Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures [1 Corinthians 15:1-4, 1:18]
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.[1 Corinthians 1:18]
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. [John 3:16-21]
The message of the cross is that the Son of God was crucified to atone for the sins of mankind and secure pardon and salvation for all who would believe in Him. It is this message that is considered folly by those who are perishing—those who disbelieve God’s sentence of death on humanity and prefer human ideas over God’s truth. The message of the cross is divinely inspired, holy, and eternal. It is the love of God come into the world through the Son to destroy the works of the devil (John 18:37; 1 John 3:8). The message of the cross is the wisdom and power of God to keep the promise of John 3:16, to give eternal life to all who believe in the Son. It is also the grace of God rendering to the believer the gifts of repentance, justification, and sanctification, all of which find their meaning in Christ crucified (Luke 23:33–43).
If the message of the cross is the power and wisdom of God, then why is the cross foolishness to some? Here are some reasons:
The cross is foolishness to some because in their wisdom they judge the Bible as an antiquated, mystical book. They see Scripture as irrelevant, silly, and valueless in a post-Christian era. They reject the teaching that they are wretched, poor, miserable, blind, and naked before a holy God (Revelation 3:15–19).
“They knew God, [but] they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:21–22, KJV).
