By Andrea Guachalla
You have probably heard of knowledgeable people like Ben Shapiro and Jordan Peterson, two of the people I personally admire most in the realm of academics and politics because of the Christian values they stand for. Ben is a prolific lawyer and political commentator, a graduate from Harvard Law School, and a devout Jew whose religion does not believe in the deity of Christ. Jordan, on the other hand, is a renowned professor from Toronto University, a researcher in the field of psychology, author of several books, and respects Christianism, the Bible, and the person of Jesus, though he does not believe he is the son of God.
If you see them both on interviews like this one you will note they can spend hours on end sharing their views on religion, God, the purpose of humanity, history, and the Bible with eloquence and accuracy. They can quote passages from both the old and new testament, explain the origin of world religions, and give you entire lessons on history and the cultural and historical context in which the Bible was written… They can do all that and probably more, and they might be praised for that, but there is one thing on which they completely miss the point: THE GOSPEL.
They might read the Bible frequently and attend church when they are supposed to, they might admire who Jesus was and hold Him high for how He changed the world, they might be able to tell you stories and parables that they have read and studied in God’s word, but they will not, even in all their human greatness and intelligence, be able to tell you what the whole point of the Bible is. They will not, unless God allows them to, be able to tell you the saving message that God has sent us in His word.
How can that be? You might ask. How can people with such intelligence, discipline, and a desire to know the truth in this world full of lies, be unable to grasp the truths that are revealed in the Bible? How can they not know the one thing the Bible is about?
And the bible answers:
“Yet among the mature, we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”
1 Corinthians 2:6-8, 12-14, English Standard Version
It is through God’s wisdom that the saving message of the cross of Christ is revealed to those He wishes, not by human wisdom, academic achievements, wealth, or great intelligence. If anything, the Bible says that the wealthy, and those who have great knowledge tend to be prideful (1 Timothy 6:17-19, Proverbs 26:16), and reject the Gospel as something they do not need. It is those who are in need, and low spirits who are more prompt to hear about the great savior we have in Jesus (Matthew 5:3). However, it is not for being poor or rich, geniuses or unintelligent that we are able to grasp what the Gospel means. We understand the Gospel by the pure grace of God who decides to reveal the meaning of His word to us.
The Gospel is to be preached to all nations and is to have an effect on those who God has known since before the foundation of the universe, predestined to salvation, those who regardless of their wealth, or poverty, brilliance, personality, or self-righteousness are called by the Father, justified through the work of Christ, and glorified to live in eternal glory with the one who created us to this end: to glorify Him (Romans 8:29-30).
We might not be as brilliant as Ben Shapiro, or Jordan Peterson, and we might not have all the answers to all the questions, but we have a gracious God who chose us for salvation regardless, and through whom we will be sanctified, growing in knowledge and the application of His word into our daily lives.
God is so gracious He did not care for the things we could achieve in our own strength or our own wisdom, but he chose us as sinful as we were, to be His heirs along with Christ because he wished to do so by the affection of his holy will. This is not to say that we will remain in our sins because God has given us salvation freely and unconditionally (Romans 6:1-2, 15-18). It does mean, however, that by being chosen, justified, called, and saved by Him, we are made His servants. Servants of righteousness.
By knowing His character and commandments, and being the objects of His grace, we can recognize that we often fail to keep His word and that we are unworthy of his mercies. By knowing how imperfect we are and how holy and gracious He is, we can live in eternal gratefulness seeking to honor Him and give Him glory.
“Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe?
1 Corinthians 1:20-21, 25, English Standard Version
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 the foolishness of God is wiser than men,
and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
