Superficial vs. Spiritual Wisdom...Continued from page 1

Now he is able to confront one of the biggest issues, one that he would come back to again and again later in this letter. He appeals to them as brothers and sisters in Christ to put aside their divisions and stand united around the person of Jesus Christ. He begs them to quit "doing their own thing." He understands human nature. He knows how easy it is for people to revert back to their own natural prejudices and former lifestyles when they get out of fellowship with the Lord.

He can understand why some would be proud followers of him. After all, they were Gentiles whom he had led to Christ and assured them that they didn't have to become Jewish proselytes, obedient to the details of the Old Testament law. He could understand how some with fairly sophisticated Jewish upbringing would love the eloquent, allegorical teachings of brilliant Apollos from Alexandria. He could understand how some of the more conservative Jews would confess Jesus to be the Messiah but take their theological directions straight from Peter at Jerusalem, whose articulation of the Gospel tended to come out of a more Hebrew mindset. And he could even understand the ultimate elitism of those rugged individualists who functioned with the spiritual snobbery that is content to own no human leader but instead claims a direct pipeline to Jesus the Messiah.

Paul disavows any endeavor to encourage party factionalism and points to the cross of Jesus Christ as a rallying point that would bring everyone together in Christian unity. He writes, "For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power. For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (1 Corinthians 1:17-18).

With this, he confronts the issue. The issue is not that the word of the cross is "moronic" to those who have not repented of sin and received Jesus Christ as Savior. It was that to the nonbeliever. Can you think of anything more "foolish" than to say God became man, nailed to the cross, and, through His life, death and resurrection, the forgiveness of sins is offered? Nonetheless, that's the very essence of the Gospel. What is foolishness to some is that which is of ultimate significance to those of us whose eyes have been opened to the reality of God's love and grace. The word of the cross is the power of God to those of us who have trusted Jesus Christ alone for salvation.

This morning, we have presented to you 55 new members who have completed the half-day, new-member class with instruction and personal sharing. We have not pried into all the personal past acts and beliefs of each of these persons, but we have shared the essence of the Gospel and have alerted them that their qualification for membership in St. Andrew's is that they have repented of sin and put their trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. This class of members includes persons from very young to very old, variety of gender, life experiences and geographic identity. Some are long-term veterans of the faith who know a lot of what the Bible teaches. Others are brand new to the faith. What every one of them has declared is that they have put their individual trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation.