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The Folly And Weakness Of The Cross (1 Corinthians 1:18-31 March 10, 2019)

This week Google led me into the very interesting world of self-help bloggers. Many of them encourage us to begin the day by looking into a mirror and speaking to the person we see there. What do they encourage us to say to ourselves? Here are some very common suggestions. You look yourself in the eye and you say:

• You are awesome • You are powerful • You are wise • I love you

Yeah – not going to happen. I think that is about the last thing I would ever do or should ever do. My heart already screams – Oh Craig – you are so awesome and wise and powerful – of course I love you. But the truth is – when I look in a mirror I know I am looking at a mere man – who is anything but awesome and not worthy of trust. As Christians we know putting ourselves at the centre of our hearts is idolatrous – only God belongs there.

The Folly And Weakness Of The Cross

— 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 —

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Yet, here is what even mature Christians often unwittingly do. We find some Christian leader who is godly, charismatic, who moves us – and we give our allegiance to them. Look, I would be more than surprised if any of us have pictures of John Calvin on our wall – or whoever your favourite Christian leader is – Spurgeon, MacArthur, Chandler – and you start the day looking at them and saying – Oh John:

• You are awesome • You are powerful • You are wise • I love you

But – the fact is that Christians are naturally drawn to gifted men and women. We tend to give them an allegiance that rightly belongs only to Christ. And as we saw last week, giving our allegiance to men often leads to division – because someone else will undoubtedly give their commitment to a different leader. In the opening chapter of 1 Corinthians Paul deals with this. We have seen that this book gives us: Cross-centred wisdom for flawed saints. We are in a section dealing with reports from Chole’s people and the first issue Paul is dealing with is – Divisions. And this section divides up like this:

Division comes when we follow human power and wisdom and the cross is emptied of its glory 1:10-17

We looked at this last week. Giving our allegiance to men or women – even the godly – who seem wise and powerful – will lead to disunity. I follow Paul – no – I think Apollos makes more sense. No mere man is worthy of this kind of devotion. Today, we begin to look at Paul’s instructions about how to resolve these divisions in the church. What he says is:

Unity comes when we follow divine power and wisdom and the cross is displayed in its glory 1:18-4:21

Basically, Paul says:

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Our divisions disappear at the foot of the cross

Why – because it is at the cross we line up behind the real wisdom and power – that of God – not the false wisdom and power – of man. Maybe we can think about it this way. If we were able to look at every church split in history – at its heart we would find two or more human factions. A division over theology – like baptism or end times. A division over preference – like music or architecture. A division over authority – I want to be leader – no I should. And conversely – I suspect that if we were able to look at churches where Christ and the cross are the very heartbeat of the fellowship – you will not find division – only souls united in praise. So Paul is very clear. To a Christian – this truth has to capture our soul: The cross is the wisdom and power of God for salvation 1:18-2:16 Paul demonstrates this with two points.

The cross saves without human wisdom and power 1:18-31 The cross saves through divine wisdom and power 2:1-16

I could not sum up the point of this morning’s message any better than in the words of Isaac Watts: Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast Save in the death of Christ, my God This morning we will look at this point:

The cross saves without human wisdom and power. The cross destroys every aspect of pride and human accomplishment – because it saves without our intelligence, power or works. We begin in chapter 1 verse 18:

For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is the power of God to us who are being saved.

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There are worldviews that evoke different visceral reactions. What if I put up an image of: • The Nazi Swastika? • The LGBTI flag? There are groups in our world that would look at each of these symbols and see a worldview of wisdom and power. There are others who would see nothing but foolishness and weakness. But Paul knows the most divisive teaching, the most divisive philosophy in all history – is the cross.

Notice Paul doesn’t say – For the cross is foolishness. He says – the word of the cross – the logos of the cross – is foolishness. Logos here – is the proclamation of the cross – the gospel of the cross. If you look down to chapter 2 verse 2 – Paul says he entered Corinth and all he proclaimed to them was Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He did not say – alright Corinthians – let’s talk metaphysics, rhetoric, creation, science, philosophy. He could have done that and Paul would have crushed it. But it would not have led to the cross. He turned up and said – I’m here with – the message – the proclamation – of the cross.

PERISHING SAVED

FOOLISHNESS

WEAKNESS

WISDOM

POWER

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And this message divides all humanity – everyone ever born into two groups. The perishing and the saved. The perishing hear the proclamation of the cross and it means nothing but unadulterated foolishness and weakness. The saved hear the proclamation of the cross and rejoice in its wisdom and power. There is no middle ground. Here is the issue. Walk out on the streets of Brisbane and ask people what is wisdom? Some will point to a philosophy they can understand – Eastern religion, self-help techniques. Most will point to science and education – something they can grasp. Many simply think a wise person is anyone who lines up with their view of the world. That is why to many Trump, Putin or Kanye are wise. Then ask them – what is power? Some will point to organised power – like Islam? Most will point to things like military might, wealth, political power – all tangible things they understand. We expect that. But here is the problem – even among Christians – we are often embarrassed by how foolish and how weak the cross seems in comparison to the emblems of wisdom and power in the world. A crucified Messiah – it even sounds foolish and weak. We feel as if we need to have something else to compete with the world. So even Christians tend to line up behind men, women, organisations that seem wise and powerful. Well known preachers and churches. I follow Pastor Matthias and his 25,000 members – we are not a weak group. Teachings that sound more self-help than Sovereignty of God – we have wisdom. Music that is so catchy it even trends on the world’s charts.

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We follow those who say – Christian – you can do miracles and work power that will get the world’s attention. But Paul cries – no Christian brother – Christian sister – we have nothing that can compete with worldly wisdom and power – but we don’t need to. We will never find unity in a man, a woman, a church, a teaching – only in Christ and Him crucified. The church at Corinth had the greatest teachers – every spiritual gift – and it led them to division and sin. We need to realise the only true source of unity is the cross. And far from being foolish and weak – the cross is the only true wisdom and power there is. Let me spell out the wisdom and power of the cross. This is what we believe. God – the uncreated Creator of all things. The One who exists outside of time who controls all things in time. He chose to enter His creation – not in power – but in weakness – as a child. He was born as part of a scorned outcast nation – to an unmarried mother – in the most despised region. He grew up poor, shunned and powerless. Although He never did anything wrong and selflessly helped all He could – He was hated and found guilty on trumped up charges. In fact a man who was guilty was freed. He was beaten, spat on and nailed to a brutal instrument of execution and died a slow painful death. And His all-powerful Father did not intervene. He did this so that 2,000 years later – you and I can be linked to His death by faith – and gain victory over death and hell. I trust you were nodding in agreement. But I also trust that you realise that to most people in the world – our teaching on the cross makes the Scientology teaching that we are inhabited by aliens called Thetans sound comparatively reasonable. Nothing about the cross makes sense to human wisdom.

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The half of you in here who did not grow up in Christian homes know exactly how foolish and weak the cross sounds. When I first heard it – my view of Christians moved from extremely low to moronic – mentally unstable. Surely no sane person with two eyes and a brain could believe this stuff? I really thought Christians had to be the victims of some cult-like process of brainwashing and denial of logical thinking. There was no other way I could understand seemingly rational people believing this stuff. But, as we will see in chapter 2 – when God chooses to open our blind eyes and give us understanding – everything flips. What was foolish and weak becomes the greatest source of wisdom and power. Yes God will one day come in power and might – but first He had to come in weakness and foolishness – why? – to save us. The cross is the only way that the holiness and justice of God could be satisfied. To the saved – the cross is wise – it explains this fallen world – it shows the love of God – it shows the way to heaven – and it is powerful – it does what no other force in the universe can do – it moved this sinful man from darkness into the kingdom of light. So Paul asks – brothers – sisters – when you consider the cross – what is it that you think? Are you ashamed of the cross because the world thinks it is so foolish and weak? Do you look for some more palatable emblem of wisdom and power? Or do you look at the cross and see the greatest wisdom and power imaginable – the wisdom of God and the power of God? Do you glory in the cross? Do you proclaim nothing but Christ crucified? That is the question. Because how you respond to the message of the cross determines your fate – perishing – on the way to eternal ruin – or salvation – on the way to eternity with God. Verse 19-20:

For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will set aside the intelligence of the intelligent. Where is the one who is wise? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the debater of this age? Hasn’t God made the world’s wisdom foolish?

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Paul quotes from Isaiah. The point is that the cross was always God’s plan to destroy all forms of worldly wisdom and power. God never had in mind a way of salvation that the world would find attractive. Whatever the highest wisdom of the world is – whatever the most lauded form of human intelligence is – it is squashed at the cross. The Greeks revered wisdom. Believe it or not – Philosophers were the rock stars of the day. I saw all of the Canadian philosopher Jordan Peterson’s Australian events were sell outs. But Greece had dozens of Jordan Petersons. They would travel from city to city – gather large crowds who would fawn over them and people would fall into various camps over who they supported – Stoics, Epicurians, Skeptics, Platonists, Aristotelianists. The Jews revered the teachers of the Law. Those who explained the way of God through the Torah. But they completely missed the trajectory whereby the Law points to the cross. The debater is anyone who uses the wisdom of the world to explain God and the universe. And the cross destroys them all. What is Paul’s proof of this? It is that the cross does something no form of human wisdom and power can do – it actually saves. Verse 21:

For since, in God’s wisdom, the world did not know God through wisdom, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of what is preached.

In His wisdom God created us as finite beings. And as created beings – through our own efforts, our own wisdom – none of us can ever come to know Him. Think about this for a moment.

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God is uncreated. He is Spirit. He lives outside of time. He is all powerful. You are created. You are physical. You live in time. You are limited. How could you ever grasp even the fringes of what God is like – let alone know God? God is unknowable through human wisdom and intelligence. No one can by force of reason deduce what God is like. Unless God reveals Himself – we could never know specific details about Him. In His grace – He gave us enough ability that we can surmise that He exists through His creation. We can surmise He is powerful and totally beyond our imagining. But that is about it. For example, unless God revealed Himself – by our own wisdom – we could never deduce that He exists as a Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Most of what we know about God is because He revealed Himself – and the greatest revelation is in Christ and in particular – in the cross. In Christ and His cross here are just some of the truths we learn:

• God exists in more than one person • God entered this world • God alone can save • God’s justice and holiness can only be satisfied in the cross of Christ • God is love

And every one of these revelations is absolute foolishness to the world.

• God exists in more than one person The Trinity is absolute foolishness to the world. It defies logic and mathematics. One God in three persons! It sounds as foolish as the notion of hot ice.

• God entered this world If there is a Creator who is Spirit who exist everywhere – it is folly that He could or would shrink down to the size of an ovum and enter the womb of an unmarried peasant. A universe sized God becoming a human baby – really?

• God alone can save Sounds too exclusive and selfish. What about Allah? What about me?

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Surely there have to be many paths of salvation – one is extreme. If you think the cross is the one and only way of salvation – that is folly?

• God’s justice and holiness can only be satisfied in the cross of Christ Can’t God just forgive? How can Jesus dying 2000 years ago have anything to do with my sins today? The cross sounds like divine child-abuse not justice – it is folly.

• God is love Really, really God! The cross is the best display of love you have? You stand by when genocides and wars happen. You let children die. You let paedophiles and rapists roam. You let bad stuff happen to me. And you let your innocent Son die. And the cross is the best love you have – folly! If you don’t believe the message of the cross is absolute folly to the world – you have not shared it right – or you have not shared it at all. There is not one core doctrine we hold to that the world in its human wisdom does not consider foolishness. Creation Election The Resurrection The Second Coming Heaven and Hell The world says these are all foolishness. They are on a par with fairy tales like Hansel and Gretel. But if the world were to rank the teachings of the Bible in order of degrees of foolishness and weakness – have no doubt that right at the top – is the cross. Christ and Him crucified – absolute folly. But God was pleased to use what the world considers folly to save us. When I was 22 – for around four months – I struggled with the gospel. What I really struggled with was pride.

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I struggled with creation – because science said evolution was right. I struggled with the cross – because it made no sense and it removed me from helping to save myself. I struggled with Jesus – He seemed so weak – this last will be first – be a servant to all – that seemed so weak. Jesus was not the God I wanted and the cross was not the way of salvation I wanted. It was only when God opened some very blind eyes to the truth that what seemed folly was revealed for what it was – the wisdom of God that I was saved. Verses 22-23:

For the Jews ask for signs and the Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles.

Jews ask for signs. Miracles. Tokens of power. Have you ever had anyone say – show me a miracle and I will believe! No they won’t. Read the gospels – the Jews are always asking – hey Jesus of Nazareth – what sign do you do? Our God is powerful. Our prophets did mighty works. Our God crushed Pharaoh and parted the Red Sea. Our God raised the dead and defeated the prophets of Baal. What have you got Jesus? Jesus had plenty – but signs of power are never enough. Read the Gospels. Jesus did so many signs and it was never enough. In John 6 – He walked on water and fed the 5000 – then when He told them – You have to believe in Me to have eternal life – they walked away. They just didn’t want to believe. Or when Jesus hung on the cross – the leaders of the Jews – the chief priests, the scribes and the elders, mocked him and said, “Come down now from the cross, and we will believe in you.” Perform this one sign and we will believe. So – walking on water, healing the lepers, raising the dead – that was not enough – but one more miracle and you will believe? No.

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What if Jesus had come down from the cross? Not only would no one in all history be saved – but I guarantee that miracle would not have been enough. It would have wowed them for a time. But in a day or two – they would be asking – OK coming down from the cross is so Friday – today is Monday – so what miracle have you got for me today? Signs are not enough. Greeks seek wisdom. Understanding. Have you ever had someone say – OK explain this gospel to me in a way that makes sense. I want a gospel that fits with science, logic and reason. Really – you want a pint size God you can get your mind around? Sorry – you can’t understand the true God. By definition an eternal creator God is beyond the grasp of the creation. Read Job – you and I simply can’t understand creation, the way God has worked in history, the way He saves. But we still demand a domesticated God – a God that we can grasp. Paul says – tough luck. God is not a genie to do miracles on demand. God is not a so small you can understand Him. If you truly want a sign of power and an expression of wisdom – you already have it – the cross – Christ crucified. Christ – Messiah – Saviour – King – but crucified. Those two words make no sense to Jew, a Greek or anyone who is not a Christian. God Himself dying – paying the penalty for every sin of His people – and rising again. There is no greater sign – no greater token of power than the cross. There is no greater wisdom – no greater display of God’s plan for salvation. Only at the cross can we understand this fallen world, sin, heaven and hell. So why isn’t it enough?

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Because to a Jew – the cross is a stumbling block – the world is skandalon – it is where we get our world scandal. It is a scandal for God to become man. It is a scandal to die on a cross. The idea of God becoming man and dying in shame as a criminal is too outrageous for a Jew to accept. It is not how I think God should save the world – so it can’t be right. And to a Greek – this is foolish. There is no God and if there was He would not become man. He would not die for His rebellious creation. That is folly. It is not how I think God should save the world – so it can’t be right. God has to fit my view – or it is foolish. The unbridled pride! Verses 24-25:

Yet to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, because God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

To the called, the chosen, the elect – those God has opened their eyes and given the mind of Christ – whether Jews or Greeks – anyone – then you can see the cross for what it truly is – the power and wisdom of God. Far wiser and stronger than any human wisdom or power. In chapter 2 – Paul says the natural man – someone who the Spirit of God has not opened their mind – they simply can’t understand the cross. Have you got that relative – that friend – who you have shared the gospel with 200 times. You have gone over creation, the fall, sin, evidences for Jesus, evidences for the resurrection. You have countered every objection they have – and then still say – it is still foolishness to me.

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Share again. Maybe time 201 God will open their eyes – because nothing else will ever allow them to see the truth. God chooses His people – calls them – by opening their minds to the truth of the cross and folly becomes wisdom and weakness becomes power. No one is converted through your brilliant presentation or their brilliant comprehension. God uses what the world says is weak and foolish to save. The only path away from the city of destruction leads straight through the cross. And the cross is entirely the work of God – and the entire collected wisdom and power of every man and woman who has ever lived adds nothing to the cross. And our pride hates that. And if that is not enough proof that – the cross saves without human wisdom and power – Paul adds verses 26-31. Look at verse 26:

Brothers and sisters, consider your calling – or perhaps better – consider those who are the called.

Look around you at the church – those God has chosen to save.

Not many were wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth.

The church has always been predominantly drawn more from the lower strata of society – not from the most powerful, the richest, the most influential, the most intelligent. But, not entirely. God has seen fit to save some from the highest strata of society. Selina Hastings – better known as the Countess of Huntingdon – used to say that she was – saved by the letter M. Born into privilege, into the nobility of aristocratic England in the 18th century – she came to Christ and became the most prominent benefactor for the revivals led by Whitefield and Wesley. When she read 1 Corinthians 1 she came to verse 26 – she realised that she was part of the group deemed powerful and noble. So she wrote this comment:

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Blessed be God, it does not say “any mighty,” “any noble”; it says “many mighty,” “many noble.” I owe my salvation to the letter “m.” If it had been “not any noble,” where would the countess have been?

If God only chose the weak and poor – she would never have been saved. It is not that God does not save any Kings and Billionaires – it is just there are not many of them He saves. God has always seen fit to call some of the world’s mighty and noble – wise and influential – but they have to lay that aside and enter the same way as the rest of us – through the cross. Verses 27–29:

Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world—what is viewed as nothing—to bring to nothing what is viewed as something, so that no one may boast in his presence.

Why is the church mainly drawn from the lower strata of society? Some have said that it is because when you are wise and powerful and rich – you don’t think you need a Saviour – and if you do – well you have the resources and ability to be your own Saviour. Perhaps. But, that is not what Paul says is the reason. Paul knows that for God – saving a King is no more difficult than saving a peasant. Paul knows that Kings and peasants are both blind to the cross. Paul says – look God does choose some wise and powerful – but the church is mainly filled with those the world sees as foolish and weak – and the reason why is so God alone gets the glory. If the church was filled with brilliant men and women and powerful men and women – then the implication is either – God preferences those type of men and women – or that their gifts helped them become saved. Either way – the glory is taken from God. Either He is like the rest of us and shows partiality to the powerful – or salvation does not belong entirely to God. Also, I don’t think this verse is meant to say God is partial against the wise and powerful – that God preferentially chooses the weak and foolish.

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The reality is the number of people who the world considers wise and powerful are few compared to the rest of us – so the fact that there are any in the church at all shows the power of the cross. No, I think Paul’s point here is more like this. Truth is – if we look around – not too many billionaires, Nobel laurates and Presidents sitting here this morning. Most of us would not be considered among the wise and the powerful. I’m not even sure whether anyone here even has a Wikipedia entry – if you do I don’t need to know. But when you have been dead 10,000 years – your Wikipedia entry matters not one jot. What matters is whether you were in the Lamb’s book of life. What got you into the kingdom was not your brilliant intellect or gifts. Most of us know Blake Norrie. Great young man but born intellectually challenged. The world is never going to put him on a pedestal and declare him Young Einstein. But spiritually – now that is another matter. His faith is rudimentary – childlike – but Paul says – in reality that makes him wiser than Einstein. When the dust settles on this world – and there are men like Blake in heaven and geniuses with IQs over 200 in hell – who gets the glory for salvation? God and God alone. The wise are shamed for putting their pitiful understanding above God’s. The mighty are shamed for pitting their pathetic might against God’s. And those the world sees as nothing – despised – insignificant – because of the wisdom and power of the cross – they are in Christ, sons of God and actually are the truly wise and powerful. Let me put it this way – the day will come when all the untold millions of redeemed from every age are standing before the throne of God – in the presence of the King. Not one of them will be able to step forward and say – wow I was right – and I knew it. Just letting you all know that I got here because I am brilliant. IQ 180 has its perks. I worked out the way of salvation that is right and here I am. Never!

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Plato for all his brilliance will not be there. Nor Nietzsche. Nor Hume. Nor Confucius – unless in an act unknown to history they discarded their pride and human wisdom and accepted the wisdom of the cross. And in fact – no Christian – great or small – will be there based even in the smallest part on their brilliance or power. But, the childlike will be there. The impaired. Those considered as nothing. There will be peasants, prisoners, despised races, handicapped people. As well as a few Kings, billionaires, generals and Presidents. And all will stand on the same level ground at the foot of the cross. None of us will be able to say – I looked at the universe – worked out there had to be a God and that He had to be good and the only way He could save me was to enter the world in weakness and sacrifice. Only Christianity looked logical so I became a Christian. My brilliance is part of the reason I made it heaven. None of us can say – I was so important to the church – God had to save me to make His plan work. No. He saves us apart from any semblance of human wisdom and power – so that all the glory is His and His alone. And that is only fitting – because God is the only perfect being – the only one worthy of honour – so it is only right that all the glory is His and His alone. Verse 30:

It is from him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom from God for us—our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption,

It is as a gift from God that we are in Christ Jesus – and the gift we get is the wisdom of God, the righteousness of God, the sanctification of God and the redemption of God. Salvation is a gift – it is not earned – it is not by the power of self. Why? Verse 31:

In order that, as it is written: Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.

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In Galatians 6:14 Paul says:

But as for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

There is nothing else to boast in because nothing else saves us. We must not boast in self or in any man – but in the cross alone. Brothers and sisters – because we are made in the image and likeness of God – idolatrous worship of human beauty, power and wisdom comes naturally. But it has an inherent danger. Just yesterday I read in the paper that the doomsday clock is now at 11.58pm – two minutes to the end of the world. Wars – virus – famines. Environmental destruction – family breakdown – endemic stress. The world knows we are in trouble. Really – the world has always been in trouble. The problem is that that the world also thinks it has the answers. Science, medicine, social engineering. Democracy, free speech, civil rights. And just how have these solutions gone? And these issues are nothing compared to death and the judgment that follows. Worldly wisdom and power have nothing to even suggest how me might deal with this. Unfortunately, this fascination with human wisdom and power also finds its way into the church. It manifests in many guises. Accepting some of the world’s wisdom above the Bible’s wisdom. The Bible is subservient to science. Seeking tokens of power that the world will accept. We need numbers, money, acclaim, miracles. Thinking we need a few billionaires and celebrities to see the kingdom advance.

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And it manifests when we follow the wisdom and power of men and women – even godly ones. No. Let the one who boasts – boast in the Lord. Accept the truth. What is the truth? The world despises us. The powers that be ignore us. So what is the answer? The answer is not to organise Christian political power. The answer is not to ask God for signs that will impress the world. The answer is not to say – look we have a few sports stars, heads of industries and politicians – we aren’t totally weird you know. The answer is not to be ashamed of the cross and seek to find better answers to make the gospel more palatable. Brothers and sisters, Christianity is unlike any other religion or philosophy in that God chooses to work through weakness and foolishness – not through power and wisdom – so He alone gets the glory. Yes the cross might seem foolish and weak – but it is anything but. It is the power of God to save and I am not ashamed of it. So, the answer is to preach Christ and Him crucified and let God unleash the power and wisdom of the cross one heart at a time as He sees fit. It is what saved you. It is the only thing that will save anyone. And the glory is His alone.

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The Folly And Weakness Of The Cross (1 Corinthians 1:18-31 March 10, 2019)

Main Point: Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast save in the death of Christ, my God General Questions: 1. How does a focus on the cross heal divisions in the church? 2. In what way does the cross divide all humanity? 3. What does the world find foolish about the cross?

4. What does the world find weak about the cross?

5. Why are some Christians embarrassed by the apparent weakness and foolishness

of the cross?

6. What does the cross reveal about God?

7. How does the world see these truths?

8. Why do signs and miracles alone not lead to faith?

9. Why do logical arguments alone not lead to faith?

10. In what ways is the cross truly power and wisdom?

11. Why does the cross bring glory to God? 12. In what ways can the wisdom and power of the world affect the church and diminish

the glory of the cross. Application Questions: 1. Are you embarrassed by the cross or the gospel when you share with others? If so

why? 2. Are there areas you have felt the church needs more wisdom and power to affect

the world? 3. How did you view the cross before your salvation? What changed for you?

4. In light of this passage, what place do apologetics, creation, archaeology have in

evangelism? How should they be used?