TOPIC

The Christian Gospel is the center and the circumference of Christian evangelism. There are other so-called gospels; we must beware of them. The true Gospel not only gloriously answers the need of man, it also offends some men. The Gospel is to be recognized not only by its wonderful content but also by its opposition.

In these days of ecumenicity when it is popular to discount our differences, it is in the interest of truth – if without bitterness or rancor – we point out the teaching of the Bible concerning the offense of the Cross. May God help us from being personally offensive. May He likewise save us from toning down the distinctives of the Christian faith.

So let me say clearly, there are some things I do not believe.

I do not believe that the God of the Bible is dead. I do not believe that there is no hell.

I do not believe everybody is going to heaven.

I do not believe in an ecumenicity that concludes everybody's religion is as good as anybody else’s.

I shall respect each man's right to his faith or even lack of it. But that does not mean that I shall not attempt to convert him. I'll oppose any attempt to coerce him, or force him by physical or other means to a decision against his will. For I believe God wants only the glad-hearted, willing surrender of a heart to Himself.

Having said what I don't believe, let me change what I have said to what I do believe.

I do believe that the God of the Bible lives. I do believe there is a hell to be shunned.

I do believe there is a heaven which men may enter if they come God's way.

I do believe in an ecumenicity among those who accept the Lord Jesus Christ, who base their faith on the divine revelation of the inspired Scripture.

You may be aware of the fact that in some circles this belief that men are lost unless they know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour is branded as intolerance, as bigoted, as narrow, and as even anti-minority groups. Behind the repudiation of this teaching of Scripture that all men are lost is the idea that human brotherhood involves endorsement of other religions as legitimate and soul saving. This I do not buy. I'll be a gentleman. I'll be friendly. I'll go out of my way to help those of other faiths, but I must not say that other faiths lead to God and heaven. And I deny that this is anti-racial. It is religious, not racial. My love, for example, for God's ancient people and for men everywhere is manifested in the desire to help them physically and spiritually. I admit my kinship with them as "the offspring of God." I gladly confess my debt, especially to the Jew first, but also to the Gentile. But this does not mean that I must therefore deny the teachings of the Christian faith as taught in the Word of God. I believe that all men are sinners and that God Himself has provided the only way of approach to Himself.

All of this is forcefully brought to our attention in two passages which speak of “the offense of the cross” in the New Testament. The word "offense" in these passages is actually in the original the word from which our word "scandal" comes. It is the scandal of the Cross. In its usage in the language in which the New Testament was written, in a very literal and common sense it refers to a snare, a trap; and can quite legitimately be translated "stumbling block." It is so translated by the American Standard Version in the passages of Scripture to which I now refer. The first of these is Galatians 5:11:

"But I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? then hath the stumbling-block of the cross been done away."

For the apostle Paul to have trusted in the rites of religion for his salvation would have delivered him from the opposition of many of his country-men. Then the stumbling block of the Cross would have been done away. But the apostle Paul refused any such escape from persecution. He did not preach circumcision. He was persecuted because the offense of the Cross was something that he could not disown.

The second passage of Scripture is 1 Corinthians 1:18-25:

"For the word of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us who are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And the discernment of the discerning will I bring to nought. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For seeing that in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom knew not God, it was God's good pleasure through the foolishness of the thing preached to save them that believe. Seeing that Jews ask for signs, and Greeks seek after wisdom: but we preach Christ crucified, unto Jews a stumbling-block, and unto Gentiles foolishness; but unto them that 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."

May I suggest two things about this passage of Scripture which deliver us from any bias that is merely natural and worldly. Notice in the first place that the whole race is involved in whatever condemnation is referred to in this passage, for Jews, Greeks and Gentiles are all mentioned – in verse 22, Jews and Greeks; in verse 23, Jews and Gentiles; in verse 24, Jews and Greeks. I take it that the Greeks are selected as the representatives of all the Gentiles, perhaps because of the emphasis upon their idea that the Cross was “foolishness,” for the Greeks prided themselves upon their wisdom. In any case, whatever is involved in the condemnation of men, it takes in the whole race, not just one section.

In the second place, notice the two things which are specified – that to the Jews, Christ crucified is a “stumbling block,” it is a snare; it is something over which they stumble. This is merely a statement of fact. There is no opprobrium attached to it, save that they have divested themselves of the blessing that God otherwise would have given them. Notice the second word, "foolishness," and this is the word which characterizes the Gentiles' attitude toward the Cross.

I do not think it is difficult for us to enter the meaning of these words and see them in their application. We have two men before us, representative of the whole human race. I think it would be fitting to call one a religionist; for not all Jews are involved in this category, just as all Gentiles are not involved in the category of those who brand "Christ crucified" as foolishness.

As a matter of fact, the opportunity for men to come to the Lord, to know the salvation of God, is open to both; because verse 24 says "unto them that are called, both Jews and Greeks." So there is no bias one way or the other. God is not a respecter of persons. The believing Jew and the believing Gentile are welcomed and made part of God's spiritual family.

It is true that many of God's ancient people in Paul's day were concerned about this matter of signs, which is mentioned in verse 22, "seeing that Jews ask for signs." I read in Matthew 12:38-40:

"Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, Teacher, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."

You see – from this answer of our Lord, while He certainly indicated that signs should not be necessary, He did not deny to His people a sign. The sign was this – that as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so the Son of man would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. I take it that this refers to His death and to His resurrection. So the great crowning evidence that the Lord pointed to as the “sign” was His death and resurrection.

You will recall Matthew 16:1-4: "And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and trying him asked him to show them a sign from heaven." And the Lord Jesus answered, " An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of Jonah." But it was a sign. That that sign was not enough to convince all, doesn't argue against the fact that it was a sign; and for those who accepted it, they found what God offers to one who believes in the crucified and risen Saviour.

In John 4 a nobleman came to the Lord Jesus. The margin speaks of him as a king's officer. The Lord said to him, “Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will in no wise believe" (v. 48). And so the Jews seek for a sign; for somehow or other Christ crucified, the Messiah dying on a Roman cross, is unthinkable; it is utterly objectionable; it is a stumbling block. The New Testament gives its sad commentary, and I say it with great sorrow of heart, blindness in part has happened to Israel. Oh, that God's ancient people would see.

Now having said that, putting myself in their place, sitting in their room, I think I can understand their confusion. They thought of the seed of Abraham in whom they would be blessed forever, but they forgot the seed of the woman who would be bruised in overcoming evil. They thought of the servant of Jehovah who would be exalted and lifted up and made very high, but not of the servant of Jehovah who was to be cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of His people. They thought of the shepherd of Israel who would lead Joseph like a flock, but not of the shepherd of Jehovah of hosts, Jehovah's fellow who would be smitten. Seeing the glories, they missed the sorrows, and have failed to comprehend that the sorrows lead to the glory. There is no harshness in my heart; there is not a trace of anti-Semitism in my soul. I love God's ancient people. They gave us the Saviour. Under God, they gave us the Book of God. It is my conviction that anti-Semitism is unscriptural and, in its essence, is against the God of the Scriptures. But this is the truth, “Christ crucified” is unto the Jews a “stumbling block.”

Unto the Greeks it is “foolishness.” Here is an amazing thing. Those who propounded the ideas that had shaped civilization for centuries, proud of their wisdom, failed to see in the Cross “the wisdom of God.” You recall that little parenthetical word in Acts 17:21: "Now all the Athenians and the strangers sojourning there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell or to hear some new thing." Always searching, always on the quest of truth, seeking knowledge, gathering information, showing a certain degree of wisdom. A great people were the Greeks. But the Greeks stumbled too. They stumbled because they saw in the Cross nothing but utter foolishness to meet the needs of man. "Christ crucified… unto Gentiles… foolishness," says 1 Corinthians 1:23. Let's think about this for a moment.

One of the hardest lessons I had to learn in my early ministry was why good, logical, moral citizens would brand the cross of Christ as foolishness, why they would speak of it as a medieval conception, as a slaughterhouse religion; for it seemed to me the most logical thing, the most wonderful thing in all the world. It seemed to me that it was the answer to the sin question that only God could have propounded, that only God could have thought of. You see, I'm a sinner, and I know that sin separates me from God. I know that eternal death awaits the unrepentant sinner, and I need deliverance. However I may advance my education, however I may develop my culture, however I may be accepted among men, deep down underneath there is the sense of guilt, and of shame, and of condemnation; for God says, "The soul that sinneth it shall die," and "the wages of sin is death." I find myself unable to extricate myself from the pit of my lostness and my condemnation. But the good news is this; what I cannot do and what other men cannot do for me nor for themselves, God has done. God sent His Son, virgin-born, Who without sin of His own bore my sin in His own body on the tree, and God says, "If you'll trust my Son, I'll forgive you."

"Oh," says the Greek, says the Gentile, "foolish- ness." Why is it foolishness to him? First of all, it is foolishness because of what we may call the mystery of it. Do you recall that when the inner veil of the tabernacle was woven in Old Testament times, cherubim were worked into the veil, and it is called “cunning work” in Exodus 26:31 and 36:35 (KJV). May I suggest that the Cross is the cunning work of God. It is the answer to what I have just in simplicity tried to say, which in more theological language is termed the problem of redemption: how can a holy God meet and forgive and restore to fellowship sinful man? How can that chasm be bridged? God's answer is the Cross. And if you refuse that Cross, God has no other answer.

I recall sitting under a very wonderful teacher of theology who taught me much of appreciation for the great truths of the Word of God. Very frequently I heard him quote a verse that at first did not lay hold of my soul, but in its repetition over a long period of time it has come to be part of life for me. He spoke of Psalm 85:10 as having its greatest example and fulfillment at Calvary. Listen to it:

"Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other."

How can mercy and truth come together? The truth is I'm a sinner, I'm lost, I'm under the condemnation of God. How can God be merciful? The answer is the Cross. “Righteousness and peace." How can I have peace with God? I'm unrighteous. Righteousness demands my execution. The answer is the Cross. It's the cunning work of God. It's God's answer to the sin question.

In the second place, the Cross is foolishness to men because of what we may call the Cross's imperialism. By that I mean its intolerance, its bigotry, its – you see, the Cross says it is this way and no other. The broadminded, liberal man repudiates any such idea. This is obnoxious to him, it is repelling to him. I for one shall not alter what the Word of God says.

And in none other is there salvation" [speaking of Jesus of Nazareth, raised from the dead] : "for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)

God gave unto us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath the life; he that hath not the Son of God hath not the life. (1 John 5: 11- 12)

He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life; but he that obeyeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. (John 3:36)

And the crowning words of all, the words of our Saviour Himself who would gather all unto Him:

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by Me. (John 14:6)

Yes, it is the only way. But while it may be the only way, it is the way all may come if they will. Will you turn from your idea of the Cross and take God's teaching and believe God's truth? You'll be surprised at what God does, for this is the way to new life. This is the answer to relationship with God. This is the answer to reality.

The Cross is mystery. The Cross is imperialism. But there's a third reason Gentiles reject the Cross and brand it foolishness. It is this – its devastation of human pride. Every religion of the earth that I know about says, "Something in my hand I bring" as it approaches God. The New Testament faith alone says, "Nothing in my hand I bring." For all human effort, all of man-made works have to be passed by. It is “not by works of righteousness which we have done” (Titus 3:5). “It is by grace we have been saved through faith and that not of ourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

"Unto Jews a stumbling-block, and unto Gentiles foolishness." But if the message ended there I am sure I would not preach from the text today. The message ends this way: "We preach Christ crucified. …unto them that are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God."

I am glad once again to have the privilege as a preacher of the Gospel to say, if there is any soul who will mean business with God and in honesty confess himself a sinner and turn to the Saviour who died and rose again, God will meet him and will transform his life, and God will lead him as he is willing to be led. That is the reason we can't give up in this matter of trying to convert people. Not because we want them miserable like we are, but because we want them to know the joy of the Lord like we do.

So I trust that as we think of these things, we see again the centrality of the Cross, the tremendous importance of the Cross, and the distinctiveness of the Cross. And let us make sure we hold our banner high. I would be true, I would be honest, and this is what I believe the Scriptures teach. In this I take my stand, lovingly inviting all, Jews and Gentiles, to come, to believe and to rejoice in the Lord and the salvation of God. The word of the Cross is unto us who are saved the “power of God,” says Paul in I Corinthians 1:18.

I know I'm speaking to someone to whom life is a burden. It seems that all the expectations of the years passed have gone down the drain and there's no satisfaction, and there's no life. You have form, you have ritual perhaps, but you don't have life. I invite you to turn to the Saviour and to trust in Him.

Some of you are wondering why I'm preaching the Gospel. Well, God help me if I don’t preach the Gospel. Some of you are here to study the deep things of God, and you say "You're dealing with the milk of the Word." I am. There are two emphases in Founder's Week this year: one, evangelism, and the other, the second coming of the Lord. We have mentioned the first of these already. May God in this critical hour give us a new insight into our responsibility and privilege of being God's witnesses to the ends of the earth. God help us to move out in a new thrust of Biblical evangelism ere the night come when no man shall work.

"Eloquent, rhetorical, philosophical preaching may inform the intellect, please the taste, appeal to the senses; it may even convict. But only the preaching of Christ crucified can save, can bring pardon, peace, justification and power." g

This message was delivered at the 1967 Founders Week Conference of the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois.

Dr. Culbertson was the author of several books and the editor of The Moody Monthly. He served as president of the Moody Bible Institute from 1948–1971. He also taught the Bible at various churches and conferences around the country.