WHAT SEEMS FOOLISH HAS THE POWER TO SAVE

Today’s Bible readings are Ezra 1:1-2:70, 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5, Psalm 27:7-14, & Proverbs 20:22-23

1 Corinthians 1:18-20

¹⁸ The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. ¹⁹ As the Scriptures say,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise
    and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.”

²⁰ So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish.

I have been a preacher of the gospel for several years now. Yet, the more I preach the gospel the more amazing it becomes to me.

I am humbled by all that God has done for us through His Son, Jesus Christ. I am also amazed at how much we still struggle in our own effort to achieve what Christ has already achieved for us through His death, burial, & resurrection.

·        Christ has freed us, but still we struggle to be free.

·        Christ has healed us, yet when sickness attacks us we question if it is true.

·        Christ has broken the power of sin but we continue to yield to it.

·        Christ has redeemed s from the curse of the law, yet we still try to live by it.

·        Christ has become our righteousness but we still think we are wretched sinners.

·        Christ has saved us by grace through faith & we still try to earn salvation through works.

We wrestle with the simplicity of the gospel. I want to stress to you today that the gospel doesn’t make sense to the natural mind. It is only by the Spirit that we begin to see the great love of the Father that made all of this happen. Once we start to see God’s great love for us we also start to realize the extravagant gifts that He has given through His Son. It makes sense once we see His love. It was His radical love for us that moved Him to do all the radical things that seem so foolish to the natural man.

That love seems foolish to most. It seems foolish for somebody to do so much for people with issues like ours. But the gospel message is that HE DID IT ANYWAY!!! It wasn’t because of us—IT WAS ALL BECAUSE OF HIM!!!

1.     His love.

2.     His holiness.

3.     His Names sake.

4.     His glory.

5.     His honor.

6.     His will.

7.     His passion for us.

8.     His righteousness.

9.     His promise.

10.  His integrity.

Don’t’ let the simplicity of the gospel keep you from experiencing all the fullness of it. It is simple BUT YET IT IS FULL & COMPLETE! There is truly nothing missing or broken in it. Receive all that He has offered. It may seem too good to be true but it is TRUE! God is really that good. He really loves you that much.

I now that you don’t deserve it, neither do I, BUT HE DID IT ALL ANYWAY!!!! Stop fighting it & start receiving it. It may seem foolish but it has the power to save!

Pastor Richard Schlotter