You would please remain standing for the reading of the Lord's word today. We're moving to first Corinthians chapter one. I'd like to read this chapter for us before the preaching of the Lord's word. Again, give ear to the Lord's word. Paul called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God and Sosthenes, our brother. to the Church of God, which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. Grace to you and peace from God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God, which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in him, in all speech and all knowledge. even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you so that you are not lacking in any gift awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful through whom you were called into fellowship with his son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Now, I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you. but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean by this, or I mean this, that each one of you is saying, I am of Paul, I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ. Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you. Was he, or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one would say you were baptized in my name. Now, I did baptize also the household of Stephanus. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void. For the word of the cross is foolishness 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 cleverness of the clever I will set aside. Where is the wise man? 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 through its wisdom did not come to know God. God was well pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed, Jews ask for signs, and Greeks search for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness. But to those who are the call, 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. For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong and the base things of the world. And the despised God has chosen the things that are not so that he may nullify the things that are so that no man may boast before God. But by his doing, you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that just as it is written, let him who boasts, boast in the Lord. Amen. Please be seated, friends. Our God, we do thank you for this word of yours and would pray that you would come and be present by the power of your spirit. hearts and minds of these your people, that you would bless us, Father, to know you and to know the Lord Jesus. Help us, we pray, for your church is under attack in these days. We ask, Lord, that you would strengthen what remains, and we pray that you would not only strengthen so that we survive, but, Lord, that we would be strengthened so that we would advance. Bless these people, we pray. Bless the going forward of your gospel. Father, we ask that you would advance in such a manner that you would cause the kingdom of Satan great injury. Help the children, I pray, who have a hard time sitting still. Help the adults who sit still but have a hard time paying attention. Help us all, we pray, for we are weak. We ask this all in Jesus' name. Amen. It is Resurrection Sunday. And a particular temptation to pastors is always to think, what can I say that's new? What can I say that's fresh that hasn't been preached for the last, in my lifetime, right? The last 20 years, every time I've stood up to preach on resurrection something. It's a difficult task and perhaps it is something that's self imposed on myself. But the pressure to to perform, to say something new about something that's ancient, something true, and something that is most wonderful. It is, in fact, the story of all stories. It is the most widely told story throughout the earth. And yet it is probably the story that is least believed in all the earth. A passage, friends, here tells us that we can't improve on an old, old story. And we dare not try to improve, lest we make the old, old story empty of all of its meaning. This is the beauty of this passage of Scripture. Paul is saying, you don't mess with the old gospel story. You don't try to appeal to people with the gospel story. Leave it alone. It will preach by itself. Corinth was a very gifted group of believers. Very gifted, as we saw in verse 7. They're not lacking in any gift, and yet being so gifted, they are also terribly immature. Over in chapter 3, verses 1 through 3, we're told, and I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, for you are not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly? And are you not walking like mere men? Here, the church in Corinth, terribly immature. They had just been fighting and Paul addresses it right off the bat. Again, they are saints, they are sanctified, they are Christians, and yet they are terribly immature. And this is the reality, friends, of all of us. Believers in Jesus Christ, we are on our way to heaven, and yet there is still a whole lot of struggling that goes on within each of our hearts to die, to sin. This is no different than the church in Corinth. They had been bickering about, just before the passage we're going to look at, bickering about who their favorite preacher was. Who they were going to align themselves with. Well, I'm with Apollos, and I'm with Paul, and one's with Cephas. And the spiritual group, well, they are with Jesus. So you have this kind of thing going on, and it demonstrates to us that they were very worldly still. They were thinking in a very worldly fashion. And we find that this worldly fashion, this worldly mindset, this fact that they are enamored with the world around them, plagues them when it comes to their understanding of the gospel. This worldly mindset was a threat to them in regard to the truth of the gospel. One commentator quoted Aristides. as saying that on every street in Corinth one met a so-called wise man who had his own solution to humanity's problems. They were enamored with the world. You can see the church coming out of the world was still wrestling with the things of the world. And so you would have Christians who are believing the gospel. And yet I talked to this guy earlier today on the street who said that maybe we're not doing the gospel or maybe Paul didn't preach the gospel quite right. I mean, we hear these kinds of things in the church. Oh, pastor, I just saw this thing on the Internet and it says, and you fill in the blank. Or I heard this guy, he's got a new book and he's kind of exciting. He's put a fresh look and a fresh spin on the gospel. New is not improved, friends, when it comes to the gospel. New is not improved. We find that the things they were battling with are the same things we battle with in the American church. There was a temptation always to want to compromise the gospel to package it differently so that we can peddle it to people. It's a great temptation. Paul says here in verse 17, for Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech so that the cross of Christ would not be made void. It is upon this verse 17 that verses 18 and 25 hang. What does the apostle mean when he states that Christ sent him to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void? He means simply this, that when he preached the gospel, he did not use the literally wisdom of words, the wisdom of words of the world. What he brought to them was not worldly wisdom, that which was of human wisdom, of human origin, that which is esteemed by men and accepted as truth in and by the world. Are you with me? When he preached the gospel, he didn't borrow from the latest philosophies in the society around him. He didn't go in and buy the latest New York Times bestseller book on how to improve your serve, or how to improve your life, and then tie the gospel in around it. In our day, it is generally accepted that Jesus Christ lived and moved among the people of Palestine, and that He died on the cross. And it is generally accepted that He rose again from the dead literally. But there are many who would say he only figuratively rose. There are people who will say Jesus was a teacher. Some will say he was a rebel against the established authority, that he was a freedom fighter, a do-gooder. The world's wisdom in our day says it's okay to believe those things about Jesus, but don't go crazy on us. Don't get too dogmatic about Jesus Christ. Jesus was really all about love. Jesus taught us to give all of our stuff away. Jesus taught us to love our neighbor. Jesus taught us not to judge. By the way, Jesus did not teach us not to judge. But this is what the world will say about Jesus Christ. You see, they say something about Jesus Christ, but you know, when you start taking the Bible too literally, you're a bit of a whack job. And you're going to scare people off. Don't you know you'll have better success if you just mix a little bit of the world's philosophies about Jesus Christ into that gospel message. You've got to package this thing different. Americans are sophisticated. They know better than these ancient people. You've got to sell a man. You've got to lighten up and say, yeah, I believe in Jesus and Jesus just wants us to love. And this is the kind of thing that we see going on in our world. So that I dare say that in the churches today across this land, I do question, will they preach the Jesus of the Bible or will they preach the Jesus that is acceptable to the modern culture. And does it matter? You bet it matters. You bet it matters. Again, in our days, don't hold to your dogma too tightly. Pursue knowledge and enlightenment. Be spiritual, but don't be Christian. Organized religion is bad, but privatized and disorganized religion, that's good. God helps those, after all, who help themselves. And that's the religion of our society. That's the philosophy of the day. Those are the wisdom of words of the world. Now, if you say these kinds of things, you will be hailed as an enlightened one, somebody who's really in the know. You'll get an interview spot on some major talking head. and they'll appreciate you because you're not one of those crazy Christian people. The problem, however, friends, with this, as the Apostle points out, is that being popular with the Gospel and using the wisdom of words of this world is to make the cross of Christ void. In other words, you gut its effectiveness. You gut its effectiveness. One man sent me an article, and I read this article, and the article says, you know, you're seeming to demand that people confess faith in Jesus Christ. I've got a proposition here that says Jesus died for everyone, and whether they know it or not, or whether they ever confess it or not, they can still go to heaven. That's universalism, number one. Number two, it's blatant lie. But that's very popular in the world in which we live. But it's very ungodly as to what it's stating. Very ungodly. It's not the gospel. You see, it guts its effectiveness. No one will ever be delivered by the world's wisdom from the judgment of God. No one will ever be delivered from the judgment to come by the wisdom of this world. Changing the gospel so that it has the appearance of something that the consumer would want guts it entirely of its ability to save the sinner. And this is the apostles point. Understand friends, there is no shortage of peddlers of false gospels and the effects of such gospel peddling is going to be devastating. The gospel is truly preached in its plainness, simplicity as delivered to us by the Lord is the power of God to those who are being saved. The gospel delivered plainly as the Apostle says, this is what I've come to do. This is the way people are saved. And so on this Resurrection Sunday, what better time to think on this gospel, to understand what's the point of this gospel. Again, look at verses 18 through 20. He says, For the word of the cross is foolishness 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 cleverness of the clever. I will set aside. Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? Here he addresses the word of the cross. What is it? What is the word of the cross that the apostle was talking about? Most briefly, most simply, it is the doctrine or truth concerning the cross. Here we have a holiday commemorating the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Even the New York Stock Exchange took time off to celebrate Good Friday, and yet I wonder how many people understand what Good Friday is about or what the cross of Christ is about. The cross, friends, was a Roman torture device. It is what was used to put criminals to death. That was the cross. Here, the apostle was speaking of the fact that Jesus, the beloved son of God, was hanged on a cross and was sacrificed for the sins of his people against God, against the perfect God. This is what the apostle means when he says, for the word of the cross, it is the doctrine of the sacrifice of Christ on behalf of sinful people, sinners like me, sinners like you. This is who Jesus Christ died for. And Paul says, for the word of the cross, is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. It has a dual effect, depending on who you are. Either you'll look at that, hear the word of the gospel, hear the story of the cross, and you'll go, that is the goofiest thing I have ever heard. Or, you will see in it the power of God. that it's effective, that it accomplishes what it is set out to do. Again, this word of the cross is considered foolishness to those who are perishing. They are perishing. They're on the path to destruction. The vast amount of society believes this message is quite pathetic and unsophisticated, crude and unenlightened. Oh, the Christian. Look at how narrow minded he is. Who can believe this stuff? You hear this in the blogs. You see this in the comments. The people who are taking jabs at the mythical being they call God. The word of the cross. Pathetic. This word of the cross to those who are being saved and are on the narrow path to heaven. where finally their salvation is completed. The word of the cross is called the power of God. It affects them quite differently when they hear the gospel. Something happens in their hearts. Romans 1 16 says this, For I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes to the Jew first and also to the Greek. The word of the cross, unlike any other word, is the power of God to raise men and women, to raise children from spiritual death. Remember, later on, and here in 1 Corinthians, he talks about those who cannot enter the kingdom of God. If you just turn over there, chapter 6, he says, Do you not know? And then he lists Neither fornicators, nor adulterers, nor feminine, nor homosexuals, thieves, or covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the spirit of our God." You see, it is a powerful word. These people had heard the gospel, and what did it accomplish in them? Those who were homosexuals came out of their homosexuality. Those who were living in adultery repented of their adultery. Those who were effeminate and perverse, they came out of that. Those who were drunkards, those who were swindlers, the gospel was preached and they heard it. And instead of saying, that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard, they said, how can I be saved? And they were delivered. People will say, it's a nice story, but it doesn't really hit me where I live. Yes, it does. What sin are you stuck in? What sin are you stuck in? What about those family members of those people you know? What sins are they stuck in? And you're saying, well, send them to a psychologist. No, friends. Give them the Word of God. Give them the Scriptures. Hold up Jesus Christ before them. Call them to faith and repentance. The word is powerful to save and to deliver people. And such were some of these people and such were some of you and such was I. The gospel is powerful to those who are being saved. It is powerful. Those who are perishing consider it foolish, but those being saved seeing it the power of God. Some would think that the apostle was off base in connecting, as he does, the power of God with something so weak and pathetic as the cross of Roman cross. But this is precisely what the scriptures teach. And here, the apostle quoting from the Greek version of the Old Testament, Isaiah 29, 14, says this, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and the cleverness of the clever I will set aside. When commentators said the context of this Old Testament passage refers to the people of Israel who honor God with their lips, but not with their hearts. God nullifies the wisdom of Israel's pundits and causes human intelligence to dissipate. He opposes wisdom that originates in a heart which is far removed from serving God. Sinful men think that they are so wise, friends. They think they are so wise and that they know better than God. And what does the scripture say? Professing to be wise, they became fools. And this, my friends, is the world in which we live. Professing to be wise, they became fools. And so he asks, where are Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? Where are the sophisticated people who are able to undo all of the problems in this world? Where are they? They're so smart. How does it look like they're doing in the world right now at conquering the problems? our most educated and enlightened men and women in Washington, D.C., and how is it going in our country right now under the philosophies of this age? Anyone? Not so good, is it? Not so good. Murder and sexual immorality, all of these things, they're on the rise. They take away guns, we use a rock. Take away our rocks, we'll use something else. This is what's going on. And so where are they, Paul says? Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Where are all these enlightened people who shape and inform the ignorant and debate the issues? What Paul says is that God has made them who call the word of the cross foolish, He has made their wisdom of words to be foolish and unenlightened. As one said, all humanly devised philosophical and ideological systems end in meaninglessness because they have a wrong concept of God and His revelation. They can't find their way back to God. They don't have what it takes to address the real need of the human heart. change the gospel. You want me to tweak it? Why? And how is this going to help? If I accommodate the world and its philosophies? Understand friends, the word of the cross alone has the power to save you. Only the word of the cross has the power to save you. Jesus said, enter through the narrow gate for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life and there are few who find it. Begs the question, how shall I enter then? How shall I enter? Verse 21 says, For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. Beloved, the world holds forth a message for the woes of humanity, for those things that ail the world. And as the Proverbs says, there is a way which seems right to man, but its end is the way of death. Our world thinks that the way to God and to peace is through doing philanthropic deeds. Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, help build a house. There's nothing wrong with these things. It's why do you do these things? It's why do you do these things? The world thinks that by not judging others and being within the realm of mainstream opinion, I'm on the path of life. So if I agree with Ellen and if I agree with Oprah and Joel, if I'm a decent person, if I don't condemn someone else's lifestyle, that that makes me a good person and a worthy recipient of a blessed afterlife. That is the doctrine that was being promulgated at the theology pub. I promise you, that is the very things that we heard for four nights, weeks in a row. Don't judge me. We should just love. One man said, we should do what Jesus did. Sell everything you have and give it away. I'm going to be a good person. In fact, I am a good person, said one lady. I'm part of the divine. This is the philosophy of the world. And this, friends, let me shock you, is coming out of one of the prominent pastors in this town. That's the gospel? That's not the gospel. It's not. And you twist it, deform it, and it won't accomplish anything but sealing their destruction. It's a dangerous thing. That is the world's gospel, and it comes to us from man's wisdom birthed in places like the theology pub where people share their opinions but shut the door on special revelation or shut the door on the Bible. The apostle says that in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God. God has chosen not to reveal himself through man's philosophical roundtables. God has chosen not to reveal himself through man's philosophical roundtables. Jesus said, I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this, for this way was well pleasing in your sight. Beloved, how you come down the narrow path is through the foolish, quote unquote, the foolishness of the word preached. The word is preached. And it is given as that which has its origins outside of the wisdom of man. This is why the gospel message itself seems so strange. Because man could not and would not invent such a story that God himself would enter into the human realm and take upon himself human flesh and suffer for sinners in their place. Compare the religions of the world and what are they all doing? you're a Muslim, right? You want to be sure way to get to heaven, strap a bomb to yourself and blow yourself up and then be entered into heaven. You can't make that stuff up. That's what they teach. Right? You want to be a Mormon, go do a two year mission trip. You've got to do these certain things in order to get there. All the world's religions, it's all about what you're going to do, how you're going to coerce, how you're going to manipulate, how you're going to get into the good favors of the Supreme Being. Christianity, biblical Christianity, is the only one that will state, it is not what you are doing for God, but it is what God has done for the sinner. Completely opposite. It is a grace that you are saved through faith that not of yourself. It is what? The gift. The gift of God. When was the last time you purchased a gift? If you purchased it, it wouldn't be a gift. A gift, by definition, is something you can't earn or deserve. And that's what salvation is, says the Lord. It is a gift. The gospel seems strange because it comes from the Lord. It's a message that comes from the Lord and it is brought to people, brought to their hearing by way of the preached word. As Paul would say in Romans 10, 14, how then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? So the narrow way, friends, is not found among the gurus of the age, but is found as the unsophisticated message of the cross is preached. What is the message? What is that message? Verses 22 through 25. For indeed, Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified. To Jews, a stumbling block, and to Gentiles, foolishness. But to those who are the call, 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." Paul says, we preach Christ crucified. What the world wants The world wants signs. They want attesting miracles just like the Jews did. If you turn over in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 12. Read for us verses 38 through 41. Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, Teacher, we want to see a sign from you. But he answered and said to them, an evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign, and yet no sign will be given it but the sign of Jonah the prophet. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And behold, something greater than Jonah is here. The Jews wanted signs, and Jesus said, no powerful sign will be given to you, no attesting miracle will be given to you except the sign of Jonah. And then he speaks of himself. You want a sign that this is a powerful religion? This is a powerful truth? Hang outside the tomb, and on the third day you'll see something quite powerful. You will see the Son of God come back to life, and He will walk out. Death itself will not hold it. And yet, the Jews asked for signs, and Jesus said that Nineveh never had a sign like that. And what happened at Jonah's preaching? That the entire city repented at the preaching of the Word. The Jews wanted signs. And the Greeks, they search for wisdom, they look for something deep, something insightful, some truth about the world, some rational evidence that they can cling on and that they can mull over and that they can say, yes, this sounds really deep and important. It is still this way, friends. People crave signs or they look for things that make sense to their own way of thinking. This is what the world wants. But Paul says, we preach Christ crucified. We preach Christ crucified. We proclaim Christ as being crucified. To the Jews, it is a stumbling block. How and why would the anointed one of God ever be crucified for his enemies? He's supposed to conquer them without death. Christ crucified. Well, it's considered foolishness to Gentiles, Greeks and Romans were sure that no reputable person would be crucified. So it was unthinkable that a crucified criminal could be the world's savior. But to the call, Christ crucified to the elect of God. Christ crucified is neither a stumbling block nor foolishness, but is both the power of God and the wisdom of God. As Paul says, because the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men. The world wants a different message than that of Christ crucified. The world wants signs. The only sign we can give them, friend, is the fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead on that third day, the first day of the week. They want wisdom. How about this? By His doing you are in Christ Jesus who became to us wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Jesus Christ is both the power of God and the wisdom of God. How would you get on that path and how does a person come to that path? You must become like a little child I would urge you to hear what I proclaim to you today. When the time was right, friends, when the time was right, God sent his son into the world to redeem the sinner and to buy the sinner back from death to life. Your sin has made a separation between you and your God. Your sin is an affront to his holiness. Now the world will say, oh, but you don't have sin. At least your sin isn't as bad as some other sins that I know. The world will say, you're a pretty good person. The world will say, stop thinking so negatively about yourself. Lose the guilt. You don't need to have that guilt. That guilt is put upon you by a society that has put in place organized religion so that we all feel bad about ourselves. If we could just do away with organized religion, people would stop feeling bad about themselves, and then we would all be happy. But that's going to happen. You see, now, if I coerce the gospel and say, well, Jesus came into the world to die for sinners, but you're a pretty good guy. Maybe you'll get into heaven based on your sincerity. This is where changing the gospel message really affects. Well, if I'm a pretty good guy, I really have no need of a pretty good God. That is not what the scripture says, friends, and this is where you must be discerning as to the truth of the gospel. Again, we sat in this this theology pub and we listened to these people talk about how good we were. not us, the guys coming from this church, how good they were in comparison to God. And the thought of bringing out the Bible, well the Bible says, we don't want to hear what the Bible says. We have all come to a common consensus that we're all good. But the Bible says, what? None good, no, not one. There is none who seeks after God. There's none who is righteous. There is only one who is good, and that is God himself. The world will tell you one thing. It is not the way to heaven. You are not good, friends. You do not live between good people on your block. You do not have good people in your home. You children, you are not good. I'm glad when you behave, but you are not good. That sounds funny to us, doesn't it? Why would the pastor camp out on this point? You know why, friends? Being that you're not good, you deserve the wrath and curse of God. What are we? We've established we're not good. We are adulterers. We are drunkards. We are swindlers. We're homosexuals. We're liars. We're grumblers. We're proud. We're arrogant. We stick our tongues out at our parents when they're not looking. We roll our eyes when we're given instruction. You still want to maintain that you're pretty good? You and I deserve death. We deserve death. undeserving of life at all, and deserving of His judgment. Beloved, the world would say, well, I'll just try a little harder, just try a little harder, then I know God will smile all over me. The Bible says that you can't love, work, or suffer your way out from underneath His wrath. And I dare say that's what many of you do. You try to work, love or I'll just play the martyr and I'll just suffer until my guilty feelings are replaced by feelings of pride. Just try a little harder. That's the gospel, right? Jesus died for me so that I could just try a little harder and get my way into heaven. That's not the gospel. It's not the gospel. This is what's going on in the American church. This is the kind of gospel-less, Christ-less preaching and teaching and Christianity that's going on in our midst. I preach Christ crucified. Why would Jesus Christ have to be crucified if I'm a good guy? Why would He have to be crucified if you can just muster up some goodness before God? He wouldn't, right? Christ died needlessly, said Paul in Galatians. If by performing the law you can get there. Beloved, to be with God you must be perfect as He is perfect. How's it going? You ask, who can do this? The answer, nobody. With men it is impossible. You must be perfect, and it is impossible for you and I to be perfect. The good news is, nothing is impossible for God. Nothing is impossible with God, who is patient with you, not desiring that any should perish. But what does He call you to, friends? He calls you to forsake your sin, to leave your pride, and the wisdom of this world and all of its deceptions, and He calls you to look to Jesus Christ alone to save you, who is the power of God over sin and the grave, who is also the wisdom of God, God's way of redeeming and saving you. You will not hear that in the theology pub. You will not hear that out on the street. You will not get that out of a book on the New York Times bestseller list. You will not find that on the television in the afternoon during the week. But we preach Christ crucified because in Him alone are your sins dealt with. In Him alone are your sins paid for. In Him alone will you find the righteousness, the perfection you need in order to stand before God and not be consumed by His wrath. In Him alone. And that's the beauty of His crucifixion. because it was on Calvary's cross 2,000 years ago that Jesus Christ was put to death for sinners. It was 2,000 years ago on that cross that He endured the wrath of God against Himself for the sins of His people. It was on that cross 2,000 years ago that He suffered hell, literally suffered hell. It was on that cross 2,000 years ago that He died It was 2,000 years ago that he was buried. It was 2,000 years ago, friend, that he conquered the grave and he came forward from that grave. This isn't a story that you're going to hear on the street. And I promise you, the world is going to think you're nuts. And they're going to say it's weak and it's pathetic. But to those who are called of the Lord, These are the words that bring you comfort. Because the wisdom of this world is foolish. And what the world considers foolish, the foolishness of God is actually the wisdom of God, the wisdom that saves. Are you trusting in Jesus Christ to save you? Or have you bought some morphed gospel theology? God helps those who help themselves. God helps pretty good people. Jesus has died for all people, and so all people are going to go to heaven. Friends, those are not the gospel. What I've given you this morning is the true gospel. I urge you that you find your comfort in that gospel. and find hope for eternal life. Let's pray. We thank you, Father, for this time and for your word, and thank you for the gospel of the Lord Jesus. We would pray, O Lord, that we would be like little children, that we would come as infants, believing the truth of this message that has been preached. And we ask, Father, that you would be with your people, that they would not be deceived, with all of us, that we would not be deceived or duped. that we would not buy into things that aren't the gospel, efforts on our part to secure your pleasure. We know, Lord, that apart from Christ, we have no hope. We pray, O Lord, that you would bless these, your people, and bring those who sit in darkness even today, Lord. We pray that you would stir in their hearts and that they would not have any rest until they find their rest in you. You ask these things in Jesus name. Amen.