We are back again, friends, as we search the scriptures. Today, I want to bring a message on Preaching Christ Crucified and why. Our text is taken from 1 Corinthians 1:23, 2:1-2.

1 Corinthians 1:23

²³ but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness,

1 Corinthians 2:1-2

And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. ² For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Preaching Christ Crucified and Why.

PRAYER:

Father, we want to thank You for another privilege that we have to search Your Word. We are praying now, Spirit of God, that You would energize the Word, that it would produce effects in the lives of those who hear, in Jesus Name we pray. Amen!

In the light of the season we are in, the Passion of Christ and in the light of the many Christless sermons we hear today, I want to draw our attention back to Christ, the center and pivot of Christianity. Many preachers today preach about everything under the sun but the Son of God: sermons that derive from man, centers on man, and only for now and for here. The early disciples of Jesus preached Christ Crucified. And they expected us to preach nothing else. Peter, on the day of Pentecost, in Acts 2 preached Christ, not tongues. Following the healing of the lame man by the Temple Gate in Acts 3, Peter again preached Christ, not healing. Before the Sanhedrin, on account of the lame man, in Acts 4, Peter and John preached Christ – not miracles. Philip in Samaria, in Acts 8 preached Christ but not signs and wonders. And Saul, in Damascus, following the vision of the risen Christ and his conversion, in Acts 9, preached Christ, not visions. Many years after his conversion Paul still preached Christ. And that is the text we read: 1 Corinthians 1:23,

²³ but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness,

Acts 2:2

² For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

This was the faith that was delivered to the saints once and for all according to Jude 3, the Gospel about Christ. For Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit says,

Romans 1:16

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

Why must we preach Christ Crucified and Him alone? There are two reasons:

1. We preach Christ Crucified and Him alone because of His claims.
2. We preach Christ Crucified and Him alone because of His clout.

Two things: His claims and His clout. We preach Christ Crucified because of who He said He was and still is which none other is and can ever be. We preach Christ Crucified because of what He has done which none other can do or could ever do.

Christ Claims.

We want to look at the claims Jesus made and I want to stick to just one book: the Gospel of John.

In John 6:35, Jesus says, “I am the bread of life…” and as the bread of life He who believes in Him or he who feeds on Him shall never hunger. In John Chapter 8:12 Jesus says, “I am the light of the world…” and as the light of the world whoever follows Him will never walk in darkness. In John 10:9, Jesus says, “I am the door…” that is, access to God. “…And anyone who enters by Him shall be saved.” Saved from the penalty of sin, saved from the power of sin, and some day, sooner or later, saved from the very presence of sin. In John 10:11, Jesus says, “I am the good sphered.” And as the good shepherd He would lay down His life for the sheep. In John 11:25, Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life.” And as the resurrection and life he who believes in Him shall never die. In John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” Then of course He says, “no one comes to the Father but by Me.”

He is the way to those who are lost in sins and trespasses. He is the truth to those who are deceived by Satan. He is the life to those who are dead as a result of sin. And then finally in John 15:1, Jesus says, “I am the true vine.” And as the true vine, those who will stick to Him, who will depend upon Him as a branch or as branches will be productive.

May I observe that these are what we call the I am statements of Jesus Christ. And these I am statements of Jesus Christ are His claim to divinity. By them, Jesus claims to be Jehovah, the I AM; who revealed Himself to Moses at the burning bush, in Exodus 3.

On one occasion in John 8:56-59 at the temple in Jerusalem following the exchange which Jesus had with the Jewish religious leaders. Jesus said to them:

John 8:56

⁵⁶ Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”

⁵⁷ Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”

⁵⁸ Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

Bad English. Isn’t it? No: but it is not the English that Jesus is talking about now or thinking about. It is the reality of the fact that He is divinity. Before Abraham was I had been. No, he didn’t say I had been or I was. But before Abraham was I Am. By this, Jesus was saying that He was God, Jehovah. And in John 8:59,

⁵⁹ Then they took up stones to throw at Him…

Why? Because they wanted to execute Him for blaspheming. Why did they call it blasphemy? Because He, according to Him, being a man, made Himself equal to God. Jesus is the great I AM. That’s His claim. We must preach Christ Crucified and Him alone, not only because of His claim, but also because of His clout: what He has done. For this we will consider the following things: His incarnations, His ministration, His crucifixion, His resurrection, His salvation and His coronation.

His clout.

The incarnation of Christ.

Jesus Christ is God who came in the form of a man, perfect man, thus qualifying Him to die for the sins of man. If He did not come as God He would not be qualified to pay the penalty for the sins of man. The hymn writer Cecil Alexander puts it this way:

There was no other good enough
To pay the price of sin;
He only could unlock the gate
Of heaven and let us in.

O dearly, dearly has He loved,
And we must love Him, too,
And trust in His redeeming blood,
And try His works to do

We will stop here and conclude next time.

PRAYER:

Father, we are thankful again for this opportunity we have had, and praying for my friends asking that in this season when we remember the price you paid, that this price will have effect in these my friends, producing salvation, producing deliverance, producing healing for souls spirit and body, in Jesus Name. Amen!