First Corinthians, chapter 1, verse 17, the Apostle Paul said,
But Christ sent me not to baptize. Now, Paul did baptize some people. Back here in verse 14, he says,
I thank God I baptize none of you but Crispus and Gaius. And verse 16 says, I baptize
also the house of Stephanas. Besides that, I know not whether
I baptize any other. Most of the time the men with
him did the baptizing. But he's not discounting the
importance of baptism at all. You see, baptism is commanded
by Christ. He said, Go into all the world
and preach the gospel. He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved. He said to his disciples, all
authority is given unto me in heaven and earth, go ye therefore
and make disciples and baptize them in the name of the Father,
Son, and the Holy Spirit. All the way through the New Testament,
baptism was the way that people confessed Christ. They did not
confess Christ by coming to the front, going to an inquiry room,
or signing a card. or doing anything of that nature,
they confess Christ in baptism. When Peter preached on Pentecost,
they said, Well, what shall we do? He said, Repent and be baptized. And that day, those days, they
baptized 3,000 people, confessing Christ. Baptism is public identification
with Christ. It's confessing Christ. It's
public identification with Christ. Our Lord died and was buried
and rose again. And when we're baptized by immersion,
we're showing forth to the world that our confidence and faith
and redemption is in Christ who died and was buried out of sight
and rose again. And it's declaring the fact that
we're dead with Christ, dead to the world, and we're And we're
risen to walk in newness of life. And there's one scripture, Romans
6, that makes this very, very plain. Romans chapter 6. Romans 6, verse 3 and 4 makes
it very clear what baptism is. And it has to be by immersion.
And it has to be of believers. It can't be of infants, because
an infant's not a believer. Our Lord hedged about, he hedged
about baptism, he said this, he that believeth and is baptized. You're not baptized and believe
later on, you believe and are baptized, that's sufficient.
He that believeth and is baptized. And Philip, when he spoke to
the eunuch, he gave clear instructions about baptism. The eunuch wanted
to be baptized. And Philip said, if you believe
with all your heart, you may. And so the next time anybody
baptizes a sugar-sprinkled infant, ask that baby, do you believe
in Christ with all your heart? If he can't answer yes, don't
baptize him. If you believe with all your
heart, you may. Now listen to Romans 6, verse
3. Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus
Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried
with Christ by baptism unto death, that like," it's a like figure,
"...as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the
Father, even so we shall walk in newness of life." He was buried
to the world at that time. So Paul is not discounting that
at all. But what he's saying here in
1 Corinthians 1.17. That's not why Christ sent me
into the world, to baptize, to organize, to promote. He sent
me for this sole purpose, to preach the gospel. To preach
the gospel. He called me to preach the gospel.
And in Romans 1, he summed up that gospel in Romans chapter
1. In a couple of places in Romans
1, he summed up that gospel which he preached. Romans 1, verse
1, in writing to the church at Rome, he said, Paul, a servant
of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the
gospel of God, that's what I'm obsessed with, separated unto,
called to preach it, the gospel. Now, what gospel? The gospel
of God, which he promised before by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures. That's what we dealt with this
morning in the Bible class. He died for our sins according
to the scriptures, and then rose again according to the scriptures.
And this gospel I preach is the gospel Abraham believed, of which
Moses wrote, for which David looked, the coming Messiah. And
this gospel, verse 3, is concerning his son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Everything about the gospel has
to do with his son. It's God's gospel, it's the only
gospel, it's the ancient gospel, it's the gospel concerning the
personal work of Jesus Christ. And who is Jesus Christ? He's
made of the seed of David, according to the flesh he became a man.
He's declared to be, he's not made God, he's declared to be
the Son of God, with absolute almighty power. That's my gospel. God didn't send me to baptize.
I'd be glad to baptize, he said. I'd be glad to help in any way.
But my purpose and cause and obsession and orders are to preach the gospel.
And notice what he says next. Not with wisdom of words. Not
with wisdom of words. Look over across chapter 2 of
1 Corinthians. When I came to you, I came not
with excellency of speech or wisdom of words. Verse 4. My speech and my preaching was
not with persuasible words of man's wisdom, enticing words. You see, the gospel is to be
preached and presented in a plain manner, in a manner in which
people can hear it and understand what you're saying. A friend
of mine, a preacher, starts this morning on the radio in the town
where he pastors. And he and I were talking on
the phone this week, and I said to him, Now, when you're preaching
on the radio, you're not preaching to a crowd of people. You're
preaching to one person. There's one lady in that kitchen
sitting at the table. Her children have gone to school,
and she's sitting at the table. And you're talking to her. And
I said, there's a man driving his car down the road and he's
turning on the radio. And you're talking to him, just one person. You're
talking to one person. In the hospital room, there's
someone lying there, got a radio, got an earphone, walking around
the park. Start screaming and yelling at
him. Start a rant and rave and barbeed him and take the law
and whip him to death. Talk to him about Christ. Just
like you were talking to a person sitting in your living room.
And not with wisdom or words, Paul. Intellectualism, trying
to impress someone with a full set of words. Trying to impress
someone with our education, or our knowledge, or our theology. Talk to them like you're talking
to children. That's what we are. Don't scream and yell. Not with
man's wisdom and intellectualism and human eloquence. or showmanship,
or running up and down the platform, or psychology, or enticing words
of man's wisdom. Have an organ play while you're
telling a deathbed story, you know. Enticing psychology. What are you doing? Here's what
you're doing. You're making the cross of Christ
of non-effect. That's what you're doing. When
human means and human methods dominate our preaching, when
human eloquence, psychology, enticing words, playing upon
people's sympathy and feelings, and lost loved ones, what we're
doing is projecting ourselves. We're projecting our intellectualism. We're projecting our theology
and the cross of Jesus Christ. becomes of one effect, it's pushed
aside, it's pushed in the background. The attention of the people is
on the preacher, on the orator, on the choir, on the ropes, on
the flowers, on the candles burning, on every visual aid that we use. People's attention. And they
don't hear the gospel. They're not shut up to Christ.
The cross of Christ is made of nonethel. God sent me to preach
the gospel, not with wisdom of words, not with enticing words
of man's wisdom, not in demonstration of the flesh, but in demonstration
of the Holy Spirit and power. What is he talking about when
he says the cross of Christ? Look at verse 18, the preaching
of the cross. The cross of Christ. Paul is
not referring here to the tree on which our Lord died. He's
not talking only about that tree on which our Lord died, or even
Christ dead only. But the cross of Christ, the
preaching of the cross and the cross of Christ includes all
that our Lord Jesus Christ is to us, all that he did for us,
all that he purposed and promised to us, All that he accomplished
for us is in the cross, because that's where it took place. That's
where the debt was paid. That's where the justice of God
was satisfied. That's where the law of God was
honored. That's where sin was put away. That's where the head
of the serpent was crushed. And that's where people of God
were redeemed. But the preaching of the cross
includes all that Christ is and does. Let me give you something.
First of all, the cross of Christ includes all that he purposed
and promised to us by his grace back before the world began.
Because those promises and purpose depends on that day. The cross
of Christ includes all that he purchased for us by his blood,
peace, forgiveness, The cross of Christ includes all that he's
doing now. Our great high priest ministers
not in places made with hay, but in heaven itself, with his
own blood. He's entered the Holy of Holies.
Well, he has no blood to apply if he didn't shed it on the cross.
But the cross includes his purpose, includes his accomplishment. includes his priestly work. And the cross of Christ includes
justification, sanctification, and even glorification. What
we shall be depends upon what he did. For our song in that
great day will be unto him who loved us and washed us from our
sins in his own blood. And unto him who hath made us
under our God kings and priest, unto him be the glory." Without
the cross, none of these promises or purposes would ever be accomplished
or exist. Without the cross there would
be no covenant, there would be no kingdom, there would be no
forgiveness, there would be no solemn glory, there would be
no honor to Christ. For he said, except the corn
of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone. That's the reason Paul says,
I preach the cross. That's what he means over here
in 1 Corinthians 2, verse 2. Listen, I determine not to know
anything among you, except Christ and him crucified. That's where
all is accomplished. That's where it's summed up.
That's where it's effective. Turn to Galatians 6. Listen to
it here. Galatians 6, verse 14. Galatians 6.14. God forbid that
I should glory save in the cross. Paul gloried in Christ's deity,
in his incarnation, in his resurrection, in all that he did. But what
Paul is saying here is I glory in the cross because that's where
it was all effective, accomplished. That's where he said it's finished.
God foretold that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ. The cross declares the attributes
of God, they're all there glorified. The cross is where his people
were redeemed, the cross is where his enemies were defeated, Satan,
sin, and death. By which the world is crucified
unto me, and I unto the world. All right, back to verse 18 in
our text. The preaching of the cross. For
the preaching of the cross is, what is the preaching of the
cross? The preaching of the cross is, well, three things. Number one, the preaching of
the cross is the preaching of salvation by grace alone. The
grace of God hath appeared to all men. That's what scripture
says, the grace of God hath appeared to all men. Where? At the cross. That's where the grace of God
appeared to the whole world. That's where peace was purchased.
Turn to Colossians chapter 1. That's where peace was purchased
at the cross. Colossians 1 says this in verse
20, verse 19. For it pleased the Father that
in Christ should all foolish dwell, and heaven made peace. How? Through the blood of his
cross. By him, by his cross. to reconcile
all things to himself. That's where peace was accomplished.
That's where reconciliation was effective. By his blood. By him, I say, whether they be
things on earth or things in heaven. And you that were at
one time alienated, enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet
now hath he at the cross reconciled. It was the preaching of the cross.
It's the preaching of salvation by grace alone. It's the declaration
of the grace of God to all men. It's the accomplishment of peace
and reconciliation, and it's where sufficient atonement was
made that God might be just and justified. Turn with me to Romans
3. Romans chapter 3. This is where
Paul declares it so beautifully. This is where a sufficient atonement was accomplished that enabled
God to be God, to be just and righteous and holy, and pardon
you and me. Listen to it. Romans 3.25. Let's see who he's talking about
here. Verse 24. Being justified freely
by his grace through the redemption that's in Christ Jesus at the
cross, whom God has set forth in a public manner, in a conspicuous
place, on an overrated hill, outside the city walls of the
Holy City, God set him forth and promised picture, type, and
person to be a propitiation, a mercy seat, a covering through
faith in his blood that flowed from his wounds on that cross
to declare God's righteousness for the remission of even sins
of the past, Old Testament saints' sins, through the patience of
God. God set him forth on that cross
to declare, to declare, I say, at this time, God's righteousness,
God's holiness, that God might be just and the justifier of
him that believes in Jesus. That's what the preaching of
the cross is. It's the preaching of grace and all. It's a preaching
of the grace of God that appeared to all, it's a preaching of peace
and reconsideration, of sufficient atonement, that glory to God
may be just and justified, and it's the forgiveness of sins.
He put away our sins by the sacrifice of himself. Hebrews 1 says he
purged our sins. By himself, by his death, purged
our sins and sat down at the right hand of God. That's what
it is to me, preaching of the cross. Well, let's go back to
my text. That's what it is to me and to
you, verse 18, the preaching of the cross is. But to them
that are perishing, it's foolishness. It's foolishness to them that
it's perishing. Well, that's right, foolishness, sheer nonsense. the cross, such an awesome gift
of God and such a great and glorious happening for us, fruitishness
to them, they see no need for the death of Christ. You see
in the New Testament when Christ walked this earth, everybody
who came to him for help came because they needed him. Everybody who came to Christ
came because they needed him. And folks that didn't need him
didn't come. He summed that up when he said, the world do not
need a doctor, but they're able to see. Go learn what that means. I've come to call sinners to
repentance. Christ died for sinners. That's
why it says this is a thing for saying Christ died for sinners,
of whom I'm cheating. Christ died for the ungodly.
Well, these people don't see any need for that death, because
they're not sinners. There's no curse of the law.
There's no fall. That's a myth. All that was fallen
in the garden by which the whole human race was plunged into sin
and death and a curse. That's a myth. That's not true. They don't need
the death of the cross. There's no judgment. Turn to
Isaiah 28. This is what the world's religionists
and otherwise believe in Isaiah 28. Listen. There's no judgment. In Isaiah 28 verse 14, listen
to the word of God. Therefore, hear the word of the
Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
Because you have said, we've made a covenant with death. We're
not afraid to die. With hell are we in agreement.
We're not afraid of hell. There's no such place. When the
overflowing scourge shall pass through, when the judgment of
God descends upon this world, it won't come unto us. We have
a refuge, almost a refuge of lies, but we have a refuge. Under falsehood have we hid ourselves.
Therefore let us say unto the Lord God, Behold, I will behold,
listen, observe, I will be in Zion. Zion is a church. Zion is the body of Christ. Zion
is the temple of God. Zion is true Israel. I lay in
Zion for a foundation, a stone, a rock, a tried stone. He's tried,
he's tried in all parts as we are yet without sin. A precious
cornerstone, a sure foundation, a sure refuge. A hiding place,
a corporate in time of storm. He that believeth on him shall
not make haste." Now then, judgment also, when I lay to the mind,
sure judgment, true judgment. Righteousness to the plummet,
not a hair off. And the hail will sweep away
your refuge of lies, and the water will overflow your hiding
place, and your covenant with death, of which you are not afraid,
and in your agreement with hell. There is no such place. It won't
stand. When the overflowing scourge
of God's judgment and law shall pass through, you're going to
be trodden down by it. Now, people who believe that
need that death on the cross. Need that judgment. There's no
judgment to us because Christ was judged. There's no condemnation
to us because Christ was condemned. There's no guilt to us because
Christ was guilty. There's no death to us because
Christ died. who don't have a need, they're
not sinners, they don't fear a curse, there is no judgment.
It's foolishness, Tom. It's foolishness. They don't
see, and listen, tell you something, they don't see the glory in the
death of Christ. I said a while ago, every attribute
of God is manifested at Calvary. There the grace of God is demonstrated
and appears. The holiness of God. He turned
his back on his own son. The holiness of God. Why did
he turn his back on Christ? Isaiah tells us, your sins separated
you and your God. Well, he didn't have his sins.
Yes, he had our sins. Our sins were laid on him. And
God's holiness is seen at the cross. God's justice is seen
at the cross. He spared not his own son, but
delivered him up for us all. God's righteousness is seen at
the cross. God's power is seen at the cross. God's sovereignty.
Everything they did to Christ, God planned. You said to do what
he determined before to be done, Peter said to those crucifiers
of Christ. You did what God determined before
to be done. His sovereignty. All the attributes
of God are declared at the cross. Just as righteous, as holiness,
as the glory. And that's the reason the Lord
Jesus said in John 17 when he prayed, he said, Father, this
is just before the cross, now glorify thy son, that thy son
may glorify thee. Glorify me. Turn with me to John
13. John 13.31. I see in the cross
the glory of God. The glory of God. In John 13.31. This is when he was talking to
his disciples at the Lord's table, and Judas went out to betray
him, and Christ, the Son of Man, must suffer and die. John 13,
verse 31. Therefore, when Judas was gone
out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of Man glorified. Christ is glorified
in his death, in his sacrifice, in his love, in his grace. giving
himself for us, and he glorified. And the Father, God, is glorified
in him. If God be glorified in him, God
shall also glorify him in himself, and straightway glorify him."
The world can't see the glory of the cross. They see it as
an example, they see it as a model man's pulpit, they see it as
a a martyr's suffering place, but they don't see the cross
and the death of Christ as glorifying God. Glorifying His justice,
His holiness, His love, His grace, His goodness. Glorifying. They don't see the new heaven
and new earth where He's run of righteousness. Now listen
to this. Why is it foolishness? They don't need Him. They don't
see the glory of justice must be satisfied, law honored, righteousness
accomplished. And they really don't see heaven
as what heaven is. What is heaven? The new heaven
and new earth is a place wherein dwelleth righteousness. Heaven
to most people today is secular continuation of this world. When
a golfer dies, they say he's on the beautiful links of heaven. When a football player dies,
he's running down the field for Jesus now. It's just a continuation
of this rotten, sinful, fleshly, humanistic, materialistic world. It's just a continuation of this
world. It's people, it's ways, it's
vocations, it's occupations, it's greed. Because the preachers
preached, some people are going to have a big mansion, and some
are going to have a little picket fence around a house somewhere,
because they didn't set up enough material. Turn to Revelation
21, let's see what heaven and the kingdom of God is. Verse 27 of Revelation 21, verse
26, and they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations
into it. And they're selling their lives
under any circumstances, under any conditions, nothing entering
into it, anything! That defileth, neither worketh
abomination, nor maketh a lie, but they which are written in
the Lamb's book of life. The Lamb who died on that cross,
who shed his blood, who washed us from who is our great high priest,
that's the new heaven. It's made up of people who are
perfect in Christ, righteous in Christ, holy in Christ, and
washed. Turn to Revelation 7. I love this scripture. I have
a three-point outline on this scripture. Verse 9 tells us what John saw. Revelation 7, Now after this
I beheld a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations,
that's true, kindreds, and people, and tongues. They stood before
the Lamb. Where? Before the Lamb. Who's
the Lamb? Who died on the cross, put away
our sin. Clothed in white robes, pure
and white, palms of victory in their hands. That's what John
saw. What did John hear? John cried, and these people
cried with a loud voice, and I heard them say, Salvation is
of the Lord. Salvation to our God. Salvation
from sin, the curse of the law, to him who sits above the throne,
to the Lamb, his Lamb, his sacrifice, his sin offering. And all the
angels stood about the throne, the elders and the full beast,
and fell on their faces and worshipped God and said, Amen. Blessing,
glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, might be unto God
forever and ever. That's what John heard. Then
what did he know? Verse 13. One of the elders answered,
saying unto me, What are these that are raised in white robes?
Which came that? Who are these people? Well, they're
all the golfers that died and the professional football players
and all these things we dare to do until we see them up yonder
somewhere. Hold on now. Who are these? Who are these that are raised
in these white robes with the palms of victory in the kingdom
of God? Where'd they come from? I said, sir, you know. And anybody
that has any wisdom at all knows. He said, Yes, I know, these are
they which came out of great trouble, and washed their robes,
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they,
and nobody else, before the throne of God, and serve him day and
night." Now listen, the preaching of the cross is, it is, to them
that are perishing foolishness. They have no need, they have
no sin. They can't see the glory of God,
the justice and righteousness of God, fully satisfied only
in Christ, and they can't see heaven and eternal glory for
what it really is. It's a holy place prepared by
a holy God for a holy people, made holy by that blood and that
righteousness of that sacrifice. Nobody else. That's so. That's just so. And the preaching
of the cross, verse 18, is to us who are being saved, it's
the power of God. I'm not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ, it's the power of God. Paul said, brethren, I know
your election of God. It came to you not in words,
but in power. The gospel preached in power.
What is this power? It's power to quicken the dead.
You have to quicken who are dead. It's power that's unable to death
to hear the voice of God, not the voice of a man. It's the
power of God to make the blind to see the very glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ. Glory of God. That's it. It's
the power of God to give a new heart, a new nature to those
who are enemies of God and make them friends of God. It's the
power of God to defeat all of our enemies, yea, even death,
and give us everlasting life. It's the power of God seen, see
if you see this, the gospel is the power of God seen in the
men that Christ chose to carry that gospel of the Lamb. Whom
did he choose? Peter? James? John? Fisherman? He chose men
of no standing, no education, no influence, men who themselves
were despised, laughed at, and finally executed. The message
they declared was a message of a crucified Christ who was despised
and disagreed with all natural men, the death of the cross.
They had no arms, they had no armies, they had no weapons.
They had no universities or colleges. They had no support from kings
or queens or princes that day. The only method they used was
to preach. Preach. That's all they did.
They went around preaching. And like God said to Ezekiel
on the side of the hill as he overlooked that valley of dry
bones, preach to them. Preach to them. I need to get
busy tying them together. I just preach. That's all these
men and women preach. No arms, no armies, no lepers,
no universities, nobody behind them. Just preach. Their enemies
were the principalities and powers and rulers of hell. Their enemies
were Satan, rulers of the darkness. Their enemies were kings and
dictators and tyrants and priests and educators and religious people. The whole religious world was
their enemy. And yet, that gospel that they
preached went over the whole world, the whole world, and has
continued to this day, and even came here to this little town
of Ashland, Arlington, Cannonsburg, Summit, Midfield, and found us and called
us. And we heard it, and we believed
it. Despite all and notwithstanding
all the efforts of Satan to keep you from it, false teachers to
talk you out of it, and the will to discredit it, you believed
it. That's the power of God. That's the power of God. For he said in verse 19, I'll
destroy the wisdom of the wise. I bring to nothing the understanding
of the prudent." That's what he said in Isaiah,
in the days and times of the Messiah, when the glorious gospel
shall be preached in person, the mysteries of grace and glory
be heard from those wise people. I thank you, Father, you hear
these things from the wise and prudent, because they would have
never given you the glory. They would have never given me
the glory. who have nothing, know nothing,
and can do nothing, and they'll give you the glory. Thank you,
Father. Because these wise and prudent,
their education, their scientific research, their learning has
no room for a crucified Christ. Has no room for a Savior from
sin. Has no room for a Redeemer and
a righteousness that's not theirs. For he says, who is the wise?
Let me give you something that I saw yesterday that I haven't seen right here. He quoted verse 19, a saying
by Isaiah of what he was going to do, destroy the wisdom of
the wise, bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent,
the opponents of the gospel. Then he asks this question, where
is the wise? Among the people that God has
called and used and employed in his work in the gospel, where
is the wise? Among the disciples, where is
the wise? Among the prophets, where is the wise? Amos was plowing
when God called him, plowing oxen. Where is the wise? Where is he? Where is the man
who boasts of his superior knowledge in this world among those men?
They're not numbered among those men. He said, where is the scribe? What is a scribe? A scribe is
a man of letters and learning, recognized as a scholar of note,
a scholar in residence. Where are they among the people
that God has used in his church to preach, or to teach Sunday
school, or to teach children, or to preach the gospel? Where
are these scholars of note? They don't exist. Look back through
church history. They were opponents of the gospel,
not proclaimers of the gospel. Where is the disputer of this
world? Listen up. Where is the disputer of this
world among people God uses? What is a disputer? He's a debater.
He's an arguer. Where is the man who argues among
the people to whom God has given a hearing? Among his sheep. Where is the debater among the
people to whom God's given the message that's being heard and
being blessed to the poor and needy? Where is the disputer
and debater? The person who pretends to have
so much knowledge and knows how to understand secret senses of
scripture, where is he among those men God uses? I tell you
the man God uses is a humble man, a supple man. That's right. Has not God made
foolish this wisdom of the world? These men are not found among
those who preach Christ. He's laid them aside, as he lays
aside all of the wise and the prudent. The wisdom of this world turns
no one to Christ. It's the preaching of the gospel.
And in closing, verse 21. After that, in the wisdom of
God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by what
people call foolishness, the preaching of the cross, the preaching
of the blood, to save them that believe. Thank God that he was
pleased in his tender mercies and grace. to send our Redeemer
to die on that cross. And thank God, in his tender
mercy and grace, he was pleased to send to us a preacher of the
gospel, in plain words. And the Spirit of God revealed
it and gave us a love for Christ. Isn't that all the mercy of God?