Take your Bibles and turn with
me as we continue in the book of 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians
chapter 1. And I'd like to just deal with
two verses this evening. Verses 17 and 18. 1 Corinthians
1. The Apostle Paul, under the inspiration
of God's Spirit, It says, 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. For the preaching of the cross
is to them that perish foolishness. But unto us, which are saved,
it is the power of God. Let's pray together. Our Father, as we call upon you
this evening, we do so, Lord, the only way that we can, in
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you for this blessed
time to be in this place of assembly, a place raised up and kept by
your good pleasure. I ask you now, Lord bless the
word, bless it to the glory of the Lord Jesus, bless it to the
good and comfort of your people for these things we ask for Christ's
sake. Amen. Well, the Apostle Paul
had said, where we ended up last week, he was talking about the
divisions within the assembly. And basically what the division
was, was over which preachers they liked the best. Some of
them liked Paul. That was probably the Gentiles. He was sent to the Gentiles.
Some of them liked Cephas, Peter. He was the apostle sent, you
know, to the Jews. Some of them liked Apollos. Scripture says he was a very
eloquent man. And they liked the way he preached
and used the eloquence. in his proclamation of the gospel. They were all preaching the gospel,
but they just had their preachers that they liked better. Some
of them said, we're of Christ. Probably didn't feel that they
needed a pastor. They just served the Lord and
go in the direction of the leadership of the Lord, but as we pointed
out, Almighty God sends pastors according to His heart, And he
sends them to teach his people, give them the knowledge of the
gospel and blesses that gospel. Then Paul says in verse 14, we
considered last time, he said, I thank God that I baptized none
of you but Crispus and Gaius, men that he crossed paths with. He said, lest any should say
that I baptized in mine own name. He said, I'm glad that I didn't
baptize. any more than these two men,
he said, less that people would think I'm trying to get a following
for myself, trying to make a name for myself. And he said, but
then, in verse 16, he said, I baptized also the household of Stephanas. Besides, I know not whether I
baptized any other. Paul was saying, I do remember
that I did baptize of the house of Stephanus, those that had
addicted themselves to the ministry, given themselves to the preaching
of the gospel of God's grace. And then he says in the two verses
we'll look at tonight, For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to
preach the gospel. Now it was not, Paul was saying,
I didn't baptize anymore the house of Stephanus and Gaius
and Crispus, he said I did baptize them, but it was not Paul was
going to make sure it wasn't that baptism was of little importance. He wasn't trying to put baptism
in a position that it wasn't important. The Lord has ordained. that those that believe are to
confess Him in water baptism. In fact, the Lord said in Matthew
28, 19, Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. And so, here's Paul is saying,
he says, the Lord did not send me to baptize. The Apostle Paul
was saying under the inspiration of God's Spirit, baptism is the
confession of faith that Almighty God has saved me by His grace. Men are not saved by water. Men are saved by the grace of
God. Almighty God calls them out of darkness. But there is
one way that we confess the Lord Jesus Christ, and that is in
baptism. That is the confession. If the
Lord has called you out of darkness, Confess Him in baptism. Proclaim
before the world, this is the Lord Jesus Christ that I confess,
the one in whom I've died and I rose in Him. Baptism is the confession of
what God has already done for a believer. So Christ sent me
not to baptize, but here's what He did send me to do. He sent
me to preach the gospel. This is the call of God's preachers. All that God Almighty calls out
of darkness and calls to preach, this is what they preach. They preach the Lord Jesus Christ. Those that are chosen according
to God's good pleasure, they are taught the gospel. Remember, that's what I said
to Mr. Spurgeon. What's the first qualification of a man called
of God to preach? God saves him. God calls him
out of spiritual darkness and teaches him the gospel, and qualifies
that man to preach the gospel. He gives a man the ability to
set forth what God's put in his heart, to relate, I remember,
I've told you this before, Brother Henry said one time, a lot of
times someone may ask you, what do you believe down there at
Katie Baptist Church? And you'll try every way in the
world trying to think. We believe in sovereignty of
God. We believe in election. You're trying, and he said, you'll
struggle. You'll struggle trying to set forth what you believe. He said, but when a man stands
up for 30 minutes, 30, 40 minutes, and just clearly sets forth what
God Almighty has put, you know, upon his heart out of the scriptures,
you'll say, that's what I believe right there. I believe that.
That's it. Right there. That's what I believe. Paul says,
Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel. They preach the message, the
glorious gospel of God's free grace. That message, that is
essential to the salvation of God's people. Paul said, I'm
not ashamed. of the Gospel of Christ. Why? It is the message that the Spirit
of God is going to bless to the salvation of His people. That's
the only message. Now the Holy Spirit then moved
upon the Apostle Paul to relate the manner in which he and every
other God-called preacher was to preach the truth of God's
grace. There's a way that God's people
preach. He says, the Lord sent me to
preach the gospel, but here's the way that the Lord sent me
to preach the gospel. Not with wisdom of words. lest the cross of Christ should
be made of none effect." The Apostle Paul said, I'm not sent
of Christ, I am sent to preach the gospel, but not according
to human reason, I'm not sent to try to use big swelling words
in an artificial discourse trying to get people under conviction
by my ability to be able to use the mannerisms and the abilities
of men to kind of try to make people, put them in the mood.
You know, a lot of times You'll have people and they're going
to start preaching and they'll try to start getting the mood
set or something like that, get the music playing right. Paul
said it's not an ingenious arrangement that would lend itself to nothing
more than the preacher's glory. and cause the people that hear
Him to put Him in admiration. No, admiring Him, that's the
word I'm trying to use. Trying to get them to see His
skill and ability. Why? Because the Scripture says
that no flesh should glory in His presence. Almighty God is
going to get the glory, the honor, and the praise of the salvation
of His people. Men might think that they have
the ability to be able to use the mannerisms of persuasion
to convince a man that he's lost, that he needs Christ. And until
the Spirit of God blesses the message of the Gospel, there
is no blessing. Paul says, I'm sent to preach
the gospel not with wisdom of words, not that the success of
the gospel should be attributed by the hearers to the eloquence
of the man. Almighty God, when He's pleased
to bless the gospel, He's going to bless it to the salvation
of his people as the Spirit of God bears witness to their heart
that they need Christ. Born in every man is that carnal
nature that lends itself to the temptation to be clever, to be
entertaining, to be novel, to be an individualist, For people
to look at him and say, I tell you, nobody ever speaks like
that man does. Only one man was that truthfully
said. The Lord Jesus Christ. Paul says,
I don't come to you with wisdom of words. Whenever God's people
hear God's preachers, let the preaching of the gospel be simple. Let it be plain. Let it be truthful
according to the Scriptures, seeking the glory of God only. It is the most honoring thing
in the world for God's preachers to stand up and tell men, all men are born in Adam, sinners
and rebels against God. dead in trespasses and sins. Let me ask you if you can understand
this. Born in Adam, you cannot come
to Christ. As you are born in Adam, you
are spiritually dead. That's the simplest way I know
to say it. Listen to this. Unless Almighty
God is pleased to call you out of darkness, you will die in
your sins. That's the simplest way I know
to say it. Salvation is by the grace of
God. Now listen to this. Not of works. Not of works. Do you know what
that means? Let me try to explain this one.
It's not according to anything that you do. Not of works. Why? Lest any man should boast.
Paul said, Christ sent me to preach the gospel, not with wisdom
of words. Simply. Plainly. To the point. According to the
Scriptures. For the preaching, verse 18 of
the cross, is to them that perish, foolishness, but unto us which
are saved it is the power of God." The preaching of the cross. That is the doctrine, the truth
of salvation by the grace of God, according to God's good
pleasure, according to His eternal purpose, preaching of the cross
is the message of the glorious gospel of salvation to an elect
people. And I don't know who they are.
I know God's got an elect. That's plainly taught in scripture. I don't know who they are. So
here's what I say to them. Not looking to yourself. Look
to the Christ who has finished the work that Almighty God eternally
ordained according to His everlasting covenant. God's got a covenant.
An everlasting covenant. And according to that covenant,
Almighty God chose and gave a people to the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe
some of them's here. I believe some of them's sitting
right here. But what do you do? You preach the message of salvation
in Christ alone. Tell a man what his situation
is being born in Adam. Tell him what he is. Don't lie
to him. Tell him the truth. All have
sinned and come short of the glory of God. Where are you going
to progress from there? You're not. Unless the Lord comes
to you in power, regenerating you by grace, giving you a new
heart to believe that it was not of you, it was all of grace,
unless He gives you a heart for that, you're lost. What message is He going to bless
to that? The gospel. Tell men, They need
a Savior because they cannot save themselves. That's the preaching
of the cross. Not the wooden thing upon which
the Lord Jesus Christ died. Not that there was an actual
wooden cross. Everybody knows that. But the
preaching of the cross is that declaration of God's grace and
mercy in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now the preaching of the cross
is to them that perish foolishness. In the declaration of the cross,
two groups are going to be made evident. Where I'm getting my information
is verse 18. I'm not, I mean, I have no right
to make this up. I mean, I'm just, I'm a proclaimer. That's all I do is proclaim.
All I do is I say back to the Lord what the Lord has said.
The Spirit of God wrote this, so I just repeat it. That's what
a preacher does. He just repeats the scriptures.
For the preaching of the cross, The gospel of God's grace, the
message of salvation, according to God's sovereign will, the
preaching of the cross, is to them that perish foolishness. Now that's one group. But unto
us which are saved is the power of God. That's the other group.
There's only two groups in the world. Those that are perishing
and those that are being saved. Now, the Apostle Paul says to
them that perish, it's foolishness. Now, there is a group that considers
this message, the preaching of the cross, to be foolishness. Who are they? It's those that
perish, or the literal of that is those being lost. Those that are being lost. I truly desire God save His people. I pray the Lord save us. I need
a Savior. I've told you before, I'm going
to stand before God and you are too. The thought, the thought of me
missing the truth is more than I can bear. Lord, don't let me
be deceived. Lord, don't let me perish. Lord,
save me by your grace. Here is the acid test to those
that are perishing. Listen, the acid test to one
that is perishing is that they think the gospel of God's free
and sovereign grace is foolishness. I'm going to tell you what the
message is, and I'm going to ask you this, do you think that
message is foolish? To them that perish, to those
left to the carnal dictates of their heart, the glorious gospel
of salvation, not by works, perish the thought that any man would
ever think that he was converted because of something he's done.
If you do, I'm telling you, that is a work and God is not going
to bless it. Let me tell you what He's going
to bless. He's going to bless what He does. He's going to bless
what He says. The preaching of the cross. I
want to be as clear as I possibly can be. What? exactly is proclaimed in the
preaching of the cross. Now listen, I'm going to just
repeat some things I've already said. The preaching of the cross
is to proclaim that salvation is totally by the grace of God. Take yourself out of the equation. Only as you are the recipient
of the grace of God, the power of God unto salvation. That's
the only part. I'm going to tell you something.
Thanks be unto God for this. Because what God Almighty demands
for salvation, Kevin, must be perfect. Perfect. Holy. There can be no deviation. And if you have ever deviated
from the time you thought you were converted until now, if
you've ever deviated in word or thought or deed, you are guilty
of breaking the whole law to offend in one point So by the
works of the law, what do you mean the works of the law? Keeping
the Ten Commandments? No. I mean if you think that
you've done anything to merit your salvation. The works of
the law. If you've done anything, I'm
saved because I, whatever, whatever you want to name. The preaching
of the cross, that which those that are perishing considers
foolishness, here's what I'm going to tell you it is. The
preaching of the cross is that salvation is totally by the grace
of God. The preaching of the cross, just
imagine, think with me for one moment, why was He there? Why was He on the cross? Why
was He there? Well, I'll tell you this, Almighty
God has an elect people. According to Ephesians 1, 4,
2 Thessalonians 2, 13, God has an elect. And they fell in Adam. They fell. They died spiritually. And once Adam took a bite of
that fruit, I'm gonna tell you, God Almighty told him, you died,
you died. Spiritually. Physically, you're
alive. I know, you're here, I'm looking
at you. But I'm telling you, without Christ, you're spiritually
dead, unable. But, God Almighty who has a people
that He's everlastingly loved and chosen in Christ and purpose,
they were not going to perish. But what about their sin? What
about their sin? God is just. That's what the
preaching of the cross declares too. God's just. He's going to
deal with sin. What's He going to do? He's going
to punish it. And upon the cross, the tree
itself, when the Lord Jesus Christ hung on that cross, the proclamation
of what was going on at the cross was this, I will have mercy on
whom I will have mercy. I will have compassion on whom
I will have compassion. So then the Apostle Paul said
in Romans 9 concerning that statement, so then it's not of him that
willeth, it's not of him that runneth,
but of God that shows compassion and mercy. Show me your glory. The Lord said, I'm going to save
whomsoever I will. That's what he said. The preaching
of the cross, salvation is by grace. God Almighty has a people. God is just. So in the preaching
of the cross, the Lord is revealed to show mercy and compassion
to his people and justly dealing with their sin. Whose sin? Well, according to the Word of
God. John 10.15, the Lord Jesus Christ
said, I lay down my life for the sheep. So I could tell you
this, for whom was he dying at Calvary? John 10.15 says, the Lord speaking,
and let God be true, let everybody else be a liar. He said, I lay
down my life for the sheep. I lay down my life for those
that the Father's given me. I'm laying down my life paying
their debt. The preaching of the cross cries,
Jesus Christ is the true and faithful salvation and witness
of all of His people. and finished their salvation. All that was required of God's
people's salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ, Christ bore. He is now their salvation. And according to the sacrifice
for the sheep, now listen, here's what scripture says, there's
therefore now no condemnation. to them which be in Christ Jesus."
Now, the unbeliever, those that are perishing, hears that salvation
is totally by the grace of God, apart from any works that they
can do. That's what the preaching of
the cross is. The preaching of the cross says God has an elect,
and Christ redeemed them according to His Word. The preaching of
the cross says that God is just, and He's going to deal with sin.
And Christ, the preaching of the cross says that Christ put
away the guilt of His people, and now there is no condemnation
to them that be in Christ Jesus. What about those who are yet
to be born? If they've been eternally chosen
in Christ, there's no condemnation to them either. When Christ Jesus
died at Calvary, I'm going to tell you something, by His blood,
He justified every one that God ever gave Him. What about those
that died before He died? God the Father saw the Lamb slain
from the foundation of the world. It was done. It was done. God the Father saw what Christ
would do in time. He had to die. But the Father
has eternally seen it. So those before He died and for
those that have yet to be born, that were chosen in Christ, there
is no condemnation to them. They are justified being found
in union with the Lord Jesus Christ. And those that are perishing
say, that's foolishness. That's foolishness. Let me ask
you this. except that God had chosen a
people to salvation. The scripture said we'd all been
like Sodom and Gomorrah. We'd all die. We'd all perish. Salvation is always unto life. Brother Moose brought that out
last week. Knowing that except Christ shed
His blood for His people, there would be no remission of sins.
Unless Christ died, redeemed His people, knowing that except
the Holy Spirit powerfully and effectually impart life to a
sinner, giving him faith to believe, except the Spirit of God would
do that, every man and woman would die because they are totally
depraved and unable to lift themselves out. of the slew of despond. And now I'm going to tell you
why, as I'm wrapping this up. Why do they consider it to be
foolishness? Because the scriptures declares
that man has no hand in forming or no hand in accomplishing the
glorious truth of salvation. It's considered foolishness because
they don't have a part in it. They say, if I can't have a part
in my own salvation, then it's just foolishness. But, unto us
which are saved, or which are being saved, this glorious preaching
of the cross is the power of God. Everything that is offensive
to those who are perishing is gloriously wonderful to the child
of God. To those being saved, the preaching
of a cross is known by them, by God's revelation, to be the
only message of hope. They know that. If the Lord doesn't
save me, I'm lost. If God doesn't do something for
me that I cannot do for myself, I'm gone. I have no hope. Those
being saved know that God Almighty has justly, mercifully and justly
made Christ, His Son, to be sin, and has justly dealt with Him on their behalf. I know that,
and I want to know it. I know that that message is so
far over my head, but I know, according to the Scriptures,
He, the Father, hath made Him the Son. to be sin for us. He who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. Almighty God has justified His
people by the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the
power of God. They know that only God could
put away the dead of his people, owed to his holy law, by pouring
out his wrath upon their substitute, the one who bore their guilt. Just like when Noah went into
the ark, his wife, his three sons, their wives, and those
animals that went in there with him. Where was the wrath of God
poured out? Upon Noah and his wife, his three
sons, and their wives, and those animals. But they were in an
ark. And the ark bore the brunt. And they were saved. That is the power of God. That
Almighty God would choose to put me in His Son from before
the foundation of the world. before I was ever born, before
I ever knew the light of day, I was found in Him and God Almighty
looked upon me in Christ and justified me by my union
in Him because He first trusted in Christ, knowing that He would
come in the fullness of time and shed His blood, bury my guilt
and put it away and cast it as far as the east is from the west,
that God Almighty, the just God, who will by no means clear the
guilty, that He can declare me not condemned eternally? That takes the power of God to
do that. The preaching of the cross is
to them that perish foolishness, but to us which are being saved. That's the power of God. May
the Lord bless the Word to our heart and understanding for Christ's
sake. Amen.