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Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

“You called, You cried, You shattered my deafness, You sparkled, You blazed, You drove away my blindness, You shed Your fragrance, and I drew in my breath, and I pant for You.” Augustine.

Whenever the gospel is preached it can be expected to meet with varying reactions. But by that great mystery of  Divine election there will be those whose eyes are opened to the reality of who Jesus is, because they are “called” by God. Previously they may have regarded it all as “foolishness”,  and the message of a crucified Christ might well have been “a stumbling block” to them. But minds can change; hearts can change; people can change. Maybe you were like this once, but you know the remarkable process of transformation God has taken you through – in fact, is still taking you through.

In verse 25 Paul is not saying that God actually has any “foolishness” or “weakness” in Him. It is His way of asserting that God is wiser and stronger than any human-beings. In His wisdom and strength He draws to Himself all those He has called.

“God works with power, and can make the unwilling willing; if He undertake the conversion of a soul, it will be converted. All the pious workings of our heart towards God are the fruit and consequence of the powerful working of His grace in us.” Thomas Goodwin.

Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles…

Even after we come to believe in Jesus, and are utterly convinced of gospel truth, there may be times when the devil whispers in our ears that it is all “foolishness”. We have come to surely experience Jesus as the wisdom and power of God, but nevertheless the enemy of our souls tries to sow these seeds of doubt and unbelief in our minds. It may even be – but I can’t assert this with any certainty; it’s speculation on my part – that we become more prone to these temptations as we get older and more frail and weak. Don’t be at all surprised if they come. Also, don’t fail to differentiate between temptation and sin. As Martin Luther observed:

‘You can’t help the birds of the air flying about your head; but you can prevent them building a nest in your hair.’

By God’s grace, we must take a stand. Also we need to lock shields of faith together and help each other stand. (Don’t become isolated from Christian Fellowship).

 We must choose to doubt our doubts and believe our beliefs.

I love the simplicity of these words from a song by the Bill Gaithersburg Trio:

“I have decided I’m gonna live like a believer,

Turn my back on the deceiver,

I’m gonna live what I believe.”

You have to decide – and God will help you.

Prayer: Lord, I have experienced many times that Satan is a liar. Enable me, by your Spirit, to see through every deception and take my stand on your revealed truth.

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

I fear that in the evangelical church (or parts of it) we are in danger of losing our grip on a robust doctrine of Final Judgment. Do we really believe it is possible for some people, by rejecting Christ, to perish? If we lose this fundamental conviction we will also massively leak zeal and momentum in evangelism. If you find you are becoming woolly about the whole notion of “perishing”, I urge you to read through the gospels again and listen to Jesus on the subject. He clearly believed it possible, and that it is the ultimate tragedy.

I accept, of course, that there are mysteries about eternal realities we cannot fully grasp or articulate, and there are different interpretations and understandings of what “perishing” actually means. But a plain reading of Scripture will surely inform us that to reject Christ and the gospel leads to unspeakable loss.