Good morning. I invite you to turn with me
in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 2. If the Holy Spirit be pleased
to be my guide, I hope to take the first 10 verses of this chapter
and talk to you about faith, standing in the power of God. Now just hold your place there
in 1 Corinthians 2 and let me kind of work my way briefly through
chapter 1. Paul tells us that the preaching
of the cross, we heard about that last night, that blessed
tree. the cross, the preaching of the
cross, that substitutionary sacrifice of Christ our Redeemer, that
particular redemption of His people through His precious blood,
that free and gracious justification declared by God in His resurrection,
that righteousness wrought out by that humble obedience unto
death. that perfect obedience, that
loving obedience. The preaching of the cross, as
I've just described it, to them who are perishing. And that's what's going on. That's
what's going on. Men don't know that. If they knew that, there wouldn't
be a seat in this place. You'd have to open the back doors.
They don't know they're perishing. But to those who are perishing,
that is perishing under the lies and deceit of antichrist religion,
that's what it is. Perishing in their depraved natures
that cause them to walk in the vanity of their minds. and in
that inherent darkness into which we're born. The preaching of
the cross to them who are perishing is foolishness, but unto us which
are being saved. I said that to a fellow not long
ago and he said, what do you mean being saved? I said, I'm
not plumb saved yet. Are you? No. Paul said, I haven't
arrived. I haven't arrived. Unto us which
are being saved it is the power of God. And then he further tells
us that it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save
them that believe. To arrest chosen sinners. How does he do that? through
the preaching of the gospel. To bring them to Christ, to shut
them up to the person and work of Christ. If he wanted to. Now God's God. He can do what he pleases. And he does what he pleases.
But if he wanted to, God could have appeared in a vision. and
spoke to us, he has in the past to me. He could if he wanted
to. If it pleased him to do so, he
could appear before you in a vision. If he so desired, he could have
spoken to his elect out of a whirlwind. Boy, that'd have some impact,
wouldn't it? Tornado runs right up next to you and then you hear
this voice speak out of there. If God wanted to, he could do
that. He could speak audibly to us.
His voice is sufficient. It was sufficient to create a
universe. It'd be sufficient to speak to
us. If he purposed to do so, he could have simply caused his
elect to have had a great and supernatural experience. if that's
what he wanted to do. But here he tells us that he
was pleased. He who does all his pleasure
was pleased to save chosen sinners by the preaching of the gospel.
That's what pleases God. It don't please men. They don't
like it at all. You mean I have to hear a man
preach to me to be saved? That's what it says. That's exactly what it says,
isn't it? Am I reading it wrong? I don't
think you need an interpreter for that. And then he says this, he said,
God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the
wise. and God hath chosen the weak
things of the world to confound the things which are mighty,
and base things of the world, and things which are despised
hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not to bring to naught
things that are." Now listen. Why would He do that? That no flesh should glory in
His presence. That's why He did it. That's why he uses weak, ignorant
men, commentators like you and I. That's exactly why he does
it. Not one of that number that no
man can number is going to gather around his throne, the very throne
of God, and gloat. They're not going to be a gloater
in the mess. A fella told me one time, I said,
do you know the Lord? He was mowing the grass down
in Louisiana years ago. I took him out a glass of water.
It was 100 degrees out there. He was mowing the grass with
a push mow. And I asked him if he knew the Lord or if he attended
church or went anywhere. And he said, well, he said, I
ain't always done the right thing. But he said, one thing I can
say, alcohol never touched these lips. And I said, maybe you'll
get a shot. Might do you some good. Not one of that number in that
day is gonna gather around the throne of God and gloat over
anything that he ever thought or said or did. And he's gonna
have a crown, but he can't wear it. He's gonna take it off and
throw it at the feet of Christ. And then he gives what Brother
Mahan used to call the most inclusive declaration in all Scripture. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 30. But
of him that wanteth pleased, of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification. God did that. God did that. That according as it is written,
he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. We glory, but we
don't glory in the flesh. We glory, but we don't glory
in the building. We glory, but we don't glory
in the atmosphere. We glory in Christ. We glory in Him. That's what Paul was talking
about over in 2 Thessalonians 2. I quoted it to you last night. When he said, Whereunto He called
you by our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus
Christ. We didn't know what to glory
in in religion, so we gloryed in ourselves. But when He calls a man, He obtains
that glory of Christ. He sees that glory of Christ.
And oh my soul, that's all he can do, is glory of Christ. That's
all he can do. God saves men by the foolishness
of preaching, and he leaves them with nothing left to glory in
but Christ. All right, now with these things
in our minds, fresh, let's look at these precious verses before
us here in chapter two. He tells us in verse one, and
I brethren, when I came to you, now we're talking about a man
who wrote under the inspiration of God half of the New Testament. When I came to you, I came not
with excellency of speech or wisdom declaring unto you the
testimony of God. This man was raised under the
greatest teacher that the Jews ever had, Gamaliel. It wasn't
because of a lack of talent or education that he didn't come
with excellency of speech. He had excellency of speech.
He had the ability. He had the teaching. But Paul
knew that he didn't have the power to call men out of darkness. It's not ours to have. I tell you, sometimes I see men
sitting down one-on-one and they're just, you're gonna believe before
you leave here. You don't have that power. You don't have that power. You
don't have that wisdom. I can't make him turn, I can't
make him see, I can't make him hear. And Paul was convinced
that the gospel is the power of God that can convince. And so he filled his messages
with the word of God and he limited his remarks to a few. Does that
make sense? He said, I came not with excellency
of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. He was altogether dependent on
the testimony of God. Verse two. For I determined,
and I tell you, unless you've ever preached to men, you don't
know what this is talking about. because we're constantly being
drawn another direction. So Paul took time to fix it in his mind. And he said, I determined not
to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified. Now it's the glorious person
and work of Jesus Christ that constitutes the gospel. You're
not preaching Christ, you're not preaching the gospel. And where there is no Christ,
there is no gospel. In the 15th chapter of the same
epistle, Paul outlines the message he preached. He tells you what
the gospel is. the message that enabled them
to stand and the one that they'd be saved if they kept it in memory.
He identifies it. He tells you what it is. He said,
I preach to you that which I also received, how that Christ died
for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried
and rose again the third day according to the scriptures.
That's what he preached. That's what he's telling them
that he determined to know nothing except that. You want to talk
to me about these things? Then let's hold our remarks right
here. Well, actually my brother-in-law,
I saw him at Thanksgiving one year and he said, so you all
believe God is just going to save certain people and nobody
else? and i said well before we start
talking about let's talk about what happened let's get that
out let's see what the book says about that and then you tell
me that particular this what paul say i determined to know
nothing among say jesus christ I don't understand how Christ
was made sin. I don't understand it. Except
to say He was one with us and I was one with Him. I was in
Him. God put me in Him before the
foundation of the world. But I do know what the scriptures
say about it. He that justifies the wicked
and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination
to God. Sin has to be punished. Has to
be punished. God's justice must be satisfied. It must be satisfied. He cannot
justify the wicked. He's not going to justify the
wicked. He's going to burn them in hell. And he's not going to condemn
the just. But I'll tell you this, that
man, that representative man, that glorious man was made sin
for us. And God justly and righteously
slayed his son. And in so doing, he took away
our sins forever. Somebody said, here's what forgiveness
is, and the church I was attending at the time, when I was real
young, had a blackboard, and he went up there and he wrote,
Thou shalt not steal. uh... uh... uh... uh... uh...
uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh...
uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh...
uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh...
uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh...
uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh...
uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh...
uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh...
uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... I can't even conceive of what
that is. And the only way He could do
it for you and I is in His Son. And then Paul says this. Let's
move on here. 1 Corinthians 2 verse 3. Now
Paul said, this is all I know. I don't know anything. And I
was with you, he said, in weakness. That is, he identified himself
with them. I believe this is what they're
saying. He identified himself with them as a sinner. He was
a sinner. And he said, I was with you in
fear and in much trembling. In other words, being aware of
who he was and what he was and whom he represented and whose
word he was quoting and whose name he was declaring. Show me a preacher who does not
fear God, I'll show you one who knows nothing of himself or God. I tell you, it's a fearful thing
to stand up here and say, God said. Well, I tell you, you better be careful
when you're quoting God. Paul said, I was with you in
weakness, I was one of you. And he said, I feared God. to the point of trembling. The God I serve and before whom
I stand this morning is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of
your heart. He knows what's on my heart right now that make
you tremble. All things are naked and open
under the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. I was with you,
you see, in weakness, fear, and much trembling. Verse four, in
my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of men's
wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. You can, and some have, and many
still do, preach the gospel in such a way as to hide the offense
of it cover up the divinity of it,
and turn it altogether into an enticing invitation. Let me tell you something. The gospel is not an invitation. It's a command. It's a command. And I'll take it one step further.
It's an automation. Now we say, he that believeth
not shall be damned. Sounds like an automation to
me. The gospel is inherently offensive. Men and women get upset. You
tell them their best deed is as foul as a leper's pus-covered
cloth. They get upset. I'm talking about
their prayers, their best deeds, their righteousness. The gospel doesn't need a makeover,
does it? But that's what men seek to do.
They try to give it a makeover. The gospel is sufficient exactly
as it's stated by divine inspiration, and I'll tell you something else.
Once you've preached it, It took me 40 years to learn this. This
ain't something easy. Once you've preached it, get
out of the way. Just get out of the way. I read about one preacher, he
was on his way, he was in Glasgow, and he was on his way to a meeting,
and it was a beautiful morning, so he walked. And he went by
and they were having an auction. And he looked in the door, And
the guy was selling a painting up front, but the guy who was
pointing out the painting to the people stood behind him.
And all you could see was his fingers. And he said, oh, I hope
I can preach Christ like that. All I can see is my fingers pointing
to him, pointing to him, pointing this way, pointing that way. Once you preach it, get out of
the way. Anything else you do will be a hindrance and not a
help. Listen to this. This is in the
very last part of the book of Revelations. Listen to this.
The spirit and the bride say come. Come to Christ, come to
the family. And everybody who hears it with
spiritual ears, everybody hears it, They say come. Now watch this. And let him that
is a thirst come. Get out of his way. You told
him where to go. Now get out of his way. Isn't
that what the Holy Spirit's saying here? Let him come. He's not gonna come if God don't
draw him. He's not gonna come if God doesn't
make him willing in the day of his power. and let him that is a thirst
come. It doesn't say pull him. It doesn't
say push him or carry him, it says let him. Stand aside and
get out of the way. And whosoever will, those made
willing in the day of God's power, let him take the water of life
freely. You showed him where it is, now
get out of the way and let him drink. I'm telling you, I'm guilty of
this. And I fear that too often, after we preach the gospel, we
stand in the way of the sinner. Just get out of his way. Let
God do his work. He'll come. He'll drink. The man has delivered God's message
to you. He's fulfilled his calling and
the means which God has ordained have been employed. And that's
as far as I'm entitled, in the word of God, to go. Now, I pray
for him. I pray for him. But that's as far
as I'm entitled to go. And Paul said, My preaching was
not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration
of the spirit and power We wait, having preached the gospel, we
wait with expectation and hope to see the Spirit of God move
in men's hearts and demonstrate what we just got through preaching. There is an effectual calling
of God that chosen sinners cannot resist. They cannot resist because
it's God that worketh in them. It overcomes their deceit. It
pulls down their refuge of lies. It casts down their imaginations
and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge
of Christ. And it brings every thought of
that sinner to the obedience of Christ. Not one time in his
life did he ever obey God. But when the Spirit of God moves
on his heart, he obeys. Does God say believe? He believes. Does God say be baptized? He wants to be baptized. He brings
every thought into the obedience of Christ. And our calling is
to simply and understandably show to our hearers from the
word of God how Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. Now here's why, verse five. that
your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the
power of God. The last thing I want is a proselyte
whose faith is resting in my strength or my wisdom. That's
the last thing in this world that I want. Very simply, Paul's
saying, I don't want to be the power behind your profession. verse six, howbeit we speak wisdom
among them that are perfect, yet not the wisdom of this world,
nor the princes of this world that come to naught, but we speak
the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which
God ordained before the world unto our glory. The gospel is a mystery to unregenerate
men. Now this world has a wisdom,
They do have a wisdom. If you're not careful, they'll
tie you up in knots. You need to study. I'm telling
you, you need to study if you're going to talk to men about God.
This world has a wisdom and knowledge which they've gleaned and compiled
from philosophers and traditional religion. But the gospel's a mystery. total
mystery to them. Cain exercised a worldly wisdom
when he thought to worship God in some other way than a substitute. The gospel's uncut, it's not
mixed with the rudiments of this world or traditional understanding
of men. Paul tells us to avoid those
things at all costs. And it leaves these things a
total mystery to men. Well, you say, don't they have
a Bible? Yes, they do. They did. Now Cain may not have had a Bible,
but he had instruction from the first saved man that God ever
saved on this earth. He had instruction from him.
And he heard that instruction, and one son obeyed and the other
didn't. Cain took that word and said, here's what that means. I'm gonna
bring carriage and carriage. There's a total mystery to it. A total mystery. Israel. Instructed by Moses. They heard them things. The gospel's
preached unto them as well as it is unto us. He tells us that,
Hebrews chapter four. You know what they did after
they heard it? Made a golden calf. Israel in exile. Now they've had a lot of instruction
now. They've got hundreds and hundreds
and hundreds of years behind them now. Here they are in exile
out there. And they heard the word read
every day. You know what they did? Went
up on, here's what they got out of it. They went up on the mountain,
planted them a garden, made a little grove up there, and they went
up there to worship. The gospel is a mystery. Paul said it's a mystery. That religious mob compassed
our Lord about and tried to make him look foolish, but all they
accomplished was to manifest their own ignorance. And after
he exposed them for what they were, he bowed his head and he
said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
thou hid these things from the wise and prudent, and revealed
them to these babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed
good in thy sight. And this wisdom of God was not
just hidden from a few unlearned and superstitious men, but from
the very princes of this world. Verse nine. But as it's written,
I have not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the
heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that
love him. They read the scriptures, or
they had the scriptures read to them, but they couldn't find
anything in them but a few moral lessons, some exciting stories,
a threat of punishment, and a few inspirational ceremonies. When
you say religion, don't preach that. I beg your pardon. I sat
in it till I was old enough to leave home. And that's exactly
what they got out of me, nothing. No man has ever heard or even
entertained a thought of the gracious and glorious things
that God has declared in his gospel. I grew up in religion. We believe
that Christ came and died on the cross, but the thought that
his death actually put away sins, paid the dead in full, justified
us perfectly before holy God never entered our minds. Never
entered our minds. Religion believes in a sort of
general representation of Christ, kind of like a governor or a
president or something. and his death did not really
accomplish anything. He died for everybody's sin,
so men like Judas and Demas and Vigellus and Hermogenes and all
these other enemies of God were judged and condemned for their
sins even though Christ died for them. That make sense to
you? Boy, it don't to me. The idea
that God chose a people put them into an eternal union with his
son that all their sins were laid on him and he bare those
sins in his own body on the tree. Never, never entered into their
mind. The religion I grew up in and
the one I'm exposed to today believes that like Jesus, the
life of Jesus of Nazareth, the one that he lived, he lived to
set before the church an example. So we know how it is. I believe if you do your best
and try to live as He lived, God will accept your life based
on your sincerity. And before somebody misunderstands
me, let me tell you something. Jesus Christ was a perfect man. He was God come into the flesh,
and as a perfect man, He's a perfect example. I'm not trying to take
away from that whatsoever, but it was not to example perfection
that He came, as being one with his people and in union with
them that they might have that perfect righteousness which God
purposed for them to have. That's why he came and was born
under the law, to redeem them that were under the law. And I never one time dared to
think that my righteous standing before God was the result of
his faithfulness, not the whole time. Never heard it mentioned,
and a thought never crossed my mind. The religion of our day
talks about a new birth. Born-again Christians, they say.
And what they say about this new birth is that the Spirit
of God moves in our hearts, enabling us to keep the law and produce
a righteousness that satisfies God. That's not being born again. To see Christ as my all-sufficient
Savior That's what it is to be born again, to see him. In him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete in him. I never
heard that preached. Why not? It's in here. I find it on almost every page.
It's in here. Why didn't they preach it? Because
it's a mystery. It's a mystery. Great is the
mystery of godliness. Oh, we're a holiness church.
We believe in godliness. Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the place. That's enough godliness for me. That godliness. Inhale. We had preaching in religion.
Most of the time, about 15 minutes. It was all geared to get us to
the front, get us to make a profession of faith, or rededicate our lives,
or join the church, or be a missionary, or something like that. But the
idea that God calls men out of darkness into his marvelous light,
or actually begets dead sinners through the preaching of the
gospel, was a mystery. Never thought about it. The idea that the sovereign God
might actually speak to us through a man never entered my mind. And the idea that God might just
withhold his message from me by taking that man away never
crossed my mind. It's a mystery. I'm telling you there's only
one hope for a sinner and that's the person and work of Jesus
Christ and there's only one way that you're ever going to know
what that means and that is if God sends his messenger to you
and by his spirit in him and his spirit in you is able to
communicate that truth to you. tell you about His eternal appointments
and His incarnation and His life as a man and His death as our
substitute and His resurrection declaring our justification and
His reign in glory, our praise and hope. These are the things that we're
to preach. These are the things that are
necessary for the salvation of men's souls. And these are the
things that even the Spirit of God has determined to say nothing
but that. He's not going to speak of himself. He's going to take the things
of mine and he's going to show them unto you. He's come, the spirit of truth. He shall not speak of himself,
but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak. Now watch
this. He's going to glorify me. or he shall receive of mine and
show it to you. I can't begin to tell you how
glorious these things are and what a treasure that they are
to all who believe. But I can tell you this, this
mystery, the understanding of this mystery is absolutely necessary
to the salvation of your soul. or spirit of god open these things
everyone's here this morning including myself ask you for
christ's sake