with power to proclaim salvation in Jesus' name. Would you turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 1, Paul's first letter to the Corinthians chapter 1. We're looking this morning at the power and glory of the cross, a polarizing subject. I'm going to read from verse 18. hear the holy Word of God, 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 18. For the Word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart. Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom. It pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified. a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling, brothers. Not many of you were wise according to worldly standards. Not many were powerful. Not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of Him You are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord." Would you pray with me? Father, we thank You for this opportunity to open Your Word. Lord, we need Your presence. We need Your Spirit to apply it. Lord, we pray that this morning you would help and assist us, not just in understanding, but in living. Be with us, we pray. In Jesus' name, amen. Have you ever wondered why some people believe And some people reject the gospel when it is presented, perhaps even exactly the same message. To some, the message of the cross is wonderful, saving. To others, it's folly. It's an offensive challenge on their very self. It's something they do not want to hear. Perhaps that's you. Even now, when you hear preaching about sin and punishment, maybe that used to be you before you were saved. Challenging people with the gospel about their beliefs, about their lifestyle, can be construed as offending them nowadays. We live in a day where the gospel can be characterized as hate speech, where people do not want to be questioned. They want to be safe. Some people, though, are okay with the common so-called Christian message that is always one of inclusion and love and respect. But is that the gospel at all? Is that the whole gospel? What we're going to see is that the offense of the gospel, the polarizing challenge of the gospel is a core component that must not and cannot be taken out. It's there by design. We shouldn't shy away from that. An important question, though, is the manner in which we bring that message. What would be Christ like? Did Jesus Christ ever challenge people's wisdom, people's way of living, and show them their foolishness? Of course He did. You see, to offend, according to the dictionary, is to cause to feel upset, to be annoyed, to be resentful, or to cause dislike, anger, or vexation. Is that unchristlike? Do we really want to do that? Isn't it best just to sit back and let people be? The Gospels leave us in no doubt. Jesus confronted and challenged all types of groups of people, religious leaders, social elites, moralists, all the rest. He offended those who trusted in their own righteousness. He offended those who led others astray, those who demanded signs on their own terms, those who wanted a Messiah without a cross. He offended not because He was harsh or unloving. but because truth naturally confronts, grace humbles, and the message of the cross dismantles every human system of boasting, of self-sufficiency. There's a tension between a gospel that saves and a gospel that offends. It's not unique to our time. or our culture. It was present from the earliest days of the church, and nowhere is that reality more clearly or powerfully articulated than in the first letter of the Apostle Paul to the believers in the Greek city of Corinth. This is so relevant today in our relativistic culture with safe spaces and people feeling offended when challenged and questioned about their life choices, their beliefs. Corinth was a city that prized wisdom and eloquence and status, celebrated human achievement, admired impressive oratory. And into that environment, Paul did not bring a refined philosophy or a culturally impressive message. He brought Christ crucified, a message that cut across every expectation of the religious Jews and all the human wisdom and philosophy of the Gentiles. And the response to that gospel presentation, as Paul explains, was sharply divided. Some believed. Some were saved. Others dismissed the message as foolishness or took offense. The same message. Perhaps imagine two people standing next to each other listening to the very same words. One reacts one way, the other a different way. And as we turn to 1 Corinthians 1, we'll see that the offense of the gospel is not an unfortunate accident or a problem that we have to avoid, engineer away in some manner. No, that confrontation, that challenge is intrinsic to the message of the cross itself. Yet Paul will also teach us how to distinguish between the righteous offense in bringing the gospel and the sinful offense in bringing the gospel. This passage speaks to unbelievers, of course it does. But it also speaks directly to believers, to preachers, to Sunday school teachers, to Bible study leaders, to parents, all ordinary believers who seek to speak of Christ. when we have to respond, when we're challenged about our faith from family members or people at school or neighbors or colleagues, it teaches us why some, some will be drawn to the gospel while others recoil from it, attack it. and why faithfulness to Christ and faithfulness to the whole gospel message does require God-given courage and humility and a deep confidence in God's power, all while we seek to keep away from the attraction of the approval of people by altering what is presented. With that in mind, let's now turn and listen carefully to how the Apostle Paul explains the folly, the offense, and the glory and power of the cross of Jesus Christ. And we need to situate ourselves carefully in the context. This is early in Paul's first letter to the Christians in this important city of Corinth. He's greeted them. He's reminded them of their calling and identity in Christ as believers. And he's already begun to address some serious problems that are threatening the unity, the health of the congregation. Tragically, the worldly values and measures of success that are found in the city and the culture had seemingly begun to shape the church. Divisions had arisen. People were evidently aligning themselves with personalities rather than Christ himself. Human wisdom was being elevated, and the message of the gospel was perhaps being subtly reshaped to fit cultural expectations. Don't we see that in our day? Subtle. Then it becomes blatant. precisely into that context that Paul introduces the teaching of the cross, what he calls the word of the cross in verse 18. And he doesn't do it apologetically, defensively, not with embarrassment, but with clarity, conviction, and confrontation. Paul knows that Christians are called to be unashamed of the gospel, unashamed of the truth, bold in bearing witness to Christ. But he also understands that there is a very real tension here where even believers fail. How do we hold together boldness and love, truthfulness and gentleness, faithfulness without becoming harsh? It's not an easy balance, it's a tightrope to walk. And that's why we must look at the example of Christ and to the practice of the apostles. Scripture gives us guidance in this area. It calls us to maturity and wisdom and self-examination as we bring the same message, polarizing message of the cross in 2026 to this generation. Let me state clearly the central contention that governs what I want to bring you from this passage. I want to explain the world around us. We've all experienced it, I'm sure. I want to show you why people react differently to the gospel offered to them. Here is the crux. Believer, you are not to be an offensive person. But like Christ, you must be prepared to offend with the truth. And when that offense comes, and it is necessary, it must come with an attitude of love, with a genuine concern for the eternal good of those who hear. Let me repeat that because it's crucial. We are not to be offensive people. But like Christ, we must be prepared to offend and challenge with the truth and to do so with love. And that immediately rules out a great deal of what passes for boldness and bold evangelism today. We're not called to be unkind. We're not called to be unloving. We're not called to enjoy confrontation or to win arguments or to score points or to humiliate opponents. The Apostle Paul will later remind these same believers that even the most truthful, orthodox speech is worthless if it's not joined with love. Gospel never authorizes cruelty or pride or self-righteousness. Those things are not the marks of courage. They're the marks of remaining sin. Instead, our calling is always to speak the truth while displaying the fruit of the Spirit. That's part of our witness. Particularly love and patience and kindness and gentleness and self-control. The offense must arise from the message itself. not from our manner, not from our tone, not from our attitude. And it becomes especially pressing and relevant when we consider the modern context in which we now speak and witness, with the threat of restricting free speech and being canceled for simply quoting Scripture. There are places overseas where it's hard to even express any of this truth. Or with the relatively new challenge of social media in our generation, it's so easy, too easy to comment unlovingly, unwisely, drop a truth bomb, run away, justify it because it's true. Paul is addressing something similar in Corinth, different form. The Corinthians were impressed with what looks wise, powerful, sophisticated. And Paul here deliberately undercuts those values by centering everything on the cross, a seemingly foolish message, but one that strips human pride bare and leaves no room at all for boasting. So as we turn to the text before, as we must do so honestly, humbly, and allow the Word to challenge not only our fear of offending sinfully, but also perhaps our unwillingness to speak at all. We must ask whether our confidence rests in our wisdom or in the power of God, perhaps over-confident or under-confident in the Word of the Cross. Let's look at what Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, says about this Word of the Cross and why it remains to this very day both deeply offensive and foolish to some. and gloriously powerful to others. So here's our first point, the mocked and misunderstood cross. The mocked and misunderstood cross. I have in mind here verse 18, it says, for the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing. Verse 23, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles. And when the Apostle Paul turns our attention to the cross, he immediately forces us to reckon with that great divide. Humanity does not respond to the gospel in neutral ways. You and I do not react in a neutral way. Scripture brings us two fundamentally different responses, and we're looking first at the negative one. Notice Paul's language carefully. He speaks of the Word of the Cross. That's not merely the wooden beams on which Jesus died, but it's the entire gospel message centered on Christ crucified, His substitutionary death, His atoning sacrifice, His resurrection power, the call to repentance and faith. It's the whole saving message of Christianity. Paul then sharpens the point in verse 23, and he tells us plainly how the unbelieving world views the cross. You see, it's not merely puzzling to them. It's not simply uninteresting to them. It's foolishness. It's an obstacle. It's an offense, as Paul says directly in Galatians 5.11. Absurd, illogical, nonsense, silly, madness. Have you ever seen that response? Paul's not surprised by that reaction. Neither should we be. In fact, he grounds it firmly in Scripture itself, quoting Isaiah in verse 19 from Isaiah 29, "'For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.'" So from God's own perspective, The rejection of the cross, of the whole gospel message, remember, that's not evidence of somebody being intellectually superior as it's often presented over Christians. No, it's evidence of spiritual blindness. For believers, our hope rests entirely in the cross of Christ and the empty tomb and everything else, yet we shouldn't be naive. It's common for people to look at Christians like us and think we are foolish because we believe a message that is foolish. Believing an ancient text, worshiping an unseen Savior, ordering our lives around the teaching of what we find in a book. But the response doesn't stop at bemusement, does it? Often it moves quickly to mockery. Believers are ridiculed, Christ Himself is scorned, and at times the cost is far greater than mockery. Around the world today, faithful believers face persecution, imprisonment, even death because they are known followers of Christ. We have brothers and sisters who live under constant threat simply because they confessed the name of Jesus as their Lord. This isn't theoretical, this is deadly serious. In truth, most people living on this planet believe that what we are doing this morning, preaching Christ, gathering for worship, singing hymns, praying, calling sinners to repentance, it's a waste of time. And some people dismiss it with a shrug. Others go further. They actively hate it. Why? Because the gospel never leaves people untouched. Never leaves you untouched. It has implications. It confronts your pride. It contradicts your wisdom. It exposes your sin and your self-righteousness. It declares that salvation is found in Christ alone. Nowhere else. And it tells you, you are wrong and answerable to an almighty God, and in danger of justice and eternal hell. I wonder, is that you today? Do you like hearing that? Or is it something that's reacting within you now, against that message? Because that exclusivity is deeply offensive to many. The true gospel offends not only the hardened unbeliever, but it also offends the nominal believer who wants Christianity without all those uncomfortable pieces, without repentance, without grace, without submission. It really wants Christ without a cross. Paul explains that this reaction is entirely predictable. It's the collision between the wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God. He presses the question in verse 20, where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? The world looks at the cross and says, that's foolish, that's weak. That cannot possibly be the plan. Paul later echoes this and corrects this when he says in verse 25, for the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. There are genuine mockers in the world, and you should not be surprised by them because they are being told the truth about themselves. They're being forced to look in a mirror. And it's not complementary. This is light exposing the darkness. That offends. Paul makes clear that persecution comes precisely because he refuses to soften the claims of Christ, refuses to lower the bar. Paul describes the cross as a stumbling block. A sense there it's a scandal, it's an obstacle, a problem, a trap, a snare. The Word has something of the sense of causing offense, arousing opposition. It carries deep biblical weight, but Christ Himself is also described as the stumbling block. Isaiah prophesied it in Isaiah 8, 14, and 15. Paul draws on that same text in Romans 9, 32, and 33. So, I wonder if there are any here this morning who genuinely think all of this is foolish. Or you are offended by the Word of the Cross, because you know that this message touches a very sensitive spot. And it shows you about yourself. And it tells you that you are in danger, standing before a God who is holy, holy, holy. At the center of the offense stands Christ Himself. And His claims upon every human being, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me, John 14. Or the apostles preach the same exclusive message in Acts 4.12, and there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Maybe people would accept Christ or tolerate Christ if He was one of many options. But these exclusive, extreme claims, that's just too much. These claims exclude every other religion. All the followers of those religions face a decision in that case, face a dilemma in that case. It means every atheist is wrong. It condemns those who try to edit the Bible to remove this confrontation. And yet what the world calls foolishness. God has chosen as the instrument of salvation. The cross overturns everything, every value system, all the blindness of human pride, human wisdom, morality, self-righteousness, personal autonomy, overturns it all, that I'm in charge of my own life. No, you're not. There is something infinitely bigger than you. You do not make the rules. And the response of many is, how dare you Christians say that to me? Yes, the gospel rightly offends. It must. But as we'll see later, Paul gives us an important warning. There is such a thing as unnecessary offense. Some are not offended by Christ or the cross, but us. Our harshness and arrogance and insensitivity. But for now, Paul exhorts believers, Colossians 4, 6, let your speech always be gracious. seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person." So, for the believer, it's the power of God unto salvation. And the cross that is mocked and misunderstood today will one day be revealed to all as the wisdom and glory of God, on that day when every knee will bow to Him. Believer, perhaps you used to think this was foolish. The cross was just nonsense before the Holy Spirit opened your eyes and you were saved. But again, if you are here today still thinking that we believers are foolish, and what this book teaches is foolish, you, my friend, are in great danger. So first, the mocked and misunderstood cross. Our second point, the mighty and magnificent cross. The mighty and magnificent cross, verse 18. But to us who are being saved, it is the power of God, verse 24. But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. And now Paul leads us to behold the cross. to see how God Himself reveals it to those whom He calls. What the world despises, God magnifies. What unbelief mocks, faith adores. So now we're taken from fallible human judgment to divine reality. This is the truth. From the blindness of the perishing to the sight granted to the redeemed. This is the wisdom of God, wisdom that towers infinitely above the wisdom of the world. The cross is not just an event to be analyzed. It's the instrument of divine power. It's personal. It has implications on our lives. You see here the result of the cross. It's power. It's mercy. It's saving efficacy. All boasting silence. All we can do is offer weak and trembling praise, praise that is never enough. Yet praise that is gladly given by those who through grace have had their eyes opened for them. Everything is about the cross. And the whole gospel message it represents, it points us away from ourselves, and fixes our gaze upon Christ, our Lord, our Savior, our Redeemer, our everything. The cross humbles us. In some senses, it stops our mouths. It breaks our pride. It teaches us that it's by grace alone, through Christ alone, from beginning to end. There are no rivals to God's glory. No other gods, no human merit. No workspace systems, though our hearts instinctively drift in that direction. The power of the cross ultimately displays the glory not merely of Christ in isolation, but of the full salvific work of the triune God planned by the Father, accomplished by the Son, applied by the Spirit. What love, what wisdom, what cost. The magnified cross lifts our hearts to Christ Himself, to His sacrifice, His suffering, His substitution. He stood in the place of sinners like you and I. He bore wrath so that we might receive mercy. Christ, in verse 24, is revealed as power and wisdom to those who are called. He's the one who removes blindness. He's the one who opens the eyes of the heart. What's the believer's view of the cross? Paul's already answered it. It's not foolishness. It's power. It's not shame. It's glory. It's not defeat. It's victory. It's mighty. It's magnificent. Praise God that if you are a believer today, you have been made alive in Christ. You have been given a new heart, a new worldview, a new way of thinking. And now what once seemed absurd is now beautiful and personal. What once offended, now comforts. That transformation is itself evidence of the power of the cross at work within you. And this is the key piece. This is where I'm driving. That understanding of the cross, our position, what has happened to us, should shape how we proclaim the gospel. The mighty and magnificent gospel is never about us. It's not about our cleverness, our persuasiveness, our moral superiority. It's all about Him. Christ Himself is our model. Jesus offended many, not by cruelty, not by arrogance, not by anything sinful, but simply by the truth spoken in love. When He taught hard doctrines, many turned away. John 6, 60 and 66, when many of His disciples heard it, they said, this is a hard saying, who can listen to it? And it goes on to say, after this, many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him. Maybe we see a pattern here, as we do throughout the Gospels, when everything's about miracles and healings and blessings and You see, once it's, they'll follow, but once it's about His lordship and obedience and sacrificially following, that's offensive. Even the disciples noticed the offense He caused in Matthew 15, 12. Then the disciples came and said to Him, do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying? Christ never spoke out of pride or malice. always truth in love, sometimes gentle, sometimes piercing, but always righteous, always sinless. The Apostle Paul followed the same pattern, not sinlessly like Christ, of course, but he offended multiple groups as well, idolaters, philosophers, rulers. But you see, the truth was never compromised. His tone was marked by humility and compassion. The same message that hardens some transforms others. The same sun that hardens clay melts wax. What the world rejects as folly is in fact the very center of divine wisdom. And at the time, to many, that message seemed utterly foolish. Many were expecting a different kind of Savior, a political liberator. Instead, God gave them a gloriously crucified King. We've seen the mocked and misunderstood cross, and the mighty and magnificent cross, and now thirdly, the method and message of the cross. The method and message of the cross. If the first point showed us why and how the cross offends, and the second showed us why the cross saves, then this final point brings us to the question of how the cross is to be proclaimed. We've hinted at this answer already. And the answer is, let it be the gospel that offends. I lost the reference, couldn't find it again, but critically, one Puritan said this, The sword of truth must never be sheathed, but neither must it be swung wildly. The sword of truth must never be sheathed, but neither must it be swung wildly. You see the balance? The sword has to be used, but rightly. Two ditches here. Is your sword still in the sheath? Cobwebs all around it. because it's rarely, if ever, used to declare the word of the cross. That's wrong. The other ditch is getting it out and using it recklessly, swinging it wildly, without wisdom, without love, without humility. You must get it out, but you have to use it well. not shrink Him from declaring the truth to avoid offense, or wielding truth without love. We need to be in the middle, don't we? The gospel and the cross are designed to offend by God, not to entertain, as we sadly see in many churches today. But Scripture never presents the offense of the cross as a problem to be solved, but it's as a truth to be proclaimed faithfully. Paul states his ministry aim plainly in the second chapter of this letter, for I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. This is central to everything. This is not a side issue. We are called to be faithful in our declaration of the whole gospel. We're told plainly. that the faithful proclamation of Christ will produce division, even when we use the right method. That division is not our design, it's not our intention, but it's God's stated outcome. And if it never occurs, If the gospel never unsettles, never challenges, never confronts, never offends, never brings you face to face with your sin and enmity with a holy God, it should raise serious questions about whether the true gospel is being proclaimed at all. In our witness, we do not aim to divide people, but we proclaim a message that divides light from darkness, truth from error. repentance from self-justification. Jesus Himself said in Matthew 10, do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a person's enemies will be those of his own household. And it reveals that the peace Christ brings first requires personal conflict with sin, with error, with unbelief. This gives us a framework for understanding offense rightly. Remember, we must not seek to offend. The goal is never provocation, but faithfulness. Of course, Romans 12, 18, Paul exhorts us, if possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Yet at the same time, we must expect the offense when we are faithful because the gospel itself divides. God's doing, not ours. So we must guard our tone, our motive, our method, speaking the truth in love, always trusting the Spirit for the results. Distinction is vital. The offense of the gospel is not the same as the offense of the messenger. There's a necessary offense rooted in divine truth, and there's an unnecessary offense created by human sinfulness. It's always right to be faithful, even when the truth offends. Calvin captured this clearly. Christ cannot be embraced without the offense of the cross being endured. That's the offense that saves. It offends, it stings, it exposes, it lays the heart bare. Conviction of sin is not comfortable, but conviction is not yet conversion. The same light that saves the repentant blinds the proud. The gospel calls the elect, humbles the sinner, heals the broken after the offense. Throughout church history, we've seen constant attempts to edit the method, soften the message, turn down the pressure, lower the standard. Let's remove what offends. All you have to do is pray this form prayer and you'll be in. Or add Jesus as an appendage to your life. No, that's not the gospel. And the result of that kind of message is often false assurance rather than true conversion. You need to be offended with the Gospel before you can be healed with the Gospel. Even within the broad world of what is called Christianity or Evangelicalism, some still attempt to soften the Word of the Cross until it no longer speaks of things like sin or judgment or substitution. One modern prosperity preacher, Joel Osteen, even disturbingly claimed that the cross tells me nothing about my sin. It only tells me about my worth. That's not the gospel of Scripture. That's the removal of its offense, and with it, its saving power. So in our method, there must always be a careful balance between unedited truth and love. When we edit out parts of the gospel or add human ideas to it, we no longer bring the message once and for all delivered to the saints. Although we can certainly be winsome and present the benefits of the gospel and the beauty of Christ, our role is not to make the gospel palatable by editing it. We don't remove its sting. but we present it exactly as God has revealed it. And when the gospel ceases to offend, it ceases to be the gospel. I believe it was Richard Baxter who put it with pastoral precision, we must break the heart, not the back of the sinner. Preach to wound that Christ may heal. And John Flavel adds, the gospel cuts but as the surgeon's knife, never to destroy life but to save it." 2 Corinthians 2, 15, Paul describes the reality, for we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. The cross divides humanity. It never leaves you neutral. The method God often chooses to use is weakness, like you and me. The instruments He uses, preachers, pastors, teachers, parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, ordinary believers, we are all deeply imperfect. But the message is perfect. The message He uses is folly in the world's eyes, and yet through this very means, God turns folly to faith. God turns death to life and offense to salvation. And so, we bring the message of Christ crucified, faithfully, humbly, lovingly, and we leave the results to God. Brings to mind the parable of the sower. Same seed, scattered broadly. The soils differ. Our task is not to alter or genetically modify the seed. Our job is just to cast it out. So we've seen the mocked and misunderstood cross, the mighty and magnificent cross, and the method and message of the cross. As we draw everything together, believers, we must now ask the unavoidable experiential question, how does it shape our hearts, our courage, our speech, our daily lives? If you never take the sword out of the sheath, there's a problem. If you swing unlovingly, there's a problem. Listen, peace is precious. But truth is priceless. The reformer Martin Luther captured this with unforgettable clarity. He wrote to Philip Melanchthon in 1522, peace if possible, truth at all costs. The gospel does not call you to be combative unnecessarily, but it does call you to be faithful whatever the cost. And the cost can be real and often has been. John Calvin wrote with pastoral realism, he said, the doctrine of the gospel cannot be proclaimed without exciting the rage of the world. For it strips men and women, boys and girls of their pride and lays their hearts bare before God. That stripping is a painful experience. It's painful for the one who hears, potentially painful for the one who brings that message and faithfully speaks to them and brings the Word of the Cross, but it's necessary. We must speak to this generation despite their attitude. It's nothing new. If we truly understand the Word of the Cross, we cannot be proud Christians. but humble. There is no room for boasting at the foot of the cross. 1 Corinthians 1.31, let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. If you are a believer, ask yourself honestly, do I regularly remember what I was saved from? The pit from which I was drawn, We speak as beggars telling other beggars where bread is found. We plead, we pray, we reason, we weep, we love. That's the attitude when we bring the message of the cross. If we truly understand, we shouldn't be surprised when family members distance themselves, when colleagues think we're strange, when society labels us intolerant, foolish. Doesn't mean the gospel has failed. It means it's doing exactly what God said it would do. If your Christian life never brings tension, never raises questions, never costs you anything, it's worth asking whether Christ crucified is truly visible in your life. If we truly understand the word of the cross, we're also given confidence because the power is not in us. Not in our eloquence, our personality, our arguments. The power is the message itself. It's Christ crucified. Our task is faithfulness. God's task is salvation. We know that every person listening to us, in every generation, even as I speak today, will respond in one of two ways. Scripture gives no third option. Those who are perishing or those who are being saved, verse 18. You are in one of those two groups right now. Not someday, not eventually, now. Either the cross is foolishness to you, something to be dismissed or postponed or reshaped to your liking, mocked, offensive, or it is the power of God for your salvation, your only hope. Jesus Himself said the gospel would divide humanity at the deepest level. Matthew 12, 30, whoever is not with me is against me. The consequences of your response are eternal. If the cross unsettles you, disturbs you, even offends you, don't rush past that. That discomfort may be mercy. God may be laying your heart bare, not to destroy you but to save you. But you have to come on His terms. Christ crucified is not presented to condemn those who come to Him, but to save them. You don't need to fix yourself first. You don't need to make yourself worthy. You don't need to wait for a better time. You need a Savior. And Christ is offered freely in the Gospel. But hear this clearly. You must come on His terms, not yours. The gospel calls you to repent of sin, to renounce all that self-righteousness, to abandon every false refuge, and to trust wholly in Christ alone. Luke 9, 23, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. And so today the cross stands before you as it always has. It's offensive. It's offensive to pride. It's fatal to self-righteousness. But it's gloriously powerful to save sinners like you. Why not today? Why not today? We live in a day that prizes comfort, acceptance, conformity, affirmation, safe spaces away from all offense. But Scripture is clear. The gospel of Christ crucified is and always will be inherently offensive. And gloriously so. It's offensive because it's true. It's offensive because it saves. It's unavoidable. So, believer, stand strong. Get the sword out. All of you. Dust it off. Swing wisely, prayerfully, lovingly. Be unashamed of the gospel. Be unashamed of the cross with God's help. Resolve to do this. Not arrogance. Courage. Not harshness. Conviction. Not compromise. Loving, humble, Christ-centeredness. generations before you, were willing to lovingly offend, often at great personal cost, not foolishly, not recklessly, but faithfully. May God grant you, may God grant us all the same spirit, humble, loving, bold, Christ-centered. And may it be said of you, that you with all of us testified to the crucified Christ, to the Word of the cross, clearly and compassionately, without apology, trusting God to turn offense into salvation, folly into faith, sinners into worshipers, for the glory of His great name. Amen. Would you pray with me? Heavenly Father, how we thank You for the whole Gospel message. How we thank You for its saving power. How we thank You that You have saved many here. That You have laid us bare before You, a thrice holy God. You have shown us our sin. You have shown us the Savior. And You have saved us. We pray, Father, for any who are still offended by this message, who still think it is foolishness. Lord, that this stinging impact of the gospel, of the looking in the mirror, of seeing reality, not lead to hardness, but it would lead to softness, to them being given a new heart, to them turning to You in repentance and faith. O God, save people, we pray. Save many, we pray, particularly among those we know and love. Father, we have heavy hearts for some people there, and Lord, we plead with You to work yet another miracle, as You always have. Save them, we pray. Give us boldness and wisdom in testifying to the truth. Help us, Lord, not to shy away from offending with the gospel. And help us, Lord, not to be that offense, not to be a stumbling block in the way. Lord, use us, use this church, we pray, to proclaim the full and true gospel to Your glory and to the salvation of sinners. We pray this in Jesus' name.