasts

boast in the world.

So pay special attention

to verse 17.

Paul says,

For Christ did not send me

to baptize,

but to preach the gospel,

and not with words

of eloquent wisdom,

lest the cross of Christ

be emptied of its power.

So remember,

we're talking about eloquence,

and Paul here seems to be

treating eloquence

with a fair amount of negativity,

and we're going to talk about

whether or not there even is

an appropriate way

to use eloquence

by our definition of it,

but to begin with,

let's talk about the wrong ways,

anti-oratory over eloquence.

I want to clarify a statement,

and I hope you'll agree with me,

that sin is by its very nature

anti-social.

Sin,

in the case of eloquence,

sin works itself out

by alienating our hearers

from our message.

So if we're sinning

in the way that we speak,

we're alienating people

from either ourselves

or from the message,

the truth.

And it does that

in primarily these two ways,

anti-oratory being the first.

John Piper said that eloquence

can either be

what he called high eloquence

or low eloquence.

What he meant was that

our words can either be

distractingly over people's heads

or they can be distractingly

dressed down and messy

and profane.

Ephesians 4.29 says,

let no corrupting talk

come out of your mouths,

but only such as is good

for building up

as fits the occasion,

that it may give grace

to those who hear.

So anti-oratory

is an application

of these types of words

or word styles,

which is aimed at harming

either the message

or the hearer,

in many cases the reader.

While dulling the clarity

of the idea conveyed

either by intentional

misuse of language

or by habitual neglect

of one of God's

greatest physical gifts,

brains,

anti-oratory portrays

the speaker as crude

and careless.

The scope of this way

of communicating,

this very base way

of communicating,

spans from grammar

and vocabulary

all the way to posture.

Being that we're

in the deep south,

I'm going to just guess

that I don't have

to belabor this point

because I'm sure

that most of you

at some point

heard your mom say,

watch your mouth.

And you know

what I'm talking about

when I say

distractingly dressed down,

messy,

full-bane,

this language.

But,

because a lot of us

are probably

in our minds

kind of replaying

worn-out recordings

of some southern preacher

rattling off a list

of mortal sins

that include

drinking,

smoking,

cussing,

hanging out

with people who do.

Let me take

just a moment

to kind of clarify

something about that.

And it is an aside,

but I hope we'll see

the value in it.

All language

is necessarily

socially defined.

That's to say

that words are

culturally generated

symbols

that convey ideas.

Just like different

cultures use

different words

to describe the same ideas,

such as Spanish-speaking

and English-speaking people

describe the same ideas

with different words.

Different cultures

also use the same words

to describe different ideas.

And profanity

is not the only example,

but it is an example.

I work with a lot

of international students

at Truett,

and let me just tell you

that if I wasn't aware

of the fluidity,

cultural fluidity,

of the meaning of words,

I could have definitely

gotten my feathers

rough a couple of times

because people in Europe

use language differently

than we do.

They regularly use some words

in their homes,

which when I was growing up,

if I had pronounced

some of the words

that I've heard them

use on the phone

with their parents

in the room,

I would have had

a bar of soap

in my mouth

for four hours.

And I would have been

standing up

because I would have been

too sore to sit down.

But they can use

that kind of language

because culturally speaking,

it's more acceptable.

it has a different meaning

or a different emotion

when they say it

because they're

in a different culture.

Just because a person

speaks English,

that doesn't mean

that their words

mean the same thing

as yours or mine,

vice versa.

There's no such thing

as a universally

defined cuss word.

That's a gray area

in our speech

that permits us

to use words

to best communicate

our ideas

to our intended audience.

Now here's the word

of caution.

While some words

that are considered

bad words

are really just

generally impolite words,

there are some words

which in our culture

are intended

only to hurt,

not to build up.

There are condemning,

judgmental,

ungodly words

as well as

graphically sexual words

that bring to mind

terrible ideas

and there is no place

for words like that

in the Christian dialogue

at all.

I'm not going to

make a list.

I think we can

piece those together.

But I don't want you

to miss the point

that the biblical principle

of Ephesians 4.29

is that wholesome communication

must not be reduced

to a certain set of words.

The biblical standard

is the intention

of the heart.

It's much higher

than a list of

you can't say these things,

you can't say these things.

Just like the biblical

calling on Christians

is much higher

than you can't do

these things,

you must do these things.

There's a lot of liberty

to please God

with the way

that we speak.

Furthermore,

our calling as Christians

goes way beyond

what is culturally acceptable.

So just because

some words,

culturally speaking,

may not be inerrantly wrong,

our calling as Christians

goes beyond

what is culturally acceptable

and love

always willingly sacrifices

our own rights,

even our rights

to vocabulary,

in order that we might

give grace to others.

And that's the point

of that text in Ephesians.

So if you use,

if you can use any word

in a way that

gives grace to your audience,

then do it.

But if not,

don't.

Okay?

So let's look at

over-eloquence.

And this, I think,

for most of us,

because of where we've grown up,

I think this is a

greater temptation.

This certainly is

a temptation for me.

I think that

this is a great temptation

among anyone

who can speak well.

And the temptation

is to use that gift

in such a way

as to elevate themselves.

This was the case

for a certain group

of people

whom Paul was addressing

in our text.

So if you look back

at 1 Corinthians 1,

1 Corinthians 1:17

verse 17,

he's actually talking

about a group of people

called the Sophists.

That's where we get

our word sophisticated from.

The Sophists used

eloquent language,

style of speaking,

as a goal in itself,

an intrinsic end.

And I get that phrase,

intrinsic end,

from Dennis Donahue.

He wrote a book called

On Eloquence.

And he defined eloquence

very similar to the way

the Sophists would have.

He said,

eloquence is a style

of speaking or writing

that is intrinsically pleasing

without any reference

to other aims.

So he made a distinction

between rhetoric,

logic,

which had a goal in mind,

a place that the audience

needed to get to.

He made a distinction

between that

and eloquence

just being beautiful language

for the sake of beauty.

Like a lot of art

is just pretty

to be pretty.

And the Sophists

really focused on

using form of speaking

and form of writing

just to be beautiful.

Now we've already charged

that Christians' speech

is to be propelled

by love of God

and love for others.

Since love was defined

for us,

primarily in the act

of the crucifixion

of Jesus,

we know that our words

will always be a misuse

if they don't come

from a desire

to see God magnified

and others served.

That's what Christ

was doing on the cross

and if we're to love people

with our words,

then that's what we must do

with our words.

It doesn't matter

how much they deserve

our love.

It doesn't matter

how much they might be able

to reciprocate our love.

That's the calling

that we have

and that's the way

that our words

need to work themselves

out in love.

But 2 Corinthians 5.15

teaches us that sin

causes us to live

for ourselves

instead of for others.

But Christ died

to free us

from living for ourselves

and that is central,

central not only

to the way that we speak

but the way that we live

as Christians.

We live for ourselves.

We need to understand

that we're living in slavery

and that Christ has already

died to set us free

from that.

So back in our text,

the Corinthians

had bought into this

sophist idea

that eloquence

was an end in itself.

And so what we find

them doing

is that they were

aligning themselves

within the church

with their favorite

preachers.

And this never happens

in America

so it's not that relevant.

Totally kidding.

Look at verses 10 and 12,

10 through 12.

Paul says,

I appeal to you brothers

by the name of our Lord

Jesus Christ

that all of you agree

and that there be

no divisions among you.

that you be united

in the same mind

and the same judgment

for it has been reported

to me by Chloe's people

that there is quarreling

among you my brothers.

What I mean is that

each one of you says

I follow Paul

or I follow Apollos

or I follow Cephas

or I follow Christ.

So two things

to note here.

One is that

Paul's opponents

had openly mocked him

for a lack of eloquence.

Which when you read Paul

today I'm like

are you kidding me?

He's a really eloquence writer.

But by the standard

of his day

he really wasn't.

And we see that

in 2 Corinthians 10.10

if you're taking notes.

Acts 18.24

tells us that

Apollos

was a very eloquent speaker.

He was from Alexandria

which is where

Philo had worked.

And Philo was kind of

like the front runner

of the Sophist movement.

So history tells us

that there was

a strong infiltration

of Sophists

in the education system

of Alexandria.

And Apollos

no doubt

being from Alexandria

being noted

as a well speaker.

He spoke like a Sophist.

He was slick-tongued.

Very enjoyable

to listen to.

To clarify

that doesn't mean

that he was

a false teacher.

Just that he was good.

He was a clever wordsmith.

And people were

gravitating towards him

because of the way

that he spoke

rather than because

of what he said.

They were doing

the same thing

with Paul

and with Cephas

and Paul just said

that's enough.

We're not putting up

with that.

Paul rebuked them

for caring more

about the way

that the gospel

was presented

than about the gospel

itself.

The trap

that these Sophists

had fallen into

and that these

Corinthian believers

had fallen into

was that they were

seeking their own glory

or the glory

of a person

as their achievement.

Their message

wasn't

Emmanuel

God with us.

Their message

was me.

Not me with you.

Me over you.

Me better than you.

Smarter than you.

And unreachable by you.

John Piper said

pride-sustaining,

self-exalting

use of words

for a show

of human wisdom

is incompatible

with finding your life

and your glory

in the cross of Christ.

So what Paul did

was he didn't try

to dress up the gospel

to make it easier

to understand

or easier to swallow.

He spoke plainly

about Christ

crucified.

He expected

the Holy Spirit

to do the work

of conviction,

of regeneration,

and of sanctification.

He fully understood

that his words

were only a conduit

of God's grace.

And that there was

no point in him

trying to persuade people

or to trick people

into believing

because ultimately

it's the Spirit

that does that.

Derek Webb said

it's not like

I'm some kind of

Holy Ghost

come to change

people's hearts.

And that's really

what Paul's getting

at here.

He said,

I'm not going to

play your games.

I'm not going to

try to dance around

some of the harder

issues of the gospel.

I'm just going to tell it to you.

And then God will work.

And the snare

of over-eloquence

has its roots

in a deep sin.

It's the same sin

as ethnocentrism,

which is just

the common human problem

of refusing to empathize

with other people groups.

Assuming that our way

is the best way,

our culture

is the best culture,

everybody else

just learned to be like me

and they'll be better.

It's the sin

that led to the Holocaust.

It led to America's

aberrant brand of slavery

and it leads to

modern-day racism

and hate crimes

every day.

It's the sin

of selfishness

and self-worship.

I struggle with this

a lot.

I hate it.

This study,

in fact,

has made me

more aware

of my problem.

Even in writing

these words,

I was aware

that I want

to lift myself up.

I want you to see me

as intelligent

rather than see

Christ as magnificent.

I believe it's one

of the most

pervasive sins

for me

and for us

because it's

infected us

on a more core level

down into the fiber.

We actually believe

we're better than others

at something

and so we act

and speak

so as to try

to persuade others

to believe it too.

It's the darkest

of lies

and if we're

to give grace

with our words

then we have to

cut the head

off of that serpent.

The serpent lives

in our hearts.

It's not something

outside of us

as we've said before.

Remember that

communication problems

are heart problems

and I'm telling you

that my heart problem

when it comes to

communication

is selfishness

and pride.

I hate the number

of times I had

to plead for forgiveness

and plead for grace

in writing the sermon

because I was

choosing words

that were the best

words for the idea

rather than the best

words for you

to understand the idea.

I was thinking

about myself

rather than you.

The sin of

self-worship

worked out

and over eloquence

had us

teach English

to whole tribes

of Native Americans

give them Christian names

and rob them

of their cultural identity

in the name

of evangelizing

the people group

rather than

becoming all things

to all people

learning their culture

and their language

and preaching the gospel

to them

in their words.

the

story

some

of

some

The problem is self-worship.

It tells us that we're better than others.

It tells them that if they want to be right, then they have to be like us.

And ultimately, it elevates the way that I present my message

over how important it is that you hear the message.

It shouldn't matter to me as much as it does that Christians use proper grammar all the time

in their online posts.

It shouldn't matter that we disregard classical grammar rules.

I mean, so what if the rule of the official language demands a comma?

If people don't understand my eloquence, then I may as well be speaking to them in another language.

I may as well be speaking to them in a language that nobody knows but me.

Their ignorance of the gospel is infinitely more a hazard

than their ignorance of how to use the thesaurus.

In North Georgia, this means that most of us need to familiarize ourselves with Spanish

so that we can speak words of grace to our neighbors

rather than allow our laziness to all but ensure their eternal definition.

It means that some of you who have gifted minds for understanding language

should take courses to become experts in exotic languages

that don't yet have a translation of the Bible

in order that God's lost sheep in other parts of the world

might hear and read the gospel of Jesus Christ

in words that resonate with them.

It means that others of us, most of us,

learn the language of our day,

the way that people best connect with it,

and in the method that they best connect with

in order to cross the cultural barriers of age and technology

and inject truth and love and grace into their lives.

Did you guys know that Ruth Cantrell has an email address?

She, I don't mean to throw you under the bus,

Ruth is the oldest person, oldest woman in our congregation,

and she's an email theme.

I mean, she will light you up with some emails.

But if Ruth can use the internet to encourage the members of the church,

then you can learn to use Facebook for the glory of God.

And not just to build imaginary kingdoms

or to gather and disseminate the latest gossip,

but to actually glorify God.

I know, I fully will confess to you

that I'm not the best example of redeeming the internet

and what that looks like.

Not by any stretch.

I've put my digital foot in my proverbial mouth

countless times

after tweeting or blogging something.

And it doesn't matter how truthful the words were.

I've said things online

that have hurt my brothers and my sisters.

I'm trying to do better about that.

I'm trying to use the tools of our day

to communicate words of grace

to people in their language

and by their cultural means.

And you should too.

A refusal to meet people where they are

is absolute selfishness.

It's the opposite of love.

It's blatant sinfulness.

And it's not at all following the model of Christ.

So we should avoid, at all cost,

eloquence that is base,

is lower eloquence.

But we should also avoid eloquence

that's high eloquence.

We should not try to speak underneath people

or over their heads.

And two ways to judge our use of eloquence,

whether it be good eloquence or not,

are self-humiliation and Christ exaltation.

And we're wrapping this up.

I know we all have physical limitations

and attention is one of them,

so bear with you.

But self-humiliation is the first.

And we see that in our text,

1 Corinthians 1, 26-29.

It says,

So God's design in the cross and in election

is that no human being might boast

in the presence of God.

So two questions you can ask yourself

to consider

if your eloquence is self-humiliating

the way that it should.

These questions are,

Do my words feed boasting?

If the answer is yes,

then don't use those.

And do they come from an ego

in search of exaltation

through clever speech?

If the answer is yes,

then don't use those words.

The positive is Christ's exaltation.

We see that in the final verses of our text,

verses 30 and 31.

And because of him,

you are in Christ Jesus,

who became to us wisdom from God,

righteousness and sanctification and redemption,

so that as it is written,

let the one who boasts

boast in the Lord.

So God's design in the cross

and election and in regeneration

is that all boasting be in him.

The question that we can ask ourselves is,

Do my words exalt Christ,

especially him crucified on my behalf?

And if the answer is yes,

then that's a proper form of eloquence.

We can use eloquence in a way

that glorifies God.

It shouldn't altogether be avoided

as long as it meets those criteria.

In fact, the Bible is full of eloquence.

I want to read one passage to you

from Deuteronomy

that's absolutely beautiful.

Give ear, O heavens,

and I will speak

and let the earth hear

the words of my mouth.

May my teaching drop as the rain,

my speech distill as the dew.

Let gentle rain upon the tender grass

and like showers upon the earth.

For I will proclaim

the name of the Lord.

Ascribe greatness to our God.

Eloquently,

the scripture.

In fact,

Proverbs 15, 23, 25, 11,

and 26, 7,

as well as Colossians 3, 17,

actually encourage

and command us

to speak well,

to give thought

to the timing,

appropriateness,

and potential impact

of our words,

and to make every one of them

an honor

to the name of Christ.

So we have to accept

if we're going to be

true to scripture

that God is absolutely

sovereign over all things

and yet

He chooses

to use human means

to accomplish His will,

just as I prayed earlier.

Now, He certainly doesn't

need our eloquence.

That's what I'm getting at.

But,

He can and does

use it

to accomplish His ends.

If we use eloquence properly,

we can hope for at least

five positive,

God-glorifying outcomes.

I know some of you are going,

I'm kind of hungry

for five good points,

but I promise

these will be

brief and easy to swallow.

If we use eloquence properly,

we can hope at least

for five positive,

God-glorifying outcomes,

knowing full well

that it is the Holy Spirit

who convicts

and regenerates

and sanctifies,

and that He may

at any time

and in spite of our

eloquence or lack thereof,

intersect our dialogue

and work in the life

of our audience.

And when I say audience,

I don't necessarily mean

this kind of audience.

An audience can be

one-on-one.

Okay.

So, five potential

positive outcomes

of Christian eloquence.

I'm borrowing these

from a book called

The Power of Words

and the Wonder of God

by John Piper

and Justin Taylor.

If you're,

the word you need

like me,

you'll really enjoy that book.

But those five

positive outcomes

are keeping interest,

gaining sympathy,

awakening sensitivity,

speaking memorably,

and increasing power.

I'm going to run

through those

just in brief.

The first is

keeping interest.

And in Matthew 26,

near the end of that chapter,

Jesus is taking

the disciples up

to the Garden of Gethsemane

to pray,

and they all fall asleep.

And He says to them,

the Spirit is willing,

but the flesh is weak.

He highlights

that we all have

a physical weakness.

The implication is,

I know you guys

wanted to pray with me.

Maybe if you got

more rest earlier,

you could have stayed

awake and done.

We, in our speaking,

need to help

people's physical weakness.

If the word

is a spring of life,

then eloquence

is a well-paved,

beautifully adorned road

through the spring's garden

that not only leads

to the water,

but beckons travelers

to drink.

Do you see that?

My presentation

of truth

has no bearing

on the reality

of that truth.

But whether you hear it

is in very large part

a factor

of how well

I present it.

Eloquence may

keep people awake

or focused

because they find it

interesting or unusual

or pleasing

for reasons

that they

can't articulate.

Sleeping people

or distracted people

don't hear the word.

And faith comes

by hearing

and hearing the word.

Therefore,

eloquence

is like a good night's sleep.

It won't save your soul,

but it might keep you awake

to hear the word

which can.

So the second possible outcome

is gaining sympathy.

Nathan talked about this

a little bit last week.

A writer and blogger

named John Acuff

describes people

as having a rock

in their hand

and that rock

is made up of

all of their cultural

and experiential baggage.

It's a rock

that they intend

to clobber us with.

The moment

that we begin to act

like they expect us

to act

is the fact of

whatever stereotype

that rock represents.

Well, if that's true,

then eloquent language

can take the rock

out of their hand.

It can disarm them.

Eloquent language

isn't always

speaking in a high way.

It's communicating

people's common language

and doing it well.

So when we begin

to connect with people

on a verbal level,

it disarms them.

It replaces

their anger

or boredom

or resentment

with respect

and attraction

and interest

concentration.

So,

possible and

positive outcome

of eloquence

is gaining sympathy.

The third thing

is awakening

sensitivity.

Eloquence may not

bring about regeneration.

Certainly it doesn't.

But as a means

to that end,

it may awaken

the emotional

and intellectual

sensitivities

for more serious

and beautiful things.

That's why we see

David writing in

Psalm 19.

He says,

The heavens declare

the glory of God.

And then a little bit

later he says,

In them he is set

a tent for the sun,

which comes out

like a bridegroom

leaving his chamber

and like a strong man

runs its course

with joy.

So why would he

compare the rising sun

to a bridegroom

and a runner?

To help the dull mind

awaken to the joyful

beauty of the rising sun.

In the hopes

that this natural

kind of awakening

might lead to

a spiritual sight

that nature is all

about the glory of God.

So speaking beautifully

can awaken people's

awareness of beauty

in order that they

might see God

who is ultimate.

Fourth is speaking

memorably.

Certain kinds of eloquence

like cadence

or parallelism,

meter, rhyme,

alliteration,

even brevity,

which I haven't

displayed a lot of today,

may not only

interest and awaken

the heart,

but increase the impact

of the message

by making what is said

memorable.

Finally,

we can hope

that our eloquence

increases the power

of our message.

John Piper said,

the attempt to craft

striking and beautiful

language makes it

possible that the

beauty of eloquence

can join with the

beauty of truth

and increase the power

of your words.

When we take care

to create a beautiful

way of speaking

or writing about

something beautiful,

the eloquence,

the beauty of form,

reflects and honors

the beauty of the

subject,

and so honors the truth.

So there's a synergistic

power of two things

working together

to accomplish a greater

good in combining

beautiful presentation

with beautiful truth.

And that's why fajitas

taste so good.

You guys didn't?

There's an example

of eloquence.

You didn't expect that,

did you?

Fajitas do taste good,

though,

and the reason

is that because

before we ever get

to taste it,

all of our senses

are telling us

this food is going

to be good.

And we hear it

come out of the kitchen.

We smell it,

it's bright,

and it's exciting

to look at.

And when it gets

to the table,

the waiter drops

a shot of tequila

and lights it on fire.

I mean,

what's more exciting

than your food

being literally

on fire in front of you?

We've become

so engrossed

in the experience

of being served

the food

that we're able

to most fully

appreciate its flavor

because our attention

has already been drawn

to the excellence

of the food

before we taste it.

People who can't yet

see the beauty

of Christ

should receive

in our language

both a witness

to his beauty

and an invitation

to behold it

with us.

They should,

in effect,

hear us say,

the beauty of my words

is a shadow.

Christ,

who created

and sustains

and thankfully,

mercifully,

accepts imperfect beauty

as the substance.

Turn to him.

Go to him.

And that's the calling

for each of us

as we fix our attention

once again

on Christ,

crucified on our behalf,

becoming sin

that we might become

the righteousness

of God in him.

As we prepare

to take the Lord's Supper,

turn to Christ,

look to Christ,

just as our words

are symbols

that convey meaning,

the elements

of the Lord's Supper

are elements

that convey meaning.

They're symbols.

The bread represents

his body

that was broken

for us.

The juice represents

his blood

that was spilled.

So,

as we consider

the extreme offense

of the cross,

but also the beauty

of what was happening,

I would plead with you

to turn to Christ.

Go to him.

Pray with me.