Keep it Simple!

“In the promulgation of your exegetical cogitations and homiletical prowess, in the articulation of your comprehensive fundamentality, amicable philosophy, or psychological inductive illustration, beware of platitudinous ponderosity.

“Let your conversational communication possess a clarified conciseness, a compacted comprehendedness, a coalescent consistency, and a concatenated cogency.

“Eschew all conglomerations of flagrant garrulity, insipid babblement, and asinine affectations.

“Let your theological incantations, extemporaneous descanting and unpremeditated expatiations have intelligibility and voracious vivacity, without rodomontade or thrasonical bombast.

“Judiciously avoid all polysyllabic profundity, pompous prolificy, vetriloqual verbosity, and vain vapidity.

“In other words, SAY WHAT YOU MEAN, MEAN WHAT YOU SAY, AND DON’T USE SUCH BIG WORDS WHEN YOU SPEAK!”

                                                     (Found in my illustration file…)

To which we all say, "HUH?"

Believe it or not, this illustration so tickled my fancy, I actually memorized it when I was 17.  I loved to quote it just for the reaction it would get from friends and acquaintances.

If you have been a Christian for any length of time, you probably have found yourself using words that the average person has no idea what they mean.  Words like these: rapture, redemption, born again, regeneration, accepting Jesus, soul winning, glory, salvation, sanctification, holiness, tithing, missionary, faith promise, etc.

In the ear of the average unchurched friend or neighbor, these terms sound much like the verbose illustration I quoted above.  When you have opportunity to speak to your friends or neighbors about Jesus, remember that our religious terminology will have little meaning to most of them.  Or, if they do have an understanding of the term, it may be completely different than your intent.

Let me encourage you to live your life everyday in such a way that those around you see that your relationship with Christ is not a religious duty that you discharge on Sunday, but that God is real in your life and impacts how you live on Monday!  And then, when God gives you opportunity to share why you have hope in Christ, take care to explain the words you use so they may understand.

Remember, “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17).