The Problem of The Cross

1 CORINTHIANS 1:17-31

We see in these few verses a good sermon outline which could be expended upon by those who would like to do so.

Verse 17 - Paul was sent "to Preach the gospel."
  The word "preach" means to "proclaim, advocate, or urge.
  The word "gospel" means the "good news."
Verse 18 - The Gospel is the "Power of God."
Verse 19 - God gives us a "Promise."
Verses 20-21 - Preaching the Gospel is Pleasing to God.
  The Purpose of the Gospel is to save souls.

However, we are going to concentrate on this last item - The Problem of the Cross.

There is a Problem associated with the Cross.
Verses 22- 23 - "But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews
a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;"

WHY is there a Problem?

  1. Acts 2:22-24, 32, 36 - Peter preached his great message.
    Note how he emphasized Christ crucified.
    Verse 41 - Three thousand saved.
    Acts 3 & 4 - More preaching of Christ crucified. Five thousand saved.
    This was preaching to Prepared ground. They were well versed in the Scriptures that they had available to them. He was primarily preaching to Jews who knew the Scriptures. He didn't have to Prepare the ground. What he had to show was that they had killed their Messiah. This was a stumblingblock to the Jew. Peter preached to reveal Christ as the true Messiah of the Scriptures. With all of that prepared ground, many thousands accepted the truth and received Jesus as their Saviour and Messiah.
  2. Acts 17:16-31 - Paul preaches his great message to the Greeks.
    Christ crucified was a stumblingblock to the Jews but to the Greeks it was foolishness. The Greeks (Gentiles) hearts were not prepared to receive the Gospel. Note that Paul had to go back to Genesis with these Greeks. This is the difference. The Jews knew the word yet had to get over the stumblingblock of their Messiah being crucified.
       With the Greeks he preached:
    1. Religiousness of Man. Verses 22-23
    2. Reality of God as: Verses 24-28
      1. Creator.- Verse 24
      2. Sustainer. - Verse 25
      3. Saviour. - Verse 27
    3. Relationship of all men. - Verse 26
    4. Repentance needed for Jew and the Greek. - Verse 30
    5. Righteousness of Jesus. - Verse 31
    6. Resurrection. - Verse 31
    He preached a foundational message then brought them to Jesus and to the truth of His Resurrection.
  3. What were the Results?
    1. Some mocked the message and the messenger.
    2. Some Procrastinated.
    3. Some believed. Not thousands, but some.
  4. Which Kind of a Society do we live in today? A Jerusalem society or an Athens Society?
    1. We live in an Athens Society. Generally speaking, hearts are not prepared to receive the Gospel. We must lay some foundations through preaching the word of God and prepare the ground for the Gospel
    2. We have had over forty years of Bibleless schools and the ground is hard.
    3. We need to lay again the foundations of:
      1. The Bible.
      2. The Church.
      3. The Family.
  5. How do we do this?
    1. We must begin in our Churches by systematically teaching and preaching the word of God.
      1. Pastors need to preach and teach God's word not their opinions.
      2. Fathers and mothers need to be faithful to their church where they are taught the word of God.
      3. Fathers need to lead their families in family devotions based upon God's word.
    2. We must witness to our neighbors, friends, relatives, acquaintances and strangers. There are basically four kinds of people (ground).
      Matthew 13:3-7
      Verse 4 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
      verse 4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell
      (1) by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: (Some people just aren't going to heed, and the devil is going to keep them in his family and if they don't repent, they will end up in hell. We don't know who those people are so we still must sow the seed which is the word of God.
      verse 5 Some fell upon ...stony places..." (Some people's hearts are stony and there is no depth of soil so the word does not last long. Trials, temptations, troubles burn them out. They have no root or depth of soil) where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
      verse 6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
      verse 7 And some fell among (3) thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: (Some people's lives are so full of thorns (sins) that they never bring forth fruit unto God. There is a direct link between thorns and sin as we see the result of sin entering the earth resulting in the curse of thorns and thistles. Genesis 3:18 - John Gill's comments, "...these point out such hearers who seemed to be contrite, to have the low ground of their hearts broken up, their consciences tender, and to have a true sense of sin, as well as to be outwardly reformed; and yet inwardly were full of the thorns of sinful lusts, particularly of the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, the lusts of other things, and the pleasures of this life, which rendered the word useless and unfruitful; (see Mt. 13:22) all which are comparable to thorns; it is hardly possible to be in the midst of, and meddle with these, without being scratched by them; they pierce, afflict, and wound, even where they have not their greatest power and influence; and where they do prevail, and get the ascendant, as they are fruitless themselves, they make others so too; they choke the word, and make that, and all ordinances, and opportunities, useless, and unserviceable."
      verse 8 But other fell into (4) good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
      (These are people whose minds, hearts and lives have been prepared and cultivated by the word of God and the Spirit of God. These are the folks that bring forth fruit in their lives. Thank God for these people. Tragically, most people are not like this, so we must get the word of God our so that the Holy Spirit can prepare hearts for the gospel.)
    3. And finally we must Pray that God will bring forth fruit.
      1 Peter 4:7 "But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer."

Message Prepared by Dr. Robert E. Bliss

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Scriptures used in this message:

Genesis 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;   back

Matthew 13:3-7
3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:   back

Matthew 13:22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.   back

Acts 2:22-24
22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.   back

Acts 2:32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.   back

Acts 2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.   back

Acts 2:41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.   back

Acts 17:16-31
16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.
17 Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.
18 Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.
19 And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?
20 For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean.
21 (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)
22 Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.  back
23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;  back
25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:  back
28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.  back
29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.
30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:  back
31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.  back

1 Corinthians 1:17-31
17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.  back
18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.  back
19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.  back
20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.  back
22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;  back
24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

1 Peter 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.