~ Observed ~
Readings: Numbers 21:4-9 | 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 | John 12:20-33
Text: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25
The Word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing. Yeah…them unbelievers! Aren’t they terrible? Aren’t they foolish? But to us who are being saved, the cross is the power of God. Yes! Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim!
Who in their right mind would reject the love of Christ? Look at all that He’s done for every person, to take away your sin and give you life. Wouldn’t anyone’s heart melt when they hear all that we are in our sin, and all that Jesus has done to save us? Well, unless your just a stubborn kind of person. Some people never learn.
Often, the good news of Jesus is cast as this picture of love extended, and that love either requited or rejected. What does it hinge on? Our assent, our decision of course. Do we imagine that the Lord is on His glorious throne picking petals off a daisy, saying, “He loves me. He loves me not.”?
These analogies of Christ’s love in the cross fall short because we can hear them against the backdrop of human affection. If we chiefly or only talk about Christ’s work by talking about love, we miss an important facet which plays no minor role in the Bible: The cross.
18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Let’s consider this with fresh eyes, and especially avoid any notion of “us versus them” because faith is not a light switch. It’s not a lightbulb which illuminates on a particular moment and flicks off. The way our Lord teaches us to speak about it is the contrast between flesh and the Holy Spirit. St. Paul explained to the Galatians (and we heard it recently):
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do...24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (Galatians 5:16-17, 24)
If we rightly understand our flesh as God’s teaches us, we understand that we sinful people have a natural aversion to the cross. Of course we would, if possible, avoid the literal cross—for even our Lord prayed that there would be another way (Luke 22:42). What I mean is that, in our flesh, we avoid the cross of Christ.
How can Jesus teach me to be a more thankful person? How can His Word give me wise instruction so that I avoid pitfalls? What does His truth teach us against those people who are promoting error, and how can I outsmart them? Notions like these are extremely popular, and mega churches are filled with those who desire good advice for living.
As soon as you start preaching about sin, however, the conversation is over with our flesh. Like Peter, our old Adam says nobly, “Far be it from you, Lord! This [suffering, death, and resurrection] shall never happen to you.” (Matt. 16:22) While that might sound good, it’s actually a denial that human sin—that your sin and mine actually has a cost that must be paid. It’s denying that we actually need rescue, that we are slaves in need of freeing. “The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing.” Yes, and as often as we shun Jesus’ cross in favor of another way to God and life, we are headed toward perishing.
That’s why each Christian must have the Holy Spirit to discern between what comes from the flesh and the faith in the cross which comes from the Spirit. Our flesh loves to have Jesus on its side, without any of that pesky talk of repentance for our sinful thoughts, confessing the ways we have failed in our vocations, or admitting that we can only live by God’s mercy.
It’s only on the point where we see that we, by ourselves, are perishing, without any other place to go, when the Holy Spirit grants us faith, that we can accept and appreciate the cross. “You were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you once walked” (Ephesians 2:1) is not just a statement about our mental attitude; it’s a truth about our sinful nature apart from God. A person cannot be saved without the Cross. Not cleaned up morals, not “going to church”, not joining the righteous cause of Christianity will of themselves give eternal life to anyone.
So, it is my prayer that you are followers of Christ not simply because we hold to traditional values in an age of confusion. It is my prayer that you are not here simply to learn the best life-hacks to overcome the troubles of your existence. Above all, may God grant that you are here because Jesus’ cross is preached. You were dead in your trespasses, but God made you alive (Ephesians 2:1, 5) It is no ugly bad press to have a crucified King, but absolutely necessary that God’s Son be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Most especially that He has taken away your sin. That your sins, as many as they are, have been nailed to the cross of Jesus.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Leave a Reply