“But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.” 1 Cor. 1:23-24To the Jews, it WAS a terrible offense. They were unwilling to accept that their Messiah would be crucified and His most distinctive act would be the Sacrifice of Himself to save whosoever will believe from eternal hell.
To the modern church, the Cross of Christ IS a terrible offense. They too are unwilling to accept that their Messiah’s most distinctive act would be the Sacrifice of Himself to save whosoever will believe from eternal hell.
The Jews stumbled and the modern church is stumbling over the Cross of Christ. For the modern church, their stumbling is not on theological grounds but on moral grounds. Jesus broke the power of sin in the Believer’s life when He willingly died on the Cross and His Resurrection is proof that every sin was paid in full. For one to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, they have no excuse to willingly live under the bondage of sin because Jesus delivered us from sin. As a Believer, we are not yet perfected but sin no longer has dominion over us (Romans 6:14). When we do have a problem, we take it to the Cross of Christ knowing the He broke the power of sin there, at Calvary’s Cross.
Such is why the modern church condones sinful lifestyles and chooses humanistic psychology as the means to live a victorious “Christian” life; they too have stumbled over the Cross of Christ. His Sacrifice is an offense. For the Jews, their Messiah being sacrificed was offensive. For the modern church, their Messiah being sacrificed is offensive because it gives them no excuse to sin. You will know them by their fruit and need to come out from among them.
“15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
16 You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?” Matthew 7:15-16
-Donna Clark Warren
Living in The Spirit 