1 Corinthians chapter 2. The name
of the message is Why We Preach Christ and Him Crucify. Why We
Preach Christ and Him Crucify. 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verses
1 to 5. And you note that this is right
after what we looked at in Sunday School this morning. So it ties right in with that. And I, brethren, When I came
to you," this is Paul writing, "...not with excellency of speech
or of wisdom declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I am determined," Paul's
resolved, he's determined, "...not to know anything among you save
Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness,
and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech, and my preaching,
was not with enticing words of man's wisdom." Paul didn't use
fancy words, although he could have. He sat under one of the, who was looked at as one of the
greatest teachers of that time. Paul was no doubt very versed
in logic, He had a classical education,
you could say. He could probably go toe to toe
with anyone. And look at these humbling words.
Was not with enticing words of man's wisdom. But in demonstration
of the spirit and of power. That your faith should not stand
in the wisdom of man. But in the power of God. Now sometimes I get asked by
various folks, and I know you probably have too, what we preach over here. What
we preach over here. And some folks say, oh, you're
a bunch of Baptists. You preach Baptist doctrine.
And yes, we are Baptists, and we preach the scriptures. Yes,
we do. We preach the scriptures. And
other folks, they ask, well, what do you think of prophecy?
And what do you think of this? And what do you think of that?
in eschatology and end times things. And I often reply, we
believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is upon His throne right now
and that He is coming back when He comes back in His timing. And He knows that time. He knows when He is coming and
so we continue to preach Christ to a lost and dying world. Because
that's what we're commanded to do. Others ask about the gifts
What we believe in tongues are the supposed second blessing,
and I tell them we believe what the scriptures say. We believe
that tongues were knowing languages, because that's what the Greek
calls them. They were knowing languages. Not the gibberish
nonsense that's passed off today as tongues by slick-mouthed preachers,
because that's what they're doing. They only want to steal the people's
money, and they want you to do something so they can pronounce
it, now you're safe. And there are some groups out
there who believe that unless you speak in tongues, you're
not saved. That's nonsense. That's utter nonsense. Every blood bought child of God
has the Holy Spirit within them. Within them. There's no second
blessing. They have the Holy Spirit within
them. And again, I often tell folks, what you probably tell
them too, we believe what the scriptures say. Thus saith the Lord. Have you
ever noticed when you're talking to people, I've noticed this
so much, in witnessing the people and talking to people, you're
telling them about the truth of scripture and they say, well,
but, no but. But I believe. I don't want to
hear what you believe. I want to hear what the Scriptures
say. That's what's most important.
And that's what's most important to we who believe. What does
the Lord say in the Scriptures? What does the Scriptures say?
Now Paul had one message, beloved. And he preached from the Scriptures.
And we know when Paul says he preached from the Scriptures,
that he's preaching from the Old Testament. We know that.
And what was Paul's one message? Look at verse 2. For I am determined,
he's resolved, beloved, not to know anything among you save
Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Paul didn't go around teaching
practical Christian living. Or how to overcome things by
your works. Paul preached Christ in whom
we overcome. Paul preached Christ who is our
life. It's all about Him. He was determined, He was resolved,
beloved, to preach Christ and Him crucified. Tim James, one time, when he
was here, I was listening to one of his sermons, and he talked
about what goes on in most pulpits today. Just words. Just words. They preach on morality, they
preach on Christian living, they teach a social gospel. They're
just plain words. There's no power in them. They
try to motivate the people to make sure that they're saved,
and what they do is they tell them by praying a prayer or by
doing certain things, well now you're saved. All the time making
them twofold a child of hell. telling them that their salvation
is dependent upon their work. But praise God for us, for we
who believe, for we who have had Christ revealed to us, for
His people. Praise God for salvation in and
through Christ that is dependent upon His work. His work. Salvation is all of Him. It's
all of Him. He saves us, He keeps us, and
He glorifies us. And just as the scriptures say,
salvation is of the Lord. It's of the Lord. No matter what
someone says. If you hear someone say, well,
salvation is in Christ plus this, baptism. That's a lie. That's
a false gospel. Or salvation is Christ plus this. You've got to believe this or
you're not saved. You gotta believe Christ or you're not saved, period.
There's no addition to this. Salvation is in and through Christ
and Him alone. Turn, if you would, to Romans
11, Romans chapter 11. And we know that anyone who adds
works to grace, and I mean just a pinprick of works, or saying
you have to believe a certain thing along with Christ, that's
still a work, that's you believing on that. Anyone who adds just
a pinprick of works to grace, it is no longer grace. So any
addition to grace is no longer grace. And now think of this,
adding anything to Christ and His perfect work is a false gospel. It's a false gospel. And I don't care how little it
is, if you add to Christ, it's false gospel. Look at Romans
11, verse 6. Look at this. And if by grace,
then it is no more of works. Not even a pinprick. Grace is
all grace. It's all grace. All grace. Otherwise, grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it
is no more grace. Otherwise, work is no more work.
Just a pinprick. Remember the analogy I told you
that Jean-Claude told me? Remember, you get a balloon,
and it's full. Remember the helium balloons
we used to carry around? They still have them, right? They
get aggravating for us sometimes when the kids bring them in the
house, and they're bouncing around everywhere. But remember that? It had the string, and the helium
would lift the balloon up. What happened if you just took a pin,
just a pin, and you just touched it? Not popped it, just enough
to let it, what happens? That's what you do if you add
a pinprick of works to grace. It's gone. It's gone. And that's what that verse says
right there. It says, and if by grace then it is no more works,
otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it
is no more grace. Otherwise work is no more work.
So salvation is either all of grace or one believes in a work-based
religion, no matter what they add to it. Even if they add saying
you have to believe a certain doctrine with Christ, that's
still work-based religion. That's spoiling grace. There's no middle ground here
either. There's no middle ground. Salvation is either of the Lord
or it's not salvation. Now we preach Christ and Him
crucified, and so do many other grace churches around the world.
And the warning is sounded here from this pulpit and from those
pulpits to beware of those whose message is not Christ alone,
who is not Christ and Him crucified alone for salvation. So the question
comes up, why do we preach Christ and Him crucified? Well, let's
look at some points. And hopefully, again, we can
leave here with hearts rejoicing that we attend a place of worship
where Christ and Him crucified is the theme of the preaching.
First point is this, Jesus Christ and Him crucified is the theme
of the Bible message. Turn, if you would, to Genesis
chapter 1, and then put your finger all the way back in Revelation
chapter 22. The theme of the Bible is the
Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ. He is
the theme of the Bible. It's a book of history, but primarily
the concern of this book is the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's poetry in it, there's
history in it, but it's a book about Christ. And the Lord Jesus Christ is
God incarnate in the flesh, the Redeemer of His people. And this
book begins with God and it ends with God. And all in between
it is all about God. It's all about Him. Look at Genesis
1, 1. In the beginning, God. It starts
with God. Created the heaven and the earth.
It starts with Him. And then we know, we know that
the Bible, so that's the great I Am. That's Jehovah, the self-existent
One, the unchanging One. And we know that He is the One
who created all things. And in Colossians it says this,
Colossians 1, verses 14-17, about Christ. It proclaims that He
is the Creator. in whom we have redemption through
his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. So salvation and redemption
is only through Christ, who is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of every creature. For by him, Christ, were all
things created. In the beginning, God. That's
the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. And the Word of God is
the Lord Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity. For by
Him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in
earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions
or principalities or powers. All things were created by Him
and for Him. For Him. And He is before all
things. And by Him Even you who do not
believe in Him, by Him all things consist. Believer, unbeliever,
everything. There's not a molecule in this
world that's not under the control of my great God and King, the
Lord Jesus Christ. My, what a Savior. What a Savior. Then turn to Revelation 22. So
it begins with Him. It's all about Him through the
Word. He's the Creator. He's the one spoken of in Genesis
1-1. He's the Alpha. In Genesis, and
now let's consider him as the Omega in all things. And we already
know he's the Omega in salvation, the Alpha and the Omega in salvation,
but he's also the Alpha and the Omega in providence. And he's
the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end of this
book. Look at Revelation, chapter 22, verses 20 and 21. He that testify these things
saith, surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with you all. Amen. The book begins with God
and the book ends with God. And all in between is all about
Him. All about Him. That is why we preach Christ
and Him crucified. Because He is the theme of this
book. He's the theme of the Bible.
And so we see Scriptures again begin with God. We see in Colossians
that he is the creator and we see that they end with him. God
incarnate in the flesh, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is Alpha and
he is Omega, beginning and the end. My. Revelation, chapter one, verse
11, says this saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the
last. What thou seest, write in a book,
and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia, unto Ephesus,
and Samaria, and Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis,
and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. So let us remember
this, that in all things Christ is preeminent. We saw that in
our study in Colossians. He is preeminent. And the scriptures
proclaim very clearly that salvation is of the Lord. In this proclaiming,
is all of Him. He is Alpha in our salvation
and He is Omega in our salvation. And we are simply recipients
of this wonderful, marvelous grace of God in and through Christ
Jesus. And this is why we preach Christ
crucified in Him alone. Because He is the theme of this
Bible. He is the theme of this book.
And this book proclaims that redemption is only in and through
Him. That you cannot save yourself.
None of us can save ourselves, but Christ saves all who comes
to Him. And God's elect are purchased
only by His blood. They are fully bought and paid
for. They are ransomed. They are redeemed only by the
Lord Jesus Christ. Turn, if you would, to Hosea.
Hosea speaks of this ransom. And put your finger in the book
of Job also. Oh, I found a ransom. And it's
the Lord Jesus Christ, and He found me. I was lost, and He
found me. And the Old Testament spoke of
one who would ransom His people, who would deliver His people,
who would redeem His people. Hosea 13 verse 14, and then put
your finger in Job chapter 33. Hosea 13, verse 14, I will ransom
them from the power of the grave. God himself will ransom us from
the power of the grave. I will redeem them from death.
O death, I will be thy plagues. O grave, I will be thy destruction. Repentance shall be hid from
mine eyes. But note, I will ransom them. God himself will ransom his people.
God himself will redeem them. I will redeem them from death.
This is a work of God. This is his work. And then look
at Job chapter 33. And then also put your finger
where zip over to Matthew chapter 20. We're go over there. Job
chapter 33 verse 24. Look at this. Oh, and how gracious is the Lord
to his people. Then he is gracious unto them
and say it deliver him from going down to the pit. I have found
a ransom. Have you found a ransom? Has
the Lord Jesus Christ revealed Himself to you? Oh, I pray He
does. Because He's the ransom of His people. He's delivered
us from the bondage of sin. Delivered us, we who could never
deliver ourselves. And then look at Matthew chapter
20, in light of those two verses there, Hosea 13, 14 and Job 33,
24. Look at Matthew chapter 20, verse
28, and this will make our heart just leap for joy. And I'm going to tell you the
Greek word for ransom is this, the price for redeeming. That
price which is being paid for to redeem we who were lost and
dead and trespasses and sins. Paid for Ransom is also something
that's paid for slaves who are held captive, or the ransom for
one's life, to liberate many from misery. And boy, were we
in misery. We were in the misery of sin,
weren't we? And the penalty of their sin. So not only has he
liberated us and freed us from the misery, but also the penalty
of our sins. Look at Matthew 20, verse 28.
Even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to
minister to give his life, A ransom for many, a payment for his people. He purchased us. And we looked
at that this morning. He purchased us with his own
precious blood. He did it. He has redeemed us
from our sins. And now the gospel preacher,
he must declare the whole counsel of God. Acts chapter 20 verse
27 and 28 declares this. For I have not shunned to declare
unto you all the counsel of God. Take heed therefore unto yourselves
and to all the flock over the which the Holy Ghost hath made
the overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased
with his own blood." Now note that. To feed the church of God,
which he, God himself, hath purchased with his own blood. Remember
our text in Hosea? I will ransom them. I will redeem them. In Acts 20,
verse 28, the Scriptures plainly declare that God Himself purchased
us with His own blood. The Lord Jesus Christ did that.
That's why we must preach Christ. We must preach Him. Turn, if
you would, to Luke, chapter 24. What was the message of the prophets?
Christ crucified is the message of the prophets. The Old Testament
Scriptures speak of Christ. Speak of Him. Luke 24, verses
44 and 45. He's the theme of all the Scriptures. It's Him. Luke 24, verses 44
and 45. And He said unto them, These
are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you,
that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law
of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms. What? Concerning
Me. He's the theme of the Scriptures.
Moses and the prophets wrote of him, the Psalms speak of him.
And then look, then opened he their understanding that they
might understand the scriptures. And this is our prayer for you.
If you're if you're without Christ today, that God would open up,
open up the scriptures and reveal Christ to you. That he'd give
you hearing ears and seeing eyes to see Christ. It's a work of
God. And the scriptures here and elsewhere
mentioned in the New Testament are the Old Testament again.
Because the New Testament had not yet been written. Turn if
you would to Acts chapter 8. Acts chapter 8. And let's see
a good example of Christ being preached from the Old Testament
by Philip in the New Testament. Acts chapter 8. And here's Philip proclaiming
Christ from the Old Testament. Exactly what what was written
and what our master said. That he is the one that is spoken
of by Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms, look at Acts
chapter eight and the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying,
Arise and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down
from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose and went,
and behold, a man of Ethiopia, and eunuch of great authority
under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her
treasures, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, was returning
and sitting in his chariot, and read Isaiah the prophet." Now
remember, the Lord said the prophets and the law, they all testify
of Him, don't they? Then the spirit said unto Philip,
Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran
thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Isaiah, and
said, Understandest thou what thou readest?" Do you understand
what you're reading? And he said, How can I except
some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he
would come up and sit with him. The place of the scripture which
he read was this. He was led as a sheep to the
slaughter, and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened
he not his mouth. In his humiliation, his judgment
was taken away. Who shall declare his generation?
For his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered
Philip and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet
this, of himself or some other man? Now did Philip open his
mouth and just start teaching them practical Christian living?
Or how to overcome? Absolutely not. Absolutely. Look what Philip taught him. Then Philip opened his mouth
and began at the same scripture and preached unto him, Jesus.
Jesus. He proclaimed Christ from the
scriptures. He proclaimed Christ from the scriptures. And they
went on their way. They came unto a certain water,
and the eunuch said, See, here is water. What doth hinder me
to be baptized? He's born again of the Holy Spirit of God. And
Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.
And he answered and said, I believe. I believe that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God. My, my. So Christ crucified is the message
of the apostles. Paul proclaims in our text, and
this is proclaimed all through the book of Acts. Turn if you
would to Acts chapter 5. Acts chapter 5. Here are a couple references.
Acts chapter 5 and then Acts chapter 17. And I'll read Acts
chapter 8 too. We'll go in between. Acts 5,
verse 42. And daily in the temple, and
in every hour, they ceased not to teach and to preach Jesus
Christ. They proclaimed Christ. That's
what they did. They proclaimed Christ and Him
crucified. They were determined and resolved
to preach nothing but Christ. And then look at Acts 17, and
I'll read Acts 8, 5, which says this. Then Philip went down to
the city of Samaria and preached Christ unto them. This is what
they did. They preached Christ. Look at Acts chapter 17 verses
2 to 4. And Paul, as his manner was,
went in unto them, in three sabbath days reasoned with them out of
the scriptures, that's the Old Testament, opening and alleging
that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead,
and that this Jesus whom I preach unto you is Christ. He preached
Christ, beloved. He preached Christ. He didn't
get caught up in all this other stuff. He preached Christ. And some of them believed and
consorted with Paul and Silas. And of the devout Greeks, a great
multitude. And of the chief women, not a
few. So Christ is the theme of this book. He's the theme of
the scriptures. He's the one we declare. Now
think of this. Here's a few things for us to
chew on. The Bible pictures Christ as type and speaks of him in
its message. The ark was a type of Christ. The ark was a type of Christ.
Think of this. All who were in that ark were
saved. Every one of them. They were saved. And they were
safe also from the wrath of God which was falling on all those
outside the ark. And all in that ark were saved.
Christ is our ark of safety, beloved. He's our ark of safety. The Passover lamb was a type
of Christ in his substitutionary death. Who died in the place
of the firstborn of Israel? A lamb. Blood was shed. And then it was put on the lentils. The lamb died in the place of
the firstborn of Israel that night. And it pictures Christ
Jesus our Lord dying in our place, dying in our place on the cross,
the innocent one. And that lamb was innocent. It pictures Christ, the innocent
one, dying for guilty sinners, dying for his people. The rock
in which water flowed out of float out, it pictures Christ,
who's the water of life for the believer. The manna, remember
the manna fell down from heaven. The manna is a picture of Christ, who's
our manna. We feast on Christ. We feast
on Him. It's He who gives us life. And
think of this, He doesn't just give us life. I was hearing some
guys today, or this week, they were saying about how they can
overcome sin and do all this, and I said, We can't overcome
sin on our own. Christ has to sustain us, doesn't
He? We battle every day and He gives us the strength and the
grace to overcome that sin. My goodness! And so He not only
is the manna for us to give us life, but He's the manna to sustain
us. And we need new manna every morning,
don't we? We need new mercies every morning. Every morning
I need the grace of God. Every night I need the grace
of God. Every day, every second I need the grace of God. My! The tabernacle in the wilderness.
Remember they pitched the tabernacle amongst the other tents in the
wilderness? And it's where God dwelled. Now
outside it looked like any other tent. Outside it looked like
any other tent. And what a picture of Christ,
Christ incarnate. He looked like any other man. People looking at him couldn't
tell any difference. They didn't know he was God in the flesh. So that tent's a picture of Christ.
Christ did not stand out among men. There's no beauty in him
scripture declares that we should desire him. Why? There's pictures all through.
But inside the tabernacle, right? It was full of gold. It was full
of gold. And God dwelt there. God dwelt
inside that tabernacle. Well, Christ is the God-man.
And all the fullness of God dwells in Him. Dwells in Him alone. He's pictured in the scapegoat.
In the priesthood of Melchizedek, in all the sacrifices, all the
sacrifices were but pictures and types and shadows, which
could never take away sin. But they were pointing to the
one who would take away the sins of his people. They were pointing
to the Lord Jesus Christ. So he is the theme of the scriptures. Now, Paul also, the second point
is the theme of Paul's preaching was Jesus Christ and him crucified.
He was the theme of his preaching. Turn, if you would, to John.
And we know that from our text, right? Look at our text again.
He says, for I am determined not to know anything among you
save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Jesus Christ and Him crucified
is the only message that God will honor. The only message
that God will honor. No other message will He honor. Turn, if you would, to 1 Samuel
2, verse 30. And then put your finger in John
chapter 5. And this is the next point. The
only message that God will honor is Christ and Him crucified. 1 Samuel chapter 2 verse 30. Wherefore the Lord God of Israel
saith, I said indeed that thy house and the house of thy father
should walk before me forever. But now the Lord saith, Be it
far from me, for them that honour me I will honour. And they that
despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Them that honour me I will honour.
And then turn, if you would, to John chapter 5. John chapter
5. Look at what the New Testament
says about Christ. For as the Father raises up the
dead, verse 21, and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth
whom He will. Those who are born again of the
Spirit are the ones whom God quickens. And it's all by His
choice and by His will. For the Father judges no man,
but has committed all judgment unto the Son, that all men should
honor the Son, even as they honor the Father." Now remember, remember
in 1 Samuel, it said, for them that honor me, I will honor.
That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father.
He that honoreth not the Son, honoreth not the Father which
hath sent him. So the only message that is God
honoring is the message of Christ crucified. In John 8, verse 54, the scriptures
declare this, the master himself declared this, Jesus answered,
if I honor myself, my honor is nothing. John 8, 54. If I honor
myself, my honor is nothing. It is my father that honoreth
me, of whom ye say that he is your God. So the preaching of
Christ and him crucified is a God-honoring message. A God-honoring message. Why? Because Christ is the wisdom
of God. Christ is the wisdom of God.
He is the only one whom God will honor. Turn, if you would, to
1 Corinthians 2 and look at verses 6 and 7. Brother Tim brought out the mystery
in the portion I had him read today. And that mystery has been revealed
to God's people, and it's Christ. 1 Corinthians 2, verses 6 and
7. Howbeit we speak wisdom among
them that are perfect, yet not the wisdom of the world, nor
of the princes of this world that come to naught, but we speak
the wisdom of God in the mystery, even the hidden wisdom which
God ordained before the world unto our glory. So the preaching
of Christ in him crucified is a God honoring message below.
It's because again, Jesus Christ is the wisdom of God. Turn if
you would again to John chapter five. I know I got you jumping
around today. John chapter five, the preaching of Christ in him
crucified is the only God honoring message because Christ is the
testimony of God. And the scriptures declare this.
He's the testimony of God. Look at John 5, verses 39-44. Search the Scriptures. Search
the Scriptures. Christ is speaking of the Old
Testament. Search the Scriptures. For in them ye think ye have
eternal life, and they are they which testify of me. Verse 39. And ye will not come to me that
ye might have life. Man in his natural state will
never come to God. unless they're made willing.
And then look what he says. I receive not honor from man,
but I know you that you have not the love of God in you. I come in my father's name and
you receive me not. If another shall come in his
name, him you will receive. How can you believe which receive
honor one of another and seek not the honor that cometh from
God only? He's the testimony of God. The scriptures declare that we
are ruined by the fall, doesn't it? But God's people are redeemed
by the blood of Christ and regenerated by the Holy Spirit of God. In
this salvation, this redemption only comes in and through he
who the scriptures declare the Lord Jesus Christ, God incarnate
in the flesh. Next point is we preach Christ
and him crucified because he is the one thing needful for
the believer. He's the one thing needful for the believer. Now, we think we need a lot of
things, but we don't. Christ is the one thing needful.
And Christ and Him crucified is the one thing needful. In
our natural state, again, we are dead in trespasses and sins.
We're in a mess. Just as the Corinthian church
was in a mess over the gifts of the Spirit. And we see Paul
declaring Christ to them. declaring Christ to them. And Christ is the one thing needful
for us. For us. Again, do you not need him every
hour? Do you not need him every minute?
Do you not need him every second? And is this not what we pray
for for our lost loved ones? and our friends that God would
show them their need. Oh Lord, please show them their
need. Just like He showed us our need. That He would reveal to them
their hopelessness. We remember where we were. Hopeless. Helpless. that He would reveal
to them their hopelessness and their sinful state before an
awesome and holy God, who they will one day face. Everyone shall face God, either
clothed in the perfect spotless righteousness of Christ, or clothed
in their own self-righteousness. Now we know that Paul, again,
I mentioned this earlier, he could have debated with anyone
in his travels. He sat under one of the best
known teachers of the day. Imagine Paul walking through
Corinth. And I imagine when I read that
text when he says, for I am determined not to preach anything among
you but Christ and Him crucified. I've often thought about that.
You know, sometimes we picture in our minds the situation And
I've often thought about Paul walking through the streets of
Corinth, and this is just my own, but walking and hearing
somebody debating something over here and going, I'm determined
not to preach anything but Christ and Him crucified. And hearing
something else going on over here, a conversation about something
else. I'm determined not to preach anything but Christ and Him crucified.
He was resolved, beloved. When he went into the temple,
he was resolved to preach Christ. When he met with the saints,
he's resolved to preach Christ. Christ is the theme of his preaching,
the center of his preaching. To preach Christ and Him crucified.
Look at our text again. For I am determined not to know
anything among you. 1 Corinthians 2, verse 2. For I am determined not to know
anything among you, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The
preaching of Christ consumed Paul. It consumed him. And remember, he had learned
a lot of things under various teachers. And like I said, he
probably had a very classical education. And he counted all
that but done. And he was determined, resolved
not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
Why? Now, we preach Christ and Him
crucified. The next point is we preach Christ and Him crucified
because He's the only way of salvation. All these folks telling these
folks they got to do this and they got to do that. You can't
save them. You can't save them. Now, we
desire to serve God, don't we? We desire. We desire to live
a moral life. We desire to please our Savior.
We know that our works so don't don't have anything. Everything
we do is tainted with sin. And we can't save ourselves.
Turn if you would to Acts chapter 4. Look how clear this is. Look
how clear the scripture is. Acts chapter 4, we preach Christ
and Him crucified because He's the only way of salvation. He
himself, the Lord himself said, come unto me all ye that labor
and are heavy laden, and I'll give you rest. I'll give you
rest. But look at this in Acts chapter
4, this is wonderful. This is the stone which was set
at nought of you builders, which has become the head of the corner.
Okay. Now, you got people saying that
you're saved by doing this, or you're saved by your baptism,
or you're saved by all this, and you're saved by that. Now,
that would be salvation by something we would do. Salvation by a man,
right? Really. If you bring it right down, it's
self-salvation. Because it's based upon something
you do. And we are men and women. Scripture declares us men. in
the sense of mankind. So look at this. Neither is there
salvation in any other. That means we can't save ourselves. In any other. There's no salvation
in ourselves. For there is none other name
under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation
is in Christ alone. This is why we preach and proclaim
Christ crucified. The fact that He died for sinners
upon the cross. The fact that He satisfied the
law and justice of God for His people. Turn to John chapter
8 and let us look at how plainly Spoken our Lord is about who
he is in the fact that there is salvation, no salvation outside
of him. John chapter 8. We're looking at verses 12 to
24. Then speak Jesus again unto them,
saying, I am the light of the world. He that follow me shall not walk
in darkness, but shall have the light of life. The Pharisees
therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself, thy
record is not true. Jesus answered and said unto
them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true. For I know whence I come and
whither I go, but ye cannot tell whence I come and whither I go.
Ye judge after the flesh, I judge no man. And yet, if I judge,
my judgment is true, for I am not alone. but I and the Father
that sent me. It is also written in your law
that the testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness
of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.
Then said they unto him, Where is thy father? Oh my, he's going
to stir a hornet's nest here. Jesus answered, Ye neither know
me nor my father. They don't know Him. Now, they're
religious. They supposedly do things in
the name of God. And He says, You neither know
Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you should
have known My Father also. These words spake Jesus in the
treasury, as He taught in the temple. And no man laid hands
on Him, for His hour was not yet come. Then said Jesus again,
I go My way, and ye seek Me. and shall die in your sins. If
you die without Christ, you're going to die in your sins. Whither I go, ye cannot come.
Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? Because he saith, Whither
I go, ye cannot come. And he said unto them, Ye are
from beneath. I am from above. Ye are of the
world. I am not of this world. I said,
therefore, unto you, that ye shall die in your sins, for if
ye believe not that I am he, now that is plainly spoken right
there, isn't it? Salvation is of the Lord. He
just said it very plainly right there to them. I am from above,
ye are of this world, I am not of this world, I said therefore
unto you that ye shall die in your sins, for if you believe
not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. There's no salvation outside
of Christ. Absolutely none. The everlasting and unchangeable
One, the Great I Am, the true God, the one true God, God over
all, blessed forever, the eternal Son of God, God manifest in the
flesh, the incarnate God, the true Messiah,
the savior of sinners, the one and only true mediator between
God and man, the head of the church, the prophet, priest,
and king, The judge of the quick and the dead and the light of
the world. These are some things that he
declared himself to be. And there is no salvation in
any other except Christ, except Christ. He alone is the only
way to the father. Turn, if you would, to Jeremiah
chapter 50, Jeremiah chapter 50. And we have here a beautiful
picture of the grace of God in Christ found here. Jeremiah chapter 50 verses 4
to 8. All salvation is in the Lord
and Him alone. And this is why we must preach
Christ and Him crucified. This is why we must preach no
other. We don't preach practical Christian living. We don't preach
what you've got to do. We preach what is already done.
Already done. Religion preaches do. Grace preaches
done. Salvation is of the Lord. Look
to Christ. Look to Christ and live. Look
to Him. May God give you eyes to look
to Him. Jeremiah chapter 50 verses 4 to 8. In those days and in
that time, saith the Lord, the children of Israel shall come.
They and the children of Judah together, going and weeping,
they shall go and seek the Lord their God. They shall ask the
way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come and
let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant
that shall not be forgotten. My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have caused them
to go astray. They have turned them away on the mountains. They
have gone from mountain to hill. They have forgotten the resting
place. All that found them have devoured them. And their adversaries
said, We offend not, because they have sinned against the
Lord, the habitation of justice, even the Lord, the hope of their
fathers. Remove out of the midst of Babylon,
and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as he
goats before the flocks." Now what a beautiful picture again
of grace we have here. Note the order of the people's
return. First they seek the Lord in verse
4. They seek the Lord God in verse
4. Thy people shall be made willing. In a day of his power, they seek
the Lord. My and then second, they shall
ask the way to God's church, to Zion, to Zion, and notice
stated that there is a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten.
Beloved Christ, Jesus himself in the shedding of his blood,
shed his blood to ratify the everlasting covenant of God. What a Savior. And it is a perpetual
covenant. It's a perpetual covenant. Those
who are saved shall never be lost. Never be lost. And it speaks, the covenant there
speaks of the everlasting covenant of grace in which God's people
are chosen in Christ in eternity and redeemed by Christ at the
cross. Now, who is the object of Zion's worship? Who is the
object of the everlasting covenant? Christ. And Christ alone. He is both the object of the
worship of Zion, the church, and it is He who has ratified
again the everlasting covenant by the shedding of His own precious
blood. When He purchased His people,
when He purchased His people on Calvary's cross, what a Savior,
what a Redeemer. This is why we preach Christ
in Him crucified. This is why He is the one message
going forward. Oh, may God give us grace. believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and to trust in him. Heavenly Father,
we thank thee for your marvelous grace, which has
been bestowed upon we who believe. We thank you as we see our dear
brother Paul was resolved to preach Christ and him crucified.
And we thank you that you have You have preserved the message
of free grace of God in Christ Jesus our Lord, that salvation
is of the Lord. And we pray that you use the
preaching of your word to draw in your lost sheep, to save your
lost sheep and turn their hearts and minds to Christ. In Jesus'
name we pray, amen.