And again in another place: “Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior” (2 Pet. 3:1-2).
Obviously, many of the New Testament writers saw themselves as responsible for reminding God’s people about things they had previously been told. They knew it was necessary if the human mind was ever going to embrace the truth and enable it to sink into the heart.
The Topic of Reminding
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But of what exactly did Paul remind the Corinthians? To be sure, when he said in 1 Corinthians 2:2, “I determined not to know anything among you except,” he put some pretty narrow parameters on his preaching topic. This claim almost suggests that Paul would have had to commit what some consider to be the unpardonable sin of delivering the same sermon over and over again! If that is the case, it must have been a doozie! And so it was.
His “testimony of God” is specified in the phrase “Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (w. 1-2). This was Paul’s preaching topic in a nutshell! This is what he reminded the Corinthians of over and over. It was in fact a doozie of a message — the ultimate sugar stick sermon! In fact, this message from God was so important that Paul gave lesser roles to factors such as oratorical ability and thought processes in order to feature it in his preaching.
When you have a message from God instead of just the wisdom of man, it is worth preaching over and over again. Paul refused to dedicate one second of time to a discussion of men’s ideas or insights, including his own. His sermons were consumed with the crucifixion, resurrection, and redemption of Jesus Christ.
And Paul wanted us to know that he did not merely set Jesus up as the perfect teacher or the perfect example of what a man ought to be. While Jesus certainly was all of these and more, Paul constantly reminded his listeners that Jesus of Nazareth was both Savior and God who had earned the right to lay claim on every person’s life.
Such has been the heartbeat of Christian proclamation since Pentecost. The proposition and culmination of that first Christian sermon was set forth when Peter said, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36). He and the other apostles continued to resound the same message in the coming days, saying that “the God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins” (Acts 5:30-31).