1 Cor. 1:12-18;22-25
Good morning. You know, a lot of preachers tend to come back to the same themes a lot. Maybe it’s their personality, maybe it’s what God puts on their hearts to be a beacon for a specific sort of thing. I don’t know. I tend to preach separation from the world. Now, I’m not the most separated from the world when it comes to entertainment or things like that. I am to a degree. When I was growing up, the church really emphasized being separated in that way. A lot of people shunned practically everything that didn’t come from a Christian bookstore. In fact, there were some that shunned things that did come from a Christian bookstore, and there are a few people who still do that.
But now, what we really need to emphasize isn’t the entertainment and look for a devil in every corner, we really need to emphasize the things that we are inundated with when it comes to what we’re told to believe. Our culture went from being Christian to a little rebellious to now having gone so far, it doesn’t even realize it’s rebellious and so they’ve become sort of the know-it-all preachers of what’s righteous. Only, it isn’t righteous, and they don’t even realize it.
And it’s easy to get emotionally caught up in this. I know it is for me, at least. And it’s important to be able to discern the truth in all of these things, but what we may forget in all of this is the main point. The main point about us being salt and light to the world isn’t about being right all the time about this issue or that issue, it’s about the cross of Christ.
If you have your Bibles, please turn with me to 1 Corinthians, chapter 1. We’re going to read a few verses from that chapter, not all in one chunk but in a couple of different pieces. 1 Cor. 1:12-18;22-25.
As you’re turning there, let me give you an example of what I’m talking about. Of course, it has to do with social media. I know a pastor in Dansville who recently just took a break from social media, and I don’t blame him.
But on the Fourth of July, I posted a memory that popped up on Facebook that gave an abbreviated history of the Declaration of Independence. And someone who likes to argue a lot posted a comment that said: “I am surprised you posted this since Jefferson and Adams were so adamantly opposed to making the US a Christian nation.”
I had no idea how to respond to that. There were a whole bunch of different ways to go with that. It was completely irrelevant, first of all, and what does he mean exactly when he says, “making the US a Christian nation?” That could be interpreted in different ways. And what is he implying about my beliefs and my understanding about the history behind the United States, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and our heritage as a Christian nation?
I could have, but didn’t, reply. I didn’t know where to begin, and I certainly didn’t want to go down a rabbit hole. Maybe he was just inciting something because he wanted to go down a rabbit hole, or he really believes what ignorant people spread regarding what those on my side believe.
Regardless, I didn’t reply, and no one else did either. But what does that have to do with our scripture this morning?
Well, let’s read our scripture first, then I’ll explain.
Scripture:
1 Cor. 1:12-18:
12 What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”
13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
And then if we skip down to verse 22:
“22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.”
What does that example have to do with our scripture verse? It means that whatever challenges we face regarding someone questioning our beliefs or our understanding of history or current events and how those things may apply to our Christianity, remember that Christ crucified is our main belief. Let’s not get sidetracked. There are a lot of people out there that want to get us off course.
Now, it is necessary to be a well-rounded Christian and to have The Holy Spirit influence our beliefs as a whole, but it’s also easy to get off track in this day and age, and I don’t want us to do that. Our social/political leaning is one thing––an important thing. But Christ crucified is the main emphasis of what it means to be a Christian.
If we go back to verses 22 and 23, we read, “22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,”
So we can replace the words, “Jews and Greeks” with whatever current group you want. Christians and non-Christians; Liberals vs. Conservatives, this church over that church; this talk-show host vs. that talk-show host; this news channel over that news channel; this magazine over that one.
Everywhere we look, there are people in churches who are looking for signs and wonders, while others outside the church are looking for wisdom. And it’s tempting––and not necessarily wrong––to preach or teach either or both. We believe in both. We believe God still answers prayer and works miracles; and we believe in Godly wisdom, which this passage speaks about. But what should we be centered on?
Verses 12 and 13 again say, “12 What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?”
The Corinthian church was a mess, and Paul wrote this book to straighten some things out. And one of the things he had to straighten out was that the church was not united in who it followed. He had to remind them that they are not to follow humans or human thought, but God.
And certainly, there’s nothing wrong with saying, “I love to listen to ‘so and so’ preach on Family Life Network.” Or “I love to read ‘so and so’s books.”
There’s nothing wrong with that. But do we get hung up on following so-and-so to the point where it gets kinda weird? This pastor, that pastor? You know, there are a lot of celebrity pastors out there, and you can tell some pastors really like their celebrity-ism, which makes it worse.
Another Facebook memory that came up not too long ago was a meme that said, “The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.” You see, there are people out there who want to produce more followers. People think that the more followers you have, the bigger and better of a leader you are. But that’s not the point of leadership.
And there are plenty of followers out there who want to just follow someone and not take up the challenge of leadership. It’s our call to not just follow Christ, but to make disciples of all men, which requires leading those we disciple just as Jesus did.
But, going back to our scripture verse, Jesus said, “follow me.” But did Paul? No. He spoke against following him.
Our job is to point people directly to Christ. Not just Christian principles and where we stand on this issue or that issue. Our primary job is to point people to Christ himself, not just our version of Christianity. We can miss the mark by getting dragged into arguments that, no matter how well we might be able to stand our ground, still lead nowhere.
Standing ground is standing still. Leading people to Christ is leading people to someone who is somewhere for a purpose. Christ went to the cross for a purpose, and it’s our job to lead them there, not just lead them so they can say we’re good leaders.
And how do we lead them? Well, I suppose I’m contradicting myself, in a sense, because we lead them by having them follow us. We get to be the person in front who says, “Just follow me, I know the way there.” But that’s different than being the person in front who just gives a bunch of instructions. That’s not how it works.
Harry Gordon Selfridge, Sr. founded the London-based department store Selfridges. His 20-year leadership led to it becoming one of the most respected and wealthy retail businessmen in the United Kingdom. He was known as the ‘Earl of Oxford Street’. Here’s what he had to say about leadership:
The boss drives his men; the leader coaches them.
The boss depends upon authority; the leader on goodwill.
The boss inspires fear; the leader inspires enthusiasm.
The boss says “I;” the leader, “We.”
The boss fixes the blame for the breakdown; the leader fixes the breakdown.
The boss knows how it is done; the leader shows how.
The boss says “Go;” the leader says “Let’s go!”
So when we lead others to Christ, it’s our job to inspire others and say, “I’m going to not just tell you the way, I’m going to help you get there.”
If we go down to verse 18, we read, “18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
So, going back to my original example, there are going to be some who challenge us, not because they want to know Christ, but because they just want a good argument. It reminds me of “The Argument Clinic” from Monty Python. Do you remember that? A guy walks into an office and says to the secretary:
“I’d like to have an argument, please.”
The receptionist politely responds, “Certainly sir. Have you been here before?”
“No, I haven’t,” the man said, “this is my first time.”
“I see,” the receptionist said. “Well, do you want to have just one argument, or were you thinking of taking a course?”
“Well, what is the cost?” The man asked.
“Well, It’s one pound for a five minute argument, but only eight pounds for a course of ten.”
The man thinks for a moment and says, “Well, I think it would be best if I perhaps started off with just the one and then see how it goes.”
“Fine,” the receptionist says as she rumbles through some papers on her desk. “Well, I’ll see who’s free at the moment.” After a brief pause she says, “Mr. DeBakey’s free, but he’s a little bit conciliatory. Ahh yes, Try Mr. Barnard; room 12.”
“Thank you,” the man says, and he’s off to his five-minute argument.
Now, of course, you’ll have to go onto Youtube to see the rest, because it’s pretty funny. But you get the idea. Sometimes, people just want to argue for the sport of it. And, if you’re anything like me, it’s not a sport. Instead, before too long, you’ve gotten your blood pressure up and no one has accomplished anything.
But you probably know a few people who want to argue, not just because it’s a sport, but so that they can prove to you just how foolish this cross of Christ is.
Verse 18 again says, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. “
Atheism is growing in this country, and it’s because it’s being taught in college philosophy and science classes. Sometimes they sneak it in other areas as well, like psychology or something like that. Even history. They’ll argue religion is the greatest evil in all of history. Religion has caused the most wars and the most suffering and so on, but…like the Facebook comment I got, it’s a whole rabbit trail you can go down, only that particular argument of religion, and specifically Christianity being evil, is ignorance from those who are paid to teach knowledge for a living. Go figure.
But because of this, you can see how true Christianity is changing in our culture. Some people would rather have a Christianity of their own making that sounds less bad to them. More inclusive and, let’s not talk about sin. In other words, they get to make up their own rules by following what they like in the Bible.
Here’s another memory that came up on my Facebook page the other day: William Booth, who was an English Methodist preacher and, along with his wife, Catherine, founded the Salvation Army, said, “The chief danger that confronts the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, heaven without hell.”
That’s what we have today in the 21st Century. We have a weak Christianity because everyone wants to follow a Christ of their own making––or their own editing, perhaps. And, ironically, Christ ends up being an idol.
Last week, I shared this scripture with you, it’s from 1 Timothy 3, and I would like to share it with you again. Paul says that there will come a time when people will, “act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly.” In other words, exactly what William Booth feared and what we are living in, now.
Verse 17 says, “17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”
Our job is to direct others to Christ and what the cross means, even if we don’t have the eloquence or wisdom that we think is necessary. Remember, Moses didn’t, yet God still called him. We are to focus on the cross and rely on the Holy Spirit to bring words to us because if we don’t, we are emptying the cross of its power.
It’s easy to want to back off a bit because we might be afraid of not knowing what to say. If you’re lost for words, just simply say what the cross means to you, and you’d be surprised how that simple thing changes things.
This brings to mind a preacher who was deeply concerned for the salvation of a Christ-rejecting lawyer. To reach him, he prepared a special sermon for him and urged that he attend a designated service. The lawyer accepted the invitation with thanks. He was unmoved by the sermon. However, as he left church, an illiterate woman, whose heart was filled with the love and compassion of Christ, stopped him and, with tears streaming down her face, said, “I sure love my Jesus, and won’t you love my Jesus, too?” The earnest plea went directly to the lawyer’s heart, who presently began to rejoice in the Savior’s love and forgiveness. We can never over-emphasize the futility of trying to win people to Christ by “wise words,” nor the effectiveness of the personal pleas to win people to Christ.
You see, the cross of Christ shifts people’s minds and hearts from the news, politics, this opinion vs. that opinion, where you stand on this issue or that issue, or ‘my opinion is more Christian than yours,’ or whatever those arguments might be. The cross redirects a person back to center.
Have you ever had your Google Maps on while you’re driving, and it asks you if you want to recenter? The cross recenters people back from the distractions that the enemy, Satan, wants us to focus on. He wants everyone, ourselves included, to get into arguments over this issue or that issue, rather than people finding salvation.
People may be focused on the problems of this world that are surrounding them, and on worldly solutions, but whether they know it or not, they need a Heavenly savior. The Welsh Anglican priest CSC Williams said, ‘the world has had enough teachers, it needs a Redeemer’
Truth is truth in world matters, and I think it’s important to have The Holy Spirit bring us that truth. But we would never have had The Holy Spirit give us that truth if we hadn’t come to the cross first. The cross is the main thing. Without it, there would be no Christianity. Some may reject it, others may not. Our job is to preach the cross of Christ, scatter the seeds, and let them fall where they may.
Writing for Our Daily Bread, Amy Peterson said:
When she was pregnant with my first child, she read multiple books about childbirth and listened to dozens of women tell their stories of labor and delivery. But she still couldn’t really imagine what the experience would be like. What her body was going to do seemed impossible!
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians that birth into God’s kingdom, the salvation that God offers us through Christ, seems equally incomprehensible to those who haven’t experienced it. It sounds like “foolishness” to say that salvation could come through a cross—a death marked by weakness, defeat, and humiliation. Yet this “foolishness” was the salvation that Paul preached!
It wasn’t what anyone could have imagined it would be like. Some people thought that salvation would come through a strong political leader or a miraculous sign. Others thought that their own academic or philosophical achievements would be their salvation (1 Corinthians 1:22). But God surprised everyone by bringing salvation in a way that would only make sense to those who believed, to those who experienced it.
God took something shameful and weak—death on a cross—and made it the foundation of wisdom and power. God does the unimaginable. He chooses the weak and foolish things of the world to shame the wise (v. 27).
And His surprising, confounding ways are always the best ways.
The true answer to our world’s problems are not through arguing or being right. It is the cross of Christ. It’s good to know what’s going on, how we can vote, and how we can have a voice. These are all good things, and there’s a time and a place to express God’s truth on these topics or answer genuine questions. But don’t let Satan trap you into his scheme of distracting you into an endless cycle of arguing.
Last week’s sermon was based on 1 Timothy, and I referenced a verse from 1 Timothy earlier. Let me leave you with some more words of wisdom that Paul gave Timothy. In 2 Timothy 2, Paul says, “14 Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 16 Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.”
And then if we go back to 1 Timothy, we read a similar statement: “20 Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, 21 which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith.”
In the same way, let us do what so many scriptures call us to do and keep a guard over our tongue. In this day and age, it’s more our keyboard than our tongue. But let’s keep focused on the cross of Christ, which is the true change and salvation that people are looking for. They might not even realize that’s the answer they’ve been looking for all along until you tell them.
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on First Baptist Church of Watkins Glen
Featured Image by Kranich17 from Pixabay
Comments are closed.