THE PREACHING OF THE CROSS
1 Corinthians 1:18

Why preach the cross?

The cross is the message of New Testament Christianity and the center of the Christian faith. Remove the cross and Christianity is gone,and your faith is meaningless.

The message of the cross is the subject of the gospel (good news) that believers take into all the world. If there is no cross, there is no gospel. If there is no gospel, there is no hope.

The cross and the work of Christ is the only foundation that a man has for the hope of peace with God, the assurance of forgiveness of sins, and right standing before God.

In preaching the cross we must understand three things:

  1. We must understand who it was who died on that cross.

 The preaching of the cross is not preaching about just any man’s death on a cross, it is preaching about the death of God incarnate, the Son of God/ Son of Man, the Messiah, the Lord of lords and King of kings, and the only Savior of sinners.

He was totally different in His birth. Jesus’ body (His humanity) was conceived by the Holy Spirit and came into this world through a virgin. Thus He was miraculously born unlike any other.

He was totally different in His teaching. He spoke with the authority of God: "I came from God, I represent God, I am God.”

He was totally different in His person. He was fully man (yet without sin) and fully God.

We have not preached the cross until we talk about who the Lord Jesus Christ is and why He came into the world.

2. We must understand who put Jesus on the cross.

 It wasn't the soldiers, it wasn't the devil, it wasn't the Jews, it wasn't our sins that crucified Jesus; it was God Almighty, His own Father. He is the one who put Him on the cross.  Isaiah 53:4,6,10; 2 Corinthians 5:21

God is the one who crucified His Son. Jesus didn’t die as a martyr, He died by divine appointment  Acts 2:23 .

We haven't preached the cross until we've preached that it was something God did. Jesus was God’s lamb, God’s sacrifice on God’s day of triumph for those He had given His Son before the foundation of the world.

The Father planned our salvation, sent His Son to accomplish it through His death and resurrection, and His Spirit to apply it through the new birth when He raises from death unto life those He has given His Son.

3. We must understand what God was going to accomplish through the cross Colossians 2:13-14, 2 Corinthians 8:9

We haven't preached the cross until we preach that Jesus rose again from the dead, ascended to heaven, and is seated at the Father's right hand.

The preaching of the cross is preaching how enemies of God can have peace with God (be reconciled to God) through the blood of Christ. Romans 5:9-10

Preaching of the cross is preaching that Christ offered Himself first to the Father before He is offered to us. He is offered to the Father to turn away His wrath as a sweet smelling aroma.

When we trust in Christ blood to cleanse us from all sin, and by faith clothe ourselves in Christ’s righteousness, we become a sweet smelling aroma to God, and His wrath is turned away.  2 Corinthians 2:15-16

Are you the smell of death or the fragrance of life? You are one or the other depending on whether you are clothed in the righteousness of Christ or clothed in the filthy rags of your self-righteousness and sin.