1 Corinthians 1:18

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God... But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which 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. (1 Corinthians 1:18-25)

On the nation's birthday, a meditation on the only message that grants true liberty—the cross the world calls foolish.

A Holiday of Liberty

I struggled all week as I prepared, going back and forth in 1 Corinthians, wondering whether to continue our study or to consider the topic of liberty, since this is Independence Day. It's not often the Fourth of July falls on a Sunday. As a nation, Independence Day is an extremely important holiday—the first national holiday of our nation. In one way, we could rightly consider this the birthday of the United States, the 234th birthday. It's one of my favorites. When I was in junior high and high school, my desire was to grow up and be a pyrotechnician.

On the eve before the Declaration of Independence was approved by the first Congress, John Adams wrote to his wife: "This will be the most memorable epic in the history of America... It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp, with parade, with shows, with games and sports and guns, with bells and bonfires and illuminations, from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward forevermore."

For 234 years we've celebrated our liberty—a right granted us not by sovereign power, not by constitution, but by God. The Declaration tells us these inalienable rights come from God: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Have you not enjoyed the life and liberty you have in this nation? I praise God regularly that I was born in such a nation as this.

A Shifting Nation and an Old Reality

It is disconcerting, though, to read headlines like one I saw a couple of weeks ago: in Dearborn, Michigan, four Christians were arrested for disorderly conduct outside an Arab festival while handing out copies of the Gospel of John in English and Arabic. More and more, I believe, such headlines will be the case in our nation. A nation founded 234 years ago on Judeo-Christian values, primarily by Christians seeking religious freedom, has shifted.

So the verse before us takes on a fresh reality: "the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness." The word "preaching" is the Greek logos—the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. In 2008 the Washington Post found that some 92% of Americans believe in God or a higher spirit, yet every year fewer believe Jesus is the only way to salvation. But Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but by me." That is the message we have been given to declare.

The word "foolishness" is the Greek morea, from moros, from which we get our English word moron. To a lost and dying world, the message of the cross is moronic. It was 2,000 years ago; it is in 2010. Nothing has changed. What is that message? That sinful man can be made right with almighty God, against whom he has transgressed, by the death of one—Jesus of Nazareth—on Calvary's cross 2,000 years ago.

The Pressure to Keep Quiet

As a result of public opinion, many within the church are pressured to keep their mouths shut about the gospel. Imagine a class of a hundred people where I've secretly agreed with ninety-nine of them that a black book is red. By the time I reach the hundredth student, who knows nothing of our agreement, he will very likely be pressured into saying "red" against his better judgment. He may even begin to question his own eyes. That is exactly what happens in our nation today. We are told to keep our faith in the private sector, that what we believe is foolish, and so many are persuaded to stay silent.

Although the intelligentsia may think the message foolish, we still have the freedom in our nation to preach it, and therefore we ought to do so. Why? First, God has commissioned us. In Matthew 28 Jesus said, "Go into all the world and make disciples... and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Second, the world needs to hear. As Paul says in Romans 10, "How shall they hear without a preacher?" Third, the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Paul says in Romans 1:16, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes."

We Are a People Hungry for Popularity

Why would Paul declare, "I am not ashamed"? Because there was a temptation to be ashamed—in him, in the Christians of Rome, and in us. We live in a society wholly desirous of popularity. We want to be liked, famous, respected. Look at our entertainment: American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing with the Stars. We vote them on or off by popular demand. From a young age it's ingrained—even my fifth-grade yearbook had a "most popular" and "most likely to succeed."

As a result, we're tempted to keep our faith in the shadows so we'll be thought respectable. I'm no longer amazed when a brother or sister tells me, "I found out the person three cubicles down, whom I've worked with five years, is a Christian—and they were amazed I'm a Christian." Why? Because we keep it on the down low. As your pastor I'll confess that when someone asks what I do for a living, the temptation flashes through my mind to say something like, "I'm a teacher." I'm not immune. We're often scrambling to be relevant, scrambling for the exits when faith comes up.

The Power of God in the Gospel

Paul says it is the power of God "to those who are being saved"—the Greek is present, continuous. It's only when your life begins to be drastically transformed by the gospel that you recognize it is the very power of God. I've asked over the months how many of you have been transformed by the word of God, and hands go up all across the room.

When we think of the power of God we think of creation, the Red Sea crossing, miracles, signs and wonders, Gideon's 300 putting an army to flight. We don't often think of God's power contained in the gospel message and present on the lips of the preacher. Yet it is the power of God.

Paul continues, quoting Isaiah 29:14: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent." If God's word is true, then everything man thinks he knows that contradicts Scripture is false. As Paul said in Romans 3:4, "Let God be true and every man a liar." If a talking head spouts wisdom contrary to God's word, he is false. The wise scientist offering evolution as the origin of life is wrong; the liberal theologian who denies Jesus' miracles and resurrection is wrong; the sociologist who says the Bible is unnecessary for progressive man is to be disregarded. God and His word are the final authority on all matters of belief and practice. As Paul says in Romans 1:22, "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools." The one who considers the gospel foolish is himself the fool.

Why God Cannot Be Found by Wisdom

"For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." God created man with great intellect and the capacity to learn more. Man is the only creature who investigates the world to gain knowledge, and God has given us an awesome capacity to create, because we're made in His image. After the flood God said of man, "Nothing will be impossible for him."

Yet God determined that man would not find Him through knowledge. You cannot find God in the telescope, the microscope, the laboratory, or the test tube. He could have placed a sign at the edge of the universe—"Hello, I'm here"—but He didn't. Still, His creation testifies. Francis Collins, head of the Human Genome Project, wrote The Language of God and came to believe there is a God through that genetic program, saying there's no possible way the DNA came about by random chance of mutation.

In our lifetime we've watched the age of the earth pushed back—from four billion years to fifteen billion—because their timeline must always be expanded; it just doesn't fit, so they say, "We need more time." Who's the fool? I do believe that in six days God created the heavens and the earth and rested on the seventh. It takes less faith to believe that than to believe in billions and billions of years. The children in our ministry understand it: "Where did this come from?" "God made it." "Where did God come from?" "He always existed." "Okay." Ask the world, and they say, "It just happened." I have a hard time with that.

Revelation Levels the Playing Field

Why has God determined that we cannot comprehend Him through study? First, so the knowledge of Him is attainable by all. If you could only know God through vast intellect, some would never reach Him. But even the five-year-olds in our vacation Bible school can grasp it: "There's a God. He made me." Furthermore, 1 Corinthians 8:1 says knowledge puffs up. The proud often feel intellectually superior, and God, who is greater than all, must be approached in humility. God is most fully known through revelation, which levels the playing field—He has revealed Himself to all.

I'm not saying man is deficient in wisdom. The advances since the Industrial Revolution are amazing. Computers were first developed in the mid-1940s with minds like Alan Turing; there was less computing power in the Apollo spaceship than in my cell phone. Man builds vast structures—a new building in Dubai is half a mile tall, almost twice the height of the fallen twin towers. Japanese scientists have built a working gear only three atoms across, hoping to make nanorobots to destroy tumors in cancer patients. Genesis 9 makes sense: "Nothing will be beyond his grasp."

More Knowledge, the Same Wicked Heart

Yet here is the reality. We have far more education than our forefathers—are we any more moral? Far more resources than at any time in history—are we any less selfish? We've mastered communication and travel—are we any more connected, any less anxious, any more at peace? No. The wisdom of man cannot grasp such things; they come only by the gospel of God.

The philosophers of the 18th and 19th centuries forecast a utopia. At the turn of the 20th century the progressive movements expected that better education, housing, and social services would do away with society's ills. Even today people think that if we bring better education and food to Gaza, they won't hate the Israelis. False. People think that if we level the playing field and give everyone a house, a job, and health insurance, there won't be greed or stealing. False. It's been proven again and again, because the evils of this world are not the result of social problems but of the wicked heart—and man's wisdom can't deal with the wicked heart. Only God can.

The church, like it or not, has the only cure—for social problems, racial issues, wickedness, and sin. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ. The world says, "That's foolish; that's archaic; we're progressive." Really? Bring your utopia and see what happens. I'd love for them to be right, but they're wrong. We have the cure.

Look Upon the One Lifted Up

When Israel was bitten by venomous snakes in Numbers 21, Moses put a bronze serpent on a pole and said, "Look at the serpent, and you'll be okay." "Seriously? A bronze snake will heal me?" Yes. It takes a step of faith. Nicodemus came to Jesus by night, and Jesus told him he could not see God unless he was born again. Nicodemus was bright, but it collapsed his thinking—"Enter my mother's womb a second time?" So Jesus reminded him of the serpent in the wilderness: "Even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him should not perish." I don't think Nicodemus understood it until the day he saw Jesus on the cross, when he came with Joseph of Arimathea to give Him a proper burial. Then it clicked—but not by his wisdom or religious formality.

Sign Seekers and Wisdom Wishers

There are two kinds of people in this world: "the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom." The sign seekers say, "Show me a sign and I will believe." Yet for all the signs Jesus did, they only grew angrier. When He raised Lazarus, the religious leaders responded by plotting to kill both Lazarus and Jesus. As Jesus said in Matthew 16, "A wicked and perverse generation seeks after a sign."

Then there are the wisdom wishers. In our nation signs are heavily questioned and the miraculous is met with speculation. I once read an article trying to explain the Red Sea crossing as the "Reed Sea," knee-deep water occasionally dried by an east wind—never explaining how the entire Egyptian army drowned in knee-deep water. We have the Greek mindset, on a quest for wisdom. In Acts 17 at Mars Hill, when Paul preached the resurrection, "some mocked, and others said, We will hear you again on this matter." That's largely what you'll find today: mocking and dismissal.

A Stumbling Block and Foolishness

The cross is a stumbling block to the religious and foolishness to the intellectual. It offends the religious person, who bases his righteousness on his own works; tell him his works aren't good enough and he must trust Christ, and he's offended. It's foolishness to the intellectual: "The death of this man on a cross will deal with my guilt? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

Our nation is founded on the pursuit of happiness, and many believe happiness is found in pleasure-seeking, adrenaline, illicit relationships, and grabbing as much wealth as possible. Bring the bad news of the gospel—that all those things are sin—and they say, "Who do you think you are, calling me a sinner?" I'm not; the Bible is. People in the West think we've progressed beyond these fables. Perhaps your modern understanding is wrong.

What was Paul's answer? "We preach Christ crucified." No matter what the people in Ephesus, Corinth, or Philippi thought, Paul and his co-laborers were undeterred, because among their hearers were some who were called and would be saved by the word and power of God.

God Chooses the Foolish and Weak

"The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." This may be the most "duh" statement of the Bible—of course God is wiser and stronger than man. But the point is that even if there were such a thing as God's foolishness or weakness, it would exceed man's greatest wisdom and strength.

"You see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and the weak things to confound the mighty; and the base things and the things which are despised... that no flesh should glory in his presence." Foolish, weak, base, and despised—probably not headings on your resume, but those are the very people God calls. The wise have no need for God; the strong don't care for Him. But those who recognize their need heed His call.

It's important that we have a proper view of who we are. We're not chosen for our greatness, ability, or intellect. We've been saved because of our weakness, and in that God is most glorified. When God chose Israel in Deuteronomy 7 He said, "I didn't choose you because you were the greatest, but because you were little, and because I loved you." A master artist puts his masterpiece in a simple frame so the spectator's eyes are drawn to the artist, not the frame. I saw the Mona Lisa at the Louvre as a kid—a little disappointing in size, but set in a very simple frame, so the eye goes to the work, not the frame. God has chosen us, the weak things of this world, that He would get the most glory.

Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification, Redemption

"But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." Our calling depends not on our goodness or works but on His grace. By faith in Christ we receive four things.

In Christ we have wisdom. The world gropes aimlessly for satisfaction, peace, joy, and forgiveness, but man's wisdom offers none of it; Christ offers exactly what man needs.

We have righteousness—the removal of guilt, dealing with our past transgressions. Every person in this room carries guilt over things you've done, and only Jesus deals with that. Your therapist can't; Paxil won't; Christ can.

We have sanctification. The world tries to reform man's problems, but only Jesus sanctifies our wretched being, removing the heart of stone and giving a heart of flesh upon which His word is written.

And we have redemption—Jesus delivers us. Every other religious path leads to bondage; in Jesus is true liberty.

True Liberty on Independence Day

On this day given to the celebration of liberty, we are thankful for our national freedom. But many have reduced liberty to, "I can have whatever relationship I want, whenever and however; I can be as greedy and grasping as I please." Every one of those things leads to bondage. They're pushing in our state to legalize marijuana, mostly to fix budget problems, and people say, "I have the liberty to smoke whatever I want." That kind of liberty leads to bondage. Only in Jesus is found true liberty—and those of you who came out of that lifestyle know it.

Man apart from Christ is in bondage to sin, desperately wicked, but he can be set free. Jesus has opened the way: "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." On this Independence Day, I encourage you, if you have not done so before, to declare your independence from death and sin, and to realize your need for dependence upon Him.

Closing Prayer

Father, we thank You that if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation, set free. Jesus, You came to speak liberty to the captives, the opening of the prison doors to those that are bound. We thank You that You have set us free, and we know true liberty. Give us boldness to declare to those still bound in afflictions and in iron, that they would know the truth of who You are, and by Your truth be set free, and free indeed. We praise You that You've set us free, Lord. Give us boldness to speak the gospel clearly, loudly, for as long as we can. We praise You in Jesus' name. Amen.