“We Preach Christ Crucified.”
So the mighty apostle to the Gentiles declared. The Jews asked for signs. They wished to see great miracles, such as God wrought through Moses, as the credentials of the prophet. The Greeks would follow some one with a new philosophy which neither he nor his students could comprehend, but which in its abstruse generalities, expressed in polysyllabic words, seemed great and profound. The Jews, looking for signs, crucified Jesus who wrought the mightiest of miracles, and is doing it still. The Greeks through their wisdom “knew not God.” “But we,” rings out in triumph from the apostle of God, “preach Christ crucified, unto Jews a stumbling-block, and unto Gentiles foolishness; but unto the called themselves, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (See 1 Cor. 1:18-25, A.R.V., margin.) It is the same blessed Gospel to-day. The world needs the preaching of the cross. Many are mad for signs, and Christian Science, Hypnotism, Spiritism, Dowieism, Sanfordism, and a half dozen other isms, have their devotees. Many others are seekers of that multiform “science” which makes void the word of God, and makes the preaching of the cross foolishness. But, thank God, it is a “foolishness” which “is wiser than men.” The preaching of the cross — to whom? To a world of sinners, doomed to death and eternal disappointment in themselves. Dying with no hope of the future save the false hope, engendered by the first lie, “Ye shall not surely die; . . . ye shall be as God.” Turning from the word, men have peopled the invisible world with the dead and gone, a theory unproved by Holy Writ and undemonstrated by science. Multitudes now hope that it will be demonstrated by psychological investigations, to be again deceived by “the father of lies,” and the deception confirmed by science. Christ died for the sinner. “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes are we healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way, and Jehovah hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isa. 53: 4-6. The same wonderful story finds its echo in the words of the apostle Paul: “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not reckoning unto them their trespasses. . . . Him who knew no sin He made to be sin in our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Cor. 5: 19-21. Would we avail ourselves of this stupendous provision? “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved.” Acts 16: 31. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3: 16. But to believe on Jesus is to believe that His voluntary, love-commanded death upon the cross was for us; for “He gave Himself for our sins.” Gal. 1: 4. But the cross must mean more than deliverance from past sins; it must mean to us crucifixion with Him. In other words, as it was our sins which caused His death, we must reckon, at whatever cost of suffering to ourselves, that our sins, our lusts, our carnal man, our love of the world, were then crucified with Him; and that His cross is ever present with us in our lives, upon which dies every unholy uprising of the fleshly man. The cross of Christ is not to be to the Christian a matter of history, but a present experience. Read: “Knowing this, that our old man IS CRUCIFIED with Him.” Rom. 6: 6. “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world IS CRUCIFIED unto me, and I unto the world.” Gal. 6:14. “If ye by the Spirit DO MORTIFY [put to death] the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” Rom. 8:13. “PUT TO DEATH therefore your members which are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry; for which things’ sake cometh the wrath of God upon the sons of disobedience.” Col. 3: 5, 6. Faith in Jesus Christ means harmony with Him. It involves, in other words, separation from sin. “With the heart man believeth unto righteousness.” Rom. 10: 12. A faith which stops short of this is spurious; but the righteousness which comes from God through Christ is not built into sins or a sinful nature. It must have soil and subsoil of denial of sin, of yielding all unto Christ, of accepting Jesus our Lord as the wisdom, the righteousness, the power, of God unto salvation. For He “gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” Titus 2: 14. Then, and then only, is there blessedness in the cross. Then is there wisdom in the cross. Then is there righteousness and power in the cross. Then is there glory and joy unspeakable to every soul who believes.