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.
1 Corinthians 1:18
I realize that I had promised to post about something else today, but I
really felt the Lord leading me to write about this particular subject instead.
Have you ever been so angry at sinners for doing what sinners do? I mean, have
you ever been so enraged that you just wanted to confront that person and say, “You’re
wrong!”? I have. However, God has taught me through His Word that confronting
such a person in such a manner will not do me or the other person a bit of
good.
The Bible says that “the message of the cross is foolishness to those who
are perishing” (1 Corinthians 1:18). To fully understand the meaning of that
verse, we first must understand what the message of the cross really is. Jesus
said in Luke 9:23, “If any man will come after me, let him
deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” The cross was
an instrument of death. It was meant for execution, for severe punishment and
cruelty. Therefore, when Jesus tells us to take up our crosses, He is saying
that we must be willing to die to ourselves—even being willing to lose our
physical lives, if necessary. This world does not like to hear that. They love
their sin, and they do not want to give it up.
I believe that it is possible for a person to fall so
in love with his own sin that he will go to the very ends of the earth itself
to justify it. Therefore we cannot reason with these people. The only way to
get through to them is to break the stronghold that Satan has on their lives.
And there is only one thing that can do that—the blood of Jesus.
We must show these people that they are sinners in
need of Savior. We must warn them that their sin can only lead to death, but
that Jesus can only lead to life eternal. We must invite them to repent of
their every sin and trust in Christ alone to save them. And we must let them
know that, if they will do that, He will save them and keep them saved forever.
It is only once a man has come to know Christ that he
can truly understand and appreciate the Law of God. Before, he only saw God’s
Word as a thick, dusty book designed to take all of the fun out of his life.
However, after he has come to Christ in repentance and faith, he can say with
Adrian Rogers and know it is true that “when God says, ‘Thou shall not,’ He is
only saying ‘don’t hurt yourself;’ and when God says, ‘Thou shalt,” He is
saying ‘help yourself to happiness.’”
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