Useful Bible Studies > 1 Corinthians Commentary > chapter 14
God wants his people to declare his message; and he wants them to declare it clearly. People need to understand that message in order to benefit from it.
We can learn a lesson from music. People only consider music beautiful when they can hear it clearly. When it is not clear, it is a terrible noise. The musician may be very skilful, but nobody appreciates his efforts in such circumstances.
In the same manner, people only appreciate God’s good news when they can understand it. Here, the need is not to be clever, but to be clear. The message about Christ and his death on the cross is not a complex message, but a simple one (1:22-24). Christ died for your sins (evil deeds). God wants to forgive you.
However, God’s message is not good news for everyone. That is why it is also necessary to warn people.
Formerly, each city had guards who would watch by night from the city’s walls. They were there in case an enemy’s army decided to attack the city during the night. If they saw an army close to the city, the guards would sound an alarm. They used trumpets (their loudest musical instruments) for that purpose. When the men heard the trumpet, they would get up to fight for their city.
God’s people are like those guards. It is their duty to warn other people (Ezekiel 33:1-20). People are in danger because of their sins. God will certainly punish sin. People must confess their sin to God and they must ask him to save them. They must invite him into their lives and they must trust him.
That is a very serious and important message. So Christians must declare it clearly.
Next part: Words that people cannot understand (1 Corinthians 14:10-12)
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© 2014, Keith Simons.