Christ and Him Crucified

And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
~1 Corinthians 2:1-2

The Apostle Paul told the Corinthian church that his preaching to them when he had been with them was not with fanciful words nor persuasive language. He did not try to manipulate them with the way he communicated. There were no special effects or cleaver gimmicks in his presentation. Instead, his focus centered on the message itself. He preached the word of the cross (1:18), the truth of Christ dying on the cross to suffer the punishment of those who would place their faith in Him so that they would be saved. He describes this message as being foolish to unbelievers but the power of God to those who are saved (1:18, 23). Recognizing the transforming power of the message of Christ and His crucifixion, he centered his preaching on Christ and Him crucified.

Notice that Paul’s message was very exclusive. He resolved to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. He did not focus on the contemporary debates of the day, the popular entertainment from the theater, or how one can have their “best life now.” All of Paul’s teaching and preaching revolved around Christ and His work on the cross. This doesn’t mean that the cross was all that he talked about. He discusses marriage later on in this letter as well as spiritual gifts. However, everything he preached and taught were done so in light of the cross. He realized that to have a godly marriage, you have to first understand Christ’s work on the cross that would enable you to have such a marriage because you cannot have that kind of marriage without Him and the work that He accomplished on the cross. In fact, you will notice that in many of Paul’s letters he begins with doctrinal teaching of Jesus’ salvation accomplished on the cross and then moves to the practical way that His work should factor into and influence a Christian’s work. (Compare Romans 1-11 and 12-16; and Ephesians 1-3 and 4-6.) Paul didn’t provide the Corinthian church with a “twelve step plan to recovery” for anything they were going through. Instead, he just points to Christ and His work as the ultimate remedy for whatever the problem may be and shows how that should affect their life. Of course, our ultimate problem is a spiritual one and unless we come to Christ for the forgiveness that He provides though His sacrificial death, and the life changing power of His Holy Spirit, other issues can never be solved. Jesus’ crucifixion on the cross even serves as the centerpiece of the Bible. The authors of the Old Testament pointed forward to it and the writers of the New Testament looked back to the event.

Too often today the cross becomes just a meaningless symbol. We wear it around our neck or have it pasted to our shirt without any passing thought of the very One who hung on that cross to save wretched sinners who cry out to Him. Have we lost the focus on the cross that the apostle had? Have we grown too preoccupied with the world that we no longer cherish the “old rugged cross” that we sing about?

For the Christian, the event of the crucifixion of Christ can never be viewed as something meaningless and irrelevant. In fact, nothing can be described as more meaningful or relevant. It is because of Christ and His crucifixion that we are saved, that we can be viewed as righteous by God, and that we can have a relationship with God.

This Lenten and Easter season, let us not forget about the cross. May we not lose sight of the salvation secured on that cross. Take some time this month to study and reflect upon Christ’s work on the cross: Paul’s central message, the centerpiece of the Bible, and the foundation of our salvation. May we determine to focus on Christ and Him crucified.

The church can only live and breathe at the cross; without it, there is no life and reason to exist.
~Erwin Lutzer

Love in Christ,
Pastor Lee

Joy Cometh In The Morning

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning
--Psalm 30:5

Christian if you are in a night of trial, think of tomorrow. Encourage your heart with thoughts of the coming of your Lord. Be patient, for He comes with clouds descending. Be patient! The Husbandman waits until He reaps His harvest. Be patient for you know who has said, "Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me to give to every man according as his work shall be" (Rev. 22:12). If you are distressed now, remember,

A few more rolling suns, at most,
Will land you on fair Canaan's coast.

Your head may be crowned with thorny troubles now, but it will wear a starry crown before long. Your hand may be filled with cares now, but it will sweep the strings of the harp of heaven soon. Your garments may be soiled with dust now, but they will be white soon. Wait a little longer. Oh, how despicable our troubles and trials will seem when we look back on them! Looking at them here in the present they seem immense; but when we get to heaven, we will then

With transporting joys recount,
The labors of our feet.

Our trials will then seem light and momentary afflictions. Let us go on boldly. Even if the night is never so dark, the morning comes, which is more than they can say who are shut up in the darkness of hell. Do you know what it is thus to live on the future--to live on expectation--to anticipate heaven? Happy believer, what joy it is to have so sure and so comforting a hope! It may be all dark now, but it will soon be light; it may be all trial now, but it will soon be all happiness. What does it matter though "weeping may endure for a night," when "joy cometh in the morning"?


Morning By Morning
Charles Spurgeon


I read this devotion this morning and immediately I knew that God was speaking to me. In light of the trials and all the other things my family and I have been going through; this was God's way of telling me that everything will be o.k. tomorrow. Immediately one of my favorite pieces of scripture came to mind.

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life^b]">?

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 6:25-34

Each new day in our lives on this earth may have trials and tribulations. However, we who are in Christ have have the greatest hope in all eternity. We know that if our troubles should bring us to death, then we will be joined with our Savior for all eternity. We have the blessed hope that throughout all our troubles that He is with us. He can and will carry us through. For every trouble we endure has been preordained by God for us, to conform us to the image of Christ. This is so that, (Philipians 1:6) "he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.", would be fulfilled.