The offense of the cross
\n\u201cAnd I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? Then is the offence of the cross ceased.\u201d Galatians 5:11
\nThe preaching of the cross of Jesus Christ is offensive to the natural man. We that believe look at the cross and we see grace, mercy, love, forgiveness, and hope; but this world sees a \u201cstumbling stone and a rock of offence.\u201d I want to look at this by asking one question:<\/p>\n
What is the offence of the cross of Christ?<\/p>\n
First, it offends the wisdom of men. This world and its religion believe that man can by wisdom know God. That by sincere and heart felt study, man can know His creator in such a way as to bring him to heaven. They think the preaching of the cross is foolishness and that they by wisdom understand that there are better ways to save sinners. But the preaching of the cross tells us that this message, and means, was ordained of God for the salvation of His People apart from the wisdom of this world. (1Cor 1: 17-31)<\/p>\n
Second, it is offensive to man\u2019s ability. This world believes that all men have a \u201cfree will\u201d in this matter of salvation. That man is the sovereign of his destiny, and he will come to Christ if all the right circumstances exist. But the preaching of the cross of Christ, tells us that no man can come to Christ unless the Father draw him. (John 6:44) This is because all men are born dead in trespasses and sins, which make men both unable and unwilling to come to God by Jesus Christ. The only hope for sinners is that God the Holy Spirit quickens their dead souls to life and faith in Christ. This too is offensive to the natural man.<\/p>\n
Third, it offends the merit of men. All men by nature believe that they can by their will, works, and self righteousness merit the favor of God. But the Psalmist asks, \u201cWho shall ascend to the hill of the LORD . . .? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart\u2026\u201d (Ps. 24: 2-3). But the gospel of the cross teaches us that \u201cthere is none righteous, no not one.\u201d (Rom.3:11-20) The gospel teaches that the only way for man to approach unto God, is to have the \u201crighteousness of God which is by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ to all them that believe.\u201d (Rom 3:21-22) This is offensive to the natural man.<\/p>\n
Therefore, how foolish is it for men to oppose the only hope for their salvation. It is like a drowning man despising the rope that is his only life line. Though Satan, devils, and all men oppose this gospel, it shall prevail to save all of God\u2019s elect. It will save all those who believe on Jesus Christ, and see His cross as their only glory. (Gal 6:14) Believers let us not ever be ashamed of this gospel, but rather proclaim it to all and mind not their offense of it. Don Fortner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The offense of the cross \u201cAnd I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? Then is the offence of the cross ceased.\u201d Galatians 5:11 The preaching of the cross of Jesus Christ is offensive to the natural man. We that believe look at the cross and we see grace, mercy, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-author-don-fortner","category-gospel-offence"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3895"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3895\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3896,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3895\/revisions\/3896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}