"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." 1Corinthians 1:18
It is either one thing or the other and you can't have it both ways. Either the message of the cross is the most important thing to you or it isn't. What is the message of the cross really? It is GRACE... God's Riches At Christ's Expense. It is by grace we are saved. Only the perishing are totally oblivious to or just flat-out reject the message of the cross.
According to Paul here, it is actually the very Power of God. Wow!! That is vitally important huh? I mean the power of God keeps the planet spinning, nature working, angels assigned, sun coming up, tide coming in, people coming to church and it also the very core of our being in Him.
My question today is not about the perishing and I do pray they don't. My question today is not about the faithful who are working out their salvation day by day. My question is for those who kinda wonder if they might be perishing or they kinda minimize the power of God in their life. Those on the fences are the subject of my devotional today. Unfortunately, they may both be perishing, and not know it. To those who kinda wonder if they might be perishing or not, let me assure you, you are. You are LOST. If you don't KNOW you are saved, you are LOST! Soooo, wonder no more and face the fact. There is no such category as "kinda saved".
Today is a good day for you to surrender to Christ and ask Him to save you from the consequences of your sin. The message of the cross is your hope and salvation. Ask God right now to save you.
As for those who kinda minimize the power of the cross in your life... REPENT!! You are playing with fire. If being saved does not convict you to lead the Christian life then you may not be saved at all. Think about it. If you are not serious about being a Christian then you seriously might be LOST. You should reconsider why the most important decision in your life isn't very important to you. Wouldn't it be if you were really saved?
If this devotional doesn't apply to you then send it to someone it does. If you don't know whether it applies to you or not, it does. So read it again. Don't be a fool, experience the power of God that comes from God and accept the message of the cross. Join me and all who are not perishing and truly believe.
In Him for sure,
Pastor Fred
Posts
I remember a time when I was 17 and questioning for the first time whether or not I was “saved.” I had just finished watching the movie “City of Angels” and found myself sobbing in my parent’s living room floor. Devastated over the movie’s end, and also tragically confused over my own eternal destination, I asked Jesus into my heart. However, even in doing that I had no idea what it was I was doing or why. I attended a church where the pastor and everyone in it regularly encouraged me to “be saved,” but none of those times do I recall being told what that meant. “Have you been saved, Heather? Have you been saved yet?” the members repeatedly asked. Embarrassed because I didn’t know what “to be saved” meant, I usually just tried to avoid anyone who looked like they might ask – in which case I avoided everyone except the friend with whom I attended at the time, and before long I avoided him too. The morning after I had my sobbing experience on the floor, I called him and told him what happened. “I asked God into my heart,” I told him. “Well?” he asked. “How do you feel?” In my head, I frantically searched for what I thought the right answer was. “Oh no,” I thought. “What have I done? Did I really even ask God into my heart? Did I do it right?” I was panicked over having told him because I knew word would spread like wild fire and I didn’t know what I was supposed to say or feel. When I arrived at church, his parents, along with the pastor, greeted me with hopeful and expectant smiles. I wanted to disappear behind the pew, but instead I was scooped up into warm hugs and congratulatory words of encouragement. I was suddenly more confused and increasingly aware of the possibility that I hadn’t had the life changing experience of which they so vaguely spoke. All I remembered from the sermons was that I needed to “be saved or else go to Hell” but I still didn’t know what that meant – any of it.
ReplyDeleteI was given my very first bible during this time, and though I tried to decipher the meaning of the words in my King James Version, everything got lost in the translation. I was overwhelmed by a world I realized I knew nothing about and, at the same time, quite under-whelmed by the level of personal guidance and instruction on the matter. After sitting in the church for a year, I knew little more than I did my first day there. I left for college that year and never gave another thought to the concept or reality of being “saved.” I quickly severed ties with the church that I felt taught me nothing about what they expected of me and moved into a life of frequent partying, late night cramming, and overall immorality. Religion classes? No, thanks. I didn’t “get it” before and doubted I would then either. In fact, I seriously doubted God even existed, and Jesus? Who’s that? The issue of salvation didn’t come up in my life again for 10 years. At the age of 27, when my life seemed to be unraveling, all things “God” and “salvation” crept back into the forefront of my mind, but this time was different. I was quite literally desperate to know what it all meant, and with God’s help-- I finally “got it.” Hallelujah! All in God’s timing, right? Well, I have to wonder – how many other people really just don’t “get it” when we talk about salvation? Or was my own experience unique?
I, myself, have talked to people about being “saved” (we all probably have, right?) and I now wonder whether or not I leave them wanting to run away from or run towards being saved. I’ve not thought about this until today when I read your devotional, so thank you, Pastor Fred, for the eye opening truth you laid bare, and for inspiring me to climb to new levels of intimacy with the Lord.