THE CALL

“For if I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because an obligation is placed on me. And woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16 HCSB)

“If you can do anything else besides preach, then do it!” 

Those were the words that met me in my first day of attending Fruitland Baptist Bible Institute.  They were spoken in the homiletics (preaching) class by the professor, Dr. Kenneth Ridings.  He went on to say, “If you have any doubt about your call to preach, get up and get out of this room right now!”  There was some uneasy shuffling, but nobody had the gall to get up and walk out.  I cannot say that the thought didn’t briefly cross my mind!  Before long several had dropped out.  Sadly, out of about thirty who started class with me, preparing to preach the Gospel, maybe five are currently pastoring a church.

Honestly, there are times that I have thought about doing something else—but, God wouldn’t let me.  That is because “the call” is an inescapable compulsion.  It is a settled matter.  God has thrust this responsibility upon me, and I only had this choice before me: go or woe!

Isn’t that what Paul was saying here?  God had called him and he needed to go and preach; woe to him if he did not.  He knew what I have to remind myself on occasion, that to be in the will of God in a prison is preferable to being out of the will of God in a palace.

Just this past week, I spoke with a couple of young men who shared that they believe God may be calling them to Gospel work.  Time will tell.  It is a glorious thing—if it is God’s design.  It is for me.  Please don’t get the idea that there are not rewards in Gospel work—there are many.  Yet, if someone thinks pastoring a church is an easy job where you work a couple of hours on Sunday and play golf the rest of the week, then obviously you don’t know much about ministry.

Let me share with you a few aspects of God’s call to Gospel work.

The Apostle speaks of THE MEANS OF SUPPORTING GOSPEL WORK (1 Cor.9:1-14).

“In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should earn their living by the gospel.” (v.14)

Although Paul did not demand his right to be solely supported through the collecting of offerings in the churches, he neither wanted the people of God to think that supporting God’s called men was a duty they might deny.  It was Paul’s choice to be a “tent-maker” and thus a bi-vocational minister.  Some still make that choice today.  It may be a necessity in some places where there are not sufficient funds to sustain a pastor and his family, or it might open a door in some places to share the Gospel through marketplace ministry that would be otherwise closed.  I went to a particular foreign land as a “teacher” since they did not allow missionary activity from abroad.  Naturally, what I taught was the Word of God—speaking in some outdoor evangelistic meetings and addressing some young pastors graduating from their Bible Institute.  There are some “teachers” like that in similar spots around the globe today.

A man must provide for the needs of his family or he is worse than an “infidel” (1 Tim.5:8, KJV)  Paul had no wife or children to support, and so could more readily care for his own needs without excessive attention to his tent-making trade that would distract from his Gospel work.  For those who do have a family, it is difficult to maintain focus on Gospel work and do a 9-5 in a factory—not impossible, but hard.

Having an undistracted focus on Gospel work is the issue.  It isn’t about the material reward (few preachers “get rich”) but is about the spiritual freedom to pursue with all one’s energy the call God has placed on the pastor.  Never get the idea that you pay the pastor for the work he does—you couldn’t afford him!  He shares the incalculable wealth of God’s Word and deals with the immeasurable worth of immortal souls.  He carries the burdens of others that are life-threatening, home-wrecking, and with eternity-shaping implications.  How could you compensate a man for that?

What a church does is to liberate the man of God from the additional burden of caring for his family so he can concentrate on the flock of God he has been called to serve.  If you want your pastor to be effective, you will help him by supporting him financially.

But, remember that he doesn’t work for you—God is his boss.  You are a supporter not an employer—no matter how the IRS looks at it.  Your dollars don’t translate into demands.

I must preach the Gospel—paycheck or not!  Usually, I enjoy ministry so much I would do it for free—I might even pay someone else for the privilege!  Please don’t tell the Finance Team, however—that’s our secret.  For me it is go or woe—and I appreciate church members who put wind in my sails and fuel in my tank so I can go and go and go.

The Paul also presents THE METHOD FOR SUCCESSFUL GOSPEL WORK (1 Cor.9:7-27).

There are several metaphors that Paul provides which have implications for the nature of Gospel work.  He speaks of pastors as soldiers (v.7a), vine-dressers (v.7b), shepherds (v.7c), plowmen (v.10), priests (v.13), messengers (v.14,16), stewards (v.17), slaves (v.19), ambassadors (v.19-23), runners (v.24-26a), and boxers (v.26b).

Each of these would be worthy of close evaluation, but that would turn into a book of itself, so we will give but a brief overview of the concepts.

Pastors are to be soldiers, “Who ever goes to war at his own expense?” (v.7a)   When you enter ministry you sign up for combat—spiritual warfare.  While that is true of all Christians, the pastor is leading the charge—on the front lines where the fight is fiercest.   

The preacher is a vine-dresser, “Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its fruit?” (v.7b)  The Lord is looking for fruit among His people, and is glorified in its quantity and quality.  Such fruit is not produced without the cultivation of the soil, pruning of the limbs and killing of insects. 

A man of God must be a shepherd, “Or who shepherds a flock and does not drink the milk from the flock?” (v.7c)  That is what the word, “pastor” means.  The church is God’s flock—each member a lamb that is valued by the Great Shepherd.  Gospel work demands feeding them the Word, leading them in righteous paths, and willingness for bleeding on their behalf to guard them from predators.

The preacher is a plowman, “Or isn’t He really saying it for us? Yes, this is written for us, because he who plows ought to plow in hope, and he who threshes should do so in hope of sharing the crop.” (v.10)  Men’s hearts are hard and must be broken up by the preaching of the law, that they might receive the seed of the Gospel of grace.

The Gospel worker is a priest, “Don’t you know that those who perform the temple services eat the food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the offerings of the altar?” (v.13)  The Bible clearly teaches that every believer is a priest—not just those designated as clergy.  Yet, the pastor has a sacred responsibility unique to him in ministering at the altar—his post is in the house of God and he brings God and man together in worship.

The pastor is a messenger, with his duty to, “preach,” (v.14,16)  The Greek word has the root word, “angel” in it—few have thought of their pastor as an angel, but it is nonetheless true!  A deacon once told me that I was an angel.  He said, “I was always up in the air, harping about something!”  Ha! 

The word literally means, “messenger” and in secular usage, Paul’s word for preaching refers to the report of a government official.  The pastor, thus, represents the King.  He speaks with appointed authority.  His proclamation has to do with the government of God and is a call to submit to Him.

The man of God is a steward, “For if I do this willingly, I have a reward, but if unwillingly, I am entrusted with a stewardship.” (v.17)  A steward was a household manager who took care of his master’s property.  The pastor must ever remember that the church is not his church, but belongs to the Lord.  One day, he will give an account for how he has invested the time, talent and treasure of God’s people.

Gospel workers are slaves, “Although I am a free man and not anyone’s [slave], I have made myself a slave to everyone, in order to win more people.” (v.19)  Paul was not a slave to the whims of men.  The preacher dare not be a people-pleaser.  He saw himself as a slave to God.  That doesn’t mean he had no concern for serving people.  He saw himself as loving Christ by loving others.  He served the Lord, but by serving those made in His image.  The church is, after all, the Body of Christ and by ministering to them, we minister to the Lord.

The preacher is an ambassador:

“To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win Jews; to those under the law, like one under the law — though I myself am not under the law — to win those under the law. To those who are without [that] law, like one without the law — not being without God’s law but within Christ’s law — to win those without the law.  To the weak I became weak, in order to win the weak.  I have become all things to all people, so that I may by every possible means save some.” (v.20-22)

Although Paul never altered his message, he did adjust his methodology.  This is what an ambassador does.  He represents his government’s interests, and yet in the foreign land adjusts to the cultural mores in order to build bridges to that nation.  He learns their customs and language for effective communication on behalf of his King.

The last two analogies of the Gospel worker’s methods are drawn from the field of athletics.  First, He is a runner:

“Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize.  Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything. However, they do it to receive a crown that will fade away, but we a crown that will never fade away.  Therefore I do not run like one who runs aimlessly…” (v.24-26a)

At the end of his life, Paul would rejoice that he had finished his race.  He had an assigned lane to run in, a distance to cover and a finish line to focus on.  This is a relay race, with each of us a leg to complete.  Paul took the baton of truth and put it in Timothy’s hand, and when Timothy finished, he passed it on and so it has come to be placed in my hand and I will hand it off at a future point, unknown to me, but already determined by God.

Then, the preacher is a boxer, who does not, “box like one beating the air.” (v.26b).  In other words this isn’t shadow-boxing—this is a real fight.  It is serious; when you climb in the ring, you better be trained and ready to rumble.  The Devil and his minions will be waiting.

Let us not conclude today’s study without considering THE MOTIVE IN SUSTAINING GOSPEL WORK (1 Cor.9:15-27)

God is never concerned only with what we do, but notes why we do it, as well.  There are professionals in ministry that may do a good job and gain the applause of men.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.  They have their reward.  They wanted human recognition—that’s all they will get.  Our motives for ministry should be pure.  What we seek is the approval of God and in doing thus it is all for His glory. 

Our motive is to be eternal and cannot be monetary.  We have noted that even though financial support ought to be provided, it is never about finances, but freedom—being able to fulfill God’s call without the encumbrance of other employment.  But, as soon as a pastor gets greedy, he has planted in his heart a root of all kinds of evil.

Our motive is to be enthusiastic and cannot be compulsory.  While it is true that God’s call brings an inner compulsion, it is never to be viewed as drudgery in duty, but is to be embraced as a delight in devotion.  This will impact our attitude and our attitude will impact the members.  They will become complaining grouches or cheerful givers based on our contagious spirit.  Attitudes are more caught than taught.

Our motive is to be enduring and cannot be temporary.  When the fight gets hot we will be tempted to flee.  When the ground gets hard, we will be tempted to put the plow up.  When the sheep behave like smelly, stubborn sheep, we will be tempted to find another line of work.  When we become exhausted in the race, we will be tempted to drop out.  When we get punched in the mouth and find a seat on the canvas, we will be tempted to throw in the towel.  We cannot!  Our motive is for a crown in heaven, and only those who are faithful will attain it!  Storm the gates of hell, wounded warrior!  Put your hand to the plow and don’t turn back, weary worker!  Stay with the sheep, shepherd of souls!  Get your second wind, marathon minister, and sprint the rest of the way to the finish line!  Get off the canvas, and slug Satan with a haymaker!

This requires discipline.  We cannot take the easy way out.  If you are looking for a cushy career, you aren’t called to Gospel work.  Listen to Paul’s warning about the danger of an undisciplined life, “Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.” (v.27)

Is God calling you to Gospel work?  If not, run from it as fast as you can.  If He is, seize it with joy!  You will find that you cannot do anything else, and almost all the time, you will not want to do anything else.

HOW IN THIS WORLD CAN I BE HOLY?

“Don’t you know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price.  Therefore glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 HCSB)

I can resist anything—except temptation.  Do you ever feel that way?  Then, you are in good company.  Even the stalwart champion of faith, the Apostle Paul, had his times of struggle when he found himself doing what he didn’t want to do, and failing to do what he knew he ought to do—and feeling utterly wretched about it (see Romans 7).

Still, he refused to surrender to sin and, instead, in submission to the Spirit found incredible liberty from the downward drag of the world.  What he knew in principle (his death to sin and resurrection to new life, Rom.6) he came to know in practice (Rom.8).

A Holy God has called us to holiness.  Yet, being clean in a corrupt culture is a constant challenge.  We do not overcome by our own effort for we are no match for the Devil.  Our victory is found in Jesus—and the Devil is no match for Him!   It is like the question posed to a young girl, “What do you do when Satan comes knocking on the door of your heart?”  She answered, “I say to Jesus—You answer the door!”  That’s good counsel.

So, do we just, “Let go and let God?”  Yes—and no.  Yes—the victory is by faith and in the power of the Spirit.  But, no—if we understand such faith to be passive, rather than active, (faith without works is dead) and if we fail to recognize that the Spirit works in a body surrendered to His will and not apart from us.

Therefore, being in Christ—and, therefore, holy in position—we can live as Christ—and be holy in practice.  Paul speaks of this synergy in 1 Corinthians 5-8.  This is who we are in Christ: “you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (6:11b) and based on that we are to live clean as we:

“Run from sexual immorality!   ‘Every sin a person can commit is outside the body.’  On the contrary, the person who is sexually immoral sins against his own body.  Don’t you know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.” (6:18-20).

We can be holy, and we must.  How in this world can be?  Paul gives some practical help in this pursuit.

There should be DISCIPLINE IN CHURCH as portrayed in 1 Corinthians 5.

“I wrote to you in a letter not to associate with sexually immoral people.  I did not mean the immoral people of this world or the greedy and swindlers or idolaters; otherwise you would have to leave the world.  But now I am writing you not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer who is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or verbally abusive, a drunkard or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person.” (v.9-11)

We are in the world, but not of the world—that is where Jesus wants us to be and how He wants us to behave (see John 17).  We cannot be like Jesus without associating with sinners.  How else can we reach them without being among them?  Paul tells us you would have to leave the world itself not to be around sinful people.  That will only happen when we reach the utterly pure environment of heaven.  For now, we have a mission to the world.  Yet, how in this world can I be holy?

This is where the discipline of the church can help.  There is to be accountability.  We are to be held to a Biblical standard by the body of believers.  If we yield to temptation, we are to be confronted that we might confess sin and be cleansed from it.  If we continue in that sin, then even more forceful measures are to be exercised.  None of this is punitive, but always redemptive.  This is so because of its objectives:

1)     The glory of God.  We are to reflect His holiness and do nothing that would bring reproach to His name.

2)     The testimony to sinners.  How can we call on sinners to repent, if we don’t?  We are branded as hypocrites by the world and rightfully so.

3)     The safety of saints.  When a church member who is tempted knows he or she will be confronted, it gives an extra incentive to reject temptation.  The church provides an environment where germs of sin are sterilized and immunity against the virus of evil is built through a healthy Body of believers.

Like a contagion, sin becomes an epidemic if not cleansed and threatens the very life of the Body.  That was the danger at Corinth.  This is why Paul deals with the matter of church discipline.  It is in the Bible, though rarely practiced today, and for the same reason the church at Corinth was avoiding it.

Unrepentant sin of the filthiest variety was being tolerated in the name of grace and love.  But, it was like grape-nuts cereal—which is neither grapes nor nuts—this was neither grace nor love.  Grace lifts a person out of sin.  Love recognizes that sin is destructive and seeks to drive it out.  When a church functions in a healthy way, then a holy walk is aided.

Another practical help in holy living is DISTINCTION IN CHARACTER as promoted in 1 Corinthians 6.

“Don’t you know that the unjust will not inherit God’s kingdom?  Do not be deceived: No sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, or any kind of homosexual, no thieves, greedy people, drunkards, verbally abusive people, or swindlers will inherit God’s kingdom.  And some of you used to be like this. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (v.9-11)

Conduct is the external manifestation of the internal motivation of character.  Character is formed and fortified by conviction—and for the Christian those convictions are based on the commandments of Scripture.  Paul is writing to them under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor.7:40).

We can be consecrated to the commandments which form conviction that determines character and directs conduct because of conversion.  The Spirit of God has regenerated us—if we are indeed saved.  He is the Holy Spirit and His business is to make us holy.  A sinning saint is a contradiction—and may even be a counterfeit.  Capitulation to sin entirely is evidence of a false confession and fraudulent conversion.

Our behavior toward other believers is to be governed by the principle of humility.  Paul was specifically dealing with the matter of church members suing each other.  This was divisive to the fellowship of the church and destructive in their witness to the world.  Had there been cable news in those days, a prominent place in the broadcast would have been given to the brouhaha among the brethren of Corinth.  Stop and think about your public actions and how they may undermine your personal testimony.

We cannot make a difference unless we are different.  Our behavior toward others is marked by the distinctiveness of humility in how we relate to others who might take advantage of us.  Rather than take it to a civil court, we defer to the church and allow them to render a judgment.  Should this fail—the church either refuses to deal with it or makes the wrong judgment—we put it in God’s hands and move on.  He is the ultimate righter of wrongs.

Deference is also important in knowing that our body is to be used for holy purposes, and not sinful passions.  Appetites are God-given—when properly exercised.  Within bounds, they are for our good, and the gift of God.  Eating is good, if not excessive and then it becomes the sin of gluttony.  Sleep is good, if not overly indulged in and becoming the wickedness of sloth.  Sex is good, if in the bonds of holy matrimony and outside of that it is the iniquity of immorality.

Our body is not evil.  It is neutral.  That body can be used for divine purposes or it can be surrendered to defiling passions.  The child of God understands his or her body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and acts accordingly.

You do not have the right to do what you want with your body as a follower of Christ.  You have been purchased out of the slave market of sin—no more in bondage to the Devil—but not free to do what you want.  Now, you are a slave of Christ.  He paid an incalculable price for you—His own body offered on the cross.  Because of this we can glorify God in our body every day and in every way.

Here is another help to holiness that piggybacks on the preceding truths, namely, DEVOTION TO COVENANTS as presented in 1 Corinthians 7.

“Now in response to the matters you wrote about: ‘It is good for a man not to have relations with a woman.’  But because sexual immorality is so common, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband.” (v.1-2)

Paul was single—and wanted others to consider celibacy in view of devoting oneself entirely to ministry, without the attention a spouse and children would bring.  He also recognized that celibacy was a special calling from God and not everyone could live that way.  We are created as sexual beings and that desire is strong.  For most it will lead to expression, but that can only legitimately be done in the covenant relationship of a man and woman committed to each other for life.

Self-control is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, and if you are unmarried, God has grace greater than your sexual urges which would only be indulged in through a sinful manner apart from having a spouse.  Within the covenant of marriage self-control is fortified by a husband and wife enjoying each other in meaningful sex.  Love is about giving.  Lust is about getting.  In marriage it is about love—freely and fully giving of ourselves to each other in every way, including in the bedroom, and especially there.  Sex becomes a sacred act when seen that way.

Paul says that intercourse should be practiced frequently and only when both partners agree to seasons of fasting and prayer to seek God, should they withdraw from physical intimacy to pursue spiritual intimacy. 

Let me be clear, there is no excuse for infidelity, even if your spouse is as frigid as the arctic icecap.  God’s grace is sufficient.  But, this doesn’t mean that you do not push your mate to the edge of adultery by indifference to their sexual desires.  In living a holy life, we have seen that the discipline of a church can aid us, and so can the delight of a spouse in our bed.  Why should our husband or wife look for baloney in the world when they get steak at home?

Paul also gets into other matters of divorce and remarriage, and in particular with the issue of believers married to unbelievers.  That is always fertile ground for problems.  Again, Paul calls for fidelity on the part of Christians.  If this is your condition then be the most faithful husband you can be to your unbelieving wife, and you might win her soul, as well as her heart.  If you are a woman wed to a non-Christian, be the most affectionate wife you can be, and your interest in him may lead him to interest in Christ.  This faithfulness provides an environment where children can be raised to know the Lord despite the divided household.

Life is tough.  Temptation is strong.  Holding on to holiness will not be easy.  Commitment to the God-ordained covenant of marriage is vital for moral purity.

We might say much more in all these matters preceding, but there is a final point to make, and that concerns DEDICATION TO CHRIST as prescribed in 1 Corinthians 8.

“yet for us there is one God, the Father.  All things are from Him, and we [exist] for Him. And [there is] one Lord, Jesus Christ.  All things are through Him, and we [exist] through Him.” (v.6)

This is the overarching principle that governs the believers’ lifestyle.  Our thoughts are to be concentrated on Christ.  Our emotions are to be consumed with Christ.  Our will is to be consecrated to Christ.  He is Lord of all!

Paul says that even in the matter of diet, love for Christ, and for those Christ died for, is fundamental.  We are to set aside our rights and accept our responsibilities.  Our freedom in Christ isn’t to do what we want to do, but what we ought to do.  One thing we must seek to avoid is that which defiles our conscience—and not just ours but another believers’ too!

We can help each other to stand and encourage one another to overcome temptation, or we can contribute to someone stumbling.  It might even be in a matter that we would not consider sinful, but if another person does, then I ought not flaunt my freedom and bring them down.  If they think it is sinful to them it is.

There are weaknesses that others have which we might not and we ought to be sensitive to that.  I think of the matter of drinking alcoholic beverages, for instance.  I will not, and let me tell you why.  It isn’t that you can find a direct command not to drink any thing, although drunkenness is expressly forbidden in Scripture.  You might be able to drink in moderation and never get drunk—though you are walking a tightrope you don’t have to climb on.  But, did you know that the person you are dining with might only need one drop to start them down a path of alcoholism?  You have your refrigerator filled with beer, and your children grow up to see that as acceptable.  The culture is going to call for them to, “Stay thirsty, my friend.”  Do we want to lead them into that temptation?

I don’t need it. I don’t want it.  I don’t desire to be around it.  My desire is to be a stepping-stone to help people to holiness and not be a stumbling block to hinder them.  Being a Pharisee and succumbing to legalism is always a possibility too.  I recognize that.  Yet, it is no better to be a Sadducee and surrender to liberalism.  Grace and truth give balance—yield neither in the pursuit of holiness.  By all means, use every means—these we have provided in this passage, and others—with a passion for purity.

THE CENTRALITY OF THE CROSS

“For I didn’t think [it was a good idea] to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:2 HCSB)

In the center of London you will find a place called Charing Cross.  Most of the local folks just refer to it as “the Cross.”   I read a story of a policeman who saw a boy weeping—the little fellow was lost.  Trying to understand him through the sobs and tears, the officer concluded the lad didn’t know his address.  But, the child did recall he lived near Charing Cross and so he answered, “If you will take me to the Cross, I think I can find my way home from there.”

That is still true today! 

In an age where many churches are taking down the cross from their buildings so as not to be offensive, we will still cling to the old rugged cross!   At a time when being sensitive to modern sensibilities has led some denominations to excise references to the blood from their hymnal, we will still sing of the wonder working power of the blood.

If Paul and the early church had decided not to preach the cross lest it be offensive, then we would know nothing of its saving power today.   When has it not been offensive?  It was as scandalous in the first century as in the twenty-first.

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is God’s power to us who are being saved.  For it is written:

‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will set aside the understanding of the experts.’

Where is the philosopher?  Where is the scholar?  Where is the debater of this age?  Hasn’t God made the world’s wisdom foolish?  For since, in God’s wisdom, the world did not know God through wisdom, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of the message preached.  For the Jews ask for signs and the Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles.  Yet to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is God’s power and God’s wisdom, because God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.” (1 Cor.1:18-25)

At the center of our faith stands the cross of Christ.  That is non-negotiable.  Paul was willing to die for it.  Jesus died on it.  Christianity is dead without it.

So, Paul tells the Corinthians there is to be THE PROCLAMATION OF THE CROSS.

“When I came to you, brothers, announcing the testimony of God to you, I did not come with brilliance of speech or wisdom.  For I didn’t think [it was a good idea] to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”  (1 Cor.2:1-2) 

The centrality of the cross is seen in the priority given to its proclamation.  It was the core of New Testament preaching.  Paul underscores this in his ministry.  He did not seek to enthrall them with soaring oratory—with human eloquence—or to enchant them with sublime philosophy—with human intelligence.  Rather it was a simple sermon—“the testimony of God” he calls it.  

Notice that the Apostle connects his preaching with the glory of God (see the preceding context of 1:26-31) so he will not seek to exalt himself but exalt Christ!  No preacher can seek his own glory and seek God’s at the same time.  Paul wrote in Galatians.6:14, “But as for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The world has been crucified to me through the cross, and I to the world.”

Bible teacher, Warren Wiersbe, told this story:

A certain church had a beautiful stained-glass window just behind the pulpit. It depicted Jesus Christ on the cross.  One Sunday there was a guest minister who was much smaller than the regular pastor.  A little girl listened to the guest for a time, then turned to her mother and asked, “Where is the man who usually stands there so we can’t see Jesus?” ^[1]

God forbid it ever be so with me!  Let no preacher—let no one obscure Jesus Christ, crucified!  If you leave worship this Sunday saying, “What a great sermon” then the pastor has miserably failed!  My goal is for you to leave saying, “What a great Savior!” 

Here’s the summary of the message Paul preached—the testimony—stated in the fifteenth chapter of this book:

“Now brothers, I want to clarify for you the gospel I proclaimed to you; you received it and have taken your stand on it.  You are also saved by it, if you hold to the message I proclaimed to you — unless you believed for no purpose.  For I passed on to you as most important what I also received:

that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

that He was buried,

that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…” (v.1-4).

If you come to our church to hear some new thing, forget it—that is not happening—it is the old rugged cross about which you will hear, over and over!   That is our message.  It is the only way of salvation!

Paul stressed the proclamation of the cross because of THE PREEMINENCE OF THE CROSS.

“For I didn’t think [it was a good idea] to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” (1 Cor.2:2)

There had been many crosses erected on that skull-shaped hill outside Jerusalem.  Perhaps hundreds of Jews had been crucified there.  Crosses were horrible, but unremarkable—even the cross upon which Jesus died was merely a rough-hewn piece of wood.  On that day there were three crosses—but it is the central cross that is pre-eminent—the cross where Jesus was crucified.  It is the unique Person who hung on that cross which makes it remarkable.  Others had been crucified at this place of public execution—for their own crimes.  On that cross, Jesus died for our crimes!

Our eyes are drawn irresistibly to it.  That is our focus.  The cross of Christ must ever be the point of our concentration and contemplation. 

What we concentrate on is crucial for determining a desired outcome.  Just ask a professional golfer.  For example:

Arnold Palmer made a terrible mistake on the final hole of the 1961 Masters Golf tournament.  “I had a one-stroke lead and had just hit a very satisfying tee shot. I felt I was in pretty good shape. As I approached my ball, I saw an old friend standing at the edge of the gallery. He motioned me over, stuck out his hand and said, ‘Congratulations.’ I took his hand and shook it, but as soon as I did, I knew I had lost my focus.  On my next two shots, I hit the ball into a sand trap, and then put it over the edge of the green.  I missed a putt and lost the Masters.  You don’t forget a mistake like that; you just learn from it and become determined that you will never do that again.  I haven’t in the thirty years since.”

You’ve got to keep your focus—and that is on the cross!  It magnetically draws our gaze.  We stand transfixed on the cross—its bloody awfulness and its beautiful attraction—simultaneously known. 

There are those who want to take the cross and make it an object of beauty—gilding it with gold and encrusting it with precious gems.  It is made into an object of art instead of agony.  That is not the cross of Christ.  Rather it was a cruel instrument of death.  But—here is the joyful news in that sorrowful death—it is in the Son of God crucified that we can be forgiven—paying the debt of sin we could never fully pay.

The proclamation of the cross finds its root in the preeminence of the cross and leads to the fruit of THE POWER OF THE CROSS.

“I came to you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.  My speech and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom but with a powerful demonstration by the Spirit, so that your faith might not be based on men’s wisdom but on God’s power.” (1 Cor.2:3-5) 

Apparently, there was nothing imposing about Paul’s physical presence and nothing eloquent about his exposition.  He may have sounded more like Don Knotts than James Earl Jones.  But it wasn’t the charisma of his person, but the content of his preaching that provided the power to transform lives. 

He contrasts the faith that is rooted in man’s wisdom and that which is resting in God’s power.  The former is a sham-faith and the latter a saving faith.  In the first, some Christian salesman uses emotional manipulation and psychological techniques to talk someone into a decision.  In the latter, a Gospel witness shares the message of the cross and trusts the Holy Spirit to work.  The first approach offers, “Your Best Life Now” and the second “Deny yourself, take up the cross and follow Jesus.” 

I bought a time-share from a charismatic salesman once—came to regret it and have since sold it, taking a big loss.  It wasn’t what it was cracked up to be.  That only cost a few thousand dollars, but the kind of preaching that hides the cross so as not to offend can cost an eternal soul!

When the Gospel is proclaimed in faithfulness, the Holy Spirit’s power convicts of sin, and generates faith in the heart of man.  It is a miracle—a dead man coming to life, a blind man coming to see, a deaf man to hear, and a cripple to walk!  Only God can do that!

Is that where your faith rests?  Is it in the cross alone?  It must be as underscored in these lyrics of the old hymn, “The Way of the Cross Leads Home.”

I must needs go home by the way of the cross,
There’s no other way but this;
I shall ne’er get sight of the Gates of Light,
If the way of the cross I miss.

The way of the cross leads home,
The way of the cross leads home;
It is sweet to know, as I onward go,
The way of the cross leads home.

I must needs go on in the blood-sprinkled way,
The path that the Savior trod,
If I ever climb to the heights sublime,
Where the soul is at home with God.

The way of the cross leads home,
The way of the cross leads home;
It is sweet to know, as I onward go,
The way of the cross leads home.

Then I bid farewell to the way of the world,
To walk in it nevermore;
For my Lord says, “Come,” and I seek my home,
Where He waits at the open door.

The way of the cross leads home,
The way of the cross leads home;
It is sweet to know, as I onward go,
The way of the cross leads home. (Jessie B. Pounds)

As the little lost boy said to the policeman, ““If you will take me to the Cross, I think I can find my way home from there.”

---

^[1]Wiersbe, Warren W.: The Bible Exposition Commentary. Wheaton, Ill. : Victor Books, 1996, c1989, S. 1 Co 2:6