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R. Albert Mohler, Jr: The Foolishness of the Cross, Part One

The foolishness of the cross underlines the scandalous nature of the Christian ministry. In 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, the apostle Paul reminds us of the fact that the Christian ministry is a scandalous business.

In verse 21, Paul reminds us of an essential gospel understanding: God did not save the world through its own wisdom. It was not through cleverness or wisdom or intelligence that anyone has come to Christ, including any of us. It is often tempting to think that we were simply smart enough to understand this gospel. When the gospel was preached, we were intelligent enough to grasp it, smart enough to recognize it for what it was. As tempting as such thoughts may be, however, none of us came to the gospel by intelligence. We came because of God's power working in "the foolishness of the message preached."

Look at bit more closely at verse 21: "God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to same those who believe." Many a bad sermon has been launched from a mistranslation of this verse. The King James Version translates the verse to say "the foolishness of preaching." But it is not the act of preaching that is said to be foolish. It is the message of what is preached. It is the preached Word, the preached gospel that is foolishness. God was well pleased through the foolishness of the message preached--that is, the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ--to save those who believe. This is what is well pleasing to God.

There is no "gifted program" in heaven. There is no fast track. There is no special education class. When we get to heaven, we will have a perfected knowledge. We will no longer see through a glass darkly, but once glorified, we shall see Him face to face. But until then, we have to recognize that God uses intelligence, God uses wisdom, but only the intelligence that He would sanctify and only the wisdom He would give. It is a counter-intuitive wisdom--a wisdom that runs entirely counter to the wisdom of the age.

This is Part One of a three-part series, and previously appeared in The Christian Post
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R. Albert Mohler, Jr. is president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. For more articles and resources by Dr. Mohler, and for information on The Albert Mohler Program, a daily national radio program broadcast on the Salem Radio Network, go to www.albertmohler.com. For information on The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, go to www.sbts.edu. Send feedback to mail@albertmohler.com. Original Source: www.albertmohler.com.

R. Albert Mohler, Jr.

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