The Foolishness of God, Part 3 B

The philosophy of man cannot grant true wisdom. It can't pay the price for sin. It can make you holy and it can't deliver you from sin's grasp, but it will do this if you let infiltrate the church. It will divide you won't do what has to be done. It will give you true wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, redemption will polarize your point again friends about soon, God's holiness, Jesus work of redemption. The free gift of grace in your message has been rejected.

Maybe you've even been told what you believe is foolish.

What is that happen. Why are so many people so reluctant to embrace the good news of salvation. John MacArthur answers that question today showing you why some hear the gospel message and instantly believe it, while others find it nearly impossible to understand and embrace the lesson you're about to hear is part of John's current study on the foolishness of God and out with today's message. Here's John, take your Bible and look at first Corinthians 1. Again, with me as will continue our study of this particular portion of Scripture dealing with chapter 1 verse 18 through chapter 2 verse five verse 30 but of him are you in Christ. The reason you're in Christ Jesus because of God who love God is made on new us. What's the next word wisdom as soon as you became a Christian.

The first thing you received was wisdom, but in addition to that, Paul can't resist throne and some other thing you not only receive wisdom, but you received righteousness. Nothing we can spin a sermon series. Every one of these, but let's go sanctification means to be set apart or holy will use the word holy. He not only declared, you righteous buddy began any inside work of making you holy.

You know the moment you believe in Christ.

The principle of the incorruptible seed was planted in you, and as John says you cannot continue to commit habitual sin. Why, because God's holy seed is in you when you became a Christian.

The first thing you began to see was something was going on in your life never went on there before and it was holiness for your Christian evil all the time just sent out when you became a Christian I was in holiness with intermittent sin and maturity is the decreasing frequency of those sins as you eliminate walking in the spirit. But you see, holiness is something God is done in us is also to the Corinthians in our you hold are you sanctify so we not only are right before God and that's a judicial thing, but we actually are made holy.

And that's an experiential thing we begin to walk in the Spirit and Roman sages were taken out of the flesh and we are in the spirit is solely the spirit of Christ was innocently done. Galatians 5 says the spirit begins to produce fruit of holiness.

Second Registry 18 says the Holy Spirit begins to conform us into the image of Christ. Ephesians 210 says we were created unto good works, holiness then he adds another great word in the Christian's vocabulary redemption 3D means to purchase God by Christ has purchased us from the power of sin redeem so we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Ephesians once, what a promise. And Peter, I love it. We are redeemed out with corruptible things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of the lamb without spot without one all that is ours in Christ look at it. Wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.

And what did you do to earn wisdom.

You're not smart enough to have known that on euro. What did you do to earn righteousness by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be made righteous in doing what you do to be made holy.

You could make yourself holy. What did you do to redeem yourself.

You couldn't pay the price point is verse 31, according as it is written, he that glories let him glory in the Lord. You see all that you are wise, righteous, holy redeem is due to the wisdom of God.

You did nothing. The philosophy of man. What part does it play to play any part in that. You see it there in 30 or 20 now the philosophy of man cannot grant true wisdom. It can't pay the price for sin. It can't make you holy and it can't deliver you from sin's grasp, but it will do this if you let infiltrate the church. It will divide you. And boy, believe me, there are churches that are split all over this country were political issues. There is no need for that. There's no place for that, but will do what has to be done. It will give you true wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, redemption, all do is polarize your points don't really matter, glory, and here he quotes Jeremiah 923 24 glory in the Lord. He's the one who has done it all just give you illustration this go to Galatians 613. Whenever the church gets involved in politics or any of those things, economics, or anything else gets in the problems is that you're dividing on nonessentials now hear positive you want to glory glory in the Lord.

That's all.

You both just boasting him you didn't do anything to deserve anything verse 13. Neither they, themselves, Galatians 6 who are circumcised keep the law, but desire to have you circumcised them a glory in your flesh Judaizers came into Galatia.

It took the Galatian Christians and they confuse them by telling them they had to get circumcised and become Jews because they don't care about your soul's all they care about is racking up some more converts. There are glory in your flesh that you're now Jew verse 14 but God forbid that I should glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ he sees as an on the glory of the cross.

There is nothing for me to boast about another occasion I think it's Romans is that I will not speak of anything the Christ is not rotted. He says are two reasons I boast in the Lord one. It changed my relation to the world, by whom the world has been crucified to me and I in the world to admit me a new creation.

Verse 15. At the end of the verse, a new creature. So Paul says it was the cross that changed my relation of the world.

It was the cross.

It re-created me and I will give the owner to the cross.

I put no glory in human kind, so all that happens when you do is you cause division. Now take a step further. Go back to first Corinthians 1. Let's look at chapter 2 verses 1 to 5, Paul says, then, that the party spirit cards as a result of human philosophy you're divided over different opinions. There's no need for that at all because all you need is God's was number one. God's wisdom superior to its permanent since.

Secondly superior in its power.

Thirdly, it's paradox for lease purpose. Lastly, God's wisdom is superior by virtue of its presentation and this is it really so much a point as it is an illustration of a point. It illustrates all the former points pauses if you're confused if you're confused about the issue. Remember this verse one and I brother when I came to you and here is getting into historical facts.

I didn't come with excellency of speech or wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God, stop right now.

Remember my presentation. You my presentation is an illustration of everything I've just said when I came to you did I come talking fancy words and human philosophies. What's the answer no.

So let my coming to you be the illustration of how human philosophy fits it doesn't have a place God determined to save men not by human wisdom, but by the gospel. So when Paul came to court didn't come as an orator and he didn't come as a philosopher.

He came as a witness.

He came declaring the witness of God. And that's the word from Marta race the testimony, the witness of God.

No witnesses. Somebody that sees something objective something actual something historical. He says I am here to report to you the testimony of God's objective fact not to speculate. I'm here to give you, God's revelation. Let's overdo pieces. I came out with excellency or that is, supremacy or superiority of speech and philosophy lot are Sisyphean. I didn't come with all the flowery words in human philosophy was not to hear loud places when you turn on your television and there's a guy on their smiles, so Denise Lyle.

This is flowery flowery thing words and happy thoughts and nothing absolute zero.

It's all very positive and you can do whatever it is you can do, and the truth is most of them can't do it.

You can't do everything that kind of positive baloney that gets pumped out on a deal denies one half of the whole revelation of God and that is it denies sin.

You don't ever talk about sin you'll never hear them talk about it because the negative you can't talk about negatives and positive thinking just where it's human philosophy. Who needs think the Bible is full positive thing even read it again.

I sometimes read the Bible and feel like it is at a wrestling match.

I'm so beaten down. I can't take no we don't need all that we don't all kinds of flowery words that mean nothing. Paul siding John just offer you a lot of human verbiage at all human philosophy I told you the testimony of God. You don't want opinion choices. I didn't come giving you human speech and wisdom, but I came with God's word. That's the first was God's word, the testimony of God. What is the testimony of God.

Testimony of God is listen to this is Jesus Christ as the father testified to in John 1526 he testifies to the son testimony of God is Christ the gospel I declaring you the moratoria on the witness of God concerning Christ. This is my beloved son hear him bosses are not coming giving you my opinions and my speculations in my vagaries.

I'm coming telling you this is what God said God said that much better, we come together on the Lord's day and whenever we meet together and we say the first thing let's open our our Bibles. Let's look at what God says about politics, economic, social issues, viewpoints, opinions, human ideas in the media. Further, illustration second printing is go back to that for chapter and verse one.

Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not. We know our ministry and we stay at it and here's how it should go. We renounced the hidden things of dishonesty.

Nothing worse than dishonesty in the ministry is a lot of not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully being hucksters of the word of God using it for our own ends. Bilking people with but by manifestation of the truth. That phrase audibly outlined in your Bible underline the primary task. The only task of the ministry is to manifest the truth of God.

That's all, and therefore commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. We have a clear conscience. They can have one about us. We have a chance.

Simple task. There is manifest the truth God's. Paul said to Timothy some important things about his ministry and what the priorities were in first Timothy four.

He said this, I like it. Verse 13 he said, till I come. There were cheers. What you do and you just keep doing it give attendance to reading to exhortation to doctrine. That's pretty simple, right read, exhort, and doctrine is a synonym for teach, give you three things will tell you what you're supposed to do is a minister number one read the Bible number two explain it. That's teaching number three apply no I never do with every text ever teach read the text. Explain the meaning of it and apply it to your life. That's what he said to Timothy to do.

He didn't say read the text. Explain the text apply the text and then give a few opinions he said in verse 15.

Give yourself totally to that. That's it, Timothy beginning, middle, and then read it, explain, apply in Senate and go home.

That's it now. Later on in second Timothy just reminded him of it again. Chapter 4 again same remedy for verse two. This is a solemn obligation uses DMR to remind the first verse he really lays it on is to be challenged to do this verse to say Timothy for preach the word, not your own opinion, the word I cannot for the life of me I cannot comprehend how any man can call himself a minister of God and do anything but teach the word of God. We what else is there preach the word be on standby in season and out of season of the wood you are ready to fire out when the call come. Verse three for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine is that time come leave me, you can hardly find people to want to sound dark but after their own to pursue me in their own lusts, desires, they will heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears of the itching ears belong to the here's what the teacher they want their ears tickled with beautiful sermons nice flowery words and they'll turn away their ears from the truth, and the return on the fables you know certain kind of biblical preaching any kind of biblical preaching that is really biblical preaching is not popular but there are all kinds of people want to have sort of a God feeling and I want to go to church so they'll find one where they get their ears tickled by nice sermon they go where they can hear what they want to hear.

Vincent says this in periods of unsettled faith skepticism and mere curious speculation in matters of religion. Teachers of all kinds swarm like the flies in Egypt.

The demand creates the supply the hearers invite and shape their own preachers.

If the people desire a calf to worship a ministerial Maker is readily found." He's right. Paul says my testimony is this. I will speak the testimony of God not tickled the people's ears were giving them what they want to hear leaving. That's what people get one of bothersome what upset them and so people will gravitate from place to place to place until he find a guy who says what they want to hear, or else they'll create the need for want of some guile, see the need to jump on the bandwagon to make a minute I backed chapter 2 verse two. Here is pulsing. I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I just zeroed on the cross. My only desire was to preach Christ, not as a teacher, not as an example, not as a perfect man, but Christ crucified Redeemer, the Savior I can get opinion that's revelation. I didn't give speculation that's fact right that's fact, now is not saying there they deny the rest of the Scripture because in acts 18 it says that he for 18 months, declared under them the word of God but his emphasis was the cross and he means by that God's redemptive plan. God's revelation as opposed to human speculation.

That was Paul's message fact it was so much a dominant message in the early church people thought that the Christians worship the dead man. Celsus said Christians worship a dead man in the Palatine Hill in Rome, there were there some archaeological digging some years back and they found a picture that somebody had drawn to caricature Christians and they had a Christian, kneeling at the foot of the cross with a crucified donkey on in the bottom of the picture said Alexa Mentos worshiped as God may see that's what Paul meant when he said in Corinthians it to the Gentiles. The cross was foolish would be it foolishness or not. Paul never changes. Message to accommodate the people duty never ever you say yeah and that's why they all stumble out.

Yes but for those were called there was redemption so number one market when he preached he preached God's word number two versus three and four when he preached a priest with God's power.

Verse three and I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, so I can visit using the earth quakes, but not Paul.

Usually everybody in town shakes, but not him.

What's he doing shaking when he came to Corinth. He was really shook with fear and trembling here. I don't think means physical illness.

Some of said that but I don't think there's any indication of that.

I just did a little look at the terms are used here and the idea of fear and trembling is used in several other passage is used for example in second Corinthians 715 Philippians 212 Ephesians 65 in each of those times. It has to do with mental anxiety over an important issue. For example, in Philippians 212.

It's work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, is an anxiety that comes with something it's very urgent and so pauses. I was in such urgency over you and Corinth was the Vanity Fair of the world was corrupt city. In fact got the beast when a person was so debauched that their life was one steady stream of gross immorality. They were sent to Corinthian eyes. I was synonymous with filth that became the verb for continual prostitution.

He was in the city had been thrown out of Philip. I had a run for his life. He was thrown out of Thessalonica and run for his life. The Thessalonians traced him to Berea and had to leave their got to Athens and it was about at the end of his rope finally got the Mars Hill increase in the wasn't a great response.

He hustled off the court. The lands you're all alone and is very very discouraged.

He sees a city just dominated by sinfulness, just a filthy place all alone and is afraid he has a terrible mental anxiety over the losses of the city and he knows that he's hopeless at himself and so in verse four he says my speech and my preaching were not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, he didn't come with his own words and didn't come in his own power.

Believe came in the power the Holy Spirit. He said I don't want to come my own power because if I had then you would've identified as me not Christ. Verse five that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. I didn't want you to buy philosophy.

I wanted you to be new creatures. I didn't want you to put faith in my speculative ideas I want to put faith in my opinion.

I wanted you to put your faith in God whose power can transform you choices. I didn't come with Lagos and charisma and those are almost synonymous terms. Maybe speech refers to personal contact and preaching to public preaching, but didn't come with persuasive words enticing needs persuasive didn't come to persuade you to use the right words to exact the right responses to draw you over to my opinion. I just came and let the spirit flow and it is powerful and he and his power were able to change lives.

He said the same thing in first Thessalonians, when he reminded the Thessalonians of how it had been with them.

He said our gospel came not unto you in word only, but in power and the Holy Spirit and only that can mean there's a change in life. Spurgeon said the power that is in the gospel does not line the eloquence of the preacher. Otherwise, men would be the converters of soul, nor does it line the preachers learning. Otherwise it could consist in the wisdom of men, we might preached our tongues rotted till we would exhaust our lungs and die, but never a soul would be converted unless the Holy Spirit be with the word of God to give it the power to convert the soul."

Now you see that is precisely what Paul is saying, I came to you not with a human message.

No, the testimony of God. The cross I gave and I with human power with divine power. The reason that your faith should not be standing in philosophy but in the power of God.

I have forget a pastor said to me what time.

Born to a guy after service. He said CFL is one of my converts I said really said you are not the Lord's mine when it stuck with me this point. Stott said this. It seems that the only preaching God honors through which his wisdom and power are expressed is the preaching of a man who is willing in himself to be both a weakling and a fool see God not only chooses we can foolish to say, but we can foolish to preach in the weaker and more foolish you are, the more God's Word and God's power can be expressed. So now you know the truth and hopefully the result is you don't have converts to John MacArthur but the Jesus Christ. Paul makes his case. I think he makes his case for the fact God's wisdom does need human was the Corinthians did need to bring human wisdom into their church and neither do we. It will only bring division may it be that we always unite around God's word and God's spirit.

Thank you father for clear message from your word. Thank you father for our time together blessing that your word is been to our hearts ferment to use it through us to your glory. Jesus you're listening to Grace to you with the verse by verse Bible teaching of John MacArthur's chancellor of the Masters University in seminary. Today's lesson is part of his current series titled the foolishness of God. John, for the listener who understands that human wisdom gets you only so far that he can't answer the ultimate questions that we have what is the next step. What can such a person do today to grow truly wise and biblically wise and help someone else do the same.

Will you have to start with the word of God, you have to start with the Bible.

I know that sounds like a rather obvious statement, but I can't make it strongly enough. The Scripture is the revelation from God. Every word is inspired by God. It gives us the truth and wisdom is the ability to understand and apply truth and so you gotta know the Bible.

It's one thing to have a Bible doesn't mean that even if you have a Bible you understand what it's saying and that's why through history there have always been some study aids. It come along with Bibles and we have one of our own. And that's the MacArthur study Bible. Basically, you have the text of Scripture. Either the ESV, the new King James of the new American Standard end of the text of Scripture is there and then at the bottom of every page. There are many many explanations of verse after verse after verse is explained there are charts and graphs to help you understand and relate the Bible to other locations in Scripture were the same truth might be taught issues about history and geography insight into words all the things about 25,000 footnotes in all and what you have, then, is a library inside your Bible to explain the meaning of the text that that is what the MacArthur study Bible is designed to do and millions of people have found it extremely helpful. I want to remind you about its available shipping is free in the US, you can order MacArthur study Bible today. The new American Standard. The one I preach the new King James. If you like that are the ESV if you prefer that you can order it from Grace to you. That's right, and friend.

If you want to learn more about Old Testament prophecy the life of Christ. The formation of the early church, and so much more turn to the MacArthur study Bible.

It has the tools you need to dig deep into every part of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. To purchase a copy.

Contact us today. You can order online@tty.org comes in any translation you prefer the English standard, the new King James or the new American Standard version. It also comes in seven non-English translations. You can place your order@tty.org or call our toll-free customer service line at 855 and this note.

If John's Bible teaching is helping apply God's word to your life. Keep in mind that grace to you is listener supported. That means people like you are the ones help give us a voice around the world. So please keep us in prayer.

Tell us how God is using this broadcast in your life and know that your financial support makes a real difference in the lives of people you help us reach mail your gift to Grace to you. Box 4000 panorama city, CA 91412 or you can make a donation@TTY.or when you call us at 855 now for John MacArthur. I'm Phil Johnson. Thanks for tuning in today and be here tomorrow when John looks at the path to true spiritual wisdom is continuing his series. The foolishness of God with another 30 minutes of unleashing God's truth one verse at a time on Grace to you