Importance of Focusing on the Main Message in Biblical Communication
Effective biblical communication prioritizes the core message over secondary details or the eloquence of the messenger [9, 10]. The apostle Paul emphasizes this principle, stating that the important thing is the preaching of the Good News, not the act of baptism itself, which merely signifies a response to that message [10]. He warns against an overemphasis on "clever speech" or human wisdom, which can detract from the simple yet powerful message of Christ's atoning death for sins [10].
The "main message" in biblical communication often revolves around fundamental doctrines. The book of Hebrews encourages believers to move beyond the "elementary message about Christ" to maturity, implying that a foundational understanding of repentance from dead works and faith in God is essential before progressing to deeper truths [1]. This foundational message includes the universal reality of sin. All human beings are born with a sinful nature, though the godly strive against it [2]. Sin is not merely an action but a state of rebellion against God [5]. The first sin, committed by Adam and Eve, was not simply eating forbidden fruit but involved self-love, dishonor to God, ingratitude, and disobedience [4].
Paul's letter to the Romans systematically lays out this universal sinfulness, first among Gentiles and then among Jews, demonstrating that all are under sin's power and cannot earn God's favor through their own actions [6]. God's anger is depicted not as an arbitrary emotional outburst but as a necessary, holy response to sin [6]. To deny one's sinfulness is to call God a liar [7]. Augustine, as cited by Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, explains that while those who commit sin are "of the devil," the devil does not "beget" them; rather, they become children of the devil by imitating him [3].
The core message of the gospel, therefore, addresses this pervasive problem of sin with the solution found in Christ. The preaching of the cross is central, as it proclaims that Christ died for people's sins so they could be forgiven [10]. This message is not merely a system of notions but a practical religion designed to reform hearts and lives [11]. The ultimate goal of this communication is to bring glory to God, as all things are from and through Him [8, 12]. The focus remains on the message itself, rather than the individual delivering it [9].
Sources
- Hebrews “Hebrews 6:1 (LEB) — Therefore, leaving behind the elementary message about Christ, let us move on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and faith in God,”
- Psalms (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Psalms 58:3: 58:3 All human beings are born sinners (see 51:5); however, whereas the wicked indulge their sinful nature, the godly fight against it (Rom 7:19-23; Jas 4:1-10).”
- 1 John (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on 1 John 3:8: He that committeth sin is of the devil--in contrast to "He that doeth righteousness," Jo1 3:7. He is a son of the devil (Jo1 3:10; Joh 8:44). John does not, however, say, "born of the devil." as he does "born of God," for "the devil begets none, nor does he create any; but whoever imitates the devil becomes a child of the devil by imitating him, not by proper birth" [AUGUSTINE, Ten Homilies on the First Epistle of John, Homily 4.10]. From the devil there is not generation, but corruption [BENGEL]. sinneth from the beginning--from the time that any beg”
- Genesis (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Genesis 3:13: beguiled--cajoled by flattering lies. This sin of the first pair was heinous and aggravated--it was not simply eating an apple, but a love of self, dishonor to God, ingratitude to a benefactor, disobedience to the best of Masters--a preference of the creature to the Creator.”
- Psalms (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Psalms 19:13: 19:13 An individual who commits deliberate sins does so with an insolent (86:14) or arrogant (119:21, 69) attitude. • The great sin is rebellion (see 32:1).”
- Romans (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Romans 1:18: 1:18–3:20 Paul delays exploring the theme of righteousness through faith (see 3:21) until after he first teaches about universal sinfulness. Gentiles (1:18-32) and Jews (2:1–3:8) are equally under sin’s power and cannot find favor with God by any action of their own (3:9-20). 1:18 God’s anger is not a spontaneous emotional outburst, but the holy God’s necessary response to sin. The Old Testament often depicts God’s anger (Exod 32:10-12; Num 11:1; Jer 21:3-7) and predicts a decisive outpouring of God’s wrath on human sin at the end of history. While Paul usually de”
- 1 John (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on 1 John 1:10: Parallel to Jo1 1:8. we have not sinned--referring to the commission of actual sins, even after regeneration and conversion; whereas in Jo1 1:8, "we have no sin," refers to the present GUILT remaining (until cleansed) from the actual sins committed, and to the SIN of our corrupt old nature still adhering to us. The perfect "have . . . sinned" brings down the commission of sins to the present time, not merely sins committed before, but since, conversion. we make him a liar--a gradation; Jo1 1:6, "we lie"; Jo1 1:8, "we deceive ourselves"; worst of al”
- 1 Corinthians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on 1 Corinthians 3:23: 3:23 Just as they may now claim everything as their own, so Christ has claimed them for himself (see Rom 14:7-9), and in Christ they are ultimately claimed by God (see 1 Cor 6:19-20; 7:23).”
- 1 Corinthians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on 1 Corinthians 15:11: 15:11 The important thing is the message, not the messengers (cp. 1:10-12).”
- 1 Corinthians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on 1 Corinthians 1:17: 1:17 The important thing is not baptism, but the preaching of the Good News; baptism signifies people’s response to the message. • clever speech: Eloquence, or an appeal to human wisdom. • for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power: Too much emphasis on eloquence and the persuasiveness of human reason can distract from the simple message that Christ died for people’s sins so that they could be forgiven (1 Cor 2:1-5; 15:1-3).”
- Romans (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Romans 12 (introduction): The apostle, having at large cleared and confirmed the prime fundamental doctrines of Christianity, comes in the next place to press the principal duties. We mistake our religion if we look upon it only as a system of notions and a guide to speculation. No, it is a practical religion, that tends to the right ordering of the conversation. It is designed not only to inform our judgments, but to reform our hearts and lives. From the method of the apostle's writing in this, as in some other of the epistles (as from the management of the principal minister”
- Romans (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Romans 16:25: Here the apostle solemnly closes his epistle with a magnificent ascription of glory to the blessed God, as one that terminated all in the praise and glory of God, and studied to return all to him, seeing all is of him and from him. He does, as it were, breathe out his soul to these Romans in the praise of God, choosing to make that the end of his epistle which he made the end of his life. Observe here, I. A description of the gospel of God, which comes in in a parenthesis; having occasion to speak of it as the means by which the power of God establishes souls, an”