WEDNESDAY May 8th
1 Corinthians 1:22–25.
‘For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.’
In 1 Corinthians 15 as Paul commences his robust defence of the resurrection of Jesus, after making mention of the gospel which he had preached to them vv1-2 he makes the statement that describes it, we know these verses so well 3-4 ‘For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures’, he is making it abundantly clear as to what the gospel is, and this is what he had preached and this is what he would continue to preach, as he has already stated in our text for today which is in the first chapter of the same epistle ‘but we preach Christ crucified’.
Paul continually had to defend not only the gospel itself, but the very preaching of the gospel. In Galatians chapter 1 he mentions those who were distorting the gospel, and even needs to reprimand those who were turning away from the true gospel to a different gospel, making it clear that in fact there is no other gospel. He is so serious and confident concerning the gospel which he had preached that he makes this judgment upon those pedalling a false gospel ‘let him be accursed’.
It is vitally important today that we do not detract from what the gospel is and from what the gospel can do, for it is the only means of eternal salvation. Therefore, we must have the same unbendable determination as Paul that ‘we preach Christ crucified’. It matters not how foolish the world considers the message to be, we preach Christ, we preach his atoning death, and we preach his triumphant resurrection.
Now, it could be said that although we preach Christ crucified, that in fact many others have been crucified, but the crucifixion of Jesus was vastly different to any other crucifixion that has ever taken place. We know that the two that hung either side of Jesus were criminals, Barabbas who was released when the people were given the choice between him and Jesus had been a troublemaker, but Pilate when he examined Jesus had no option but to say that he could find no fault in him. All other crucifixions took place because those crucified had done wrong, but not Jesus. He had lived perfectly, he had lived sinlessly, he was crucified not because of any crime he had done, but as the propitiation, the atoning sacrifice for our sin, he took my sins and my sorrows, he made them his very own, he took my place, he took your place, and as he hung on the cruel cross, executed by those who were given the orders to do so, he was paying the ultimate price for the sins of the world so that we could be reconciled back to God. So that is why we preach Christ crucified, because it is through his death that our sin has been atoned for and we can be forgiven and reconciled to God.
We dare not preach any other gospel, for there is no other way, it is the way of the cross that leads us home to God.
I have mentioned before that I was once accused by someone that I preach too much or too often about the cross and the resurrection.
Well as Paul himself said, ‘God forbid that I should boast save in the cross of Christ my God.’
I must, we must preach Christ crucified, for it is the power of God unto salvation, it is the only means for salvation.