1 Corinthians 1:27a English Standard Version (ESV) But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise;

In the first church I joined I would sit in the front row. The front row always gets called on.

The “sermon” was being given to a new member of the church who came to us from the public school system. He was a natural teacher. He relied on his natural instincts.

“Larry, what is grace?” he asked the kid in the front row.

“God’s love being poured out into my life.” That was how I felt but it wasn’t the “book” answer.

“Wrong, anyone else?” Then someone behind me said “Unmerited favor.” That was the answer he was looking for. Was I wrong to define grace by how it made me feel? I don’t think so.

A few years ago I discovered a video by Dr. Keith Lamb online. One of the first things he said was that man’s natural instinct is to make things complicated. It really is simple.

Matthew 13:3 English Standard Version (ESV) And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow.”

And it is just that simple.

Jesus explained the parable because it was too simple. 18 “Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.

We need to understand it. This is where man likes to complicate things. The simple truth is that we are to spread the gospel and allow the gospel to do the work.

“It cannot be that simple, let me explain it to you.”

That is where Dr. Lamb’s lesson comes into play. The natural man likes to think of himself as being superior to others. He will say “Wrong, anyone else?” He has placed himself in a position of superior intellect. He ignores what the gospel has done in the heart of his student.

A Kingdom Teacher looks at the condition of the heart and sees beyond the “book” answer.

What if that natural teacher that was preaching had said, “That’s a better answer, but I was looking for something simpler.”