Greetings, Friends!

James Denney (1856-1917) wrote, “No man can give the impression that he himself is clever and that Christ is mighty to save.” The statement may have made a little more sense if he had added “at the same time” - “No man can give the impression that he himself is clever and, at the same time, that Christ is mighty to save.” Still, his point is clear: If a preacher is mostly concerned with impressing his audience, the message that “Jesus saves” will be lost. The preacher’s ego may be temporarily sated, but God will not be glorified, the gospel will not have been preached, and faith…which “comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ” (Rom. 10:17, NLT)…will have no chance to come alive.

The band Casting Crowns sings a song titled Only Jesus. The song includes the lyrics, “And I, I don’t want to leave a legacy/I don’t care if they remember me/Only Jesus/And I, I’ve only got one life to live/I’ll let every second point to Him/Only Jesus.” Their message is similar to Denney’s: Time spent trying to impress others is time wasted. When someone walks away from a conversation with us, it’s okay if they forget our name; hopefully, they will remember the name of Jesus, the One who is “mighty to save.”

John the Baptizer put it this way: speaking of Jesus, he said, “He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less” (John 3:30, NLT). Straight forward and simple.

Are you concerned with impressing others? It’s an easy trap to fall into. It’s the rare person who doesn’t enjoy getting a laugh, or having others hang on your every word. But as Christ’s disciples, we are to avoid such traps. Our words, our relationships, our lives, should have but one purpose: Only Jesus.

Pastor Rich