The Christian message, foolishness???
The apostle Paul writes,
“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.
For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”
Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.”
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
I think Paul says it all here. Those who do not believe in Jesus as we Christians do. Can look at us and think what we preach is foolishness. After all we believe God entered the world He created in the form of His One and only Son Jesus.
One of the big questions I get, is why would God enter the world He created? To which I think the answer is simple.
First God created man with a freewill allowing the individual to do as he wished. That includes the right not to believe in God. As a result as man progressed many people chose to turn away from God. Thus God entered the world to show mankind he was real and call mankind to himself.
Second I believe God had to enter this world to fully experience all it is to be a man and thus be able to judge man justly when the time comes. Because Jesus walked the earth and lived as a man we can never say he didn’t understand what it was like to me a man.
Thirdly and I think the words of Jesus sums things up nicely, when speaking of himself he said,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
John 3:16,17.
At the same time God through Jesus gave us a waring again Jesus speaking of himself said,
“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son”.
John 3:18.
The apostle Paul echoing what Jesus said when speaking to the Athenians said
“For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”
Acts 17:31.
The message we Christians present to the world may seem foolishness but the Christian walk is a walk of Faith.
Christians are to my knowledge the only faith in the world that claims God reached down in the form of his One and Only Son Jesus Christ to offer redemption from sin.
The apostle Paul writes,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Ephesians 2:8,9.
The writer of Hebrews tells us,
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Hebrews 11:6
Faith in Christ, belief in His redeeming sacrifice on the cross is how Christians believe you get to heaven.
The question is do you believe this?
Please think about it.
The apostle Paul writes,
“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.
For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”
Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.”
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
I think Paul says it all here. Those who do not believe in Jesus as we Christians do. Can look at us and think what we preach is foolishness. After all we believe God entered the world He created in the form of His One and only Son Jesus.
One of the big questions I get, is why would God enter the world He created? To which I think the answer is simple.
First God created man with a freewill allowing the individual to do as he wished. That includes the right not to believe in God. As a result as man progressed many people chose to turn away from God. Thus God entered the world to show mankind he was real and call mankind to himself.
Second I believe God had to enter this world to fully experience all it is to be a man and thus be able to judge man justly when the time comes. Because Jesus walked the earth and lived as a man we can never say he didn’t understand what it was like to me a man.
Thirdly and I think the words of Jesus sums things up nicely, when speaking of himself he said,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
John 3:16,17.
At the same time God through Jesus gave us a waring again Jesus speaking of himself said,
“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son”.
John 3:18.
The apostle Paul echoing what Jesus said when speaking to the Athenians said
“For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”
Acts 17:31.
The message we Christians present to the world may seem foolishness but the Christian walk is a walk of Faith.
Christians are to my knowledge the only faith in the world that claims God reached down in the form of his One and Only Son Jesus Christ to offer redemption from sin.
The apostle Paul writes,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Ephesians 2:8,9.
The writer of Hebrews tells us,
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Hebrews 11:6
Faith in Christ, belief in His redeeming sacrifice on the cross is how Christians believe you get to heaven.
The question is do you believe this?
Please think about it.
