We're going to work out of 1
Corinthians 1. If you want a title, we preach
Christ crucified. If you'll try not to let my shaky
hands bother you, I promise you it won't bother me. It gets aggravating
sometimes, but that'll have to be alright. If you'd look back
in 1 Corinthians 1 to verses 23 and 24, but we preach Christ
crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block,
and unto the Gentiles foolishness." Foolishness. But unto them who
are called, unto them who are called, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ
the power of God and Christ the wisdom of God. There's only two attitudes that
we can assume in regard to Christ crucified. One is Christ dying
on Calvary's tree is utter foolishness and absolute nonsense. Makes
no sense whatsoever. Or else It is the power of God
unto salvation. This is just my introduction.
I've got a whole page here, so I've got to get busy. But I'm
trying to answer this statement. Why the preaching of the cross
of Christ is foolishness to them who are perishing. The first
answer to that is that because it deals with a subject in which we have no interest.
None. If we have an interest, it came
from above. Not from us. Did you say salvation from sin? We be not sinners. If you're a son or daughter of
Adam, you're a sinner. But we don't know what that means
until God communicates with our soul. Reveals Himself to us. We say
like those folks in the New Testament, we be not sinners. We're good
people. Good people. I remember a few
years ago, an elderly lady that lives by a little place that
we bought back in the 90s, and we're having an awful drought.
This year we've had more water than we actually wanted, but
evidently God thought we needed it, and he sent it. But it was
awful dry, and I said to this lady, whom I knew quite well,
I said, we deserve it. Oh boy, did she spin around like
she was 20 years old and give me a mouthful. I have you to
know the people in this community are good people. Good people. We're born, if we're religious,
we're born believing that God saves good people. The problem
with that is there ain't none. Not a one. None good, none righteous,
none that seek after God, no, not one. Second answer as to
why the preaching of the cross of Christ is foolishness is because
it does not recognize human Merit. My own or someone else's. It gives no credence to that
whatsoever. It doesn't accept it because
it does not exist. But rather it drags it into the
light of the broken law of God and declares us guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Every person whom God
saves is self-confessed guilty. Now, I'm bad for wanting to get
you to turn, but I've got to do a little bit of it. I just
can't get through it without it. It's so simple, I know, but
I'd like for you to turn to John chapter 3. I sat beside Maurice too long
this morning, so I've got the same shakes he has. Just bear
with us. Well, I'm in Romans. Just give
me a minute. It has something to do with the
brain or the lack thereof. John chapter 3. Now this is worth
turning to, I promise you. I hope you already know this,
but I want to make dead sure. Beginning at verse 18, John chapter
3, he that believes on Him, on Christ, is not condemned. But he that believes not is condemned
already, because he has not believed on the name of the only begotten
Son of God. And this is the condemnation. What is the condemnation? What
is it that condemns sinners who don't believe they're sinners?
This is the condemnation that light has come into the world
and men love darkness rather than light. How come? Because
our deeds are evil. Oh, preacher, I've been a moral
person all my life. I ain't talking about your morality.
I'm talking about your religion. That's a million times worse
than immorality. Alright, verses 20 and 21. This
ices the cake. For everyone that does evil hates
the light, neither comes to the light, lest his deeds should
be reproved. Now to the believer, verse 21. But he that doeth truth, he that
does truth, strange expression, comes to the light, why? That his deeds may be made manifest
that they are worked in God, not in ourselves, in the God-man,
Christ Jesus. I had another one, but I don't
think I need it. If I didn't make the case in that, I won't
make it there. So here's the third response to why we just
cannot bring ourselves to be honest-to-goodness, blue-blooded
sinners. When we confess our need for
the cross of Christ, here's what that requires. We take sides
with God against all human righteousness, mine included. Mine included. There's a statement. I thought
Merle was going to read this, Don, back there in the study.
When he got the word hundred out, I said, I bet he's going
to Psalm 119. That would have took a while. Therefore, I esteem... Oh, it just left me. Give me
a second. All... No, still can't do it. Therefore, I esteem all thy precepts
concerning all things to be right, But that ain't the end of it. A lot of people can't handle
this one. And I hate every false way. If you don't hate a false
gospel, you sure don't love Christ and neither do I. Fourthly, the cross is foolishness. because it declares the righteousness
and justice of God Almighty. What sent Christ to the tree?
God's absolute holiness and righteousness. This justice of God is a term
that modern religion knows absolutely nothing about. I know I lived
and preached in that religion too many years. How can God be
just and the justifier of him that believes on Jesus? Romans
3.26. In the book of Job, how can man
be just with God? How can he be clean that is born
of a woman? Now we're trying to find out
if we're sinners. Because I'll tell you what, when you find
out you are, you don't even know it, but you're already saved. Fifthly, if we cannot see the
exceeding sinfulness of sin, if we cannot see the infinite
holiness of God, then we cannot see any need for a cross of shame. Then the preaching of the gospel
will be foolishness to us. Alright, I got past my introduction. The Lord Jesus died to show the
riches of God's grace. If you'll turn to Ephesians chapter
2 and verse 7, Here's what God has purposed
to do in sending His Son to Calvary's tree. This is a glorious statement,
Ephesians 2.7, that in the ages to come, in the ages to come,
He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through
Jesus Christ. This glorious statement has a
number of aspects to it. Here's the first one. In this
statement, I'm going to read it again. I need to read it for
myself. That in the ages to come, in
the eternity to come, God intends to show the exceeding
riches of His grace in Christ toward us through Christ Jesus. Therefore, it is the end, the
absolute end, of God permitting men to fall. Secondly, it is
the end of God's permitting the world to continue in rebellion.
Thirdly, it is the end of Christ coming into the world in human
flesh. It is the end, fourthly, of the
cross and redemption in order to show the riches of His grace. God has prepared grace and glory
in Christ to put it on display for eternity to come. To make
it plain what this sending His Son into this world, taking on
human flesh, suffering and bleeding and dying and ascending to glory
is all about. It is to put before the eyes
of believers as well as unbelievers who this man is, Christ Jesus. and what He accomplished in His
coming, in His living, in His teaching, in His preaching, and
in His dying, and in His resurrection and ascension. I need to take a little page
of notes out of order here. I got this from a fellow named
George Bishop, if I remember right. Grace is a provision. for people who are so fallen
that they cannot lift the acts of divine justice. We can't deal
with God's justice. Everything about us makes us
guilty before God. Secondly, we are so corrupt that
we cannot change our own nature. Not a single one of us can do
that. Or we can change our nature into being a proud Pharisee instead
of a drunkard or whatever else you want to put in the list. We're so corrupt we cannot change
our own nature. Thirdly, we're so opposed to
God that we cannot turn to Him. Let me give you a case in point. In John chapter 8, not turning,
trying to remember some things about the chapter. I went to
preach on John 8, verse 30, 31, 32 a couple of weeks ago, and
by the time I finished reading, it was 2 minutes to 12 o'clock.
I just couldn't believe it. But I'll tell you, that chapter
is an eye-opener. I mean an eye-opener. It talks about people who believed
in Christ Jesus, in verse 30. And then in verse 32, which doesn't
show up now in the King James, but if you'll look in the English
Revised, if you'll look in the Greek, it'll enter your New Testament.
If you'll consult Mr. Spurgeon, and I don't know who
all else, Kenneth Wiest, among another one, there's nothing
between It's not believing on Him and
it's not believing in Him in verse 31. It is simply believing
Him. And as that chapter unfolds,
those persons to whom our Lord was referring in that 31st verse,
by the time we get to the 59th verse of John chapter 8, they're
trying to stun Him to death. That's a funny kind of faith,
isn't it? That's the kind the natural man possesses. God's
children have a supernatural faith that did not come from
ourselves. So opposed to God that we cannot,
we wouldn't go one inch toward Him. We're going the other way
as hard as we can go. Fourthly, we're spiritually blind. We cannot see Him. In John chapter
9, the man that was born blind, do you know after the Lord gave
him eyes and sight? And our Lord knew of course,
He knew it beforehand, He knew it when it happened and afterwards,
that they had kicked him out of the Jewish religion. So He
looked him up and found him in Jerusalem. And He said to him,
I think it's in verse 35 or so, He said, Do you believe on the
Son of God? Now this is a man that's just
had the miracle of all miracles when it comes to sight. He's
born without eyes. And our Lord gives him sight.
But at least he's honest. He says, who is he, Lord, that
I might believe on him? He said, I'm the one that's speaking
to you. I'm him. He said, Lord, I believe. Now, the religious world has
gone mad with healings and all. Everything is for the body, not
for the soul. Not for eternity, but for time.
You can look good, smell good, and everybody says you're good,
but that ain't what this book says. We're so deaf, we cannot hear
Him, spiritually speaking. so dead that God Himself must
open our graves and lift us, not at the end of time, not on
our way to heaven, but I mean in conversion, in salvation,
in grace. We have to be raised from the
dead. Raised from the dead. The next thing Our Lord died to show, as we
read in Ephesians 2.7, to show the riches of God's grace, and
He's still in that business today. Why did the Lord Jesus die on
the cross? The Scriptures must be fulfilled. That's why He came. That's why
He lived. That's why He died. The trail of blood that led to
the cross began in the Garden of Eden when God slew an animal
in order to make coats for Adam and Eve. And it is a picture
of redemption as well. Outside the garden, Abel brought
the blood sacrifice and his brother refused to do so. So he killed
him. In Egypt, the first Passover,
the very first one, I forget how far it is from Exodus to
the beginning of the New Testament period, but there are hundreds
and hundreds and hundreds of years. And that Passover was
instituted the night before the children of Israel left Egypt.
And they observed it faithfully every year except perhaps in
captivity at times. I'm not certain about that part
and it's not material to my case anyway. So that when our Lord
instituted the Lord's Supper, He did so sitting at the Passover
table after they had eaten. So this Blood on the doorpost
is a picture of somebody dying, and that somebody is the Lord
Jesus Christ. And believers in the Old Testament
were somehow able to see Christ through these things, while others
were perfectly blind to them, even as it is today. It's followed by an unbroken
line of atonements and Passovers until Christ, our Passover, died
on Calvary's tree. According to 1 John 1.7, He died
to redeem us from all sin, all sin. If He only died for part
of my sins, That doesn't help. It does not help. It's either all or nothing. And
it's either all Christ or nothing. Now I need you to turn a couple
of times and I'll beat the clock anyway. Romans
14. Our Lord Jesus not only died
to redeem His people from all sin, but He died to be Lord and King. King of kings and Lord of lords. If you'll look in Romans chapter
14, I deliberately didn't give you the verse. I don't want you
getting there until I get there, which is right now. Verse 9. For to this end, Romans 14, 9, for to this end Christ both died
and rose and revived that he might be Lord both of the dead
and the living. And I think this reference has
particular reference to the dead and believing people. Christians who've already died. And if things don't, if Christ
doesn't come, we're all going to go that same route. So we're
just a little bit behind the leaders. Not very far at all. For to this end, Christ both
died and rose and revived, that He might be Lord, both of the
dead and the living. Alright, Philippians chapter
2. Philippians, the second chapter, reading verses 8, 9, 10, and
11. speaking of our Lord Jesus. And
being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. The death
of the cross. Therefore, amongst other reasons,
some of which I've already given you, We are to preach Christ
and Him crucified. And there's a lot of different
ways as you've witnessed this weekend. Two or three of these
guys just completely destroyed a whole page of my notes. I mean,
I didn't send them a copy or anything, but I had to do some
scratching. Being found in fashion as a man,
he humbled himself. Became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross. Wherefore, God has highly exalted
him, and given him a name which is above every name, that at
the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven,
and things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory
of God the Father. One more, and I'm finished. He died that God might be just
and the justifier. That's been covered so much this
weekend, I'll just let that... You ought to have heard it many
times, I know I have, and I'm glad I did. Yep. Thank you. We preach Christ and
Him crucified.