Proclaiming Christ Crucified

by Mike Ratliff

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:1-5 ESV)

We preach to men as if they were conscious of being dying sinners; they are not; they are having a good time, and our talk about being born again is from a domain of which they know nothing. The natural man does not want to be born again. – Oswald Chambers from The Psychology of Redemption, 1062 R.

We live in a time in which the evangelical church appears to have been taken over by men who have rejected the Apostle Paul’s method of preaching the Gospel in favor of man-centered, man-pleasing methodology that is grounded in cultural relevance. You can tell very quickly if a local church has succumbed to this by observing whether the focus of what goes on there is on Christ Crucified or on the personalities of the leadership therein. If it is the latter then observe carefully how the Gospel is presented, that is, if it really is. If the preaching in the church is man-centered and geared to pleasing men then it will contain threads of entertainment intertwined with psychological methodology all based upon the concept that these things can actually persuade people to become Christians.

Let us look at a New Testament example of this very thing happening to a church that the Apostle Paul planted.

I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” (1 Corinthians 1:10-12 ESV) 

The Corinthians had lost their focus. They were consumed with following certain teachers or personalities while excluding others. Notice the pride they showed by saying, “I follow so-and-so.” Do we see this today? Sure we do. I have seen a church thrive under a pastor then observed how it lost a large portion of its members when that pastor left. Then a new pastor will come on board. Some of the stalwart members leave when things change. Then the new pastor’s dynamics will cause the church to grow again. This cycle is obviously rooted in the people following men rather than Christ.

Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? (1 Corinthians 1:13 ESV)

Paul’s point is that we err if we base our worship and service on personalities. Instead, we should be focused on Christ, follow Him, and serve the local church in which He has placed us until He moves us somewhere else. If we are all wrapped up in following men rather than Christ then often the culprit is the way these man minister. How should a minister preach the Gospel?

For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. (1 Corinthians 1:17 ESV)

Paul tells  us there that the preaching of the Gospel should NOT be done in such a way that draws attention away from the cross and places it on the preacher instead. If it is done correctly then the cross is powerful and the preaching of the Gospel is inhabited by the Holy Spirit moving through those hearing the truth to bring them to repentance and salvation. However, if it is done according to the man-focused way, the man-pleasing way, the way that draws attention to the speaker then it empties the cross of its power. 

Another danger is to imagine that it is my particular presentation of things that will attract people. It may attract them, but never to God. The line of attraction is always an indication of the goal of the the attracted; if you attract by personal impressiveness, the attracted will get no further than you. Our Lord said–”I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto Me.” – Oswald Chambers from Not Knowing Whither, 868 R.

It seems that we have forgotten that God Himself has chosen to save His elect by destroying the wisdom of the wise, and by thwarting the discernment of the discerning. The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing (1 Corinthians 1:18-19). What we must recover and never forget is that no one has ever come to know God through wisdom. Instead, it has pleased God to save people through the folly of preaching Christ crucified. This Gospel is good news to those who believe, but to those who are perishing it is the ultimate foolishness. I received the following comment today on Possessing the Treasure on my post God has Shown Us His Glory.

What a load of old bollocks you so-called christians write – get your thoughts clear in your heads and ask yourself what you mean by all this crap and then get on with living your lives like normal people.

Sorry about the language. That is a direct quote. Does this person believe he needs to come to Jesus? Do you think he sees a need to become part of someone’s church in order to “go to heaven when he dies?” No, this person views the genuine Gospel as folly. Now, If I had dedicated this blog to preaching a so-called gospel of good works and radical environmentalism or perhaps world peace then he would not have seen fit to write that offensive comment would he? No, he was responding to my article of Christians serving the Lord as His bond-servants. However, God did not choose to save people via any way other than through the preaching of Christ and Him crucified.

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. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:18-31 ESV)

Did you see that God did not choose many wise or powerful or many of noble birth. Instead, God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the strong. God chose what is low and despised in the world to accomplish the saving of His elect. In fact, when we receive from the world comments like the one above then we must examine ourselves. Why did that happen? If we are acting foolish and offensive that is one thing, but if all we are doing is giving God’s truth to the world and we receive that sort response then we should rejoice my brethren. Why? It means that we are doing it right. If we had been operating as man-pleasers, seeking to be relevant then the world doesn’t have much problem with us does it? No, so, what is it to be?

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:1-5 ESV)

Do you see that this is how God works through us to save His people? If we make our ministries about ourselves and our abilities then we get it wrong my brethren. Let us close with one more quote from Oswald Chambers.

We have a way of saying–”What a wonderful power that man or woman would be in God’s service.” Reasoning on man’s broken virtues makes us fix on the wrong thing. The only way any man or woman can ever be of service to God is when he or she is willing to renounce all their natural excellencies and determine to be weak in Him–”I am here for one thing only, for Jesus Christ to manifest Himself in me.” That is to be the steadfast habit of a Christian’s life. Oswald Chambers from The Moral Foundations of Life, 725 R.

Soli Deo Gloria