Good Friday 2014
“The Cross is Foolishness”
1 Corinthians 1:18
Tonight, we are going to study an important passage regarding how the world typically views the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
From the perspective of the Christian, this is the most important event in human history because we believe it secured our eternal salvation and brought peace between God and us.
But from the world’s perspective, this whole notion is foolishness.
Tonight, we are going to ask the question “Why?” ... “Why does the world think the cross is foolishness?” ... “Why is the cross such a repugnant thing... such a ridiculous thing... such a stupid thing?...”
READ: 1 Corinthians 1:18
Among the earliest pictures which relates to Christian worship in history is an inscription carved in plaster known as the Alexa-menos Graffito.
It depicts a man worshipping at the foot of the cross.
On the cross is a figure with the body of a man, but with the head of a donkey.
Below this is a description, “Alexemenos Worships His God”.
It is believed by many that this ancient piece of art was intended to denounce Christian faith by depicting the one on the cross - Christ - as a foolish beast rather than a Savior worthy of worship.
The implication is evident: To worship Christ is to celebrate stupidity.
Beloved, we are almost 2,000 years later and the mocking from the world has not subsided.
There is still very much an attitude which says, “To worship Christ is to celebrate stupidity.”
Our passage tonight tells us that this should not surprise us.
It tells us that the “...word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing...”
The word, “folly” is the Greek word “Moria” which is where we get the english word “moron”.
To the world, the cross is moronic; it is utter foolishness.
Why is the cross foolishness to those who are perishing?
Tonight, I want us to consider three reasons why the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing...
The Cross is Foolishness Because it says You are a Sinner Worthy of God’s Wrath.
The idea of God’s wrath or of God having wrath has truly fallen out of vogue with most modern people.
The God of wrath has been replaced in the minds of many with the God who is absolutely free from any exercise of punishing judgment.
Illustration: “The Idol Called ‘My god’” There has risen in the world a new type of idolatry. I call it the “My god” idol. People say, “My God would not send someone to hell” or “My god would not punish wickedness” or “My god would not demonstrate any type of wrath”.
By using the phrase “My god” these people are making a distinction which they probably do not even realize.
Their god is actually a figment of their imagination; they have created him in their own minds to fit their own desires for what they want their god to be.
People do not want to believe in a God capable of wrath, so they create a god in their minds who lacks this capacity - it is “Idolatry 101”
What’s become even more unpopular is the idea that we are actually WORTHY of God’s wrath.
Many people would say that IF God does have wrath, surely it is reserved for only the worst of people.
Hitler, Osama Bin Ladin, Ted Bundy... these are all men who are worthy of wrath in the world’s eyes.
But the natural man does not see his sin as a thing worthy of divine wrath.
God may have wrath...
But it is not focused on me...
Certainly I am not “perfect”, but I am NOT HORRIBLE!!!
Surely I am NOT WORTHY of God’s wrath.
My friends, this is the first thing which makes the cross so foolish to the natural mind.
Because the cross says you ARE worthy of God’s wrath.
Why did Jesus go to the cross?? --- To save sinners from the penalty of their sin.
What is the penalty of sin?? --- The wrath of God.
Who are these sinners, worthy of that wrath?? --- Every single person who has ever been born.
Romans 3:10-18 “as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
This is a statement about the entire world.
The use of the universal negative, “None... not one...” demonstrates this is an all encompassing statement.
No one is left out; Everyone is in view.
This is why Paul goes on to say...
Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
This is not small thing... All have sinned; and thus all are worthy of God’s judgment.
Recently a preacher said, “We don’t need to tell people they are sinners, they know they are sinners.”
NO THEY DO NOT!
People may be willing to say that they are not perfect; they may even be willing to say they are sinners.
But the natural man will not say that he DESERVES the wrath of God.
This is foolishness to the natural man.
Thus, it is the first reason the cross is foolishness to him.
The cross says you are so sinful that you desperately need a Savior.
The world scoffs at that idea as foolishness.
The Cross is Foolishness Because it says You are a Sinner Worthy of God’s Wrath.
The Cross is Foolishness Because it says Your Righteousness is Not Worthy of God’s Reward.
If the idea of being worthy of God’s wrath offends the natural mind, then the idea that his goodness is not worthy of reward is even more offensive.
Just ask anyone on the street, “Do you think you are going to heaven?”
The majority will say, “If heaven exists, yes I will go”
Then ask them, “Why?”
The answer, “Because I am a GOOD person.”
You see, the vast majority of the world is convinced of its own goodness.
Proverbs 20:6 (KJV) “Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?”
Men believe their acts of faithfulness, their acts of kindness, their acts of nobility COMMAND God’s attention.
The natural man sees his goodness as a thing worthy of divine reward.
It’s not just that his sin is not worthy of judgment and wrath.
But his goodness is worthy of God’s attention and accolade.
This, again, is what makes the cross so foolish in the eyes of the natural man.
The cross says (1) we are so sinful, we need a Savior.
It also says we actually lack goodness; we are devoid of righteousness.
Because on the cross, our sin was CREDITED to Christ... and the righteousness of Christ was CREDITED to us.
Philippians 3:9 “And be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith”
We have no righteousness before God.
We are not only sinful, but we are totally devoid of righteousness.
The only righteousness which is worthy of God’s attention is Christ’s righteousness.
Our own is WOEFULLY LACKING... In fact, the Bible says it is like “filthy rags” before him (Isaiah 64:6).
This is totally offensive - totally foolish - to the world; and yet, it is the message of the cross.
The Cross is Foolishness Because it says You are a Sinner Worthy of God’s Wrath.
II. The Cross is Foolishness Because it says Your Righteousness is Not Worthy of God’s Reward.
The Cross is Foolishness Because it says that God’s Standard is Perfection.
Jesus was a perfect person.
He never sinned, not in thought, word or deed.
Likewise, His every action was righteous before God.
Why is that important?
Because God’s standard is perfection.
God is holy, which means He is absolutely separate, perfect and pure.
Habakkuk 1:13a “You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong...” (look with approval, that is)
As such, Jesus Christ is the ONLY PERSON who has ever truly met the standard of God’s Law.
The natural man sees any standard of perfection as unrealistic and foolish.
The natural person would say that any God who demands perfection is asking for the impossible, and such would be foolish to him.
But what He doesn’t understand is that God’s righteousness DEMANDS perfection.
God will not allow ONE SIN to go unpunished.
He is obligated by His holy nature to ensure that justice is done; and justice demands a penalty for sin.
Romans 6:23a “For the wages of sin is death,...”
Every sin we commit is an act of cosmic treason - it is a breech of the Law of the eternal God, and it will not simply be OVERLOOKED!
God demands perfection.
And because we are woefully imperfect, the natural person scoffs at this demand.
Which is why he looks at the cross as being foolish.
Hear me clearly: I am not saying that when you come to Christ that you become perfect in your behavior, or sinless in your life.
Christians battle sin in their lives everyday.
What I am saying is that the perfection God demands is CREDITED to the Christian because of the work of Christ.
Christ’s perfection becomes the possession of the believer.
Am I perfect in my flesh? No.
But God counts me as perfect because Christ was perfect.
I gain the reward that He deserved because He took upon Himself the guilt I earned.
This is the great divine transaction of the atonement, and it is the only way anyone is made suitable for heaven.
God demands perfection, and that perfection is only found when we are in Christ.
You don’t deserve to go to heaven.
You actually do deserve to go to hell.
You do not meet God’s standard.
Someone might say, “This is not good for a person’s ‘self esteem’.”
But that’s just the thing... sermons that encourage self-esteem are welcomed by the natural mind, and by that prove that they are not based on the Gospel or the cross because the Bible says the natural mind cannot receive the things of God.
The cross DESTROYS self-esteem because it says we are NOT good enough... we are desperate WRETCHES...
To the world, that is crazy... and that is why the cross is foolishness.
CONCLUSION: If you go away from this place tonight and you say to yourself, “That was foolishness”, then know that the reason for that thought is that you are among the perishing.
In fact, the Bible says you are already dead in your trespasses and sins.
You will never see the Gospel as anything but foolishness until God works a miracle of regeneration in your heart.
For some of you, that may be what tonight is all about.
It could be that tonight, God is using this message as a turning point in your life.
The Bible says God uses the preaching of His Word to convert the hearts of people and turn them to Him.
Maybe you came here tonight and the cross was foolishness to you... BUT now God is opening up your heart to the truth.
The reality is that the cross is not foolishness at all.
The cross is the most incredible act of love and grace that the world has ever seen.
It is only foolishness to the heart which believes that it does not need a Savior; and the only heart that believes it does not need a Savior is the heart that believes that either
(1) God does not exist
(2) God exists, but His holy standard is not perfection
(3) God will somehow lower His standard for you.
Beloved, none of these are true.
God does exist; this is a truth you know within your conscience to be true.
Note: I don’t have to wonder if you know it, the Bible tells me that you know it and that if you deny it, you are suppressing a truth that God has revealed to you.
Furthermore, not only does He exist, but He is also Holy and His standard is perfection.
He will never lower that standard for anyone.
The only hope anyone has is to be in Christ.
Only in Him is the perfection that God requires found.
Outside of Christ, we are left only to our own righteousness... and the bible says that all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags before a holy God.
Do you know what real foolishness is?
Believing you can face God on judgment day, with nothing but filthy rags of your own righteousness, and that will in any way satisfy His holy standard.
The Bible says that it is the fool who has said in his heart “there is no God”; it is also the fool who has said in His heart, “God will count my filthy rags as righteous.”
1 Corinthians 1:18 “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.”
The world is divided by a very solid and simple line.
On one side, there are those who see the cross as an offensive and foolish thing.
On the other, there are those who know that the cross is the only thing that can save them.
Which side of that line are you on tonight?
