LivePrayerSermon 1611. The Word of the Cross
(No. 1611)
DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, JULY 31, 1881,
BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"For the preaching of the Cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are sa ved it is the power of God."1 Corinthians 1:18.
NOTE well that in the 17th verse Paul had renounced the "wisdom of words." He says that he was sent to "preach the Gospel,not with wisdom of words, lest the Cross of Christ should be made of no effect." It is very clear, therefore, that there isan excellence, elegance and eloquence of language which would deprive the Gospel of its due effect. I have never yet heardthat the Cross of Christ was made of no effect by great plainness of speech, nor even by ruggedness of language-but it isthe, "wisdom of words," which is said to have this destroying power. Oh, dreadful wisdom of words! God grant that we may bedelivered from making attempts at it, for we ought earnestly to shun anything and everything which can be so mischievous inits influence as to make the Cross of Christ of no effect. The "wisdom of words" works evil at times by veiling the Truthsof God which ought to be set forth in the clearest possible manner.
The doctrine of Atonement by blood, which is the essence of the preaching of the Cross, is objectionable to many minds and,therefore, certain preachers take care not to state it too plainly. Prudently, as they call it-craftily, as the Apostle Paulwould call it-they tone down the objectionable features of the great Sacrifice, hoping by pretty phrases to somewhat removethe "offense of the Cross." Proud minds object to Substitution, which is the very edge of the doctrine and, therefore, theoriesare adopted which leave out the idea of laying sin upon the Savior and making Him to be a curse for us. Self-sacrifice isset forth as possessing a high, heroic influence by which we are stimulated to self-salvation, but the Lord's suffering asthe Just for the unjust is not mentioned! The Cross, in such a case, is not at all the Cross by which self-condemned sinnerscan be comforted and the hardened can be subdued, but quite another matter.
Those who thus veil an unwelcome Truth of God imagine that they make disciples, whereas they are only paying homage to unbeliefand comforting men in their rejection of the Divine Propitiation for sin! Whatever the preacher may mean in his heart, hewill be guilty of the blood of souls if he does not clearly proclaim a real Sacrifice for sin. Too often the "wisdom of words"explains the Gospel away. It is possible to refine a doctrine till the very soul of it is gone. You may draw such nice distinctionsthat the true meaning is filtered away. Certain divines tell us that they must adapt the Truth of God to the advance of theage, which means that they must murder it and fling its dead body to the dogs! It is asserted that the advanced philosophyof the 19th Century requires a progressive theology to keep abreast of it-which simply means that a popular lie shall takethe place of an offensive Truth of God.
Under pretense of winning the cultured intellects of the age, "the wisdom of words," has gradually landed us in a denial ofthose first principles for which the martyrs died! Apologies for the Gospel, in which the essence of it is conceded to theunbeliever, are worse than infidelity. I hate that defense of the Gospel which razes it to the ground to preserve it fromdestruction. The "wisdom of words," however, is more frequently used with the intent of adorning the Gospel and making itto appear somewhat more beautiful than it would be in its natural form. They would paint the rose and enamel the lily, addwhiteness to snow and brightness to the sun! With their wretched candles they would help us to see the stars! O superfluityof evil!
The Cross of Christ is sublimely simple-to adorn it is to dishonor it. There is no statement under Heaven more musical thanthis-"God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them." All the bells that youcould ring to make it more harmonious would only add a jingle jangle to its heavenly melody which is, in itself, so sweetthat it charms the harpers before the Throne of God! The doctrine that God descended upon the earth in human nature-and inthat nature bore our sins, carried our sorrows and made expiation for our transgressions by the death on the Cross-is, initself, matchless poetry, the perfection of all that is ennobling in thought and creed! Yet
the attempt is made to decorate the Gospel as though it needed something to commend it to the understanding and the heart.
The result is that men's minds are attracted away from the Gospel, either to the preacher or to some utterly indifferent point.Hearers carry home charming morsels of poetry, but they forget the precious blood! They remember the elaborate metaphors sodaintily worked out, but they forget the five wounds and fail to look unto the Lord Jesus and be saved! The Truth of God isburied under flowers! Brothers, let us cut out of our sermons everything that takes men's minds away from the Cross! One lookat Jesus is better than the most attentive gazing at our gems of speech! One of the old masters found that certain vases whichhe had depicted upon the sacramental table attracted more notice than the face of the Lord, whom he had painted sitting atthe head of the feast and, therefore, he struck them out at once. Let us, my Brothers, do the same whenever anything of ourswithdraws the mind away from Jesus. Christ must always be in the foreground and our sermons must point to Him, or they willdo more harm than good. We must preach Christ Crucified and set Him forth like the sun in the heavens, as the only Light ofmen!
Some seem to imagine that the Gospel does not contain within itself sufficient force for its own spreading and, therefore,they dream that if it is to have power among men it must either be through the logical way in which it is put-in which caseall glory is to logic, or though the handsome manner in which it is stated-in which case all glory is to rhetoric. The notionis current that we should seek the aid of prestige, or talent, or novelty, or excitement, for the Gospel, itself, the doctrineof the Cross, is, in itself, impotent in its hands and lame upon its feet. It must be sustained by outside power and carried,as by a nurse, wherever it would go. Reason, elocution, art, music, or some other force must introduce and support it, orit will make no advance-so some injuriously dream.
That is not Paul's notion! He speaks of the Cross of Christ as being itself the power of God and he says that it is to bepreached, "not with wisdom of words," lest the power should be attributed to the aforesaid wisdom of words and the Cross ofChrist should be proven to have, in itself, no independent power, or, in other words, to be of no effect! Paul would not thusdegrade the Cross for a moment and, therefore, though qualified to dispute with schoolmen and philosophers, he disdained todazzle with arguments and sophistries. And, though he could speak with masterly energy-let his Epistles bear witness to that-yethe used great plainness of speech, that the force of his teaching might lie in the Doctrine, itself, and not in his language,style, or delivery.
He was jealous of the honor of the Cross and would not spread it by any force but its own, even as he says in the 4th and5th verses of the second chapter of this Epistle-"My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom,but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power ofGod." Having cleared our way of the wisdom of words, we now come to the word of wisdom. Paul preached the Cross and our firsthead shall be the word of the Cross. Many give the Cross a bad word and so our second head shall be the word of its despisersconcerning it-they called it foolishness. And then, thirdly, we will think upon the word applied to the Cross by those whobelieve it-it is to them "the power of God." O that the Holy Spirit may use it as the power of God to all of us this day!
I. First, then, we speak upon "THE WORD OF THE CROSS." Borrow the term from the Revised Version, which runs thus-"The wordof the Cross is to them that are perishing foolishness, but unto us who are being saved it is the power of God." This is,to my mind, an accurate translation. The original is not, "the preaching of the Cross," but "the word of the Cross." Thisrendering gives us a heading for our first division and, at the same time, brings before us exactly what the Gospel is-itis "the word of the Cross." From which I gather, first, that the Cross has one uniform teaching, or word. We are always topreach the word of the Cross and the Cross has not many words, but one. There are not two gospels any more than there aretwo gods-there are not two atonements any more than there are two saviors.
There is one Gospel as there is one God, and there is one Atonement as there is one Savior. Other gospels are not toleratedamong earnest Christians. What did the Apostle say? "If we or an angel from Heaven preach any other gospel unto you than thatwhich we have preached unto you, let him be candidly heard and quietly fraternized with"? Nothing of the sort! I will quotethe Scripture. Paul says, "Let him be accursed." He has no more tolerance than that for him, for Paul loved the souls of menand to tolerate spiritual poison is to aid and abet the murder of souls! There is no Gospel under Heaven, but the one Gospelof Jesus Christ!
But what about other voices and other words? They are not voices from Heaven, nor words from God, for He has not, in one place,spoken one thing, and in another place, another! Neither is it according to the Spirit of the Gospel that there should beone form of Gospel for the first six centuries and then another form of it for the 19th Century. Is it not written, "JesusChrist, the same yesterday, today, and forever"? If the Atonement were in progress. If the great Sacrifice were not complete,then I could understand that there should be progress in the preaching of it. But, inasmuch as, "It is finished," was pronouncedby Christ upon the Cross and then He bowed His head and gave up the ghost-there can be no further development in the factor in the doctrine!
Inasmuch as the Word of the Lord which describes that Atonement is so complete that he that adds to it shall have the plaguesthat are written in this Book added unto him, I gather that there is no such thing as a progressive word of the Cross, butthat the Gospel is the same Gospel today as it was when Paul, in the beginning, proclaimed it! The word of the Cross, sinceit is the express Word of God, endures forever! Generations of men come and go like yearly growths of the grass of the field,but the Word of the Lord abides evermore the same in all places, the same to all nationalities, the same to all temperamentsand constitutions of the mind!
"Other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid." From that word I gather, next, that the doctrine of the Atonementis one word in contradistinction from many other words which are constantly being uttered. We preach Christ Crucified andHis voice from the Cross is, "Look unto Me and be you saved." But another voice cries aloud, "Do this and you shall live."We know it-it is the voice of the Old Covenant which the Lord Jesus has removed, taking away the first Covenant that He mayestablish the second. The doctrine of salvation by works, salvation by feelings, salvation by outward religiousness is notthe word of the Cross which speaks in quite another fashion! The call to salvation by works is a strange voice within thefold of the Church-and the sheep of Christ do not follow it, for they know not the voice of strangers.
The word of the Gospel speaks on this wise, "The Word is near you, even in your mouth and in your heart." That is, the wordof faith which we preach-that if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that Godhas raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved." "Believe and live" is the word of the Cross! Much less do we regard theword of ceremonialism and priestcraft which still lingers among us. We had thought it was a dull echo of the dead past, but,alas, it is a powerful voice and is constantly lifting itself up. Priestcraft is crying, "Confess to me and you shall haveforgiveness! Perform this ceremony and undergo this other rite and you shall receive a sacred benediction through men ordainedof Heaven!"
We do not know this voice, for it is the voice of falsehood! He that believes in Christ Jesus has everlasting life! We arecomplete in Him and we know nothing of any priest except that one High Priest, who, by His one Sacrifice, has perfected, forever,them that are set apart! Voices here and there are heard like mutterings from among the tombs-these are the maunderings ofsuperstition, saying, "Lo, here," and, "Lo, there," and one man has this revealed to him and another that. But to none ofthese have we any regard, for God has spoken and our preaching, from now on is nothing but "the word of the Cross," whichis none other than the word of the crucified Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us!
Brothers, let us hear this word of the Cross, for, in effect, my text says, "Let the Cross speak for itself." That is to beour preaching! We bid reasoning and speculation hold their tongues that the Cross, itself, may speak! We let the Cross speakits own word. First, it cries aloud God must be just. The dreadful voice of Justice, in its certainty and severity, ringsthrough the world in the sighs and cries and death-groans of the Son of the Highest! Jesus has taken man's sin upon Himselfand He must die for it, for wherever sin is, God must destroy it! The Judge of all the earth must do right and it is rightthat sin should involve suffering! Supreme Justice must visit iniquity with death and, therefore, Jesus on the Cross, thoughin Himself perfectly innocent and unspeakably lovely, must die the death-deserted by His Father because the iniquity of usall has been placed upon Him.
The Cross cries unto the sons of men, "Oh, do not this abominable thing which God hates, for He will, by no means, spare theguilty." God must make bare His arm and bathe His sword in Heaven to destroy sin wherever it is found, for He smites it evenwhen it is imputed to His only Son! The Cross thunders more terribly than Sinai, itself, against human sin! How it breaksmen's hearts to hear its voice! How it divides men from their sins, even as the voice of the Lord breaks the
cedars of Lebanon and shatters the rock in pieces! If God smites the Perfect One who bears our sin, how will He smite theguilty one who rejects His love?
Let the Cross speak again and what does it say with even a louder voice? God loves men and delights in mercy! Though He lovesrighteousness and hates wickedness, yet He loves the sons of men so much so that He gives His Only-Begotten to die that sinnersmay live! What more could God have done to prove His love to mankind? "God commends His love to us in that, while we wereyet sinners, Christ died for us." The love within that glorious deed needs no telling, it tells itself! God had but one Son,one with Himself by mystic union and He sent Him here below to take our nature, that, being found in fashion as a man, Hemight die on our behalf-made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him! "God so loved the world, thatHe gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him might not perish, but have everlasting life." The word of theCross is, "God is Love." He wills not the death of the sinner, but that he turn unto Him and live!
What does the Cross say next? Mark, we are not speaking of the crucifix. The crucifix represents Christ on the Cross, butHe is not on the Cross any longer, He has finished His sacrificial work and has ascended to His Glory. If He were still onthe Cross, He could not save us! We now preach the Cross as that on which He died, but who now lives and reigns full of abilityto save! Let the bare Cross speak and it declares that the one Sacrifice is accepted and the Atonement is complete! Sin isput away, the work of reconciliation is accomplished and Jesus has gone up on high unto His Father's Throne to plead for theguilty. Christ, being raised from the dead, dies no more! Death has no more dominion over Him! He is risen for our justificationand we are accepted in Him-
"No more the bloody spear, The Cross and nails no more, For Hell itself shakes at His name, And all the heavens adore."
Let the Cross speak and it tells of ransom paid and atonement accepted. The Law is magnified, justice is satisfied, mercyis no longer bound by the unsatisfied demands of judgment. "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputingtheir trespasses unto them; and has committed unto us the word of reconciliation," which also is the word of the Cross. Whenwe let the Cross speak still further we hear it say-"Come and welcome! Guilty sons of men, come and welcome to the feast ofmercy, for God has both vindicated His Law and displayed His love. And now, for the chief of sinners, there is free and fullforgiveness to be had for nothing, for the Cross gives priceless blessings without price!" "Whoever will, let him take theWater of Life freely."
Free pardon, free justification, perfect cleansing, complete salvation-these are gifts of Grace bestowed upon the unworthyas soon as they believe in Christ Jesus and trust themselves with Him. This is the word of the Cross! What more can we desireto hear? We may be forgiven in a way which shall not violate the claims of justice! God is just and yet the Justifier of himthat believes! He is merciful and just to forgive us our sins. Oh that I knew how to be quite still and let the Cross, itself,speak out with its matchless tones of mercy and majesty, love and blood, death and life, punishment and pardon, sufferingand glory! It speaks in thunder and in tenderness! If we will but listen to what it has to say, it is a word by which theinmost heart of God is revealed.
Now I speak yet further the word of the Cross, for in the name of Him that did hang upon the Cross I call for faith in HisAtonement. The death of Christ was no ordinary matter. The dignity of His Nature made it the event of the ages! He who diedon the Cross was very God of very God, as well as Man, and His Sacrifice is not to be neglected or rejected with impunity.Such a Divine marvel demands our most careful thought and joyful confidence. To do spite to the blood of the Son of God isto sin with a vengeance! God demands faith in His Son and especially in His Son dying for our sakes! We ought to believe everyword that God has spoken, but above all, the word of the Cross. Shall we doubt the good faith and love of God when He givesHis Son a hostage for His Word and offers up the Only-Begotten as the token of His Grace?
Oh, men, whatever you trifle with, disregard not the Son of God! Whatever presumption you commit, yet trample not upon theCross of Jesus! This is the highest thought of God! The center of all His counsels, the topmost summit of the mighty Alp ofDivine loving kindness! Do not think little of it or turn away from it! I beseech you, no, I command you, in the name of Himthat lives and was dead, look to the dying Savior and live! If you do not, you shall answer for it in that day when He shallcome upon the clouds of Heaven to avenge Him of His adversaries!
Thus have I set before you the word of the Cross. May the Holy Spirit bless the message.
II. We have the unpleasant task, in the second place, of listening to THE WORD OF ITS DESPISERS. They call the Doctrine ofthe Atonement, "foolishness." Numbers of men call the Doctrine of Salvation by the blood of Christ, "foolishness." It is mostassuredly the wisdom of God and the power of God, but they stick at the first assertion and will not acknowledge the wisdomof the wondrous plan. It is, therefore, no wonder that they never feel its power! No, it is foolishness to them-a thing beneaththeir contempt. And why foolishness? "Because," they say, "see how the common people take it up. Everybody can understandit. You believe that Jesus is a Substitute for you and you sing with the poorest of the poor-
'I do believe, I will believe That Jesus died for me; And on the Cross He shed His blood From sin to set me free.
"There," they say, "that's a pretty ditty for educated men. Why, the very children sing it and are able to believe it andtalk of it. Psha, it is sheer foolishness! We don't want anything so vulgar and commonplace. Don't you know that we take ina high-class review and read the best thought of the times? You don't suppose we are going to believe just as common plowboysand servant girls do?" Ah me! How mighty wise some people think themselves! Is every truth which can be understood by simpleminds to be thrown aside as foolishness? Is nothing worth knowing except the fancy thinking of the select portion of humanity?Are the well-known facts of Nature foolishness because they are open to all? Is it quite certain that all the wisdom in theworld dwells with the superfine gentlemen who sneer at everything and take in a review?
These superficial readers of superior literature are they the umpires of truth? I wish that their culture had taught themmodesty! Those who glorify themselves and sneer at others are usually not wise, but otherwise! And those who call other peoplefools may be looking in the glass and not out of the window. He who is truly wise has some respect for others and the mostprofound respect for the Word of God. But why is it that you count the Gospel of the Cross to be foolishness? It is this-becausethis religion of ours, this Doctrine of the Cross-is not the offspring of reason, but the gift of Revelation. All the thinkersof the ages continued to think, but they never invented a plan of salvation in which Divine Justice and mercy would be equallyconspicuous. The Cross was not in all their thoughts. How could it be?
As a thought, it originated with the infinite mind and could have originated nowhere else! The Doctrine of the Cross is nota speculation, but a Divine Revelation-and for this reason the learned ones cannot endure it. It is God telling men somethingwhich they could not otherwise have known! And this does not suit the profound thinkers who cannot bear to be told anything,but must excogitate everything, evolving it from their inner consciousness, or from the depths of their vast minds. Now, inasmuchas nothing can come out of a man that is not in him, and as the supreme love of God never was in such an unlovely thing asan unregenerate man, it happens that the Doctrine of Atonement never originated with man but was taught to him by God at thegates of Eden.
The plan which blends vengeance and love was never invented by human imagination. Since man has such an aversion to the greatAtonement, he could not have been the author of the idea and he was not the author of it-God alone reveals it in languagethat babes may understand and, therefore, carnal pride calls it, "foolishness." Besides, the carnal man thinks it foolishnessbecause it makes him out to be a fool-and you may take my word for it that anything which proves either you or me to be afool will, at once, strike us as being very foolish! Our conscience is dull and, therefore, we retaliate upon those who tellus unpleasant truth. "What? Am I nobody, after all? I, bound in the best black cloth, and wearing a white cravat? So religiousand so respectable, so thoughtful, so studious, so profound-am I to be a nobody?
"Do you dare to say to me, 'Unless you are converted and become as little children, you shall in nowise enter the kingdom'!My dear Sir, you cannot know what you are talking about! Why, I am a professor, a philosopher, a doctor of divinity and, therefore,you cannot really mean that I am to receive truth as a little child! Such talk is foolishness!" Of course they say so! Wealways reckoned that they would say so! I have rejoiced when I have read the skeptical papers and have seen how they sneerat the old-fashioned Gospel! The Bible said that carnal men could not receive spiritual things- how true is that statement!It is written, "There shall come in the last days scoffers." Here they are, hastening to prove, by their conduct, the thingswhich they deny!
One is grieved that any should scoff and yet, in a measure, we are rejoiced to find such confirmation of the Truth of Godfrom the lips of her enemies. As long as the world lasts, ungodly men will despise a Revelation which they are unable to understand.It is beyond their sphere and, therefore, its preachers seem to be babblers and its Doctrines to be foolishness. But, in everydeed it may well seem foolishness to them, for it treats on subjects for which they have no care. If I were able to explainto a general audience how to make unlimited profit upon the Stock Exchange, or in some other market, all the world would listenwith profound attention! And if I make my point clearly, I would be pronounced a really clever preacher, a man well worthhearing.
But when the sermon is only about the Word of God, eternity, the soul and the blood of Jesus-most people turn on their heels-theyare not sure that they have souls and they refuse to argue upon the supposition of a future existence which is an old wife'sfable to them. As for eternity, their philosophy has no room for it, and they do not concern themselves about it. One saidin argument, the other day, "I believe I shall die like a dog." I could give him no better reply on the spur of the momentthan to say, "If I had known that you were a dog I would have brought you a bone." As I had the notion that he would liveforever, I came to talk to him upon subjects suitable to an immortal being. But as I found out that he was going to die likea dog, what could I do for him but provide such cheer as the creature could enjoy?
These men call the Gospel foolishness because they look after the main chance and care more for the body than for the soul.One of their wise men said, "Why do you preach so much about the world to come? Why not preach about the world which now is?Teach these people how to ventilate their sewers-that is a much more necessary matter than their believing on Jesus Christ."Well, sanitary matters are important and if any of you feel that you have nothing to live for but ventilating sewers, I wishyou would live at a great rate and get it done as quickly as you can! Meanwhile, as we are convinced of the need of otherthings besides drainage and, as many of us expect, soon, to take our happy flight to a place where there are no sewers toventilate, we shall look into those things which concern our future life seeing they also fit us for the life which now is!
They call the word of the Cross foolishness because they regard all the Truths of God with which it deals as insignificanttrifles. "Soul?" They say, "What does it matter whether we have a soul or not? Sin-what is it but the blunder of a poor creaturewho knows no better?" Of all things, the eternal God is the greatest trifle to unbelieving men. It is merely a name to swearby, that is all. They admit that there may be a great master force in Nature, or an energy co-extensive with the existenceof matter and, therefore, they allow Theism or Pantheism, but they will not endure a personal God whom they are bound to obey!And besides, Pantheism is only a mask for Atheism. These men will have no personal God who loves them and whom they love.God is a nonentity to them and, therefore, when we speak of God as real, and sin as real, and Heaven as real-and God knowsthey are the only real things-then straightway they mutter, "Foolishness." As for us, we deplore their folly and pray Godto teach them better. Having entered by a new birth into the realm of spiritual things, we know the reality and power of theword of the Cross.
Now, Brothers, I say of these gentlemen who pronounce the Gospel foolishness that you need not take much notice of them becausethey are not capable witnesses. They are not qualified to form a judgment upon the subject. I do not depreciate their abilitiesin other respects, but it is certain that a blind man is no judge of colors, a deaf man is no judge of sound and a man whohas never been quickened into spiritual life can have no judgment as to spiritual things! How can he? I, for instance, havefelt the power of the Gospel, and I assert that I have done so. Another man declares that I am not speaking the truth. Whynot? Because he has not, himself, felt that power! Is that sound reasoning?
Have you not heard of the Irishman who, when five men swore that they saw him commit a theft, made answer that he could produce50 people who did not see him do it? Would there have been any force in that negative evidence? And what if all the worldexcept two men should say, "We do not feel the power of the Cross"-would that be any evidence against the fact asserted bythe two? I think not! Two honest men who witness to a fact are to be believed, even though 20,000 persons are unable to bearsuch witness! The unspiritual are incapable witnesses-they put themselves out of court, for at the outset they assert thatthey are not cognizant of those things concerning which we bear testimony! Their assertion is that they never were the subjectsof spiritual influences and we quite believe what they say-but we do not believe them when they go further and assert that,therefore, what we have seen, tasted and handled is all a delusion! Concerning that matter they are not capable witnesses.
And I beg you to notice that those who call the Gospel of the Cross folly are, themselves, if rightly looked at, proofs oftheir own folly and of the sad results of unbelief. The Christians in Paul's days felt that the Gospel had emancipated themfrom the bondage of idolatry and vice-and when they heard others that were captives under these delusions telling them thatthe emancipating force was foolishness-they looked at them and smiled at the absurdity of the statement. They noticed thatsuch men were, themselves, perishing! What a calamity it is for a man to be perishing! A house is unoccupied, its floor isuntrod, its hearth knows no genial glow. It suffers from neglect, it is perishing. Men who are not living to God are missingthe end of their being and, like deserted houses, are falling into ruin-they are perishing!
While unoccupied by good, such minds are surrounded by powers of evil. Yonder is a tree. I have seen many such- around itstrunk the ivy has twisted itself, grasping it like a huge python and crushing it in its folds. The tree is perishing! Itsvery life is being sucked out by the parasite that grasps it. Multitudes of men have about them lusts and sins-and errorsthat are eating out their life-they are perishing! Their souls and characters are as timber devoured by dry rot! It remainsin the fabric of the house, but it is perishing. Ungodly men are devoured by their own pride, eaten up by self-confidence.Unbelieving men are comparable to a ship that is drifting to destruction-its cable has snapped-it is near-ing the rocks, itwill be broken to pieces, it is perishing!
Those that believe not in Jesus are drifting towards a sure eternity of misery! They are daily perishing and yet, while theyperish, they condemn the means of rescue! Fancy drowning mariners mocking at the lifeboat! Imagine a diseased man ridiculingthe only remedy! That which we have tried and proved, they call "foolishness." We have only to answer them, "You are, yourselves,as you remain captives to your sins, the victims of foolishness. You are, yourselves, as you waste your lives and as you driftto destruction, proofs that the foolishness is not in the Cross, but in you that reject it."
The preaching of the Cross is, to them that perish, foolishness, but to nobody else! O that their hearts were changed by thepower of the Word of God-then would they see all wisdom in the word of the Cross!
III. We come, in the third place, to notice THE WORD OF THOSE WHO BELIEVE. What do they say of the Cross? They call it power,the power of God! The more we study the Gospel, the more we are surprised at the singular display of wisdom which it contains,but we will not say much upon that point, for we are not qualified to be judges of wisdom. But we do say this-the word ofthe Cross is power! It has been the power of God to us! It has worked upon us as nothing else has ever done! Its work uponmany of us has been so remarkable that even onlookers must have been surprised at it. The phenomenon of conversion is a fact.Men and women are totally changed and the whole manner of their life is altered.
It is of no use to deny the fact, for instances of it come before us every day! Unbelievers become devout, the immoral becomepure, the dishonest become upright, the blasphemous become gracious, the unchaste become holy! Evil ways are all of a suddendeserted and penitents struggle towards virtue. We see persons in all ranks of society undergoing a radical transformation-self-satisfiedpeople are humbled by the discovery of their unworthiness-and others, who were steeped in immorality, renounce their viciouspleasures and seek happiness in the service of God. How do you account for this? We who are the subjects of such a changeaccount for it in this way-it is worked by the Doctrine of the Cross- and the power which accomplishes the change is the powerof God! No force less than Divine could have effected so great a change. The word of the Cross has delivered us from the loveof sin-no sin is now our master-we have broken every fetter of evil habit.
We fall into sin, but we mourn over it and hate the sin-and hate ourselves for committing it! We have been delivered fromthe bondage of corruption and made free to serve the Lord. We have also been delivered from the dread which once bowed usdown-a horrible dread which held us in bondage-and made us tremble before our Father and our Friend. We thought harshly ofGod and fled from Him, but from this we are now delivered, for now we love Him and delight in Him! And the nearer we can approachHim, the happier we are. We have been delivered, also, from the power of Satan. That evil prince has great power over menand once we were led captive at his will. Even now he attacks us, but we overcome him through the blood of the Lamb.
We are also daily delivered from self and from the world and from all things that would enthrall us. We are being saved-yes,we are saved. Every day a saving force is operating upon us to set us free from the thralldom of corruption. This we feeland know! We are bound for the Kingdom of God and nothing can keep us back! We are bound for purity, for ultimate perfection-wefeel eternal life within us, urging us upward and onward, beyond ourselves and our surroundings! We sit here like eagles,chained to the rock by the feebleness of our bodies, but the aspiration within us tells us
that we are born to soar among pure and glorified spirits. We feel that Heaven is born within us-born by the word of the Crossthrough the Spirit.
We could tell the histories of some here present, or, better still, they could tell them themselves-histories of changes suddenbut complete, marvelous but enduring-changes from darkness to light, from death to life! How gladly could we detain you withdetails of our being held up when our temptations have been almost overwhelming-and kept pressing forward in Christ's servicewhen we had been altogether without strength had not the word of the Cross poured new energy into us! We have been ready todie in despair until we have looked to the Cross and then the clouds have yielded to clear shining! A sight of the bleedingSavior and a touch of His hand have made us men, again, and we have lifted up our heads as from among the dead! Under thepower of the Cross we still advance from strength to strength! There is power in the word of the Cross to make a man growinto something nobler than he ever dreamed of. We shall not know what we shall be till we shall see our Lord and Savior asHe is!
Why, Brothers and Sisters, the power with which God created the world was no greater than the power with which He made usnew men in Christ Jesus! The power with which He sustains the world is not greater than the power by which He sustains Hispeople under trial and temptation! And even the raising of the dead at the end of the world will be no greater display ofDivine power than the raising of dead souls out of their spiritual graves! These wonders of power are being performed in ourown experience every day of the week, entirely through the Cross. I appeal to you who are truly converted-were you convertedthrough the wisdom of man? I appeal to you that are kept from sinning-are you led towards holiness by the power of elocution,of rhetoric, or of logic?
I appeal to you who are despairing-are you ever revived by musical words and rhythmical sentences? Or do you owe all to JesusCrucified? What is your life, my Brothers, but the Cross? Where comes the bread of your soul but from the Cross? What is yourjoy but the Cross? What is your delight, what is your Heaven, but the Blessed One, once crucified for you, who always livesto make intercession for you? Cling to the Cross, then! Put both arms around it! Hold to the Crucified and never let Him go!Come afresh to the Cross at this moment and rest there, now and forever! Then, with the power of God resting upon you, goforth and preach the Cross! Tell the story of the bleeding Lamb! Repeat the wondrous tale and nothing else!
Never mind how you do it, only proclaim that Jesus died for sinners. The Cross held up by a babe's hand is just as powerfulas if a giant held it up! The power lies in the word, itself, or rather in the Holy Spirit who works by it and with it. Brothers,believe in the power of the Cross for the conversion of those around you! Do not say of any man that he cannot be saved. Theblood of Jesus is Omnipotent! Do not say of any district that it is too sunken, or of any class of men that they are too fargone-the word of the Cross reclaims the lost! Believe it to be the power of God and you shall find it so. Believe in ChristCrucified and preach boldly in His name and you shall see great things and gladsome things. Do not doubt the ultimate triumphof Christianity! Do not let a mistrust flit across your soul. The Cross must conquer!
It must blossom with a crown-a crown commensurate with the Person of the Crucified and the bitterness of His agony. His rewardshall parallel His sorrows. Trust in God and lift your banner high-and with Psalms and songs advance to battle, for the Lordof Hosts is with us-the Son of the Highest leads our van! Onward with blast of silver trumpet and shout of those that seizethe spoil! Let no man's heart fail him! Christ has died! Atonement is complete! God is satisfied! Peace is proclaimed! Heavenglitters with proofs of mercy already bestowed upon ten thousands times ten thousands! Hell is trembling! Heaven adoring,earth waiting! Advance, you saints, to certain victory! You shall overcome through the blood of the Lamb!