Utter Foolishness……………………………………………….Unless

Tonight we turn our focus to what many would consider a light subject, but the Word of God treats it as anything but.  That subject is foolishness.  Our key Bible passage for this message is found in 1 Corinthians 1, vs 18 – 31. The key verse is verse one written below:

“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.  v1

We begin by doing a word study from this pivotal verse.  We examine five words.

Message (Word) of the Cross (Gr. logos)  Divine reason to the Greeks; What the cross is saying or communicates.

First, the cross meant or symbolized death during Roman rule, and that by crucifixion.  But in this use by the Apostle Paul, some theologians suggest a broader context to include the full revelation of God thru Christ—the Gospel.  Jesus incarnation thru the virgin birth, His perfect life, His persecution and crucifixion, resurrection and ascension.  All aspects are crucial to the message of the cross.

Reference Verses: (Jesus as the Word)

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being

 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”  John 1: 1-3, 14

Foolishness (Gr. moria) utterly absurd; moronic (the word moron comes from it)

The verses I was led to share on this word were those of Jesus to the two men on the road to Immaeus.

“And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!  “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?”  Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.”  Luke 24: 25-27

Jesus was speaking to disciples or men who followed Him closely.  He rebuked them for their foolishness exhibited in unbelief of all He taught and did while He was among them.  So, He went back to the origin of the Law with Moses and taught them one last time.

Perishing (Gr. apollumi) means in the process of being utterly or completely destroyed.

Good News – “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.”  John 3: 16

Bad News – (Jesus speaking one last time before His ascension into Heaven)

“He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not (in the context of our message – the message of the Cross) shall be damned.”  Mark 16: 16  KJV

(Being) Saved (Gr. sz)  delivered, made whole, preserved from destruction

“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among mankind by which we must be saved.” Acts 4: 12

If you have done this – repented of your sins, sought the forgiveness of God only availed through the risen Christ, and received Him as Savior – you are saved.

But it does not stop there.  It begins there.  What we refer to as the ongoing process of salvation, the Bible calls sanctification.

“But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God (salvation), you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification (being transformed into the image of Christ), and the outcome, eternal life (ultimate salvation).”  Romans 6: 22

Power (Gr. dunamis) miraculous, supernatural strength when spoken of God (the word dynamite comes from it.)

“And behold, I am sending the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”  Luke 24: 49

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”  Acts 1:8

Power to live and love like Jesus.  Power to obey and take the Gospel to the lost.  Power to withstand the assaults of our enemies.   The question is are we using His power or still trying to operate within our own power-strength?

The Rest of the Text for Context

“For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”  (Isaiah 29: 14)

 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?  For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.  For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom;  but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness,  but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;  and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,  that no flesh should glory in His presence.  But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.” (Jeremiah 9: 23,24)  1 Corinthians 1: 18 – 31

The Three Fools

The Fool for Christ’s Sake. The one who believes in Jesus Christ and His redemptive work on the cross and lives for Him in a world that thinks we are fools. This is what a “fool for Christ’s sake” looks like.

“We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are prudent in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are without honor. To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless;  and we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now.”  I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children.”  1 Corinthians 4: 10-14

The Fool who put his or her trust in the wisdom of man or the world over the wisdom of God—the Creator of the world. The Greeks did this as do eastern religions.

“Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God…None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” 1 Corinthians 2: 6-8

The Fool who trusts in himself or herself for the answers to life’s hardest questions. That person believes there is no God—we are here to be the best we can and do the best we can while we are here, aka, leave the world a better place”. This person is his or her own god, answering ultimately to no one else.

Which fool are you?

 A fool for Christ’s sake,