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There was once a young man who had written a book. He left a manuscript with his editor for criticism, and correction, and he told him that it probably wouldn't take very long to read, as it was only a small part of his entire work; being only the first chapter, in which he explained the universe. (1)

Wouldn't it be great if we really could explain the universe in one chapter? I know I couldn’t. I have enough trouble trying to explain where Cain and Abel got their wives in Bible studies! There is a lot in this world that we don’t understand.

There are some who would put worldly understanding ahead of faith, but I don’t believe we are saved by our worldly understanding. In fact, I believe we may give thanks to God that we are not saved by our worldly knowledge. Our scripture reading for this morning, tells us, “God chose what in the world is nonsense to put the wise to shame. . .”

Socrates, in his day, made the statement that he was the wisest man in Athens. That shocked everybody because he was a very humble man. So they asked him what he meant. And he said something like this, “Well, there are a great many of the Athenians who think they know, and I know I do not know, so I am the wisest of the Athenians.” We are not saved by what we know, for then only the most educated and knowledgeable among us could gain entrance into God's kingdom. We are saved, not by our understanding, but by our faith.

That's good news, isn't it? If we were saved by our worldly knowledge, a lot of us would be in trouble. The verses we have just read speak of this loudly. Let’s look again at verse 18. “For the message of Christ’s death on the cross is nonsense to those who are being lost, (to the world) but for us who are being saved, it is God’s power.” God’s power! What is Paul talking about here. For that we need to go back a few verses and we will discover that this statement is a continuation of what he addresses there, namely; division in the church. He makes it quite plain that if there are groups with various ideas about Christ in the church, Christ has been divided, and that cannot be. There needs to be unity, and agreement. If Christ is going to be discussed it should be done “without using the language of human wisdom.” Why? “In order to make sure that Christ’s death on the cross is not robbed of it’s power.” (Verse 17)

We hear much today of division in the church. Being United Church people, we are most familiar with it in our own denomination, but it is commonplace in others as well. Paul wants nothing to do with these divisions. The reason being, if there is division, it diminishes the power of Christ dying for us.

I can just imagine Paul on television discussing theological issues. He has just identified the problems in the church, reminding his listeners that there must be unity and agreement when we speak about Christ. He tells his audience that he is speaking as a Christian brother on behalf of Christ. He is not making this stuff about Jesus up, it is only what Jesus had said about himself. It is what Jesus did while on earth, and does now at the right hand of the Father. This is the stuff we should agree on. And he makes no bones about it.

However, now imagine with me what some church people might say to him. “Paul, this is risky business you are dealing with. You already know there are church leaders out there who are critical of you, and this will only add fuel to the fire. This will only cause us to lose more people, more division. You will simply destroy the church with those statements. They are too rigid. You will simply exclude too many people. You should concentrate on the things we agree, and let it go at that. Peace is the most important issue here.” You see, their attitude is simply put, peace at any price.

And Paul replies, “Look, I know what your saying, but you know, you are not using your heads. Think about it for a moment. You are basing your remarks on human wisdom, which says that the virgin birth, the deity of Christ, the cross and the resurrection, is nonsense. You want to follow the party line in the church, which is a result of human wisdom, human pride, and loyalty to human leaders. The Gospel that I am preaching does not cause division, it is your worldly wisdom that cannot accept the preaching of the cross! It is not worldly understanding that brings us to God, but something that goes far beyond our ability to comprehend. There is something deep within the human soul that cries out for God, and this soul knows that it cannot be complete until it is in perfect union with its Creator. This is called faith."

Paul tells us in this brief passage that the Gospel, as found in the Bible does not measure up to worldly standards. It is foolishness to the world. Now he wrote this around the same time the Gospels were being written. It made no sense to the unbeliever then, and it makes no sense now. How can you have a man roaming the countryside claiming to be God. How could this man heal people, just for the asking. What sense does it make for this man to die on a cross, other than the fact that he must have been some sort of radical treasoner. It is foolishness, when you really think about it. Only the keys of faith can unlock its truth. Only by faith we can accept this as absolute truth, and not by worldly knowledge.

I believe that worldly knowledge stands in the way of faith. Those first century Christians; well we can excuse them for their doubts. They were Jewish, and Greek converts of perhaps no longer than six years, being converted from long standing traditions, especially the Jewish person. The Gospel made no sense to them in its simple form, so they wanted to add to it some of their ancient traditions and beliefs. To these Jewish converts a cross was an instrument of death reserved only for the worst of criminals, and in their minds it probably still followed that Jesus must have been such a person. Then Paul comes along and says , “No, this is not the case. The cross of Jesus was a revelation, and an out pouring of God’s love and grace. It has the power to save.”

The Greeks reacted quite differently to the cross. They were accustomed to a world of reason, and thought; a world of the intellect. They were thinkers, and loved to reason thing out. Things had to make perfect sense to them. They needed rational evidence for everything they believed. So it was with the cross event.

It is this philosophy has entered our world over the years. Much of our psychological/scientific thinking of today comes from the ancient Greeks, and as a result we still ask the same questions they asked so many years ago. We live in an age where we want explanations for everything, and where many are available. When it comes to things of faith, things of the Gospel, some want to treat those in the same manner. These simply need to have a logical and rational approach, or they become suspicious. And so they redesign the Gospel so that it will be more appealing to our modern society. Things that are basic to faith, are considered nonsense to our modern technological, scientific world.

Paul had no intention of redesigning the Gospel of Jesus Christ, even though he knew he was going to run into serious opposition. He also knew that the power of the cross was basic to this Gospel. Because the cross was central for him, he could confidently say in verse 23, “..we proclaim the crucified Christ, a message that is offensive to the Jews, and nonsense to the Gentiles” (GNB). A key to faith is Christ crucified.

However, the Good News did not end at the cross. If the cross was to have any power at all, it could not end there. “How can a kingdom of righteousness be created as the results of an executed Christ?” (Kenneth L. Chafin, Communicator’s Commentary, Dallas Texas, Word Books 1990). There has to be more to it than that. What is it? The resurrection! Whose resurrection? Paul later writes these words, “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith” (1 Corinthians 15:13&14). If Christ has not been raised, there is no resurrection fo anyone, and then indeed, preaching is of no value. Then the entire Gospel becomes null and void, and so does our faith.

So then, another key to faith is the resurrection of Jesus, and consequently, the resurrection of all believers. It is important for us to believe this just as the Gospel presents it, and not try to dress it up in scientific language. It is imperative that we have the same confidence in this as Paul did. The message of the early church was, and still is today, that God is mending the world, unto Himself, through Christ, and the power of the cross, which includes everything Christ was, and is, all he said, did and does! The question today is, do you believe it? Do you have the same confidence in the Gospel as Paul did? Can you accept it in the power of the cross? Remember, “God purposely chose what the world considers nonsense in order to shame the wise.”

Just as we are not saved by worldly understanding, we are not saved by the level of our good works. We cannot buy our way into heaven. There is no sacrifice outside of Christ, that is great enough to guarantee us the favour of God. “This means that no one can boast in God’s presence,” Paul writes. Elsewhere he said, “ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast. (Eph. 2:8&9).

We are not saved by our good works, although good works are certainly an important part of our lives as Christians. As James has it, “...faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead” (James 2:17). Good works means that our faith is in action. It is not dead, but alive! It is a grateful response to the power of the cross. The NIV translates the same verse this way, “...faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” Thus another key to faith is action.

We are not saved by worldly understanding -- although understanding is important. God gave us a mind for a reason, and we are to use it for the betterment of our life. But we are saved by faith in the power of the cross. Jesus said, “If you had faith as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this tree, `pull yourself up by the roots and plant yourself in the sea!' and it would obey you” (Luke 17:6). Paul writes, “God has brought you in union with Christ Jesus, and God has made Christ to be our wisdom.” No more division. Christ cannot be divided, and in faith we are united with him. There are many things in the world we don’t understand, but with our faith in Christ we have the wisdom we need. There is no great mystery here. “By him (through the power of the cross) we are put right with God, and we become God’s holy people and are set free.” This my friends is the Good News upon which all of Christianity is based. The key lies in faith and everything that goes with it. Do you have such faith? If not, open your hearts and minds to the Holy Spirit today. Accept His invitation to receive such faith today.