Last Sunday morning, we looked
at a portion of God's Word from 2 Corinthians 1. Again, this morning, we'll look
at the same passage of Scripture. Now, the Apostle Paul, who was
a true, honest, and faithful preacher of the Gospel, so honest
that he was beheaded for what he preached, well, the Apostle
Paul said in chapter 1 of 2 Corinthians, verse 17. He said that the preaching
of the gospel was no light matter to him. He said, did I use lightness? Nor did he use fleshly tactics
or purpose things according to the flesh in his Word. He said,
I didn't use my own ideas and methods or fleshly tactics and
gimmicks, one thing the Apostle Paul did everywhere he went was
preach. And the one thing he preached
was the gospel. In his first letter to the Corinthians,
he said, I am determined not to know anything among you. Now, the Corinthians were scientists,
they were philosophers, they were into politics, arts, education. But he said, I am determined
not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Preaching is what the apostle
did, and Christ was who he preached. Then he said in verse 19 of chapter
1, he said, The Son of God Jesus Christ who was preached among
you by us, that is, by me and Silas and Timothy. The Son of
God was not, the preaching we preached was not yea and nay,
he said. It's not yes and no, but he said
it is yes, or the Son of God who was preached in him was yea
and amen, or that is, certain, sure, absolute, dogmatic to the
glory of God. In other words, he said, when
we say God loves someone, we don't mean He'll quit loving
them someday. That when we say God chooses
somebody, He doesn't reject them in the end. That when we preach
that Christ died for His people, We mean His blood actually put
away, actually paid for, actually cleanses them from their sin. That it is not an attemptment
by Christ, but an atonement by Christ. It is not a down payment
on salvation, but full payment. It is not making salvation possible,
but making salvation certain. for His people. We do not say,
yes, God loves you, but no, He might not in the end. We do not
say, yes, Christ paid for your sins, but no, you may have to
pay for them some day. No, He said, the Son of God,
the gospel of Christ crucified who was preached among you by
us was not yea and nay. Yes, no, maybe, but in Him, yea,
and all the promises of God in Christ are yes, and in him, amen. That is certain unto the glory
of God. Well, in chapter 2 of 2 Corinthians,
the apostle goes on to say in verse 12, he says, When I came
to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened unto me
of the Lord, the Lord opened the door. Did you notice there,
he says, when I came to Troas, to preach Christ's gospel. Do you see that everywhere he
goes, he does one thing? Preach. And it's one message? Christ. Preach Christ's gospel. Look at verse 14. He says, Well,
thanks be unto God, who or which always causeth us to triumph
in Christ. causes us, that is, he said,
me, Silas, Timothy, preachers of the gospel. God always causes
us to triumph in Christ, or in the preaching of Christ crucified. I hope you have a Bible. I want
you to turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. The first letter Paul
wrote these people, and we'll see how he began the first letter. the first words out of his mouth,
or rather, the Word of God. Now, triumph, Paul said, God
always causes us, that is, us preachers, to triumph in Christ. You know what triumph means.
It means to win, doesn't it? Well, I hear much talk today
about winning people to Christ. About successful or winning ministries. I receive in the mail, brochure
after brochure, describing to me successful seminars, in their
words, by successful men and women who have won many converts,
who have built great buildings, who have grown big churches with
great crowds of people. from one of those various brochures. It says, a new seminar for church
leaders, new ideas about what the church of the present and
future must do to retain, attract, and grow the people. New ideas,
it says, about what the church of the present and future must
do to attain, attract, and grow people. Well, things haven't
changed, people. Things haven't changed. For in
Acts 17, in the book of Acts chapter 17, it said about the
Athenians, or those people from Athens, that they did nothing
more than spend their time in telling or hearing some new thing,
some new sign, some new wonder, some new miracle, some new phenomena,
that they heard about. The metaphysical church, they
would say. Some new anointing. Have you
got the new, fresh anointing, they would say. Well, let me
tell you something from God's Word. There's one thing God Almighty
uses to call out His people. One thing God Almighty uses to
save a soul. One thing One thing is the power
of God He uses to keep people saved, to keep them in His church. One thing He uses to give them
growth in grace, and that is the knowledge of Christ. It's
His Word, His Word, God's Word, the Word of Truth, He specifies,
the Gospel. Paul told young Timothy in his
letter to Timothy, He said, preach the word, young Timothy, in,
season, or out. And here in 1 Corinthians, if
you turn to it, 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 21, it says,
After that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew
not God. It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believed. Not that it's foolishness,
but rather that the world thinks it's foolishness. He goes on
to say in verse 22, the Jews require a sign, or that is, religious
people, they like a sign, a wonder, a miracle. He says the Greeks
seek after wisdom, or that is, the educated, the modern philosophers,
they want wisdom. They want something intellectual. Feed their minds. But verse 23,
he says, we preach Christ crucified. A bloody man hanging on a cross.
Under the Jews are stumbling blocks. Well, that's old-fashioned
religion. We've heard that before. Under
the Greeks, it's foolishness. Well, we're above that. That's
pagan religion. Verse 24, he says, but under
them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, yes, God does save
some religious people. Yes, God does save some intellectuals. But he says, under them which
are called Christ, The power of God and the wisdom of God.
Christ. Christ crucified. The gospel
of Christ crucified is the power of God. Well, it may not. Just preaching Christ crucified.
The preaching of the gospel may not build a mega church, but
it will build God's true church. It may not attract large crowds
of people, but I'm telling you, God's sheep will hear His voice.
Now, that's what Paul was saying over here in 2 Corinthians 2,
verse 14, when he said, 2 Corinthians 2, verse 14, he says, Now thanks
be unto God, who always causes us to triumph in Christ, and
maketh manifest the savor of His knowledge by us in every
place. He says in verse 15, We are unto God a sweet savor of
Christ in them that are saved and in them that are perishing.
He said, we're unto God a sweet savor of Christ. In saved or
perishing people, it doesn't matter whether they're believers
or not, to God we're a sweet savor when Christ is proved.
The outcome doesn't prove the success. Whether men believe
or not doesn't alter the truth. And the majority doesn't prove
a thing to be true or not. Why, they may have said as they
looked at that man standing in front of that large boat, They
may have said, why, you only have eight people in your congregation,
Noah? Only eight people? Not a very
successful ministry, is it? Well, look out here, Noah, look
at all those people. God's in that. Look at all those. Everybody can't be wrong. If
Noah would speak, he would say, that's the broad way that leads
to destruction. This ark, why, this is the narrow
way, the only way that leads to life. And Paul said, God the
Father delights to hear one message of God the Son. God the Father
loves the smell of His Son. God the Father loves the smell
of gospel preaching. Everything else is an abomination
to Him. All else is wood, hay, and stubble,
and is a stench in His nostrils, the Scripture says. all these
buildings and idols and robes and choirs and carrying on, while
all it does is obscure the view of God's Son. It gets in the
way. All these preachers, so-called,
are stealing the glory from God's Son. And Paul goes on to say
in verse 16, he says, ìWe are to one the savor of death unto
death, and to the other the savor of life under life. He says we're
a savor of death to the dead. Our preaching, which many call
foolishness, and our reverential, fearful worship is dead to the
dead. Why, you're not alive. You're
not carrying on. We're preaching the Word. To
those who are dead in trespasses and sin, the gospel, the truth,
The doctrine of sovereign electing, saving, mercy and grace is just
that, dead doctrine. Preaching? Why, the common saying
today is, don't preach at me. But he goes on to say, to the
other, that is, to the saved, to the other, to the alive under
God, we are the saver of life under life. He says the gospel
is a savor of life to them that have it. To them that have life,
the gospel gives life. The gospel sustains life. The gospel is life more abundant. I'm not saying like some do,
I'm living the victorious life. But no true alive people say,
I'm hearing of the victorious one who is life. And Paul says,
who is sufficient? for these things. Why, many think
so. Everybody is clamoring to get
into the preaching business. Well, Paul goes on to say, in
conclusion, verse 17, we are not as many, and there are lots
of them, Christ said, many false prophets will come. And there
are. There are many. He said we are
not as many which corrupt the Word of God or deal deceitfully
with it, holding back from it, not saying what it does say and
adding to what it does say. But as of sincerity, or that
is, sincerely in the God-honoring, God-glorifying business, but
as of God, Paul said in another place, as though God did beseech
you by that, in the sight of God, it is He who we are conscious
of. Speak we, he said, there is one
thing we do, and that is preach, and there is one message we preach.
He says we preach Christ. I hope you heard this message
and I hope you believe it. If you want it on cassette tape,
write and we'll send it to you free of charge. Until next Sunday,
good day. Okay. Okay. Okay.