1 Corinthians 1:18 (NLT)
18 The message of the cross is foolish to those who are
headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of
God.
This is the sum and substance of the gospel. Christ
crucified is the foundation of all our joys. By his death we live. This is what
Paul preached, what all ministers should preach, and what all the saints live
upon. [Matthew Henry Commentary]
In the book, Raised? Finding Jesus by Doubting the
Resurrection, author Jonathan Dodson writes, "The resurrection is a
dividing line—a parting claim." Here's how he illustrates that
"dividing line":
The resurrection is like a river that parts a road.
People are on the road approaching the river. Arriving at the river of the
resurrection, you look across it to where the road continues and see quite a
few cars are there. In your doubt, you can't imagine how people got to the
other side of the river. How did they get across? How can rational people come
to the belief that Jesus died and rose from the dead?
Faith is the unnoticed ferry, lying hidden near the bank
of the river that can take us from the riverbank of doubt … to the other side
of belief in the resurrection. [But] it's not blind faith … You don't cross by
closing your eyes and wishing Jesus' resurrection was true. No. You cross with
your eyes wide open. This is an informed faith, faith in a historical plausible
resurrection, attested by hundreds of witnesses, one proven to be worth
believing.
Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham, wrote: The plan of redemption unfolded as Almighty
God sent His Son to earth on a mission to die, to “give his life as a ransom
for many” (Mark 10:45, NIV). And not simply to die, but to die on a cross in
punishment for our sins so that we might be forgiven and receive the gift of
eternal life.
To many, that sounds like nonsense. But the Bible says,
“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” (1 Corinthians 1:18).
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