bridgewater community church

Have you ever been in a situation when you were sure you were the smartest person in the room–until you weren’t?  Conversely, was there a situation when what you thought was foolish turned out to be wise?  The apostle Paul says it is possible to do that with the cross of Jesus Christ.  “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing” (1 Corinthians 1:18).

 

Paul writes that comment to a church struggling with major problems.  They were quarreling and creating divisions among themselves in part because of various church leaders: “I am of Paul, still others, I am of Apollos.”  In other words, my leader is smarter than yours, which makes me smarter than you.  Therefore, I am the smartest person in the room.

 

In the first century, Greeks had as many as 50 different philosophical parties or systems—each with its own view of the meaning of life, relationships, purpose, destiny, and interaction with the gods.  They loved philosophy—meaning “love of wisdom.”  Paul picks up that message when he says, “For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom” (1 Corinthians 1:22). Your alignment is only as good as your source.  If you do not have a reliable source, your search does not lead to consensus; instead, it leads to proliferation.

 

People are “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7). The issue really becomes one of epistemology–your source of truth or and who you choose to follow.  The biblical worldview would identify our source of truth as God as revealed through Scripture.

 

Isaiah 55:8–9 say: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”   God’s ways and thoughts stand in stark contrast to our own.  The wisdom of God is not the wisdom of man.

 

Here is why this matters to us.  “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12).   You can be absolutely convinced you are right while simultaneously choosing a path that leads to destruction.  There are many people convinced that what determines whether a person goes to heaven is their goodness or their works.  They believe they are a good person (certainly better than others).  How good does one have to be to merit heaven?  The answer is perfect.  The only perfect provision to satisfy God’s justice is Jesus Christ.  It is his sacrifice on our behalf (the wisdom of the cross) that deciares us righteous before God.  But it only applies to those who believe by faith.  The only means of salvation is Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone.

 

“There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 16:25).  Whose wisdom are you going to follow?

 

“But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God” (1 Corinthians 1:27–29).

 

#2. My Daily Need

The gospel is so foolish (according to my natural wisdom), so scandalous (according to my conscience), and so incredible (according to my timid heart), that it is a daily battle to believe the full scope of it as I should.  There is simply no other way to compete with the forebodings of my conscience, the condemning of my heart, and the lies of the world and the Devil than to overwhelm such things with daily rehearsings of the gospel.*

I Corinthians 1:21-23–For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the ^[a]message preached to save those who believe. ²² For indeed Jews ask for ^[b]signs and Greeks search for wisdom; ²³ but we preach ^[c]Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness,

I John 3:19-20–We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will ^[a]assure our heart before Him ^20 [b]in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things

2 Corinthians 4:4–in whose case the god of this ^[a]world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving ^[b]so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

 

 

 

*A Gospel Primer for Christians: Learning to See the Glories of God’s Love, by Milton Vincent, p 14

 

On more than one occasion, I have heard people say that they are Christians or they love Jesus, but they have no use for the local church. When probing further into their meaning, their aversion to church is often tied to a specific denomination, pastor, or church that left them feeling dissatisfied or discontented. Others say that churches are hypocritical or only interested in financial gain.

However, a key emphasis in the New Testament is that God mediates His plan and program in and through the local church. He could have accomplished His will any way He desired. Jesus was clear after His resurrection—after He paid the price for sin and made new life available for every person who would repent, believe, and place their faith in Him—His people would then gather in churches. He told Peter in Matt 16:18, “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.” Christ is building His church upon the confession of Peter that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matt 16:16).

The word “church” in Greek is ekklesia: Ek, meaning “out of” and kaleo, meaning “to call.” The Church is a group of people who have been called out of the world and given new life in Christ to accomplish God’s purposes on this earth. That is a great calling and a compelling purpose.

After the birth of the Church on the day of Pentecost in the book of Acts, there were several great missionary journeys during which the Gospel was proclaimed. Many came to believe in Christ and then organized into local churches. Apostles sent letters to some of those churches—letters which were ultimately canonized into the New Testament (Rome, Corinth, Philippi, etc.).  Additionally, epistles were addressed to pastors, deacons, saints, and church members. The church was on the move, turning the world upside down for Christ. There were heartaches as well, but Jesus was keeping His promise; He keeps his promise of building His church so that the forces of evil, the gates of hell, will not overpower it.

Christ not only established the Church. He gave Himself up for her (Eph 5:25).  The Apostle Paul also tells us that “Christ is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything” (Col 1:18).

If indeed God has chosen to accomplish His plan through local churches, we should not disrespect the very thing that He established and for which He sacrificed Himself. It would be wise to not only know it well, but to cherish it because of the framework God gave us through His Word.