"The Foolishness of God"
Text: 1st Corinthians 1:18-31
Introduction-
I’m preaching today from my favorite passage of
Scripture in all of the Word of God. As Paul said
in Galatians 6:14-"But God forbid that I should
glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto
the world." The Apostle Paul was a man with one
message, and that was "Christ crucified." Opinions
of the Apostle Paul varied. Some said that he was-
n’t much to look at. Some said that he could not
speak well, that his speech was contemptible. Some
even insisted that Paul had no right to be an Apos-
tle, because he had not been one of the original
twelve Apostles of Jesus. All these opinions did
not deter Paul from declaring his message of
Christ crucified. He kept right on faithfully
proclaiming God’s truth. Paul once said that he
deliberately did not try to speak with enticing
words of men’s wisdom, lest any should overlook
the message of the cross. He would be a simple
preacher, with a simple message. And, that mess-
age would revolutionize his world, because there
was power in the preaching of the simple message
of the cross. Paul also did not want the unbeliev-
ing world to think that he was some kind of glori-
fied con-artist who captivated people by his
personality and persuasive abilities. He would
stick to the preaching of the cross. That was
what God was going to bless, and use to convert
the masses to Jesus.
When Paul wrote to the Corinthians he was writing
to a troubled, divided church. It had about four
splinter groups in its membership. Someone once
said that the message of the cross is the only
answer to a divided church. The cross of Jesus
is the great unifier of men’s hearts and passions.
The cross leads men to experience peace with God,
and with man.
Let’s think this morning a little while about why
the cross is the central message of Christianity.
I. First, the cross is the central message of the
Christian faith, BECAUSE IT UNVEILS THE PLAN OF
GOD.
This is the only means that God has ordained to
forever settle man’s sin problem, deveat Satan,
destroy human pride and human wisdom, glorify
His Son, and provide salvation for fallen man.
Jesus is the Lamb slain from the foundation of
the world. It was no afterthought with God. It
was a deliberate, pre-destined plan.
His Son would come into the world, and die for
the sins of mankind by offering Himself in the
sinner’s stead on the cross.
II.Secondly, the cross is the central message of the
Christian faith, BECAUSE IT UNLEASHES THE POWER OF
GOD.
1st Corinthians 1:18 says-
"For the preaching of the cross is to them that
perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved
it is the power of God."
No other message can so altar the character of
man, or the condition of the world. When the
Gospel is declared, the light of God breaks
forth, expelling the darkness of evil and sin.
1. To the Greeks it was foolishness, because
of its simplicity. How could the death of
a Jew on a cross bring salvation? They just
couldn’t accept it.
2. To the Jews it was a stumblingblock, because
it was hard for them to accept a suffering
Messiah. They wanted a conquerer, not a
crucified King.
III.Thirdly, the message of the cross is the central
message of Christianity BECAUSE IT UNMASKS THE
PERSON OF GOD.
We don’t have to wonder what kind of God that
God is anymore, because the cross reveals that
He is a God of compassion and love.
When we read that "God spared not His own Son,
but delivered Him up for us all..." then our
hearts are touched, and our lives are trans-
formed by the love of God shown to unworthy
sinners, deserving of Hell.
The cross is diametrically opposed to the
wisdom of this world. It springs from a differ-
ent source. It follows a different course, and
it arrives at a different conclusion. It reveals
the wisdom of God.
IV. Fourthly, the cross is the central message of
Christianity BECAUSE IT UNINHIBITS THE PRAISE OF
GOD.
God alone is to be glorified by the cross. It
was His love alone that made salvation possible,
and provided it by grace.
We will spend an eternity trying to learn why
God would love us so, and why He is so Good.
When salvation is seen as a work of man, then
man is praised, but when salvation is seen as
the work of God, then God alone is praised.
V. Fifthly, the cross of Christ is the central
message of Christianity BECAUSE IT UNFOLDS THE
PASSION OF GOD.
The Old Testament Mosaic Law was good, and
righteous, and holy, but it only condemned
sinful man. The message of the cross is
redemptive. It reaches down to fallen man
and lifts him up from despair and hopelessness.
Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ and
His cross.
The passion of God was not to condemn man, but
to save man. He desires that none perish, but
that all come to repentance.
VI. Sixthly, the message of the cross is the central
message of the Christian faith, BECAUSE IT UNTAN-
GLES THE PAIN OF GOD.
Yes, God suffered painfully when He delivered His
only begotten Son up to sinful man to be mocked,
ridiculed, spit upon, beaten, and brutally mur-
dered.
A tear must have fallen from God’s eye when He
heard His Son cry out-"My God, My God, why hast
thou forsaken me?"
But, it was because God thought so much of us,
and loved us so, that He spared not His own Son.
VII.Sevently, and finally, the cross is the central
message of Christianity BECAUSE IT UNLOOSES THE
PURPOSES OF GOD.
God’s purpose was to redeem man, and to so
transform man that he would be able to live
eternally in Heaven with Him, the perfect,
Holy God, throughout the endless ages.
1. It seemed foolish when Naaman the leper
was told to go wash in the Jordan River and
dip 7 times, but when he obeyed, his leprosy
departed!
2. It seemed foolish when David faced the giant
Goliath with only a sling and 5 smooth stones,
but when he went in God’s name and power, the
giant fell, and he cut his head off!
3. It seemed foolish when Joshua told the people
of Israel to march around Jericho 7 times on
the 7th day in obedience to God, but when they
did, the walls of Jericho came falling down!
4. It seemed foolish when Moses made a serpant
of brass and held it high above the snake-bitten
masses of Israel and told them to look upon it,
but when they obeyed, and looked in faith, they
did not die from the snakebite!
"And, as Moses lifted up the serpant in the wild-
erness, even so, must the Son of man be lifted up,
that whosoever believeth on Him, might have eter-
nal life."
It may seem foolish to you, but it is God’s wis-
dom and power. Believe, and look in faith, and
you, too, will be saved.
