1 Corinthians 1:18

Introduction

In 1 Corinthians 1:18 “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” Paul begins to explain the point he makes in 1 Corinthians 1:17 “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.” Why did God preach the Gospel without using worldly wisdom techniques and strategy? His answer is fourfold:

The power is in the cross

The wisdom of the wise will be destroyed

The wisdom of God prevails

The cross gives us what we need and not what we want

This morning, we will see the first of Paul’s four-fold argument

Power in the Cross

1 Corinthians 1:18 “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”

Perish - As we go through this section of 1 Corinthians, Paul writes about the contrast between preaching God’s word with human wisdom and preaching God’s word without human wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:17 “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect”). To entangle human wisdom and philosophy in the preaching of the Gospel neutralizes the power of the cross. Whether they are Baptists, Catholics, Lutherans or Mormons breeding human wisdom with the cross is done by people who view the preaching of the cross as insufficient in saving sinners. Therefore, simply preaching the cross is foolishness to them.

The word “foolishness” means “silly” or “absurd. The Greek word word is where we get our English word “Moron” from. This is exactly the point of the pastor I brought up last week. He wrote in his church manual: “After observing for nearly fifteen years the preaching of hundreds of preachers across America, I have come to the conclusion that many of us need intensive help in the conducting of a public invitation. Many wonderful Gospel messages can be rendered ineffective by a weak invitation. On the other hand, many average preachers can be rewarded greatly with the use of an effective, pungent public invitation.” Affecting a positive response is not the preaching but the invitation. It is not the cross but the humanistic philosophy that produced the invitational platform.

We must never get in the business of wanting converts for the sake of having converts On the website of the person that I just mentioned, it says: “In the last five years of his ministry, this church had an average weekly attendance of over 15,000 with approximately 10,000 baptisms each year.” Without knowing how many people attended the church before his last five years. I assume the number to be in the thousands, possibly 10,000. This would mean that in a five year period in which the church baptized 50,000 people, only a few thousand of those 50,000 went to church.

Several years ago, we had a pastor preach a Friday night fellowship for us. The first statement out of his mouth was how the church led 10,000 people to the Lord from the small city of Utica, NY, but his church attendance ran in the low 100’s. Let me contrast these two methods of evangelization and invitation with effective preaching by Peter on the Day of Pentecost. Three thousand people were saved, baptized, added to the church, (Acts 2:4 “and they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers”). The goal is not numbers but genuine and authentic converts to Christ that come from an exclusive approach of preaching the cross. I do not have to implement invitational techniques or a sales pitch to get them across the finish line. The Psalmist wrote: Psalm 3:8 “Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: Thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.” The tragedy in the examples given is how many people have perished without Christ because some pastor trivialized the cross.

Today we live in a very divisive society. Republicans versus democrats; woke versus anti-woke; pro-life versus pro-choice. Yet, the most consequential division in the history of the world is the cross. “In a word, the word of the Cross divides all mankind into two camps, one composed of those who are perishing and the other composed of those who are being saved or as C S Lewis phrased it ‘immortal horrors or everlasting splendours!’”

The word “perish” is in the present tense. The idea is a person who undervalues the cross is presently being ruined. Alan Redpath says perishing "means entire failure to be what God intends a man to be: the disease of sin running its course unchecked. It indicates an increasing distance from God, a gradual sinking into depravity, a withdrawal of the only source of real happiness and power. It is the drift downward in spite of all the efforts made to pull oneself up.”

A minister who faithfully proclaimed the gospel in an open-air meeting was challenged at the close by an unbeliever who stepped from the crowd and said, "I don't believe in heaven or hell. I don't believe in God or Christ. I haven't seen them." Then a man wearing dark glasses came forward and said, "You say there is a river near this place? There is no such thing. You say there are people standing here, but it cannot be true. I haven't seen them. I was born blind. Only a blind man could say what I have said. And only a spiritually blind man can say what you have said! Does not the Word of God say, 'The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God'?" (Ps. 14:1).

Saved - 1 Corinthians 1:18 “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” “The sharp contrast here is striking as it separates all humanity into two groups, unsaved and saved, children of darkness or children of light. There is no in between, no purgatory. Only those who perish and those who are saved. Every person is either on a sure course for eternal punishment or eternal bliss!”

If we want God’s power and not human ingenuity then we must focus on preaching an unadulterated sermon about the cross. We have glamorized the cross but in the first century, the cross was anything but glamorous. D A Carson - “What would you think if a woman came to work wearing earrings stamped with an image of the mushroom cloud of the atomic bomb dropped over Hiroshima? What would you think of a church building adorned with a fresco of the massed graves at Auschwitz?....The same sort of shocking horror was associated with cross and crucifixion in the first century.” In spite of this, the cross still must be preached.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer  “Wisdom or grace without the cross is what is sold on the market like a cheapjack’s wares. Cheap grace means justification of sin without the justification of the sinner, … forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline … the world goes on in the same old way … grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ” Oswald Chambers wrote: “Every doctrine that is not embedded in the cross of Jesus will lead astray.” Spurgeon said the power is in the cross not techniques or tactics but the cross. There are four reasons why this is true:

The cross removes our self-righteousness. Jesus being born in a stable, growing up to be a miracle worker, be the greatest teacher, and dying on the cross is more than a good story. His death on the cross unravels our self-perceived good works. Isaiah wrote, prophesying about Jesus: (Isaiah 53:5) “But he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: The chastisement of our peace was upon him; And with his stripes we are healed.” “The chastisement of our peace is God’s wrath. Our transgressions and iniquities cemented God’s wrath in our lives. The only way to have peace with God is through the cross but people do not want to hear this.

Peter quoting Isaiah added: (1 Peter 2:24) “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” The only way for us to be dead to sins and live a righteous life is through the cross.

Yet, people in their various levels of self-righteousness hate the Biblical message of the cross. In May of 2021 a poll came out regarding how people felt about themselves and mankind. In this poll 1 out of every 2 people believe they are the best person they know. Further, 81% believe people are inherently good. The Bible says 100% of people are inherently evil. Isaiah 64:6 “But we are all as an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; And we all do fade as a leaf; And our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:8 “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:” The word “sometimes” mean “formerly.” Before God saved us with the glorious light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 2:4-6), our lives were in darkness where the truth of the Gospel was repressed by our sinful nature (Romans 1:18).

The cross reconciles us to God. Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:16 “And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby.” The cross is the mechanism that reconciles both Jews and Gentiles to God. “The idea inherent in reconcile is to take enemies and change them to friends.” Underlying the word “reconcile” is “a restoration back to primal unity.” In other words, the cross brings us back into the kind of relationship that God had with Adam and Eve before they broke this friendship with sin. Fundamental to the reconciliation that takes place “by the cross” that causes enemies to be friends is love. Love that has been initiated by the reconciler, God! John 15:13–15“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.” People who treat the cross foolishly can never be friends with God or enjoy His amazing love.

The cross brings us peace with God. Paul wrote in Colossians 1:20 “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” Sin is an act of war against God. I am not longer at war with God because the decisive battle was fought and won at Calvary. Jesus fought a battle I could not fight for myself so that I can enjoy the peace of God. There is a saying: “If momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” This saying is infinitely and eternally magnified with God. Jesus said in John 3:14–15: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” If Jesus was not lifted up on the cross for my sin then I will perish without ever knowing what true peace is. The cross was where God’s grace was displayed (Romans 3:21-26). I love the song Grace and Peace:

VERSE 1    Grace and peace, oh how can this be For lawbreakers and thieves For the worthless, the least You have said, that our judgment is death For all eternity Without hope, without rest Oh, what an amazing mystery What an amazing mystery That Your grace has come to me

VERSE 2 Grace and peace, oh how can this be The matchless King of all Paid the blood price for me Slaughtered lamb, what atonement You bring! The vilest sinner’s heart Can be cleansed, can be free Oh, what an amazing mystery What an amazing mystery That Your grace has come to me

VERSE 3 Grace and peace, oh how can this be Let songs of gratefulness Ever rise, never cease Loved by God and called as a saint My heart is satisfied In the riches of Christ Oh, what an amazing mystery What an amazing mystery That Your grace has come to me

TAG Oh, what an amazing love I see What an amazing love I see That Your grace has come to me Oh, what an amazing love I see What an amazing love I see That Your grace has come to me

The cross is needed for our sin debt to be paid for. Without our sin debt being paid for there is no forgiveness of sins, reconciling or peace with God. Jesus’ birth, miracles, perfection, teachings, relationships, burden for the outcast and being God did not pay one ounce of our sin debt. The Son of God had to die a brutal and bloody death which could only be accomplished by dying on the cross. Jesus gave seven statements while on the cross. The next to the last statement, Jesus declared: (John 19:30) “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.” The phrase “It is finished” means “Paid in debt.” The sin debt that we could not pay was satisfied with Jesus being nailed to the cross.

The cross is where the power of God exist. The Kingdom of God does not exist in words but the supernatural power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18 “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” Preaching the cross unto those who are saved is the power of God. The phrase “which are saved” is in the present tense and passive voice. This means, we are presently saved and our salvation came from an external source. The power source is God. Two points to see regarding the cross is where God’s power resides:

The general meaning of the word “saved” is to be rescued from great peril. One pastor put it: “salvation means rescue or deliverance from some calamity or catastrophe.” The peril that God rescued us from is his wrath. People confuse the main purpose of the Gospel. In R. C. Sproul’s book, Saved From What, he writes of “a survey conducted by Christians United for Reformation (CURE) among the delegates to the annual convention of the Christian Booksellers Association some years ago. Since the delegates are composed mostly of Christians, we would think that they would have a basic grasp of the essential truths of the gospel. But when CURE staff asked one hundred delegates at random, the staff found that only one of those who were polled gave an ‘adequate’ definition of the gospel. Most of the answers were something like, ‘The gospel is having a personal relationship with Jesus,’ or, ‘It means asking Jesus into your heart.’ Absent from these definitions were any affirmations of the person and work of Christ and the appropriation of His work to the individual by faith alone.”

The following year, he was asked to preach at the same conference. He chose the topic of what is salvation. His text was Zephaniah 1:14–18 “The great day of the Lord is near, It is near, and hasteth greatly, Even the voice of the day of the Lord: The mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, A day of trouble and distress, A day of wasteness and desolation, A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, A day of the trumpet and alarm Against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, Because they have sinned against the Lord: And their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them In the day of the Lord’s wrath; But the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: For he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.”

The cross saves us from the infinite wrath of God: 1 Thessalonians 1:9–10 “For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.”

Paul wrote in Colossians 3:5–6 “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness (longing or desire), which is idolatry: For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:”

God’s wrath is not just sending people to Hell; although, Hell is the ultimate reality of God’s wrath. Today, God’s wrath is displayed on American society. Romans 1:18–32 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” The hope for America is not the Republicans, Democrats, or Independents but preaching the cross. The cross is where God’s wrath is satisfied.

The cross is the message that saves people from the wrath of God because God’s power. 1 Corinthians 1:18 “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” Without the power of God there is no salvation. “The Gospel has intrinsic power to save which is why it does not need us to add clever words” or techniques to get people to walk an aisle. Paul wrote in Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” Dr. Bob Utley wrote: “The gospel reveals and channels the power of God. It produces faith. It produces repentance. It produces wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption (cf. 1 Cor 1:30). The preaching of the cross does all of this. It is God’s power behind the written word (the Bible), the living word (Christ), the preached word (the gospel), and the established word (Christlikeness/the kingdom of God).”

The Greek word for power is Dunamis. Paul usually used this word as “divine energy to accomplish something supernaturally which cannot be accomplished naturally.” G. Campbell Morgan wrote: “In the cross, sin is cursed and cancelled. In the cross, grace is victorious and available.” This can only happen if the power to save comes from God. His power is the only power that can use such a hideous method of death to save the sinner. Consider what God’s power can do within the realm of impossibilities: God’s power can create from nothing, just by speaking creation into existence; God’s power can form man with all the various levels of anatomical organization that interrelates with each other; God’s power can stop the rotation of the earth; God’s power can defy natural laws of gravity by Jesus walking on water and ascending into Heaven; and, God’s power can save a person who deserves His wrath.