The last time we were together we saw how Paul was making the case for unity in the body of Christ and where that unity comes from. It doesn’t come from joining a particular party in the church, or from adhering to the doctrines of one particular man.

The unity that Paul speaks of comes only from the One who unites us and that is Christ Himself. The Spirit of Christ brings us together under the blood of our Lord and Savior and the Father is the One who adopts us into His family where we are called the Church.

This is not a human institution any more than our salvation is a human invention. It is of God from first to last and therefore to introduce any such notion that we can reinvent the rules for unity is to slap God in the face and tell Him to stand aside as we take over.

Nothing could be more absurd and yet, even as we see from our text, to the present, men have engaged in trying to usurp the authority and power of God as it relates to His church. Paul makes it very clear that when the wisdom of men, or the plans of men are used to advance the kingdom of God, it is the kingdom of the enemy which really benefits.

Even when any biblical doctrine is misused it can actually cause division rather than bringing the saints together. After all, Jesus Christ is the One who instituted baptism as a sign and seal to demonstrate His washing away of our sins. But when men take such a teaching and turn it on its head it can actually become destructive as we saw in our previous study.

This is why Paul was inspired to write, "for Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel - not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power." (1CO 1:17)

What Paul is saying is that the power of the gospel is not found in human wisdom or even human methods of marketing the gospel. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be wise and creative in the ways we bring people the gospel, but it should never take precedence over just the plain truth of what Christ accomplished on our behalf.

We can get so bogged down with the delivery that we never feel compelled to deliver the truth because of our sense of inadequacy in trying to convince people to repent and believe the gospel.

Our job is not to convince people into the kingdom with clever speech, but to love people into the kingdom with the truth as we allow the Spirit of God to convict and draw men unto Christ. This is exactly what Paul shares later in this letter.

1CO 2:1 "When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.
2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
3 I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.
4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power,
5 so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power."

We’ll talk more of God’s power in just a moment as it relates to the gospel, but the point Paul is making here and in verse 17 of the first chapter is that we don’t need to reinvent the truth or alter the truth just to make it more palatable to people.

There is always that danger of thinking that if we share the gospel in its unadulterated form that we might turn someone off, or that they’ll think we’re radicals, or that we won’t get another chance to share since we’re just paving the way for a future encounter.

Well, there is always the possibility that people will look at us in that way, but that is not our concern as long as we’re willing to share the truth in love. Yes, people will be turned off at the truth. Even Jesus promises this.

MAT 10:35 "For I have come to turn "'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law -
36 a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.'" (Micah 7:6)

What our Lord means is that, in His first coming, our Savior will be the dividing point in the lives of people. Some people, even family, will reject the truth and will turn against the one who holds to the truth.

He’s not suggesting that He has some evil plan to divide families, He’s simply stating the fact that this will happen precisely because of the hardness of men’s hearts. And this division will come because of the faithfulness of believers to declare the truth in love.

How many people do you know where this very thing has happened in their families? In fact, I would venture to say that there may be people here this morning whose family has rejected you in some way because of your faithfulness to the truth of the gospel; in the way you live it, as well as your faithfulness to declare it in love.

But this isn’t limited to our families. The world-at-large doesn’t want to have to be confronted with the truth because it makes them accountable to someone other than themselves; namely the living God.

2PE 3:3 "First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires."

So, is the answer to couch the truth so these people aren’t offended? No! Where’s the love in that? Remember, this is an issue of where people will spend eternity. We must give them the truth. But, if any offense comes it shouldn’t be in an unloving approach, rather in the truth alone. This is what Paul tells these Corinthians in his second letter.

2CO 4:1 "Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.
2 Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God."

Peter essentially says the same thing as he reminds his readers that the truth he shares has nothing to do with cleverness of speech, or deception or distorting the word of God to make people feel less convicted about the truth. He reminds us that this truth is based on the truth-Giver, God Almighty.

2PE 1:16 "We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
19 And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation.
21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."

The truth of the gospel we have in our possession is the very word of God which is designed to save men, not to trick men. We should never shrink from giving them the truth which can give them eternal life. It is the power of God to salvation.

But if we mess with the truth of the gospel and turn it into something other than what it was intended, then we run the risk of watering it down and actually being part of the problem rather than the solution as we perpetuate the lie that the truth doesn’t matter.

The truth does matter, not only in the daily affairs of men, but more importantly in the eternal destinies of all people. And this is exactly what Paul meant when he said that he was called to "preach the gospel, not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power."

Once you relegate the cross to simply a point of reference for groups of people having something in common, rather than being the power of God unto salvation, then we’ve emptied the cross of its power.

Let me give you a case in point. As abhorrent as abortion is, there are many religious groups coming together in the name of Christ to rally around this issue, while actually putting the truth of the gospel to the side for the sake of unity over this issue.

Now, don’t lose me here. I don’t mean to suggest that we can’t unite with anyone over coming against this blight on America. But to water down the gospel in the process is to empty the cross of its power.

What has happened is any religious group can now be seen as belonging to the cause of Christ while actually making the cross of Christ void of any power. Why? Because the focal point becomes a cause other than the truth of how one is saved by grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ.

And so, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Buddhists, Roman Catholics, and anyone else who has a false gospel, can stand side by side with true believers and be seen as brothers and sisters in Christ, not because they adhere to the cross of Christ but because they have a common cause.

There is no common cause which should take precedence over the truth of the gospel of Christ which is the power of God unto salvation. There’s nothing wrong with Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses or any other group uniting with Christians to protest such things as abortion, but this should not be a substitute for the unity Paul speaks of here which only comes through the truth of the gospel.

And so, in that sense, there should be a clear delineation from the falsehoods these groups teach concerning God and the salvation He brings through Christ alone.

In these last days, this distinction has been blurred. Anyone can be a Christian simply by being identified with Christian looking causes. And so, anyone who names the name of Christ can come together with true believers and march for Jesus, for example, and show a unity, not based on truth, but on emotional ties for the sake of not wanting to offend anyone.

And yet, many of these same people will never accept the true Jesus and His way of salvation. They consider it foolishness. And this is where Paul goes next as he describes the attitude of unbelievers toward the truth of the gospel.

1CO 1:18 "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."

Here we have two opposing attitudes toward the truth of the cross of Christ. On the one hand it’s considered foolishness. On the other it has an effectual result leading to salvation.

But notice that the cross is considered foolishness to those who "are" perishing. This is in the present tense, which suggests that perishing is a process which will one day find its fullness in forever being separated from God.

But, also notice that people are not perishing because they consider the cross foolishness, they consider the cross foolishness because they are perishing. In other words, they don’t want the cross. And they don’t want the cross because their hearts are set on perishing, though they certainly wouldn’t admit that because they wouldn’t admit to being deceived.

And yet, it is precisely because of their willingness to be deceived that they will perish. This is what Paul puts into perspective as he considers the last days and the work of Satan in the last days.

2TH 2:9 "The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders,
10 and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved."

What Paul is doing here is painting a picture of the natural man who is bent on destruction and death. Anyone who doesn’t want life in Christ would fall into that category, which by the way, is the category we were all in at some point in our lives.

The heart of man considers the cross foolishness because it takes his destiny out of his own hands and places it in the hands of someone else, and the natural man doesn’t like that proposition. He wants to be the master of his own destiny. And his heart is only interested in things that revolve around self, which doesn’t include God.

This is what the Lord means when He inspired the prophet Jeremiah to write these words.

JER 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"

We get another glimpse of this hardness of man’s heart prior to the destruction of the world during Noah’s day precisely because men thought the message of Noah to repent and turn to God was all foolishness.

GEN 6:5 "The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time."

David understood the hardness of men’s hearts and how they viewed the things of God as foolishness. But David tells us who the real fool is for not embracing God and His truth.

PSA 53:1 "The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good.
2 God looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.
3 Everyone has turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one."

And yet it is the fool who calls us foolish. The word foolish in our text is the Greek word moria which is the root word for moron. And so, we’re considered by the world as nothing short of morons for believing such moronic trash.

But these are the ones who are perishing. And this is why we should never be intimidated by such people. Rather, we should pity them and have compassion and love for them as we bring them the truth because we who have trusted Christ are being saved.

That’s what Paul says here in our text. ".... [for we] who are being saved [the gospel] is the power of God."

Notice that the same present tense process which was used of those who are perishing is brought over to the experience of knowing Christ. We are presently being saved. What does that mean? After all, I thought we were saved the moment we believed, not in the process of being saved.

Well, the Scriptures speak of salvation in a number of ways. In fact, the Scriptures speak of our salvation of being in the past, in the present, as well as something which will happen in the future. And in this sense we are being saved. Let’s look at some different portions of God’s word on this aspect of our salvation.

EPH 1:4 "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight."

1CO 15:2 "By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you."

2CO 2:15 "For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved..."

JOH 5:24 "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.

ROM 5:9 "Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!"

HEB 11:1 "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

ROM 8:23 "Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has?
25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."

Here in Romans Paul speaks of all three aspects of our salvation. Past: "In this hope we were saved." Present: "...we ourselves, ...have the firstfruits of the Spirit.." Future: "...we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons... But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."

Our salvation in Christ is something which is constantly working in our lives because of the Spirit of God who dwells in us. We were saved in the past as we placed our faith in Christ alone. We are saved from the penalty of and power of sin and have the hope of eternal life today. And we will be saved when we fully realize all of the promises given to us in Christ. And one day we will stand in His very presence.

And yet, as far as the gospel is concerned, we must never think that it’s O.K. to put salvation off for a possible future acceptance of it. The one we share with today may not be here tomorrow.

2CO 6:2 "For he says, "In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you." I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation."

But we must realize that this salvation is the result of God’s power working through the message of His gospel. To us who are being saved it is the power of God.

We must never lose sight of the contrast that Paul is making in verse 18. There is no power unto life to those who are perishing and rejecting the gospel. In other words, there is no other way to God other than through Christ. But the other thing which must be pointed out is that it is only the power of God in changing the heart that a person can be born again.

God is the one doing the miracle. How many times did the people marvel at Christ when He performed miracles among them? They knew that only God could do these things. How we should marvel at the miracle He has done in our lives and appreciate the life we’ve been given in Christ.

But also, how we should marvel at how God can use us in the lives of other people as His power goes forth as we take the message of hope found in Christ. This is what Paul told the Romans when he explained that there is no reason to shrink from giving people the truth of the gospel.

ROM 1:16 "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."

We don’t have to depend on our slick marketing skills to advance the kingdom of God. We need only to take the greatest news this world has ever known and share it with people. Sounds pretty simple doesn’t it?

The power of the gospel is the touch God gives to someone who hears the truth. But God has given us the privilege to share this truth. We are the messengers who have been commissioned by Christ to go out into our communities with this blessed hope found in Christ.

I suppose that if we were to pray for anything that we should pray for creative ways to meet people, to go out into our community and allow them to hear the gospel. There’s nothing wrong with using the means we have available to accomplish this, but we must never confuse the means of reaching people with the actual message.

Once we have an audience, whether it’s sharing with someone we meet at the grocery store, or our neighbor, or in front of a gathering of people, the message must always remain the same, and we should never be ashamed of that blessed truth which enabled us to come into a relationship with the living God, our creator.

May we be faithful to give people that truth as we watch the power of God change the hearts of people as we share with them the same message Paul gave the Corinthians.

1CO 15:2 "By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures...."

PSA 71:15 "My mouth will tell of your righteousness, of your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure.
16 I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign LORD; I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone."

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