Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the historic one-year lectionary.
Foolishness! Or something stated more forcefully and crudely by "the wise," "the scribes," or "the debater of this age" (1 Cor. 1:20, ESV). Christian teaching is openly mocked by many in our current American culture. Why is this? Should we become indignant and respond in kind, with hatred, mockery, and condescension?
1 Corinthians 1:18 says "the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing" (ESV). So I suppose we should expect the average person to respond in this way. God's wisdom doesn't work in accord with the wisdom of an unbelieving world.
Those who are going to mock will mock. There is very little that a fair analysis of the reason behind Christian responses to a fallen world will accomplish. The mocker will always find a way to despise the Gospel.
For htis reason, what Paul pictures in 1 Corinthians 1 is more a proclamation than a persuasive argument. As a Christian, I will affirm the truth of the Gospel. I will hold to the message that Jesus, both God and man, lived a life without sin, laid it down in death, and willfully took it up again. The goal was for his perfect holiness to be applied to sinful humans by grace through faith in him. The New Testament uniformly describes this as both true and effective.
Is this a matter for debate or argument? No, according to verses 22-23, it is a prclamation of truth. Those who will believe become convinced and show themselves as partakers of eternal life. Those who reject are doing so to their grave danger.
The good news is that God is able to use His Gospel to save those who will hear and believe. Our prayer, then, is that God wil raise up many to believe his words of life.
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