"The Foolishness Of Men” Series

I. Introduction

A. The foolishness of God

-Last time we looked at man’s view of the message of the cross

-To those who trust in mankind’s wisdom it is foolishness.

-1 Corinthians 1:18 – “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

(powerpoint)

-Message = logos, or word

-Foolishness = moria, (mo-ree'-ah) - silly or absurd.

-From which we get the word “moron”

-Better interpreted as “the word of the cross is absurd.”

-God’s message of redemption is ridiculous.

-It is silly.

-Paul calls out the wise and learned men of the city of Corinth (v.20).

-Wants them to respond to God’s message of salvation.

-If you are so wise, what have you come up with to save a man’s soul?

-To reconcile sinful man to a Holy God?

-They don’t have an answer to this question.

-They didn’t then.

-They don’t now. (title powerpoint)

PRAYER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Please turn to 1 Corinthians, chapter 1

-Two weeks ago we looked at the supposed foolishness of God.

-We, of course, do not consider God foolish at all.

-To us He is an omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent God.

-He is all knowing, everywhere present, all powerful God.

-He is loving, holy, and just

-Yet the world, in their wisdom, considers His plan of salvation foolishness.

-Today I want to discuss two other topics of foolishness Paul mentions here.

-The foolishness of the message.

-The foolishness of man.

III. The Foolishness Of the Message (v.21-24)

A. Man’s wisdom

-Mankind has a God-given brilliance that is seen in many areas.

-Medical

-Several years ago my younger brother had open heart surgery.

-Cut the sternum, spread the ribcage, work on the heart.

-Organ transplants are a common occurrence.

-Antibiotics cure illnesses that would have been fatal just a couple generations ago.

-Engineering

-Computers infinitely faster and at a fraction of the size then when they first came out.

-Cell phone technology

-Satellite television

-Miscellaneous

-Cloning, flight, the moon landing, the Seven Wonders of the World,etc…

-Great writers, artists, orators

B. Man’s inability

-Yet, in spite of all the wisdom that man can attain, he cannot not truly know God in his own power.

-Consider all of the religions, or “isms”, there are. (6 powerpoints)

-Pantheism - belief that the universe is God.

-Atheism – There is no God.

-Agnosticism - doctrine that we can know nothing beyond the material.

-Ditheism - belief in two equal gods, one good and one evil.

-Hedonism - belief that pleasure is the highest good.

-Polytheism - belief in multiple deities

-There are actually at least 234 separate isms that are believed by many.

-Some very strange.

-Panspermatism - belief in origin of life from extraterrestrial germs

-Anthropotheism - belief that gods are only deified men.

-Mormons

I once heard a story about a young preacher being carefully admonished by a much older preacher. “Young man, the trouble with our world today is all the -isms. Calvinism, Darwinism, Humanism – if something ends in -ism you can just mark it down as unscriptural!” The young man thought long and hard and then asked, “Sir, what about baptism?” The old preacher never missed a beat. “That’s the trouble with this younger generation,” he replied. “They don’t know the difference in a -tism and an - ism!”

C. God’s response to man’s inability to come up with a way to truly know God.

-1 Corinthians 1:21 – “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.” (powerpoint)

-God made a way for man to know Him personally.

-Not as an ethereal, mystic being.

-Not as a deity immortalized in stone or story.

-But as a living God who loves His greatest creation: Man

-But He did in in the message what many think is foolish.

-1 Corinthians 1:18 – “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

(powerpoint)

-Isaiah 44:24-25 – “Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, And He who formed you from the womb: "I am the Lord, who makes all things, Who stretches out the heavens all alone, Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself; Who frustrates the signs of the babblers, And drives diviners mad; Who turns wise men backward, And makes their knowledge foolishness;” (powerpoint)

-Even though God knew many would reject His message.

-The word of the cross.

-The message of salvation through Jesus Christ.

-He did it anyway.

-God’s plan is perfectly described in Romans 5:6-8

-Romans 5:6-8 – “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (powerpoint)