'For to those who are perishing, the message of the cross is foolishness, but to us who are being saved, it is God's power,' 1 Corinthians 1:18
How painfully plainly true this is, as displayed by a great wall dividing the faithful from the faithless. To an atheist the gospel is utter foolishness. Look what the God-hater Sam Harris says: 'It is imperative that we begin speaking plainly about the absurdity of most of our religious beliefs.' To Harris and Litchens, and Dawkins and all the other atheists, our belief system is absurd. They just don't get it, as Adrian Rogers puts it in his message 'It's Time to Grow Up.'
But to us, to believers, this same message of the cross is indeed the peak of wisdom, our saving grace, and the guiding light that keeps us on the right path. Without this message of the cross, we would be without hope in the world.
After all, you have to wonder about the morality of a man who rejects a message as foolishness that is summed up in this statement: 'Love your neighbor as yourself,' Galatians 5:14
If this message of love sums up Christianity, what statement sums up atheism?
As we go about our day, or suffer through trials, let us try to remember what Nehemiah 8:10 says: 'Do not grieve, because your strength comes from rejoicing in the Lord.'
Indeed, the only true remedy for depression, for life's weary drudgery, is joy. The joy of the Lord is my strength! When we have this joy, nothing else compares, nothing can bring us down. In fact, our salvation, the kingdom of God itself, is 'righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit,' Romans 14:17.
Must we strive to attain this joy? I don't know. All I know is that it can be found only in the Lord, and that 'There is nothing better for man than to eat, drink, and to enjoy the work of his hands,' Ecclesiastes 2:24.
We cannot handle everything life throws our way. But God can. So why worry, doubt, or fear? It is our duty and privilege as believers and followers of the Word to rejoice, to have joy. If we don't have joy, if people do not see this light in us, they will not see the light of Christ.
Duty and Privilege.
Time was you could go to church, hear a message straight out of the bible, and spend the week striving to live up to the high ideals of this living truth message.
Not anymore.
Today our preachers have become shallow worldly cowards, too afraid to speak the gospel, more interested in pleasing men and being liked than in speaking Christ and Him crucified. 1 Thessalonians 2:5-6 beautifully outlines the issue here, how proper preachers speak not to please men but rather God, how they do not use flattering speech or seek glory for themselves.
When a preacher resorts to humor, anecdotes, video clips, and uses skits or any book other than the bible as reference, you need to stand up and walk out of there, for that is not a place where the gospel is being preached. You will learn nothing good from such an empty teacher. This Easter Sunday, instead of delivering the resurrection message--from the bible--our pastor described his vacations for us!
There are no words for this outrageous display of vanity.
In those moments when the Apostles spoke of themselves, it was to rejoice in their calling to speak the gospel of the cross, and they always did so with great humility.
It is all about Christ and Him crucified. There is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12. If your preacher fails to confess this, if he fails to acknowledge that when he is behind the pulpit, it is about God and not himself, pray for him and turn to the Word for guidance.
