Paul was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. He wouldn’t dare to speak of anything else but the crucified and risen Christ, the Son of the living God. The preaching of the cross of Christ was in his mouth continuously. Because Paul knew that the gospel of Christ and the preaching of the cross is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes. The other believers also preached the cross, not for their own gain, but for Christ’s gain. But is this still the case? Is the same cross of Christ still preached? Or has the preaching of the cross lost its power due to the modernized version of the cross that is preached?
The first church and the preaching of the cross
After the coming of the Holy Spirit to the earth and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the new man, Jesus Christ and the preaching of the cross of Christ was the center. The believers were filled with the Holy Spirit, whereby they preached boldly the gospel of Jesus Christ and called the people to repentance.
The preaching of the cross and the resurrection of Christ from the dead, pricked the people in their hearts (cut to their hearts), whereby many of the house of Israel repented and turned to Jesus Christ, Who had shown His great love for them, when He died on the cross and suffered death for them and rose from the dead.
3000 Souls of the house of Israel believed the words of Peter. They were convicted of their sin and gave their lives to Christ.
Through the baptism in water and the baptism with the Holy Ghost, they were added to the Church. Together with the 120 disciples of Jesus, they formed the Body of Christ on earth and became witnesses of Christ.
That is what the unadulterated preaching of the cross; the crucified and risen Christ, caused. It is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes.
The good news was not well received by all
However, this good message of God was not well received by all. To the religious leaders of the house of Israel of which many had the devil as father and did the lust of their father, this message was an offense and a threat to them.
They couldn’t endure the words of the believers and followers of Jesus, because their words called unto repentance. Their testimony made them so furious that they sought ways to silence the mouths of those, who preached this message.
The gospel of Christ and the message of the cross caused persecution
And so the Body of Christ; the Church was persecuted. Many Christians, who didn’t keep silent but boldly preached Jesus the Christ, were killed. Only, because of the preaching of the cross of Christ that is the power of God
However, the apostles and believers of Christ had counted the cost of following Jesus. They knew they would suffer persecution for the Name of Jesus and the cross of Christ. However, they were not intimidated and it didn’t stop them. The believers continued with the preaching of the cross, despite the consequences.
They remained faithful and obedient to their Lord Jesus Christ. They obeyed His commandment to preach the gospel to everyone and to make disciples of all the nations. (Read also: Count the cost).
The spiritual war between the light and the darkness
Throughout the ages, we see an ongoing spiritual war between the light and the darkness. We see the attacks on the gospel of Christ and the persecution of Christians.
The ruler of the darkness (the world) can’t endure Jesus Christ. He doesn’t allow the truth and light in his kingdom. Therefore the devil and those, who belong to the devil and the darkness, do everything they can to tempt and silence Christians and extinguish the light. (Read also: The darkness extinguishes the light).
They tempt and pressure them and pull on the feelings and emotions of Christians. And because many Christians are carnal and to many Christians faith is a religion, instead of having a personal relationship with Jesus (that originates from their encounter with Christ and their repentance) and living in Him in the light, they succumb under the temptations and pressure of the world.
Through the modern preaching of the cross, many souls are lost
Throughout the years, minor changes have been slowly made to the message of the cross. Whereby people took the feelings and emotions of people into consideration. So that the preaching of the cross of Christ would not cause the people to feel offended, insulted, condemned, rejected, and make them fearful, upset, or angry.
Through ignorance (a lack of spiritual knowledge of the truth) and interference of the flesh. And through personal experiences and opinions, a modernized version of the preaching of the cross has been created.
This modern version of the preaching of the cross doesn’t convict sinners of their sins, and doesn’t call to repentance and the crucifixion of the flesh. But this modern version of the preaching of the cross allows sinners and embrace the evil works of the flesh and darkness. (Read also: The message that nobody wants to hear).
Through human adjustments, the message of the cross has become powerless
Through the modern preaching of the cross, souls are not delivered from the power of darkness anymore. But souls keep living in the power of darkness, whereby many souls are lost.
Because by taking the flesh of man into account and adjusting the message of the cross of Christ, so that the message of the cross would no longer be an offense to people, the message is stripped of its power and the message of the cross has become powerless.
And the worst thing is, that the preachers and believers of this modern gospel assume they walk in the will of God and please Him and preach Jesus and make disciples of Jesus. While in reality, they are henchman of the devil, who preach partial truths of God (lies) and make children of the devil, who live as enemies of the cross after the will, lusts, and desires of the flesh (Read also: A counterfeit Jesus, who produces counterfeit Christians)
The people can’t endure the preaching of the cross
We live in a world, where everything revolves around pleasing the will, lust, and desires of the flesh. Because of that, the people can’t hear and endure the unadulterated preaching of the cross of Christ. That’s because the preaching of the cross is an offense to the carnal man, due to the conviction of sin and the call to repentance and the removal of sin.
In the early days, the people experienced the greatness of God through the preaching of Jesus Christ and the cross and the conviction of their sins by the Holy Spirit. By the hearing of the truth and the conviction of sin, they were cut in their hearts and repented. They devoted their lives to Jesus Christ and the Father.
They lived in submission and obedience to Him and walked in His will.
But nowadays, people have become indifferent, through the pride and hardness of their hearts.
They don’t repent based on hearing the truth of God’s Word. But they feel offended, insulted, and become angry.
They can become so angry, that they are even able to kill Christians, who follow the true Jesus Christ and preach the truth of the gospel and the preaching of the cross of Christ.
Let the preaching of the cross which is the power of God be heard again!
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18)
The preaching of the cross of Christ means salvation and justification of man and reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ and His redemptive work. It means the death of the old man (flesh) and the life of the new man (spirit).
At the cross sinners die, and the righteous arise in newness of life.
If you are crucified with Christ and risen in Him and you have received the Holy Spirit and you are a witness of Christ and the truth of God’s Word is in your mouth, you shall experience persecution in your life from your environment.
But you must remember, that many have preceded you.
The prophets in the Old Covenant didn’t stay silent. But they spoke the words of God and called God’s people to repentance and obedience to God.
Jesus, the Christ and the Son of the living God, spoke the words of His Father. He called the house of Israel to repentance and obedience to God.
And all the apostles and believers in the New Covenant (from the first church until now) preached the gospel. They spoke the words of Christ (the words of the Father) and called the people to repentance and obedience to Jesus Christ and the Father.
Let the sound preaching of the cross, as it is written in the Bible without interference from people, be in the mouth of Christians and return to the church. So that the preaching of the cross becomes the power of God again until salvation for everyone who believes and is willing to take up his or her cross and follow the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ.
Articles about the cross:
- Someone has to pay the price!
- The lot fell on Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God
- The crucifixion of the soul
- The crucifixion of the flesh
- What is the true meaning of the cross?
- Why was Jesus crucified on a wooden cross?
- Why was the serpent of brass a foreshadowing of Jesus’ death on the cross?
‘Be the salt of the earth’
