Sermon Tone Analysis

The Word of the Cross!

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

For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

Where is the one who is wise?

Where is the scribe?

Where is the debater of this age?

Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.

For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,

and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

Where is the one who is wise?

Where is the scribe?

Where is the debater of this age?

Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.

For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

What is the gospel of Jesus Christ?

You would think that this question would be completely unnecessary to ever ask a group of Christians.

It would be like asking a group of carpenters to tell you what is a hammer?

After all, the gospel Jesus Christ stands at the very center of Christianity, and we Christians claim to be about the gospel above all else!

The gospel is what we say we live our lives for, the gospel is what we claim that our churches are build upon, the gospel is what we are call to proclaim to an unbelieving world daily, it is the gospel of Jesus Christ above all else!

But what does it mean when we do not have a firm grasp on what the content of the gospel really is?

How can we teach what we do not know!

How can we lead the way to where we have not gone?

How can we proclaim that our lives are about the gospel above all else?

A scrawny gospel, a skinny gospel, a starved gospel, leads to a scrawny worship, a skinny worship and a starved worship of a Holy God.

It lowers our eyes from a great God and gives worship to a gaunt and graceless self-centered existence; that cheapens what God has accomplished for us in Christ Jesus.

The true biblical gospel, by contrast, is like fuel in the furnace of worship.

The more you understand about it, believe it, and rely of it, the more you come to adore God both for who He is and for what He has done for us in Christ Jesus.

“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Romans 11:33).

The gospel of Jesus Christ is a blunt and bold message, it’s a simple and severe message, and it’s a sturdy and substantial message.

It is a message that intrudes into the world’s petty thinking, a message that intrudes into the world’s priorities, and a message that intrudes into the world’s principles.

So, pastor what is the gospel of Jesus Christ and where to we go to find it?

Well, one of the best places to go to find the gospel is the Word of God.

Paul’s letter to the Romans is perhaps more clearly depicts the gospel than any other book of the Bible.

It contains a deliberate, step-by-step expression of what Paul understood to the good news.

In Romans Paul introduces his message and himself in such a systematic, step-by- step way, which serves to seal the gospel in our spirit.

He begins in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

From this verse, throughout the first four chapters of Romans, Paul explains the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ in wonderful detail.

Paul does this by painting a picture of the gospel on the canvas of four basic principles.

(1) God, (2) Man, (3) Christ, and (4) Our response.

First, Paul tells us that it is God to whom we are accountable.

After his introductory remarks in Romans 1:1-7, Paul begins his presentation of the gospel by declaring that “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

- Romans 1:18.

What does this mean pastor?

Well the one who created us, the one that owns us, the one that we owe everything to, is angry with us.

Why?

Because all of us have sinned and fallen short of His glory, all of us have lied, cheated, and stole and dishonored Him and all of us have denied Him gone our own way.

All of humanity has sought not to adore and offer praise to Him but we have sought to become autonomous.

What is autonomy?

Let’s break it down, auto, means self-driven, and nomos, means law.

So autonomy means becoming a law driven by one’s self, accountable only to one’ self.

But God says we are accountable to His law.

We did not create ourselves and we are not self-reliant, nor self-accountable.

God created us and has the right to demand that we worship Him.

Romans 1:21, For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

So Paul tells us that we have sinned by not honoring or being thankful to God and not acknowledging His authority over us.

Secondly, Paul speaks to us about ourselves, (Mankind).

Paul tells us that we have rebelled against God.

That we have not honored God and given thanks to Him as we should, instead we have.

Romans 1:22-23, 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Is this not a revolting charge against us, for any human being made in the image of God to decide to give their worship to wooden or metal images instead of God?

For us to say that the idols of our lives are more valuable to us than the one who created us!

For the next three chapters Paul presses this point.

Romans 2:1, Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges.

For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.

Paul is saying you Jews are just like the Gentiles and have broken God’s laws and are under judgment.

Romans 3:9-12 takes if further, 9 What then?

Are we Jews any better off?

No, not at all.

For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God.12

All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one."

Now, strictly speaking the first two points of the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ are in fact pretty bad news.

God is angry with us and we deserved His anger because we have rebelled against Him.

Thirdly, Paul speaks to us about Christ.

Now Paul tells us that God has a solution to our sin problem, it’s the sacrificial death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Having laid out the bad news of our predicament we face as sinners before a righteous God, Paul turns now to the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Romans 3:21-22, 21 “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it-22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.

For there is no distinction.”

In other words, there is a way for human beings to be counted righteous before God instead of unrighteousness, or to be declared innocent instead of guilty, or to be justified instead of condemned.

So how does this all happen?

Look at Romans 3:24-26, 24 “and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.

This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.26

It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

Despite our rebellion against God, and in the face of a hopeless situation, we can be justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Through Christ’s sacrificial death and resurrection— because of his blood and his life— sinners may be saved from the condemnation of our sins.

But pastor exactly how is all this good news for me?

How do I become included in this promised salvation?

Finally, Paul tells us that this work of Christ requires of us a response of faith.

Look again at Romans 3:22, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.

For there is no distinction:

By responding through faith and by believing in Jesus Christ.

By trusting him and no other to save you.

By understanding that Christ has done all the work needed.

Rom.

4:5, And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.

We can obtain forgiveness, salvation and eternal life, by calling of the name of Jesus.