Why Prophecy is Greater Than Tongues

In 1428, after John Wycliffe was condemned as a heretic by the Council of Constance, his bones were exhumed and burned, and his ashes dumped in the River Swift. Wycliffe had been the first in history to begin translating the Bible into English, a task that William Tyndale took up about a century and a half later. Sadly, Tyndale met an even worse fate. He was executed by strangling, and then his body was burned in 1536, having also been condemned a heretic. And the condemnation of these two men really helps to illustrate just how strongly the Roman Catholic Church opposed the translation of the Bible into the common tongue. A Catholic scholar at the time lamented Wycliffe's translation saying, Master John Wycliffe translated from Latin into the English language, very far from being the language of angels. The gospel that Christ gave to the clergy and doctors of the church. As a consequence, the gospel has become more common and more open to laymen and even to women who know how to read than it customarily is to moderately well-educated clergy of good intelligence. Thus, the pearl of the gospel is scattered abroad and trodden underfoot by swine. See, to him, translating the gospel into the language of commoners disparages it. Further, stretching back to 1215, Pope Innocent III issued a law commanding that they shall be seized for trial and penalties who engage in the translation of the sacred volumes. And the Council of Toulouse of 1229 forbid the laity, that is any non-clergy, from possessing or reading vernacular, that is just the everyday language of the people, vernacular translations of the Bible. And the Roman Catholic Church continued using Latin long after it became almost completely unknown to its parishioners. The Catholic mass and liturgy continued to be in Latin until Vatican II in the 1960s. And apparently, it's actually making a comeback today. Interestingly, historians think that the origins of the phrase hocus pocus is actually a distortion of hoc est corpus meum, which is Latin for this is my body, and would have been uttered during the mass when the bread was understood to be transubstantiated into Christ's body. Now I bring that up because I think it illustrates one of the key differences in the way that Protestants and Catholics think about spiritual growth and edification. For Catholics, there's a much stronger sense in which the sacraments themselves and just the experience of partaking of them is understood to have this intrinsic benefit. Even if the person receiving it doesn't understand what's being said. And then that's also why they understood the translating of the Bible to be dangerous. Because people don't really have to understand it. And if you translate it, well, it just gives them the opportunity to misinterpret it and then get themselves into trouble by becoming heretics. But for Protestants, the emphasis has always been on the fact that people are converted and brought to spiritual life through the word of God being understood. And that the essential way that the church grows is through a deepening understanding of that word. You see, the mind plays this crucial role. And that's why early reformers like Wycliffe and Tyndale, and Martin Luther for that matter, were so determined to translate the Bible into a language that people could understand. As William Tyndale famously said to a Catholic bishop that he was arguing with, and this bishop had actually gotten so exasperated with him that the bishop had said, it's more important for the people to have the Pope's laws than God's. Well, Tyndale replied, I defy the Pope and his laws. If God spares my life, in a few years, a plow boy shall know more of the scriptures than you do. So his passion was to translate the Bible into English so that anyone and everyone could read and understand it for himself. Now, at this point you might be wondering, well, what does all this have to do with 1 Corinthians 14? Aren't we supposed to be learning about spiritual gifts? Well, it actually has a lot to do with 1 Corinthians 14. Because as Paul addresses the proper use of the gift of tongues, The key point he's gonna make is that the church is built up through words that people can understand. And regardless of how spiritual, or miraculous, or impressive those tongues may be, if people can't understand them, they don't benefit the church. Because edification requires intelligibility. Now, before we dive into our text, let me remind you briefly where we've been. First Corinthians is a letter written by the Apostle Paul to the church in Corinth, and he deals with a wide variety of different issues in the life of the church. And in chapters 11 through 14, Paul comes to issues pertaining to the gathered assembly, or the corporate worship service. And this is actually the longest treatment of that in the New Testament. And here Paul deals with three issues, that of head coverings, the Lord's Supper, and spiritual gifts. And we're picking up today in the middle of Paul's discussion of spiritual gifts, which spans chapters 12 through 14. And back in chapters 12 and 13, Paul addresses spiritual gifts more generally. And he lays the foundation for what he's going to say here in chapter 14. And in those first two chapters, there's three key things that I just want to remind you of that Paul has explained already. First, Paul began the whole discussion by explaining that the Holy Spirit always works to build up the church in the truth that Jesus is Lord. So our focus shouldn't ultimately be on the Spirit and His gifts, but on Christ and the gospel. That's what the gifts are meant to point us to. Number two, Paul explained that the church is like a body. And just like a body has these different parts that all have different functions but work together for the good of the body, well that's how God has designed the church. And that's why the Spirit has gifted us in these various and unique ways so that we can use the gifts, not just for our individual benefit, but for the common good. And then number three, Paul has emphasized that greater than any of the gifts is love. Because without love, none of the gifts are anything. And through love, we are to understand that the purpose of the gifts is not for ourselves, but for the benefit of others. That's what love would lead us to recognize. Well, that brings us to chapter 14, where Paul's now gonna apply these principles specifically to the gift of tongues. And he's going to argue that uninterpreted tongues have no place in a Christian worship service. And the Corinthians should really prefer the gift of prophecy instead. And I think the main idea that Paul wants to get across here is this. We should try to build up the church by speaking words that other people can understand. So if you're taking notes, you want to write that down, that's the main idea. We should try to build up the church by speaking words that other people can understand. And as we work through the text, I'd like to unpack that with three points. And the first is this, so point one, we should care more about building up the church than ourselves. We should care more about building up the church than ourselves. And let's look at verses one through five. Paul says, pursue love and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God, for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the spirit. On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself. but the one who prophesies builds up the church. Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up. Now Paul's obviously comparing prophecy and tongues here, and he affirms that both are good. They're both spiritual gifts, which according to verse one, are earnestly desirable. And then in verse five, Paul even says that he wishes everybody spoke in tongues, right? So he's trying to be clear that he's not against tongues per se. But his point is that uninterpreted tongues are less desirable than prophecy, and verse five makes clear that he has uninterpreted tongues in mind. And Paul begins explaining why in verse 2. He says, So envision someone speaking in tongues, which means that the Holy Spirit is enabling them to speak in a language that they don't know. So this would be like if Hayden had got up here earlier and he began praying in some foreign language that he didn't know and that we don't know either. And Paul's saying, look, if there's no translator, then no one in the congregation is going to understand. And therefore, the only person he would really be speaking to is God, right? Because God is the only one who would understand. And as far as people are concerned, you're just uttering mysteries in the spirit. But then on the other hand, he says in verse 3, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. Now, I understand prophecy to be new revelation whereby the prophet is speaking God's own words to others. And the key difference is that unlike tongues, it's going to come in a language that's appropriate for the audience. You know, so Paul's saying that prophecy is directed to people so that they can be built up. They can understand what God has to say. They can be encouraged. They can be spiritually strengthened. They can have consolation or be spiritually comforted. You know, so what Paul is saying is that uninterpreted tongues is really just between you and God, but prophecy ministers to the whole church body. Therefore, verse four, The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. And then continuing in verse five, the one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up. And in light of the foundation of chapters 12 and 13, it should be obvious to us that yes, the building up of the church, that should be the great goal. That's more important than building up ourselves. The church is a body and we're gifted, not for individual benefit, but for the common good. And true greatness in the Christian life is found, as Paul says in chapter 13, in love. Not seeking your individual interests, but the interests of others. And that's what corporate worship is all about. It's not about us coming together so we can have our own personal time with God. It's so that we can come together and worship God together as a body. And so the point here is we should care more about building up the church than ourselves. And Paul, in the Corinthians case, he's wanting them to come to the conclusion that therefore they should earnestly desire and value prophecy more than tongues. But what does this mean for us? If Paul says, I want you all to speak in tongues, is that a gift that we should desire and pray for today? And if Paul says, desire spiritual gifts, and especially that you may prophesy. I mean, is prophecy like the gift that we should especially desire and pray for? Well, as I explained in my sermon on 1 Corinthians 12 verses 1 through 3, if you didn't hear that, you could go back and listen online. I'm not convinced that God intended for prophecy or tongues to continue in the life of the church throughout history. I think there are a number of reasons to view those gifts as especially important and necessary for the laying of the foundation of the church in the apostolic age. but also why it's unsurprising that they would fade away after that. Remember, 1 Corinthians is one of the earlier books in the New Testament, and they did not have the same foundation of scripture that we have today. So you can understand why prophetic words would have been particularly important for their spiritual edification. So in light of that, I'm not convinced that the really primary application for us is that we should earnestly desire or pray for prophecy specifically. However, based on verse three, I do think that we should earnestly desire and pray for whatever gifts God would be pleased to give us so that we could speak to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. I think there's various other ways that God might gift us or enable us to do that. And I think love for others should make us want to be useful to contributing to the building up of the church through speaking edifying words. So maybe God would give you a gift of preaching or teaching. Whether in a Sunday morning or a Bible study or whatever context, you could explain scripture in a way that would be understandable and helpful for others. Maybe God would help you to be a good counselor. So you'd be really skilled at applying scripture to specific problems and walking with someone who's trying to untangle, you know, sort of a pattern of sin in their life. Or maybe you could be really skilled at personal discipleship. You know, you're just really good at helping others learn to follow Christ in day-to-day life. Maybe you would be gifted as an encourager. Someone who's able to lift people up when they're feeling down. Or someone who's really good at pointing out things that others do well to encourage them. Or maybe someone who encourages just the whole body in the wonder of the gospel by having the courage and the humility to boldly confess your own sin and remind us of the grace that we have in Christ. Or maybe you would be gifted in exhortation. You'd be someone who's skilled at sort of lighting a fire and motivating others to press on in godliness. Maybe you'd be someone who's just particularly helpful in praying publicly. Your heart just sings with gratitude and praise in a way that warms the hearts of others. Maybe you're gifted as a musician or a singer. And so you are able to help others and help all of us together confidently sing to one another and to God. These are all examples of ways that God might enable us to serve the body well and to speak edifying words to other people for upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. These are things we should desire and pray for. Second, I think these verses should challenge us to approach corporate worship with an others-focused attitude. And I just want you to put yourself, try to put yourself for a moment in the shoes of the Corinthians. You know, some of them, I mean, they really had the gift of tongues. And they're coming to corporate worship zealous to use it because it really did make them feel personally edified. I mean, I would imagine some of them felt a great rush as they exercised this gift, and they really felt built up by it. So just imagine the defensiveness many of them were likely to feel as Paul sort of points out, no, that's not helpful. This sense of, how dare you deprive me of my own spiritual edification? I mean, there's a way in which that could feel very self-justifying. Like, it's my spiritual good. Aren't we prone to assuming that? If something is spiritually good for me, I mean, it must be good. How could you take that away? And yet Paul's actually saying here that that's not enough. Because corporate worship is not about you. It's about others. You know, this past Wednesday, Mark read an excerpt from Charles Spurgeon on prayer meetings, in which Spurgeon very colorfully described long-winded prayers and those whose praying was more like preaching instead. And similarly, I think it's very possible to pray publicly in a way that feels very spiritually edifying to you, but isn't that actually edifying to the body? And we really need to have that others focused attitude and the humility to listen if that's the case. Or in our singing and song selection, do we allow ourselves to be enthusiastic for the songs that we really like and feel edifying to us, but then sort of grow disengaged or disinterested in those other songs? Well, again, I think we need to remember that corporate worship is not just about you and God. It's about us together and we should be just as enthusiastic about songs that help build up others as those that we find most up-building for ourselves. Also, what about in the ways that you serve? Are you equally eager to serve in an unrecognized capacity? Maybe like clearing brush at yesterday's workday or serving in the nursery even today. If that would be something that would build up the church, as you are eager to serve in a more prominent position that might feel more edifying for yourself. Are you quick to think, I'm really being underutilized here. Surely someone else is better suited for this sort of menial task. Because there's a way in which that can sound pious. We think, well, I just want to use my gifts. But how easily that can really mask an attitude that's more concerned with personal fulfillment than actually serving the body's good. So I think Paul's words here should challenge us to all probe our hearts. Do I really care more about building up the church than myself? Do I have that kind of others focused attitude? That's what we should be striving for. Well, as we do so, we need to take heart to our second point as well. So here's point number two. Our words can't benefit those who don't understand them. Our words can't benefit those who don't understand them. This will cover verses six through 19, but first I wanna read verses six through 11. Paul continues, now brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, How will I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? If even lifeless instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is played? And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air, There are doubtless many different languages in the world and none is without meaning. But if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker, a foreigner to me. Now Paul's point here is very simple. He's saying that words can't have any benefit if others don't know what they mean. The whole purpose of words is to communicate. So if the communication isn't clear, they're worthless. And Paul first illustrates this with the example of lifeless instruments, a flute, harp, and bugle. And he's saying that just like an unrecognizable song that has no melody, or a trumpet that gives an unrecognizable signal, words that are unintelligible won't produce the intended response. Right, if the trumpet plays an uncertain sound, you'll be left wondering, well, you know, should I charge into battle? Should I retreat? Should I do something else? Well, in the same way, if someone comes speaking in tongues with no interpretation, you'll be wondering, well, is God blessing us? Is God threatening judgment upon us if we don't repent? Is this person blessing the name of Jesus? Is this person cursing the name of Jesus? We don't know. So we're not able to know how to respond if we can't understand the words. And that's why Paul says, if you utter speech that's not intelligible, You'll be speaking into the air. Your words are like pure noise, just like one of these instruments playing an indistinct sound. Now, just in case the Corinthians were to object to that, well, hey, wait a second. You know, my tongues aren't like an instrument playing a wrong note because I'm speaking a real language after all. And what I'm speaking has real meaning after all. Well, look how Paul continues in verses 10 and 11. He says, there are doubtless many different languages in the world and none is without meaning. But if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. You see, it doesn't matter if it's a real language with a real meaning, if your audience doesn't know it, right? In that case, it actually makes you foreigners or literally barbarians to one another. And it divides you rather than building you up in unity and helping build you up together in the truth of Christ. And so the point is, uninterpreted tongues are not beneficial for the body and shouldn't be practiced in corporate worship. That's what Paul is trying to say. Now, of course, the natural question for the Corinthians would be, well, but what if I have this gift? I mean, if God has given me this gift, what am I supposed to do with it? And so Paul continues in verse 12 and 13. So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church. So think about how you can use the gift for the common good of the body. Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret. So if God has given you this gift, well pray that God would enable you to interpret the tongues so that you can use it for the common good of the church. That's what Paul's telling them to do. And then Paul practically fleshes this out by pointing to his own example. So in verse 14, Paul says, for if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. And again, I think he has public prayer in mind. I mentioned Hayden earlier. That's the picture we should have in mind. And so, you know, Paul is up here praying in a foreign language and he says, well, my spirit is praying. You know, I'm speaking to God and there's a sense in which I'm being spiritually edified, but my mind is unfruitful. Like, he's saying, I don't even know what I'm saying. So, you know, how much less does anybody else? And so then verse 15, well, what am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also. I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. In other words, he's saying, I'll either pray or sing in a tongue, and then I'll turn around and translate it so that we can all have understanding with our minds, or I'll just use a language that we can all understand in the first place. And then Paul says in verse 16, otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say amen to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you're saying? For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up. He's saying it doesn't matter how well you're giving thanks. It doesn't really matter how personally edified you feel. You're defeating the whole point of corporate worship if the outsider, that is the uninformed or ungifted person, can't voice agreement with you because he doesn't understand. I mean, corporate worship is supposed to be an opportunity for us all to give thanks together. And that's why the amen is so important. So then Paul concludes this section in verses 18 and 19 by saying, I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. Again, he's emphasizing, I'm not against tongues, but in church, I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others than 10,000 words in a tongue. Because no amount of words, no matter how eloquent they may be, can benefit those who don't understand them. So let's think about some application of this. First, obviously this means that if God has given you the gift of tongues, we should not use it in corporate worship without a translator. Second, I think this would encourage us to seek to translate the Bible and to conduct our services in a language that people can understand. Not with highfalutin language, not with some language that's unfamiliar. I remember doing a joint Christmas Day service with the Chinese church a few years back, and they sang a song for us in Chinese. And what made that so much better is that the bulletin actually had an English translation of what they were singing. So it was wonderful to be able to hear brothers and sisters worshiping God in Chinese. It was beautiful to hear, but it was so much better because I could actually say, amen, because I knew what they were singing. Third, even when we're speaking to one another in English, it's important to take to heart that our words can't benefit those who don't understand them. and especially for those of us who teach the Bible. So maybe you do Wednesday devotionals, maybe you lead a small group, maybe you're a Sunday school teacher. Well, you and I especially need to take to heart, our words cannot benefit those who don't understand what we're saying. And it doesn't matter how wonderful our teaching is, it doesn't matter how eloquently and profoundly we explain the most difficult doctrine, It doesn't matter how smooth or artful our delivery may be, if we shoot over people's heads or we teach in a way that people can't follow, we're not accomplishing our goal. And I know the temptation to impress. I mean, I know the temptation to want to teach in a way so that the right people will say, And I know the temptation to want to somehow, you know, cram all the wonderful things that we've learned as we studied our own into that one message to just make it the best sermon ever. But brothers and sisters, it is not about impressing anyone. And it's not about your own personal satisfaction with your teaching. It's about helping others grow by explaining the Bible in a way that's accessible and clear. I think this is just one of those simple and obvious reminders we need to take from this text. And you know, as you strive to do that well, I will also just add that I think one of the most important things is having the humility to seek and then actually apply feedback. I remember several years back, I preached a sermon that was probably one of the worst I've ever preached. It was too long, it was too dense, and just not very good. And I remember people trying to give me constructive feedback. And at the time, I sort of bristled. I wouldn't have quite put it this way, but I look back and think, you know, it's like I thought the problem is with the listeners. But that's pride. You know, the problem is not the listeners. The problem is that we need to strive to communicate in words that are understandable and clear. And we need to have the humility to listen to feedback and then apply it so we can grow in that together. And then fourth, one final application here. We should treasure the word of God as the means through which both we and others grow. And I wanna point out to you that undergirding Paul's whole argument here is a very crucial and profound foundational principle for how God builds his church. Because his argument is basically that the goal is to build up the church, but that can't happen through words that people don't understand. And the implication of that is this. God builds his church principally through truth that's communicated with words that are understood with the mind. You know, God builds his church through truth that's communicated with words and understood in the mind. And remember what I said in the introduction about the Catholic Church and how they resisted the translation of the Bible and then, you know, went on conducting the liturgy and the mass in Latin. Well, that only makes sense within a theology that thinks that people can be spiritually edified apart from their mind and their understanding. You know, a theology that believes that the sacraments can work ex opere operato, that is, by the work worked, that the act itself imparts grace. In fact, I think that's also what many, if not most, other religions tend to assume, right? That there are special rituals, but you go to a holy place, or you're touched by a holy person, or you do a certain thing, and that spiritual benefit just comes to you through the act itself. But Protestants have always laid unique emphasis on the proclamation of truth. On the idea that the very center of our worship service ought to be the preaching or the explaining of the word of God in a way that's clear and understandable to all. And I think this passage really reinforces that. I mean, just look back at verse six. Paul says, now brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you? unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching. For Paul, the spectacle of tongues, the miracle of tongues, the fact that the Holy Spirit is enabling the tongues does not in and of itself provide any spiritual benefit to the body. The key to spiritual edification is that there's some revelation or some knowledge or some prophecy or some teaching, some kind of words that are understandable and true. And this is because in contrast to mute idols, we serve the God who speaks or the God who's ordained that we should be born again through his living and abiding word. And that like newborn babes, we should crave the pure spiritual milk of the word so that we can grow thereby. So brothers and sisters, let's be men and women who know the Bible and love the Bible and share the Bible with others in a way they can understand, because that's how God has ordained for us to grow. So, we've seen that we should try to build up the church by speaking words that other people can understand. Now there's one final component to this, because as the Corinthians try to build up the church, Paul doesn't just want them to be thinking about those people who are already inside the church. He also wants them to be thinking about the church's witness to the world and about the church's evangelistic goal. So point three is that the church's witness to the world matters. The church's witness to the world matters. Look with me at verses 20 through 25. Paul says, brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature. In the law it is written, by people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord. Thus, tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers. If therefore the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds? But if all prophesy and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all. He is called to account by all. The secrets of his heart are disclosed. And so falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you. Now Paul begins this section by urging the Corinthians not to be childlike in the way they think about tongues. Meaning that they need to have a mature understanding of the Old Testament and how that should guide their thoughts about tongues. And then Paul quotes from Isaiah chapter 28 which says, by people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people and even then they will not listen to me says the Lord. Now this was a prophetic judgment on Israel because they had rejected God's word to them through Isaiah. And so God said, well, if you won't listen to me speaking to you in your own language, I'll speak to you through the language of the foreigners who will come to conquer you and drag you off into exile. And this will be a sign of God's judgment because God says, even then you still won't listen to me. Well, on that basis, Paul argues that tongues are therefore a sign for unbelievers and prophecy a sign for believers. Now, there's two clarifications that are important to understand Paul's logic here. First, by unbelievers, I don't think Paul has in mind evangelistic opportunity, but rather, unbelievers in the sense of those consigned to persist in unbelief under the judgment of God. Whereas believers are those who either have come to faith or those who would come to faith. So his point here is that prophecy is evangelistically useful, whereas tongues are not. Now the second clarification is that it's important to realize that Paul continues to have uninterpreted tongues in view. Right? He's not denying that tongues could have an evangelistic benefit. For example, you know, there's the day of Pentecost, right? When people heard people proclaiming the mighty works of God in their own language and they came to hear and Peter preached the gospel. I don't think that's what Paul has in mind. You see, I think the point is when God's truth comes to us in a language that we can understand, there's great blessing and benefit. But when it comes to us in a language we can't understand, That is actually a sign of judgment and curse. You just think back to Babel. Think back to, as Paul references, the exile. Here's where foreign languages come in that alienate people from God's word and the truth of the gospel, and that is a sign of judgment. But then when there's prophecy, or when there's a tongue that actually allows you to understand what they're saying, or there's a tongue that has interpretation with it. Well then, God's word and his truth is being made available to you in a way that you can understand, and that brings blessing, because Paul says, then the unbeliever can come in among you, and he can be convicted, he can be called to account, and the secrets of his heart can be disclosed, and he can fall on his face and worship God, and declare that God is really among you. Now friend, if you're here today and you're not a believer, I want you to know that one of the things that all of us believers have in common is that we have been convicted and we've been called to account and we have had the secrets of our hearts laid bare through God's word. And we have come to realize that we're not good people who've sometimes made mistakes. I mean, we have come to realize that we are sinners to the core, that we are actually wicked people, whom God would be perfectly good and right to consign to hell forever. And yet by God's sheer mercy and grace, rather than doing that, God sent his son Jesus into the world. to suffer the penalty that was due to our sins by dying for us on the cross, and then rising again from the dead to show his victory. And therefore, through trusting in him as a gift of God's sheer grace, we have been forgiven, and all our sin has washed away, and we've been brought back to God. And all of this is made clear to us through God's word that he's given us in the Bible. And so friend, I would plead with you, if you're not a Christian, if you're unfamiliar with the Bible, I would plead with you to actually read the Bible. There's few Bibles you can take that home with you. And I would plead with you that as you do so, and as you think about the truth of who God is in your own life, pray that you would feel convicted, that you would be called to account. And friend, I hope that you would turn from your sin and you would trust in Christ, because then you too will be saved. And I would love to talk to any of you about that after the service. Now, for those of us who are believers, one of the things that these verses should make clear to us is that our corporate gatherings are intended to be a positive evangelistic witness. We see here, Paul expects unbelievers to be present at Corinthian services and he's urging them to consider the way that they conduct themselves. How is that going to affect those who come in among them? And I think it's important for us to consider that because, you know, many of us are familiar with the seeker-sensitive movement. You know, we've seen some of the problems with that. This is a movement where it's like, how do we make the church attractive to non-Christians? How do we make non-believers feel comfortable and sort of craft our service to sort of fit them? And I think we rightly see, no, that is not at all what would honor the Lord. That's not at all what we should do. But there's also danger of going so far to the other extreme that we start to think that our corporate services are only for believers. And that we shouldn't even have to worry at all about what a non-Christian coming in among us would think. And clearly Paul is exhorting the Corinthians and he's exhorting us to be conscientious of that. And the key thing is not how do we make our services comfortable. It's this, how do we make them clear? How do we meet together in a way so that someone who doesn't know about Christ would come in here and not just be confused by words they don't understand, but would come in here and be confronted with the truth and the hope of the gospel in a way that they could respond knowingly. That they would understand what we are all about. You know, this is why we do things like have pew Bibles and why we put the page number in the bulletin, right? We want someone who's unfamiliar to be able to follow along easily. It's why we try to explain what we're doing when we partake of the Lord's Supper. It's why I try to include the gospel in every sermon I preach. We want an unbeliever to be able to come in and understand as much as possible so that by God's grace, they could come to faith in Christ. And I think we should all consider How can we conduct ourselves in what we say and in how we act so that when that visitor or that unbeliever comes in here, they might really be able to say, God is truly among you. We have this sacred privilege and responsibility of reflecting God to the world, of being that city on a hill, that light that would shine. So what kind of witness will this church be Well, we've seen today that we should strive to build up the church by speaking words that other people can understand. And as we conclude, I just wanna point out that ultimately, that is rooted in the fact that we serve a God who has condescended more than we could possibly imagine to speak to us in words that we can understand, in the words of Scripture. As John Calvin said, the Bible is like God's baby talk. But just as God has spoken to us in words that are understandable to us, this is so that we might know him and might know his salvation, and so that we might then go forth and share his truth in understandable words with others. And so I pray that just like John Wycliffe and William Tyndale, who are willing to live and to die so that the church could be built up through the word of God going forth in a way that was understandable. I pray that we would share that same zeal to share God's truth with others so that we might grow in our understanding together and thereby grow in maturity in Christ. May God give us grace to do so. Amen. Let's pray.