THE FOOLISHNESS OF THE PREACHING
1, Corinthians 1. 17-31
I have been struck by this expression in verse 21 referring to the “Foolishness of the Preaching”' as my old Bible presents it. “God has been pleased by the foolishness of the preaching to save those that believe”.
In recent times I was faced with questions from someone who could not understand why we believe as we do and I struggled to answer them without appearing to retreat into some kind of mysterious bolt-hole, seeming reluctant to get involved in discussions about science versus Christianity, based upon faith.
It looks like weakness. It looks as though we are unsure. It makes you feel very weak and sometimes foolish.
I am no match for some of these people and a 'Bear of very little brain' but I know I have something that cannot be grasped by the human mind, cannot be seen or proved by science but which I will never lose.
I know that Jesus lives within my heart.
Does that make me superior to those who do not have the same thing?…..No. It must never do that. The Gospel is open to all. The scriptures are full of references to God appealing to “ALL to be saved and come to a knowledge of the Truth”.
But the truth remains that faith is from God and yet it is a gift available to all.
There has always been much debate in the Church about God's sovereignty and man's responsibility and how to reconcile these two things.
Some said salvation is open to all. Others said that only a few are chosen, thus setting one Scripture against another. Others combined the two and said that it requires a sovereign work of God in the soul to prepare a man to receive the gospel.
Some of these things have led to fundamental splits in the Church, which exist today, and yet there is an element of truth in each of them.
We must never stress one truth in Scripture to the detriment of others. That is how divisions occur. Hold all truth together and wait on the Spirit to weave things together and form the right thoughts and impressions in you mind. It takes time. It may take years or even a lifetime. Tread carefully.
I believe that is particularly true of the 'Sufferings of Christ'. As you ponder the reality of his humanity and yet…… his Divinity, and as you think of what he suffered at the hands of God on our behalf together with what he suffered at the hands of men…….. It needs to take shape in the “renewed mind” and be formed by the Holy Spirit.
I know many will disagree with me but that is why I would prefer to imbued with the Sufferings of Christ by studying the Scriptures, waiting on the Spirit and listening to sound teaching rather that watching a dramatic video or film on the subject.
Television was not even invented when some of the most profound and moving accounts of the Sufferings of Jesus were penned.
But to return to the scripture……………
Paul is dealing with the appearance of divisions among these new Christians. People producing new doctrines from overactive minds, unsupported by his teachings. He saw developing, the growth of human wisdom and thinking which adds something to those who propound it rather than to an appreciation of God.
He reminds them that they have nothing without revelation. Neither do we. Both the revelation of God in Jesus and any revelation within ourselves. These people who had initially accepted a message that seemed foolish and full of holes to the civilised world were now, themselves, in danger of turning to human wisdom to advance something that actually renders human wisdom useless.
We tend to do the same thing. Christendom has done just that. It has largely departed from the 'Truth' and the scriptures and accommodated human standards and wisdom and compromised on almost every front.
The result is something that must be awful for Jesus to look down upon and Paul would be deeply grieved too.
We love to ritualise things. Even the simplest actions and truths we seem to turn into a ritual of sorts. Take the Lord's Supper which must have been a lovely informal family occasion with plenty of chat and discussion around the table………what have we made it into?
In their (non) wisdom they also decided to attach themselves to either Paul, Cephas or Apollos and you can see where that kind of thinking has led Christendom today. It has also led to havoc in Churches as folk attach themselves to different leaders and parties then form. Those leading the parties are often not strong enough to discourage this kind of patronage. Sadly we tend to realise, too late, what damage is being done.
So Paul is trying to nip all these things in the bud. His instincts tell him that they are starting to go down the wrong track and Paul, being Paul, would be looking right on down the ages to the present day, where alas, we see all around us, the very things Paul tried to stop at this early point in the history of the Church.
What do you say to an unbeliever who says that there should not be all these groups and sects and different labels……..”Is the Christ Divided?” It is very humbling.
How can two denominations both professing to be Christian hate one another so much that they want to kill each other?
The seeds of these things are small and inconspicuous but down the years they take root and grow into monstrous trees…so we need to keep going back to our beginnings, to revelation, forgiveness, new birth, a new heart, a new mind and God's Spirit dwelling within us, preparing us for that other world of which Jesus only is the centre.
The closer we stay to our beginnings the less we become like the world. The less we think like the world. The less likely we are to get our lives in a muddle and the happier we shall be. Some of us have had to learn some hard lessons.
The true Christian is not actually of this world………..IN IT, BUT NOT OF IT. He/she has been purchased, for a price, by another and his/her whole life is but a preparation for that other world where our new owner waits to receive us, not to spend just a few years there, but an eternity and to share things that “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor entered into the mind of man, the things that God has prepared for them that love Him”
That is to be more than just doctrine. It is to be enjoyed. To most, it is just a foolish unproven doctrine but to the believer it is a very precious truth that no philosopher or scientist in the world can take away.
How are we to be convinced about these things? By eloquence? ….No, that is ruled out here. By human words of wisdom?…...ruled out again. By wise and persuasive words?......ruled out again. By a brilliantly prepared and executed sermon?……………….No, no ,no ,no.
Paul speaks of a demonstration of Gods power and faith.
As to faith, it is the principle upon which we are we saved.
If you go to the book of Romans where the fundamentals of Christianity are spelt out we are told everything from our side must be on the principal of FAITH. FAITH is stressed time and time again…………..Not works, not sight, not lineage but Faith. We are to be saved, justified, raised with Christ and fully reconciled to God, all on the principal of faith.
Hebrews tells us that, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see”
“Ah” you say, “You are retreating into that mysterious bolt hole again where I can't get to you, hiding behind something called faith now”
My friend, we are not machines or a robot. We are persons created in the image of God for his pleasure.
We have a spirit and a soul as well as this tangible physical body. Surely that is undeniable. We feel joy and pain and anger. (bring me a tin of anger if you can!) We hurt. We have a conscience (show me a slice of your conscience!). We nurse feelings that you cannot give me in an envelope but they are there. There are things beyond our comprehension and control. Things that frighten us and things that please us. Our body and our mind fail us a little more each year. We will die (if the Lord does not come first) and we will meet Jesus either as our Saviour or as Judge.
Can we even now, quantify and deliver a tangible portion of all that goes on so mysteriously inside us? No. So why can you not also entertain the concept of faith?
So many know instinctively that they need something. They may not be able to identify what it is or even admit it. Their reasoning and natural intelligence will not provide the answer. The fact is we all need God. We are incomplete without him and we need to be made whole and that means our sinful condition removed from his sight.
The way back to God is through “Repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ” and if you can accept……..you must accept in faith, these 'Glad Tidings', God will not only forgive all your sins, past present and future but he will enable you to know and feel by his Spirit that you are forgiven, free at last and whatever happens to you during the rest of your life…….YOU NOW BELONG TO HIM, safe and secure in what Jesus has done for you and he will never let you go, not now, not ever.
If you are struggling with these things, have the courage to lay down your active mind. Stop resisting God's word. Ask him for faith. Ask him for forgiveness. Ask him for the Holy Spirit to cleanse your heart, to fill it with his love, to renew your mind and your whole thinking processes and set you free.
He is waiting. He is longing to hear from you. Go against the trend. Get off “The broad way that leads to destruction”. Get into “The narrow way that leads to life” Do it now.
“God has been pleased, by the foolishness of the preaching to save those who believe"
