Folly to Those Who are Perishing

“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.” (1 Corinthians 1:18-25 ESV)

 

First of all, this is not teaching that the message of the gospel of Christ is folly or that it is foolishness or that it is weak and powerless. But it is saying that to those who do not accept the truth of the gospel, to them the message is foolishness. And it is foolishness to them because the message of the cross is that, by faith in Jesus Christ, we must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow our Lord Jesus in walks of obedience to his commands in holy living, in daily practice (Luke 9:23-26; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14).

 

So to those who do not want to deny self, and who do not want to die to their sins, and who do not want to surrender their lives to Jesus Christ and to come under his authority and rule over their lives, the message of the cross, i.e. the message of the gospel of Christ is foolishness. For they want to hold on to their own lives. They want to be in control over their own decisions and choices. And they want to live their lives according to their own pleasure and desires, and not according to the will of God.

 

And so many of them will reject the gospel message altogether and will not even consider any kind of confession of Christ as Lord and Savior. But then there are others who want to believe in Jesus because they think it is going to get them a free ride into heaven when they die and that they will escape hell if they just make a profession of faith in him. And so they will accept or they will participate in creating an altered and diluted gospel message which cuts out repentance and submission and obedience to the Lord Jesus.

 

So, although they may consider themselves to be wise in their own eyes, in the eyes of the Lord their wisdom is folly, and he is destroying and he will destroy all wisdom that is earthly and that is not of him and that is contrary to him and to the teachings of his word and of his gospel message. Obviously that kind of earthly wisdom has not yet been totally destroyed which is why we have so many false teachings and teachers today that so many people are believing in place of believing in the truth of the gospel.

 

But the Lord is presently destroying the lies through his servants and messengers who are taking the truth of the gospel to the people, and who are refuting the lies of the enemy and all these “gospel” messages which are diluted and altered in order to appease human flesh and to not offend the people of the world. For they don’t want to offend the world because they are trying to attract the world to their gatherings. And so they are modifying the gospel to make it more appealing and acceptable to human flesh.

 

So, please know what the truth of the gospel of Christ is so that you don’t end up believing the lies and end up in hell and not in heaven, and so that you live the Christian life that God has for you to live and not the selfish life that your flesh wants you to live. But the only way that you can be sure that you are hearing the truth is if you study the Scriptures for yourselves, where possible, but you must study them IN CONTEXT. For many false teachings stem from Scriptures taught outside of context.

 

For example, Ephesians 2:8-9 is being taught absent of verse 10. And so many people, thus, are teaching that as Christians we don’t have to do any works at all. And many are teaching that we do not have to obey the Lord, either. But verse 10 says that we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared in advance that we should walk in them. And Titus 2:11-14 teaches us that God’s grace trains us to renounce ungodliness and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives.

 

And many are teaching John 10:28-30 absent of verse 27 which tells us who verses 28-30 apply to. For verse 27 says that Jesus’ sheep listen to him, he knows them, and they follow (obey) him. And they have eternal life, and they will never perish, and none of them can be snatched out of the Lord’s hands. So this is not a general promise to all who make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, but is only for those followers of Christ who are listening to the Lord and who are following him in obedience, in life practice.

 

So, please be people of God who study the Scriptures in full context, and who do so prayerfully, willing to obey the Lord in every way. Please don’t accept the wisdom of this world in place of the wisdom of God. And please don’t accept teachings that are taken out of context and taught against what they teach if taught in context. Please surrender your lives to the Lord Jesus, and follow him wherever he leads you in doing all that he commands you to do. And then be his witnesses in sharing the truth with others.

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

Video Talk

 

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Myopic  

 

An Original Work / August 19, 2013

Based off 2 Peter 1:3-11

 

Jesus has given ev’rything

Needed for life and godliness.

His great and precious promises

Free us from our sin and distress.

 

Add to your faith His goodness;

Knowledge; patience; godliness;

Brotherly love and mutual affection;

Kindness and unselfishness.

 

If you possess these qualities,

Growing in your maturity,

They will keep you from vanity.

You will bear fruit effectually.

 

Nonetheless, if you lack them;

Forget you’ve been cleansed from sin,

Nearsighted are you; you can’t see Jesus.

You have closed your heart to Him.

 

Therefore, beloved, confirm, then,

Your calling and your election.

Do this by showing diligence:

Obey your Lord; be repentant.

 

Practice all these qualities

God provided on a tree.

He died for our sins so we’d be given

Life with Him eternally.

 

https://vimeo.com/115839336