Aug 11
20
The offense of the Cross
“And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? Then is the offence of the cross ceased.” 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, love, forgiveness, and hope; but this world sees a “stumbling stone and a rock of offence.” I want to look at this by asking one question:
What is the offence of the cross of Christ?
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)
Second, it is offensive to man’s ability. This world believes that all men have a “free will” 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.
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, “Who shall ascend to the hill of the LORD . . .? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart…” (Ps. 24: 2-3). But the gospel of the cross teaches us that “there is none righteous, no not one.” (Rom.3:11-20) The gospel teaches that the only way for man to approach unto God, is to have the “righteousness of God which is by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ to all them that believe.” (Rom 3:21-22) This is offensive to the natural man.
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’s 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
“Sovereign Grace Hated by the Modern Religionist”
By C H Spurgeon
If anything is hated bitterly, it is the out-and-out gospel of the
grace of God, especially if that hateful word “sovereignty” is
mentioned with it. Dare to say “He will have mercy on whom
he will have mercy, and he will have compassion on whom he
will have compassion” (Romans 9:15), and furious critics will
revile you without stint.
The modern religionist not only hates the doctrine of sovereign
grace, but he raves and rages at the mention of it. He would
sooner hear you blaspheme than preach election by the Father,
atonement by the Son, or regeneration by the Spirit.
If you want to see a man worked up till the Satanic is clearly
uppermost, let some of the new divines hear you preach a
free grace sermon. A gospel which is after men will be
welcomed by men; but it needs divine operation upon the
heart and mind to make a man willing to receive into his in
most soul this distasteful gospel of the grace of God. My
dear brethren, do not try to make it tasteful to carnal minds.
Hide not the offense of the cross, lest you make it of none effect.
The angles and corners of the gospel are its strength to pare them
off is to deprive it of power. Toning down is not the increase of
strength, but the death of it.
Learn, then, that if you take Christ out of Christianity,
Christianity is dead. If you remove grace out of the gospel,
the gospel is gone. If the people do not like the doctrine
of grace, give them all the more of it.
I preach the doctrines of grace because I believe them to be true;
because I see them in the Scriptures; because my experience endears
them to me; and because I see the holy result of them in believers.
The doctrine which I preach to you is the doctrine of Paul, the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. The Author and Finisher of our faith himself taught the
most blessed truth which well agreed with our text-
“For by grace are you saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” Eph 2:8
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“Your life will I give unto you for a prey in all places where you go.” Jeremiah 45:5
There is a life given to the elect when the blessed Spirit quickens their souls–a life eternal, communicated to them out of the fullness of the Son of God. This life is a personal, individual life; and thus there seems to be a sweetness contained in the expression, “your life.” “Your life will I give unto you for a prey.” This life which is treasured up in the fullness of Christ is breathed into the soul in the appointed time by the Holy Spirit, is kept alive there by his almighty power, and will burn brighter and brighter in the realms of endless day.
But we may observe, from the expression made use of in the text, that this life which is given to the child of God, is given to him in a peculiar way. “Your life will I give unto you for a prey.” The word “prey” points out that this life is an object of attack. We hear of “beasts of prey,” and of “birds of prey,” and the expression implies a carnivorous animal. Thus the words, “Your life will I give unto you for a prey,” imply that there are ravenous beasts that are continually seeking to devour this life, voracious enemies upon the watch, who are eager to prey upon this life, which God the Holy Spirit has kindled in the soul. How accurately and how experimentally do these words describe the inward kingdom of God! Eternal life is given by God; and kept by him when given; preserved by his power from ever being extinguished. And yet preserved by a perpetual miracle, like a burning lamp set afloat upon the waves of the sea; or, to use a figure that I have somewhere seen, like a lighted candle carried over a hill in the midst of a gale of wind.
Thus, “our life is given us for a prey;” and the power, faithfulness, and wisdom of God are manifested in keeping this life unhurt amid all its enemies. As Daniel was preserved in the den of lions; and as the three men were preserved in the burning fiery furnace; so the life of God is preserved in the soul, in the midst of lions, as David says, “My soul is among lions” (Ps. 57:4), and amid the fires, “Glorify you the Lord in the fires” (Isaiah 24:15). So that the life of the child of God is one continual conflict between faith and unbelief, between enmity and love, between the grace of God and the rebellion of the carnal mind, between the sinkings of the drooping spirit and the liftings-up of the light of God’s countenance. J.C. Philpot.
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Many of the doubts and fears God’s people experience regarding their saving interest in Christ, arise from a failure to realize that every heaven-born soul lives in this world with two natures. In Scripture these two natures are referred to as “the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts” and “the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24), “flesh” and “spirit” (Galatians 5:16-17). These two natures are constantly at war, the flesh lusting against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh.
Re-generation not Re-formation:
It is commonly assumed that in the new birth man (the natural, carnal man) is changed. That the old man is sanctified, that he who once loved sin is made to love holiness, that the enmity of the heart is slain, and that the old man renewed by grace grows more and more holy in progressive sanctification, until he is ripe for Glory and the Lord takes him home.
That fanciful dream deludes multitudes, until, after being born again, they suddenly discover that the old lusts are still there. The discovery is sometimes shocking, simply because we have been taught that they would not be there any longer. How many there are who live in constant turmoil, knowing the abiding evil of their nature, but never daring to acknowledge it, lest they be scorned by others who pretend to be holy. The new birth is not a re-formation, but a re-generation. The new birth is not reforming the old nature of fallen man, but a re-creation of life in man by the Spirit of God. The new birth is not transforming that which is sinful into that which is righteous, but the imparting of a new, righteous nature. In the new birth Christ is formed in us, and we are made new in him (Colossians 1:27; 2 Corinthians 5:17).
Two Natures:
In every believer there are two natures (sin and righteousness), two men (the old man Adam and the new man Christ), two principles (sin and holiness); and these two constantly oppose one another. This fact is plainly declared in Scripture (Romans 7:14-24; Galatians 5:16-22; Colossians 3:9-10; Ephesians 4:22-24). The old man, Adam, can never be sanctified; and the new man created in righteousness and true holiness, “Christ in you the hope of glory,” cannot sin (1 John 3:9). Adam lives in us by birth. By natural generation we are made partakers of Adam’s nature. Christ lives in us by the new birth. By regeneration we are made “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).