Wisdom that Saves
1 Corinthians 1.17-25; Psalm 33.1-5, 10-11; Matthew 25.1-13
As one who has spent the last 12+ years of their life devoted to higher education and obtaining pieces of paper from institutions attesting to my knowledge, there is one passage that always works to keep me in check:
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. (1 Corinthians 1.20-21)
The surface understanding of this verse is easy enough: man cannot reason his way to salvation. I believe all true Christians will find no trouble agreeing with this. However the problem isn’t what whether we agree with it–the problem is whether we maintain it in practice.
It is easy in modern American culture to feel like something more is needed than just the folly of the cross. Christianity is under attack from so many sources–science, liberal politics, history–and just like anyone else who is being threatened, our first instinct is to fight back. And I don’t disagree that we should to an extent. Peter commands us to be able to provide a defense for our faith (see 1 Peter 3.15). Yet in doing this we must not lose sight of what we’re trying to accomplish. Apologetics (the practice of giving a defense for something) can help protect Christianity from the attack of the world, but it cannot save anyone. Whether or not the Bible is able to withstand arguments about the Creation of all things (and I believe it is) isn’t enough to bring someone from death to life.
Ultimately the message that saves is the gospel, and this message requires no great wisdom to comprehend. In fact, Paul argues that wisdom might blind us from the simple truth of what God’s done and what we must do to receive it. It is simple enough that a child can understand it, and so simple that it puts great wisdom and the intricate systems of other religions to shame.
Let’s value wisdom. There is nothing wrong with that. But let’s always keep things in the right perspective. The Great Commission is for believers to spread the gospel, not Christian views on creation, the validity of the resurrection, or the end times. Thus, we must preach the message of the cross and salvation through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ first and with most importance. That is wisdom that saves.