Sovereign Grace Chapel, located
at 135 Annabel Lane in Beaver, West Virginia, invites you to
listen to a gospel message concerning Jesus Christ our Lord. If you
have Bible near you I ask you that
you would Grab a hold of that Bible and turn to Galatians chapter
5 Galatians chapter 5 if not you don't have a Bible handy
just sit back and listen, and I want to read just one verse
from Paul's epistle to the churches of Galatia It's in chapter 5
and verse 11 and listen to what Paul writes there and I brethren
If I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? And then here's the phrase I
want to zero in on this morning. Then is the offense of the cross
ceased. Do you hear those words? Then
is the offense of the cross ceased. Again, one more time. And I,
brethren, If I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? Paul is saying I suffer persecution
because I do not preach circumcision. Paul's message and his only message
was the cross of Christ, but then he makes this amazing statement. Then is the offense of the cross
ceased. My subject for this early morning
broadcast is this, the offense of the cross. Think of that,
the offense of the cross. This is not the language of most
of modern day religion today. Most do not talk about the offense
of the cross, yet the Apostle Paul is absolutely clear. The offense of the cross is that
which God has ordained. So let's look at that for the
next several minutes. Now, you ladies. those of you
who cook for your loved ones, or maybe you have a husband,
or maybe you yourself are a hunter and you begin to process the
meat, or you're just fixing supper, ever had a dull knife? Ever tried
to do the job with a dull knife? It never really does the job
right. And I'm here to say this morning,
that even so is the preaching of the cross of Christ. Listen
to what the book of Hebrews says in Hebrews chapter four, and
listen as I read these words from the epistle to the Hebrews,
and we will see somewhat of what Paul means when he talks about
the offense of the cross. And look at it, Hebrews chapter
four, verse 12 says these words, for the word of God is quick.
You see it? For the word of God is quick
and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. But for
what reason is the word of God quick and powerful and sharper
than any two-edged sword? It is for this, piercing even
to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints
and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of
the heart. Now when the epistle to the Hebrew
speaks of the word of God here, it's not simply talking about
the Bible, although the Bible certainly is the word of God,
but he's talking specifically about those passages that teach
the cross of Christ, those passages that Paul says are offensive,
they are an offense. It just says it is a discerner
of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And we know this is
speaking of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We know this
is speaking of his cross work, for it goes on in verse 13 of
Hebrews four to say these words, neither is there any creature
that is not manifest in his, that is the word of God, he is
the word of God incarnate. and not manifest in his sight,
but all things are naked and opened under the eyes of him
with whom we have to do. You see, the preaching of the
cross is offensive to the unregenerate man. The preaching of the cross
cuts man both ways. It's a two-edged sword. And when
I say the cross, Paul says in Galatians 5, but then it's the
offense of the cross ceased. Let me explain what Paul is talking
about here. You see, Paul's not talking about
the piece of wood on which the Lord Jesus was hanged. He's not
talking about that. He's not talking about some crucifix,
but he's talking about the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ. But
in particular, he's speaking of the penal crucifix. substitutionary,
justice-satisfying sufferings of Jesus Christ on the tree.
That is, it was penal. That is, Jesus Christ, when he
hung on that tree, he suffered at the hands of God the Father
the actual penalty that was due against and for sin. He was made
to be sin. He was made to be a curse. And God the Father, When the
Lord Jesus Christ hung on that tree, God the Father turned his
back on the Son because the Son hung there as the penal sacrifice
for sin. But it was also substitutionary. That is, this is the truth of
substitution, that Jesus Christ died in the place of a specific
people. The scripture calls these people
his church, his people, his sheep, his elect, the predestinated. So the cross of Christ is the
preaching of Christ's penal and substitutionary and justice satisfying
sufferings. This book teaches that when Jesus
Christ died on that cross, when he suffered on that cross, that
he satisfied all the demands of a holy God and all the demands
of God's holy law on behalf of a people, so that these people
were declared to be, when Christ suffered, When he died, these
people are declared to be reconciled to God by his death. They are
declared to be justified by his blood, which he shed on the tree. They are declared to be, by the
Holy Scripture, they are declared to be that when Jesus Christ
offered himself up once for all time, these people were sanctified
and perfected when he died. is what the Apostle Paul means
whenever he says the cross of Jesus Christ. And the cross of
Jesus Christ is a sharp knife. It cuts men and women to the
innermost of our self-serving, our self-centered, and our self-righteous
souls. Me and you both. Me and you both. If you ever really hear the preaching
of the cross. And I say the preaching of the
cross as opposed to all this other preaching that we know
is going on around us. If you ever really hear the preaching
of the cross, it will offend you in your natural state. It
will offend you unless you have been regenerated by the spirit
of the living God. This is the intent of God because
God shows by the cross of Jesus Christ, that there is nothing
in men and women that they can do to earn God's favor. You see, if all we've ever heard
preached soothes us, encourages us about ourself, if what you
hear preached makes you feel good about yourself, then you
have not yet heard the preaching of the cross of Jesus Christ. You see, we've never yet heard
the preaching of the cross until we hear that message that is
offensive to our natural state, that is the state into which
we were born because of the fall of our father Adam. The cross
is the offense to our egos. Listen to what the apostle Paul
wrote in Romans chapter nine. These are some amazing words.
And here he is actually quoting from the Old Testament, because
in Romans 9, verse 33, he says, as it is written, he is referring
here to the Old Testament scriptures. As it is written, behold, I lay
in Zion. Who is the I? The I is God. This is God Almighty speaking
through the prophet Isaiah, and Paul is quoting the prophet Isaiah. As it is written, Behold, I lay
in Zion a stumbling stone and a rock of a fence. God has laid this at the doorsteps
of men and women who hear the preaching of the cross. And it
says, it goes on to say, and, or we could say but, it would
be an appropriate translation, and or but whosoever believeth
on him, that is this stone of stumbling. and this rock of offense. It is Jesus Christ and his person
and work. And whosoever believeth on him
shall not be ashamed. Listen to what also the Apostle
Peter wrote. And he has very similar language. And the Apostle Peter wrote these
words in his first epistle. First Peter chapter two. Peter
writes these words. Listen to it. Wherefore also
it is contained in the scripture Behold, I lay in Zion a chief
cornerstone. Elect. precious, and he that
believeth on him. So we see that this elect person,
this precious person, is indeed a person, and that person is
none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Elect, precious, and
he that believeth on him shall not be confounded, or that is
ashamed. Unto you therefore which believe,
he is precious, but, but, unto them which be disobedient, the
stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of
the corner, and listen, and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. This is God's ordained purpose. I fully realize that most of
the preaching that is about us today does not teach this, but
this is the teaching of God Almighty in his holy scripture. And he
goes on to say, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense,
even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient,
whereunto also they were appointed, but ye speaking to a different
kind of people, but ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood,
and holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should shew forth the
praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his
marvelous light. Do you see it? Do you see that
God Almighty intends for the message of the cross of the Lord
Jesus Christ to be that which is a stone of stumbling and a
rock of offense when anyone is in their state of unregeneracy
and in disobedience. Do you see it? It is the truth
of God's holy word. Now, clearly we see that some
are offended. Others are not. the question
that I must ask myself and the question that I pray God burns
within your soul maybe even this very morning. The question is
this, where am I? On which side of the aisle do
I stand? Where am I? Where are you? So let's, for my remaining time,
let's examine the offense and those who are offended and those
who are not. You see the cross. the cross,
the preaching of the cross, the preaching of what it took for
God to save sinful men, the preaching of who Jesus Christ is and what
he accomplished on Calvary Street, the preaching of the cross, the
preaching of that penal, substitutionary, justice-satisfying sufferings. The preaching of the cross offends
my supposed, my supposed merits, and it is an offense to your
supposed merits. Now, these merits may be real
to me. These merits may be real to you,
but they are not real unto God. As a matter of fact, the prophet
Isaiah also wrote these words, that even our righteousnesses,
that's the best we can do, That's the best that I could offer.
That's the best that you could offer. The best that I could
walk in and believe in and trust in. The best thing that I could
offer is but filthy rags in God's sight. The Old Testament scriptures
are clear concerning these filthy rags. They are declared to be
menses cloths. Someone says, but pastor, that's
disgusting. Yes, it is. And that is how God
sees even our best actions. So the cross of Christ offends
my supposed, my supposed. It offends your supposed merits. It offends our supposed righteousnesses. It offends our supposed sincerity. It offends our supposed best
efforts because these things can never make us right in God's
sight because our best deeds are tainted by what we are in
nature and that is we're fallen, corrupt, evil, wicked sinners
in God's sight. You see, the cross of the Lord
Jesus Christ It cuts both ways. It's a two-edged sword. It goes
in deep into the soul. It goes in deep into the innermost
of our being, and it slashes to the right and slashes to the
left. It slashes when it goes up, and
it slashes when it goes down, and it offends my morality. We all love to hold to our morality. but it also offends my immorality. The cross of the Lord Jesus Christ
offends my religiousness or my lack thereof. The cross of Jesus
Christ cuts all men down to nothing. It says we have nothing to offer
to God. Any reasonable-minded individual
would certainly say, well, pastor, fornication, Idolatry, murder. all sorts of wickedness and sexual
perversion, certainly these things do not commend us to God. And
they do not. They are damning to the souls
of men. But even our best deeds are just
as damning as all the immorality that we have within us. Our morality
is as damning. Our righteousnesses is as damning. Our merits are as damning as
everything else in us. The cross of the Lord Jesus Christ
is the equal opportunity offender. It's designed to cut me down
to nothing. It's designed to cut me into
pieces. It's designed to slash my trust
in myself. It's designed to cut away all
the filth of leaning on our own merits and our own righteousnesses. It is intended by God It is intended
by God to show me what I really am and what it really took for
God, the thrice holy God, to save even one sinner. You and I, you and I both, and
I'm not trying to preach down to anyone this morning, you and
I both at our best and at our worst. We are all corrupt before
the thrice holy God. The cross of Christ preached,
not circumcision, no. The cross of Christ preached,
not circumcision. The cross of Christ preached,
not keeping Sabbath days. The cross of Jesus Christ preached,
not your tithing. The cross of Jesus Christ preached,
not your church membership or my church membership. The cross
of Jesus Christ, not your witnessing or so-called soul winning. The
cross of the Lord Jesus Christ preached offends all as we are
by nature. And listen to what the Apostle
Paul says, we are by nature. In Romans chapter three, he writes
these words and he's been talking about the great advantage that
the Jewish people had, especially during the Old Testament era,
and all the word of God, the promises, the prophets, all of
these things. Listen what he says. What then, in verse nine
of Romans three. What then? Are we better than
they? That is, is the Jew better than
the Gentile? No, and no wise. For we have
before proved, both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all,
do you see it? That they are all under sin. Notice we're not just sinful,
though that's true, but we are under sin. Sin reigns in us. Sin dominates us. It is what
we are by deed, it is what we are by practice, and it's what
we are by nature. As it is written, so he now goes
back to the Old Testament, in quotes from the Old Testament,
as it is written, there is none righteous, how many? No, not one. There is none that understandeth.
There is none that seeketh after God. And we might say, but preacher,
I know some men and women that understand. No, we just think
they do. There's none that understandeth.
There's none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of
the way. They are together become unprofitable. There's none that doeth good.
No, not one. Their throat. Think of, this
is what God says about me and about you. Their throat is an
open sepulcher. With their tongues they have
used deceit. The poison, you see it? The poison
of asps. is under their lips, whose mouth
is full of cursing and bitterness. And this is not just talking
about saying swear words, though that certainly is included. This
is talking about those who boast themselves against God. Those
who think they can earn the favor of God by their merits, whose
mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift
to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in
their ways, and the way of peace have they not known. There is
no fear of God before their eyes. Now, that's what God says about
me. And that's what God says about
you, no matter what we think about ourselves and one another.
He goes on, verse 19. Now we know that what things
soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law,
that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become
guilty before God. In other words, when you read
God's holy law, And you turn back to the book of Exodus and
you read the 10 commandments. And you turn back to the Old
Testament and read all the many other hundreds of commandments
that go along with the 10. Those things are telling us,
shut your mouth before God. It says that to me, and it says
that to you. And the preaching of the cross
of Christ comes along and says, here's who Christ is. Here's
what it took. Here's what he had to do for
God to save even one sinner. And that cuts me to the quick. You see? How does anyone, with
this great litany, against all of humanity, Jew and Gentile,
with this great litany, how does anyone then ever come to fear
God? How does anyone ever come to
seek God? How does anyone ever come to
repent? How does anyone ever come to
believe? How does anyone ever come to
not be ashamed rather than be offended? That change, that change,
and that change is of some and in some only. It is not of all
and in all. That change takes an act of God. It takes an act of God in sovereign
calling and calling men and women, those he has chosen in Christ
before the foundation of the world, those he set his love
upon in Christ before the foundation of the world. God will call them
by the very preaching of the cross. The one thing that at
one time offended them will become the hope and the joy and the
trust of their souls. Listen to the Apostle Paul. First
Corinthians chapter one. He says these words, starting
in verse 17. For Christ sent me not to baptize,
not even to, baptism's not the message. Now yes, baptism is
an act of an obedient believer. It is the answer of a good conscience
toward God, but the message is not baptism. For Christ sent
me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel. Not with wisdom of
words, lest what? Now look, lest the cross of Christ
should be made of none effect. It's meant to cut me. It's meant
to cut you. For the preaching of the cross
is to them that perish foolishness. But unto us which are saved,
it is the power of God. That is the preaching of the
cross. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and I will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is
the disputer or the arguer of this world? You might argue with
one another, but you cannot. You cannot argue with God. Where
is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is
the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the
wisdom of this world? For 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 believe. For the Jews
require sign and the Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ
crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block, unto the Greeks foolishness. but unto them which are called,
do you see it? But unto them which are called,
both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom
of God. Because the foolishness of God
is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after
the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called, but God
hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the
wise. God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound
the things which are mighty, and the base things of the world,
and the things which are despised hath God chosen, yea, and the
things which are not, to bring to naught the things that are,
that no flesh, here it is, that no flesh should glory in his
presence, but of him, that is, but of God, it's an act of God,
as I said, it's the calling of God, it's the choice of God,
but of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made in us wisdom,
righteousness, and sanctification and redemption, that according
as it is written, he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. So
there you have it. Are you offended by this? If
you remain offended by this, If you remain offended by this,
you are perishing, and you will perish. But do not test God,
and do not test God's Christ. God is not begging man for anything. None of us have God over a barrel. God Almighty holds us in his
sovereign hand, and he will do with us at his pleasure, and
I implore you, bow down before Jesus Christ. Seek his mercy. God don't owe us squat. Ah, but
do you find yourself even daring to reject yourself? Do you find
yourself even daring to reject your own merit? Do you find yourself
bemoaning your sin? That's what you are. And your
sins? That's what you do. Then I say
to you, bow down. Bow down in submission to Jesus
Christ. Confess his lordship and his
glory. I see my time's about up, but
let me give you a brief reminder. Every Sunday morning on this
same station, WVVACW, a portion of one of our Lord's Day gospel
messages can be watched starting at 12 noon. I would encourage
each and every one of you, if at all possible, I would encourage
you to tune in and listen.