All preachers preach a little bit differently, but there is one thing that all preachers should have in common—preaching the gospel with simplicity.  Paul was a magnificent preacher, able to cause his hearers to tremble at the Word of God at times (Acts 24:25).  His focus, however, was never to show off his oratory skills.  He never tried to impress people by using fancy words or clever sayings.  His goal was to win souls to Christ, and he knew in order to do that his hearers had to understand his message.  So, Paul preached the Word with simplicity.

1 Corinthians 2:1-2 (ESV)
¹  And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. ²  For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

The saints at Corinth loved worldly wisdom and were infatuated with human philosophies and rhetoric.  If a man was a great orator like Demosthenes, then it really did not matter what he was saying because how he said it was good enough.  Paul could have given them what they wanted.  He was a highly educated man.  Not only did he sit at the feet of Gamaliel (Acts 22:3), but when you read the letters of Paul, you begin to realize that he was very familiar with many great philosophers and heathen poets.  He could have impressed the Corinthians with his knowledge of those sources, but he did not even try because that was not his purpose.

There are many preachers today who need to come to the same determination that Paul did.  Listen to a part of a sermon that was once preached at Pepperdine University.

“Christianity, as grounded on a past event and its interpretation, has generally held that in some way the original Christological assertions by the church have normative value for Christianity in any era. . .On the other hand, Tillich’s implicit understanding that the function of the assertions or symbols in the normative element results in mere description with no criteria for evaluating between more or less fruitful Christological claims.”

How many people do you think heard this sermon and said, “I need to obey the gospel as soon as possible?  As preachers, we must all realize that preaching is a time to reveal the Word of God in the most simple and understandable fashion possible.  That is the proper way to preach.

Paul was not in a popularity contest, and he knew it.  He was not worried about what people thought. He was worried about saving souls.  He was not worried about getting compliments for his preaching.  He was interested in pleasing Jesus Christ.  As a result, he preached the gospel with plainness of speech so that people could understand what he was saying.  If people do not understand the message of God’s word, that message will not do them any good.

Do you know what the preacher was saying in that quotation I just gave above?  He was saying that the teachings of the apostles concerning Christ are valuable to all generations of all times.  That is a truth that needs to be heard, but the way he preached that truth, he may as well have been speaking in tongues.

Yes, we must speak the truth and nothing but the truth, but we must speak it with simplicity.  Why?  Because the gospel of Christ does not have to rely on the wisdom of men to convert people.  It is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16).  All we need to do is preach it.  So, whether it is a sermon behind a pulpit or a Bible study at a kitchen table, let us all teach and preach with simplicity.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things