1cor1s18

Foolish?

11/5/06 CC/AM

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

(1 Cor. # 3)

Introduction: There is a big difference between God and ourselves!  That is a huge understatement!  If we were God, we would do things quite a bit differently I am sure. Sometimes the way that God does things don’t seem to make a lot of sense to us. Some would even call it foolishness.  Six times in our text the word foolish is used to describe the way that man views God and His program.

Prayer

Text

1.   The plan may seem foolish

a.    If you were going to devise a plan to attract people to God what might be you key selling points?

                                                            i.      We would probably place a huge emphasis upon the benefits on all the positive aspects of having a relationship with God.

                                                         ii.      We would stress that God is love.

                                                      iii.      We would make an easy and attractive way to begin that relationship.

                                                      iv.      We would want any of those that were seeking a relationship with God to be as comfortable as possible.

                                                         v.      We would probably no have included the message of the cross!

b.   If people were to visit our church before or even just after the crucifixion of Christ, and see that we have a cross displayed in our auditorium, that people were wearing “cross” jewelry, and that the universal symbol of the church is the cross, they would think that we were nuts.

c.    The cross was the symbol of a horrible death reserved for only the vilest criminals.

d.   If we were to go into a church and find that in the front of the auditorium was a wooden electric chair and the people wore electric chair ear rings and necklaces and that the church was easy to find because it had a big electric chair on the roof, we would think that they were nuts!

e.    That was what the cross represented to the people then.  It meant death and disgrace.

f.     Paul said in his day that the people who were without Christ and therefore perishing saw the whole message of the cross as foolishness.

g.    The unsaved Jews saw it as a stumbling block because they demanded that Jesus be crucified. They were unlikely to admit that they were wrong about Him.

h.   The Gentiles/Greeks believed that information, wisdom, and education was the way to enlightenment and therefore the message of someone dying on their cross being the savior of the world was ridiculous.

i.      The message of the cross was just too far outside of their comfort zones.  It wasn’t an acceptable way to God.

j.       People today are the same way.  Although we are a bit removed from the stigma of the cross as a means of execution, we have become just a bit to civilized or sophisticated to push the message of the cross!

k.   In some of our churches we are so careful not to offend, to make the gospel palatable they emphasize the message of love and prosperity and seldom see the need to identify the sinfulness and depravity of man.  A “Feel Good” Christianity is much more marketable to the masses, it always has been!

2.   The personnel may be foolish

a.    Remember when you were a kid and it was time to choose up teams?  Who did you choose?  If you were the captain you wanted to first choice and everyone there knew who you would pick.  You picked the one with the best ability, (after the captains of course). You wouldn’t even pick your best friend because on the athletic field your best friend was the one who made you win.

b.   If you were going to recruit people to lead the church and therefore impact the world you would probably have done it a little differently than God.

c.    We would have picked out the cream of the crop!

d.   We would get the smartest, wealthiest, most influential, attractive, talented, and committed people that we could find!

e.    Have you ever thought this way?  If so and so would get saved they would have a huge impact for Christ.  We would be tempted to name people that are influential because of their human merit.  We might name Bill Gates, Tiger Woods, Payton Manning, or Lebron James.  In our human reasoning it just makes sense to pick those who are already successful because they are already in a position to influence the world.

f.     On the other hand, it does not make a lot of sense to choose people who are described as being according to human merit. Look at their qualifications:

                                                            i.      Not to wise

                                                         ii.      Not to mighty

                                                      iii.      Not to well known

                                                      iv.      The weak

                                                         v.      The simple and unattractive

g.    Funny when we read that list how we do use the loop hole to place ourselves outside these categories.  You see it says that there are not many wise, mighty, impressive credentials, so there are a few!  It must mean us!

3.   The power of God is fantastic 

a.    So why didn’t God come up with a more attractive plan than to use the offensiveness of the cross and man’s own inabilities?

b.   Why didn’t God retain for Himself some more famous, intelligent and more noble workers?

c.    The answer is found in verse 29 and 31, so that no man can boast in anyone but the Lord.

d.   Man thinks that he is so smart!  Man is probably smarter than he has ever been as far as acquiring information. We have at our fingertips more information than we could ever hope to read or comprehend.

e.    With all this information has man solved the major problems that plague this world?  There seems to only be greater problems.  Hunger, war, terrorism, aids, drugs, hatred to name just a few!  The wisdom of the humanly wise is utter ignorance before God!

f.     We don’t go to heaven because we have figured things out!  We are not saved and called to serve because we are smarter or more desirable than others.

g.    God in His grace and mercy drew us unto Himself.  He calls the weak and the downtrodden, the poor and the needy, the not to smart and the not to affluent and makes of us a righteous, redeemed and holy people.

h.   We have nothing to boast about except God.  And we really could stand to boast about Him more often!  How often do we tell someone about Him?  How often do we start a conversation with “let me tell you about what the Lord has done in my life”?

i.      We love to boast about our accomplishments or our children’s or even more so our grand children’s.  We could stand to boast more about the Lord!

j.      Paul says that the foolishness of God is better than man’s most intelligent reasoning.  He says that in God’s weakest moment He is better than man at his best.

Conclusion: The message of the cross maybe offensive to those who mistakenly think that they know a better way but God in His wisdom chose to send His only begotten Son to die upon it for you and for me.  What was once an ugly instrument of death has become a beautiful symbol of God’s love for us.  The people that God chooses to call unto Himself may not be desirable by human standards, they even prove themselves to be not very reliable at times, but that only accentuates the marvelous power of God as he declares us righteous, redeemed and holy.  Those are things that we could never hope for by our plans, we could never obtain them in our own wisdom and abilities. The power of God has been made perfect in weakness.  The power of the cross has enabled us to be a child of God.  The plan and personnel may be foolish in the eyes of the world, but I will rest in the power of God anytime!  How about you?

1 Corinthians 1:18-31 (NASB95)
18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.”
20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.
22 For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom;
23 but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness,
24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26 For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;
27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,
28 and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are,
29 so that no man may boast before God.
30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,
31 so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”