He is saying that, if this is allowed to continue, it will get to a point where it will impact every area of you Christian living. When we strip away the unbelievable wordiness of theological controversy today, we find that the burning issue has to do with man's attempt to bypass the offense of the Cross. Wrath, the wrath of God. The very thing that they didn't speak about in Roman society became the very subject of the gospel of Jesus Christ and was preached throughout the Roman world. You'd like to know that your sins are forgiven.
Billy Graham - The Offense of the Cross. But listen, if you are going to know about the love of God, you will have to look upon the cross of Christ. Since the beginning, people want to come to God on their terms and not on God's terms. Rest assured that thou art not first with God. And then he turned to Jesus and he said, "Lord, when you come to your kingdom, will you remember me"?
It seems that it had been affirmed by some one, most probably that individual "troubler" of the preceding verse (on which account the point is just here mentioned), that the apostle did himself "preach circumcision. " Then, sir, you will be lost. And then secondly, it's the blood of redemption. Ye who despise and oppose the gospel; what can ye do? The offense of the cross arises chiefly from the fact that the cross condemns every other way of salvation. A tiny gnat, a creeping worm, which that wheel will crush to less than nothing, and not leave you even a name as having been an opponent of the gospel. Verb - Perfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular. Hence, the wise man saith, "What! God elected to save humanity through the cross, though Satan leads us to believe the message of the cross is repulsive so we may twist it or outright reject its truth. Share your feedback here. Actually, the Lord Jesus was not crucified on the cross as we have it designed today. And he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek. "
My last remark is this. For from His cross there came forth healing and righteousness, and there came forth salvation for you and for me. Does the doctrine taught in your church reflect the pure message of the gospel, the cross of Christ? Everything goes easily and comfortably with them; nobody is ever offended with their preaching, but people go out of their chapel doors, and say, "What a nice sermon! That awful thing became the very center of the preaching of the early church. New American Standard Bible. "Yes, and now what"? Paul lifting after Christ found that the cross provoked the scorn and aroused the antagonism of people. If thou art seeking Jesus, he hath first sought thee. This gospel message was sharp and offensive to many as it stripped everyone who heard it of their self-reliance and personal righteousness leaving them exposed before God in complete dependence on the unmerited gift of His salvation by grace alone. Rome was broad and liberal in its thinking and offered these worshipers of Jesus a niche in the Pantheon where they could place a statue of Him.
Churches that deny the efficacy of the blood are generally the ones that have the largest crosses. Oh, how can you be so foolish? 1 Corinthians 1:23. but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, Galatians 3:1. But there is something in the cross of Christ which hurts men's pride even more than this, and that is, it is opposed to all their notions of human ability.
A businessman in Chattanooga, Tennessee, was asked to give his testimony, and it was brief but much to the point. God wants to make you righteous so that even He can accept you and so that it will be impossible for anyone to lay any charge against His elect. Is the redemptive work of Christ an offense, and in what way is this true? I want the absolute certainty that if I died, I'd go to heaven". His wife sent word to him and said, "Have nothing to do with this just man.
At the cross we also see the heart of God as He died to give us grace. All that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. They only do this to avoid persecution for the cross of Christ. A crucified person could hang on the cross for days, passing in and out of consciousness as their lungs struggled to breathe while laboring under the weight of their body. Our other preacher talked about it all the time, and I hope you aren't going to make too much of the blood.
And then he said very seriously, "You can't make too much of the blood. I think it is wonderful. Now very briefly, I want to see what Paul meant when he said that the cross was an offense. At one time, it was Tom Paine; then it was Robert Owen; but what became of them?
But St. Paul was led by the Saviour of all the world to adopt a different line. The phrase, "preach circumcision, " is like that of "preaching the baptism of repentance" in Mark 1:4; it denotes openly declaring that men should be circumcised The force of ἔτι is best explained by supposing that the apostle is quoting the assertion of this gainsayer - "Why, Paul himself up to this hour still preaches circumcision, just as he did when he followed Judaism. " It means many times to go outside the city wall, outside the camp with Christ, go alone and often die alone. It reveals that salvation is the sovereign work and free gift of grace by God though faith in Christ alone apart from any obedience to laws, works and personal righteousness. Jesus told us we must bear the cross and when you go back to school, when you go back home, when you go back to your work, you're to take a stand for Christ, even though they may laugh at you and persecute you. There is a startling bit of information that we would like to pass on to those who make so much of the symbol of the cross.