my text again, 1 Corinthians
1, verse 23. But we preach Christ crucified. What is it to preach Christ and
him crucified? Well, I do not believe it is
preaching Christ and him crucified to give our people a sermon on
philosophy every Sunday and neglect the Word of God. I do not believe
that it is preaching Christ and Him crucified to leave out the
main doctrines of the Word of God and preach a religion that
is a mist or a haze that covers everything, includes everything,
and really says nothing. I do not believe that it is preaching
Christ and Him crucified to only set forth a standard of morality,
a set of do's and don'ts, and call all men to obey our laws. That is not preaching Christ
and Him crucified. I do not believe that it is preaching
Christ and Him crucified when we promote a local congregation. or a denomination, and continually
brag about what we've done for God, or what we're doing for
God, or what we expect to do for God. I do not find anywhere in the
Word of God where numbers, a large crowd of people, ever proved
that God was present. I do not believe that it is preaching
Christ and him crucified to talk about the helplessness and the
failure of God and leave salvation in the hands of men. I do not
believe that it is preaching Christ and him crucified to make
statements like this. God's done all he can do. Now
it's up to you. Or God can, and He will, if you'll
let Him. Or give God a chance. Or God
has no feet but your feet, God has no eyes but your eyes. God
has no hands but your hands. That's not the God of the Bible.
The God of the Bible says, and my arm is not short that I cannot
save." The God of the Bible says His eye is in every place beholding
the evil and the good. The songwriter said he plants
his footsteps on the sea and rides upon the storm. This is
not the God of the Bible, and this is certainly not preaching
Christ and Him crucified. If we preach Christ and him crucified,
we're going to get a strong reaction. Paul did. He said in our text
in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 23, we preach Christ crucified, unto
the Jews a stumbling block. Who are the Jews here? Well,
the Jew here represents the religious person. He had a holy ancestry,
the Jew did. We have Abraham to our father.
We have Moses. He came from a pious family.
He was a right good man. He attended the synagogue. He
said, I fast and I tithe. I'm not even like this publican. He was a moralist. He knew the
law. He knew the scriptures. He could
even look at Jesus Christ and say, Dost thou teach us? He was
faithful to every religious endeavor, and when he heard of Christ crucified,
it was a stumbling block because he's not a sinner, we'd be not
sinners. He needs no substitute, he needs
no savior, he needs no righteousness. This mercy of God, through the
death of a sacrifice and a substitute, did not fit into his religious
plan and did not fit into his self-glory. And so to him Christ crucified
was a stumbling block. And to the Greeks, foolishness,
sheer nonsense. Who are the Greeks? The Jew here
is the religious man who does not need a substitute. The Jew
here is the religious man who does not need righteousness.
The Jew here is the religious man who does not need a savior.
He thinks that his works will recommend him to God. He's going
about to establish his own righteousness. Well, who are the Greeks? It says here, to the Greeks,
Christ crucified is sheer nonsense. The Greek is the professional
man. He's the natural man. He's educated. The Greeks here
represent the educated. He's a lawyer, an artist, He's
an architect or a musician. He's an engineer. He's a professor. He has a degree from a recognized
university. He is worldly wise, and he has
been taught by the scholars and the books of his day. Don't talk
to him about man's fault. That's sheer nonsense. Don't
talk to him about man's guilt. Don't talk to him about man's
inability. Don't talk to him about death,
judgment, eternal hell. Don't talk to him about a bloody
cross. Don't talk to him about the crucifixion
of a substitute. Don't talk to him about his need
of a priest, of a savior, of a mediator. That's nonsense. Foolishness. But we pray to Christ
crucified, and we get a strong reaction from the religionists
They don't need a mediator, they don't need a substitute. The
natural man, they don't need a sacrifice. It's nonsense, it's
foolishness. But unto them who are called,
verse 24, but unto them who are called, whether they be Jews
or Greeks, whether they be called out of religion or out of the
world, And God finds his people in both places. God finds his
people in the synagogue, he finds his people in the cesspools of
sin. God finds his people in the ministry,
and he finds his people in the world. Whether they're Jews or
Greeks, whether they have a religious background, or whether they have
a background of education and worldly wisdom, to them who recall
Supernaturally regenerated, supernaturally awakened, supernaturally called. And who have Christ revealed
to them by the Holy Spirit, the preaching of Christ crucified
to them, it's not a stumbling block. It's not foolishness. It's not sheer nonsense. It's
the power of God. The power of God to put away
our sins. The power of God to win our love
and affection. His free grace alone, from first
to last, has won my heart and held me fast. The power of God
to change our hearts from stubborn rebellion to willing submission. The power of God to change our
wills from self-will to God's will, from my will to thy will. from the service of sin to the
service of Christ. The power of God to make me hear
his voice and see his beauty and walk in his holiness and
in his mercy and in his kindness. Christ crucified, not a stumbling
block to the call, whether they're Jews or Greeks, it's the power
of God. It's not foolishness to the call,
whether they're Jews or Greeks, it's the power of God. The gospel
is the power of God unto salvation from sin's guilt, from sin's
power, from sin's practice, and from sin's presence. And to them,
it's the wisdom of God. They see in Christ crucified
wisdom. The worldly man calls it nonsense,
but the called man sees in Christ crucified the honoring of God's
divine law. He sees in Christ crucified the
satisfaction of God's justice. He sees in Christ crucified the
wisdom of God that God might be just and justifier. He sees
in Christ crucified the wisdom of God to populate heaven. and
to give me a holiness that I didn't earn and that I didn't deserve. And yet God can do it through
Christ and still be God. So when we preach Christ in him
crucified, we're going to get a reaction. We're going to get
a reaction from the religious man. He doesn't need him. We're going to get a reaction
from the worldly man. He thinks it's foolishness. We're
going to get a reaction from the same man. He rejoices, for
he sees in Christ crucified God's power and God's wisdom. All right, back to our question.
What is it to preach Christ and him crucified? Well, I can't
begin to give it all to you in one message. That's an impossibility. But I can give you at least six
things that I think are included in preaching Christ and him crucified. Turn with me to John 17. First
of all, when we preach Christ and Him crucified, we preach
the glory of His person. It wasn't just a man who walked
that bloody trail out of Gethsemane's garden. It wasn't just a man
who carried that heavy cross up Golgotha's It wasn't just
the man that they crucified between the two thieves. It wasn't just
the man who cried out, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? It
was a man, but it was the God-man. In John 17, verse 1, the Lord
Jesus prayed, lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the
hour is come. Glorify thy Son, that thy Son
also may glorify thee. as thou hast given him power
over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many
as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that
they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom
thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the
earth, I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And
now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own with the glory
which I had with thee before the world was." If we preach
Christ crucified, we're going to preach the glory of his person. Oh, the glory of his person. He is, the scripture says, the
sole expression of the glory of God. He was with God in the
beginning, he was God, and all things were made by him. He is
the very image of God's nature. Jesus Christ is God Almighty. The angels of God sing hosanna
at his coming, glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace,
goodwill to men. The Father has sent a Savior,
Christ the Lord. The demons of hell cry out at
his presence, We know who you are. You're the Holy One of God. The believer falls down at his
feet and says, My Lord and my God. The Father says from heaven,
This is my beloved Son. The ocean falls down at his feet
like a shepherd dog to do his bidding. Diseases depart at his
command. The blind see, the lame walk,
the deaf hear, and the dead come forth from their tomb. Oh, the
glory, the indisputable glory, the immutable glory of his person. If we preach Christ and him crucified,
we're not going to bring people to feeling sorry for Jesus. We're going to bring them to
worship and praise his name. As we read in the study tonight
before coming in here, Holy and Reverend is his name. And the
little, frustrated, defeated Jesus for whom you feel such
pity, I've got news for you, he's not the God of the Bible. Because when we preach Christ
crucified, we shall preach the glory of his person. The glory. And when we get a view of Christ
crucified, we'll say the same thing that the centurion said,
And he didn't step back from that cross and say, poor little
Jesus. He stood back from that cross
when Christ cried, it is finished, and said, surely this man is
the Son of God. He was overwhelmed by his glory. I'm telling the truth, and I
know there are a lot of folks who will find some difficulty
receiving it. But as I said, Paul said in our
texts, to the religious it's a stumbling block, and to the
wise men it's foolishness. But to everybody who's called,
power of God. So if we preach Christ and him
crucified, we're going to preach the glory of his person, and
you're going to come away from that cross. not pitying him. He said, Don't weep for me, weep
for yourselves and for your children. Glory, Father, I mean with thine
own glory, which I had before the world was, he prayed. This
man's a son of God. Now, secondly, turn to Hebrews
4. If we preach Christ crucified We're going to preach not only
the glory of his person, but we're going to preach the excellency
of his character. In Hebrews 4 verse 15, look at
it. For we have not an high priest
which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities,
but was in all points tempted as we are yet without sin. Without sin. It could never be
said of any human being except Jesus Christ. He was without
sin. Abraham was the friend of God,
but he was not without sin. Moses was the meekest man who
ever lived, but he wasn't without sin. David was a man after God's
own heart, but he was not without sin. John the Baptist, Christ
said, was the greatest man born of woman, but he was not without
sin. Mary was the mother of Jesus
Christ, our Lord, but she was not without sin. Paul was the
boldest apostle, but he was not without sin. But it is said of
our Lord in 1 Peter 2, Verse 21 and 22, 1 Peter 2, verse 21
and 22, it was said of our Lord, He did no sin. Neither was guile found in his
mouth. who when he was reviled, reviled
not again, when he suffered, threatened not, but committed
himself to him that judgeth righteously, who his own self bare our sins
in his own body on the tree." When we preach Christ crucified,
we're going to preach the excellency of his character. There's not going to be any doubt
in the heart of any of our heroes concerning the excellency of
his character, pure and undefiled, holy and without blame. Thirdly, turn to John 13.1. When
we preach Christ and Him crucified, we are going to preach the love
of His heart. O love of Christ, how rich, how
pure, how measureless, how strong! It shall forevermore endure,
the saints' and angels' song. And could we with ink the ocean
fill, and were the skies of parchment made, and every man on earth
a scribe by trade, to write the love of God above, would drain
the ocean dry. Nor could the scroll contain
the whole, though stretched from sky to sky." Who can describe
the love of Christ? Who can describe the love of
Christ? This verse, I think, describes it as well as any other.
John 13.1. Now, before the Feast of the
Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come, that he should
depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his
own which were in the world." Stop right there. Having loved
them. He always loved them. He loved
them before the world began. He loved them with an infinite,
eternal, everlasting love. He said, I've drawn you with
an eternal love. Having loved his own which were
in the world. Watch it now. He loved them,
and this can never be said of you or me. We don't love this
way. I wish we did. But he loved them
to the end. He loved them to the end of their
rebellion. He loved them to the end of their
desertion. They all forsook him and fled.
He loved them to the end of their denial. He loved them to the
end of the mockings, and the whippings, and the false witnessing. He loved them to the end of the
nails, and the blood, and the spear. He loved them to the end
of the Father's wrath. He loved them to the end of the
cross and its cruelty. He loved them to the end of hell
itself. He loved them to the end of eternity,
which shall never come. He loved them to the And you can't preach Christ in
him crucified unless you preach the love of his heart. The complete love of his heart. God's soul love. Herein is love,
not that we loved him. He loved us. And then when we
preach Christ in him crucified, turn to 1 John 1, 7. 1 John 1, verse 7. If we preach
Christ crucified, we'll preach the power of His blood. The power,
the glory of His person, the excellency of His character,
the love of His great heart, and the power of His blood. Listen to 1 John 1.7. If we walk
in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one
with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth
us, cleanseth us, cleanseth us from all sin. Say to the blasphemer,
the blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin. Find the man with
the foulest mouth, with the dirtiest mouth, and say to him, The blood
of Christ is able to cleanse from all sin. Say to the murderer
who has his hands stained with the blood of his fellow man,
The blood of Christ cleanseth us from all sin. Say to the liar,
say to the adulterer, say to the thief, The blood of Christ
cleanseth us from all sin. Say to the greedy, say to the
drunkard, the blood of Christ cleanseth us from all sin. You can't preach Christ and Him
crucified and preach a halfway Savior. You can't preach Christ
and him crucified and preach a Savior for the good, a Savior
for the holy, a Savior for the religious, a Savior for the righteous. It's got to be a Savior for sinners. There is no sin so black, there
is no guilt so great, there's no transgression so vile, there's
no iniquity so base, but that the blood of Christ can make
it as white as the driven snow. Come, let us reason together,
though your sins be as scarlet." You'll never hear an invitation
like that from anybody but God. The so-called pious of this world
will not invite the sinner into his presence. The so-called religious
of this world will not invite the publican into his presence,
only God. And our blessed God, who has
the power to cleanse and the power to make holy, says, Though
your sins be a scarlet, there's no life so wicked, no heart so
evil, no will so rebellious, no mind so filthy, that the blood
of Christ can't change it. Just as I am, whether I'm in
the pulpit or prison, just as I am, whether I'm in the gutter
or in the government, just as I am without one plea, but that
the blood of Christ was shed for me. and that thou bidst me
come to thee, O Lamb of God." That's how I come. Poor, wretched,
blind, sight, riches, healing of the mind, all I need in Christ
to find, O Lamb of God, I come. And then in the fifth place,
if we preach Christ crucified, turn to Hebrews 7.25. we will
preach the prevalence of his plea. It will prevail, the prevalence
of his plea. Hebrews 7.25 says, Wherefore
he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come to
God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. Now, we know that Christ is a
great high priest. That's what this book teaches.
We know that our high priest is in the presence of the Father.
That's what this book teaches. We know that he is the only mediator
between God and men. That's what this book teaches.
There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus. We know that he's praying for
somebody. That's what the book teaches.
He's making intercession. Now the question is, does the
Father hear him? And you'll find that answer in
John 11. In John chapter 11, it says here in John 11, verse
41. Listen carefully to it. He is
the high priest. He intercedes for his people
in the presence of the Father. Does the Father hear him? In
John 11, verse 41, it says, Then they took away the stone from
the grave of Lazarus. And Jesus lifted up his eyes
and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me, and
I knew that thou hearest me always. always what the Lord Jesus Christ
prays for, he gets. You be sure of that. He never
prays contrary to the will of the Father. He never prays contrary
to the covenant of grace. And I'll guarantee you, if Christ
is praying for you, you're as good as in glory right now. And
last of all, if we preach Christ in him crucified, we will preach
the glory of his person, the excellency of his character.
We will preach the power of his blood and the love of his heart
and the prevalence of his blessed plea. And last of all, if we
preach Christ in him crucified, we will preach the glory of his
return. We're not worshiping a dead Christ.
He ever lives. He accomplished the work God
gave him to do. By his life and his death, he
redeemed his own. And he lives to make intercession
for us before the Father. And before he went away, he said
in John 14, verse 3, If I go, if I go and prepare a place for
you, I will come again. He cannot lie. I don't need to prove from the
word of God that Christ is coming back. He said he was coming back,
and that's sufficient. I don't need to go to Daniel,
Ezekiel, Revelation, a half a dozen other different places and prove
the second coming of Jesus Christ. I've got his promise right here.
He said, If I go, I will come again. That's good enough. I will come again." The angels
announced his coming in Acts chapter 1. The disciples went
out there on the mount when Christ ascended back to the Father,
and the angels said in verse 11 of Acts chapter 1, "'Ye men
of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus
which you have seen, which is taken up from you into heaven,
shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go." Well,
he's coming back. He said he would. How's he coming
back? Like he left. He's coming back in the same
way in which he ascended. That's what the angel said. What's
going to happen when he comes back? Well, let's see what the
Apostle said in 1 Thessalonians 4. In 1 Thessalonians chapter
Paul said here in verse 16, the Lord himself, for he told us
that, shall descend from heaven, the angel told us that, with
a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the trump of
God, oh, here's what's going to happen, and the dead in Christ
shall rise. The dead in Christ shall rise
first. And then we which are alive at
the coming of the Lord, if it happened tonight, we'd be alive.
The dead in Christ would rise, but what about us? Then we which
are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them
in the clouds. to meet the Lord in the air,
and so shall we ever be with the Lord. And these words aren't
to scare you, they're to comfort you. They're to comfort you. Comfort
one another with these words. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15,
the latter part of that chapter, he said, We're not all going
to sleep Somebody's going to be living when Christ comes.
We're not all going to sleep, but we are going to be changed.
Verse 51, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we
shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling
of an eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet will sound, and
the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For
this corruptible And nobody knows it more than an honest believer.
This corruptible, he knows it more than the more corruptible. For this corruptible must put
on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. When
he comes, the dead shall be raised. Something else is going to happen.
1 John chapter 3, and this is my last scripture. Something
else is going to happen. Well, he said he was coming,
and the angel said he's coming like he left. And Paul said,
when he comes, the dead are going to be raised and the living are
going to be changed. Changed to what? In 1 John 3,
verse 2, Beloved, now are we the sons of God. It doth not
yet appear what we shall be. I don't know, because I've never seen anyone
who came back from the grave. But we know this, that when he
shall appear, we're going to be like him. What a pattern!
What a pattern! We're going to be like him, for
we shall see him as he is. What is it to preach Christ and
him crucified? Well, it's to preach the glory
of his person. It's to preach the excellence
of his character. It's to preach the love of his
heart. It's to preach the power of his
blood. It's to preach the prevalence
of his Blessed plea, the Father always hears him, and it's to
preach the glory of his return. He's coming back. God helps us
every time we have an opportunity to preach Christ in him crucified. That's the sinner's hope. That's
the good news. That's the gospel. Our Father,
take the word and use it for thy glory wherever it's heard.
wherever this message is preached, and men and women sit down and
listen to it. Grant, O Lord, that they shall
listen, not only with their heads, but with their hearts. And they
shall look carefully at the Word, not just with critical eyes,
blinded by tradition and custom, but look with eyes of faith opened
by the Holy Spirit, and help us to compare spiritual things
with spiritual. and help our so-called natural
wisdom to be put aside and as little children sit at the feet
of the Holy Spirit and say, Lord, teach me. I'm so ignorant and
yet I'm so hungry. I'm so ignorant and yet I'm so
thirsty. Lord, don't let me perish in
my unbelief. Reveal unto me Thyself. Grant
that I may know Thee and the power of Thy resurrection. In
Christ's name we pray. Amen.