Jesus Saves!
Life Lessons from 1 Corinthians, 1:18-31
I live in the land of PhDs. Educational institutions and brilliant people surround me, but I am “unschooled and ordinary.” Living in the land that I do can cause someone to feel, for lack of a better word, dumb.
As my mother would say, most of Paul’s readers in Corinth were “regular old people.” They weren’t the wisest or the most influential. Here in the land of PhDs, they would be considered uneducated and plain. Yet, Paul reminded them that they were called to salvation by God, not because of their IQs, talents, skills, or because they were famous or powerful. And God had good reason for this.
“Brothers, consider your calling: Not many are wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth. 27 Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong. 28 God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world—what is viewed as nothing—to bring to nothing what is viewed as something, 29 so that no one can boast in His presence.”
Our salvation does not depend on how smart or powerful we are or how many degrees we possess. (Thank goodness!) We would boast in ourselves if God chose us according to worldly credentials. His purpose in calling the low, despised, weak, etc. is so all the glory will go to God, where it belongs.
It should comfort and free us to know we can’t do anything to earn our salvation. We can’t save ourselves with wisdom or power, influence or wealth. Only God can save us, and He does through His Son, Jesus Christ.
The message of the cross is the Gospel; Jesus saves. And when He saves us, we are redeemed from sin, made righteous and holy. Jesus does this, not us, so we can’t boast in ourselves, only in Him.
So, speak with pride, even in the land of PhDs, about Jesus and remember the simplicity of the Gospel – Jesus saves!
© 2022 Robin R King
Thank you! I needed to hear that today.