Can You Make The Cross Empty? (part 2) - [1 Corinthians 1:17]

True or false? Christianity is a demanding religion. Jesus Christ demands much From his followers. The answer is true. You may say well Christianity is not a religion. It's a relationship, but when we think about God and we think about what he requires He demands a lot may I say God demands everything.

Christianity Demands the Whole Person

Where you see when it comes to Jesus Christ the only God of the universe. He doesn't want just your actions. He requires your actions with the right attitudes. When it comes to Christianity, it's not enough to say I give.

God wants you to give. Cheerfully when it comes to singing it's not enough to just sing. He wants you to sing with joy. When it comes to preaching it's not enough just to preach but it's to preach with boldness and with enthusiasm.

When it comes to serving it's not enough to say well, I serve the Lord and I do my duty. But he wants your heart as you serve. Jesus didn't say well, I want you to love the Lord with just your mind and Days, you don't feel like it.

You can just do it with your strength. No God demands everything. We live in a bottom-line world. Just give me the bottom line as long as it works. It's fine. But when we come to 1st Corinthians, we see that it's not enough just to preach the gospel and have the gospel, right?

You've got to preach it in a way that is Conducive for godly living. Let's turn our Bibles to 1st Corinthians chapter 1. God doesn't care About preaching that is done Improper. Well, let me rephrase that The what is important and the how is important as well.

Christianity is not ultimately Pragmatic and we come to the book of 1st Corinthians. We've had a few weeks off and I'm dying to get back into this book. This book is intriguing. It's inspiring. It's interesting.

Who could come up with a book like 1st Corinthians if you ever wanted to go to a conference in the world? Well, let me pick a conference that's teaching a certain book of the Bible right up there at one of the top at the top Of my list I would say I want to hear about 1st Corinthians.

Because who writes like this who says let me deal with this issue at Corinth and let's talk about division in the church. Let's talk about lawsuits in the church. Let's talk about immorality. Let's talk about things that are going on.

There's no discipline. What about celibacy? What about meat offered to idols? What about should women be veiled in public worship. How do we celebrate the Lord's Supper our spiritual gifts for today are speaking in tongues for today?

Is Jesus going to come back? How should we give aren't those interesting topics? That's exactly what Paul does in the book of 1st Corinthians. He deals with these issues because the Corinthian Church Had problems they had issues and Paul deals with those and the main issue here in chapter 1 2 3 and 4.

What's the problem that Paul addresses if you had to say for some kind of college Bible test or your kids said? What's the issue of chapter 1 2 3 and 4. Paul is dealing with one topic pretty much only one topic in chapter 1 2 3 and 4 and that topic is disunity.

Who would spend that much time on disunity? Well Paul does because unity is very very important. Look at verse 10 of 1st Corinthians chapter 1 now I exhort you brethren by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

That you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you my brethren by Chloe's people that there are quarrels among you.

Now I mean this verse 12 that each one of you is saying I am of Paul. I am of Apollos. I'm of Cephas. I am of Christ. And then in verse 13 Paul gives the shock treatment. It's the cold water in the face if you ever received cold water in your face.

You kind of get startled and Paul startles. By saying verse 13 has Christ been divided. That's kind of a shocking statement. Paul was not crucified for you. Was he or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

We know the answer to that. Then he says down in verse 17 for Christ did not send me to baptize. But to preach the gospel not in cleverness of speech so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.

Paul says baptism is important, but there are some things that are more important. Would you agree with that? You can Not get saved. But you could be baptized. Let me rephrase that. You could be baptized in water, but still not be a Christian Baptism on the other hand you could be the thief on the cross and you could be saved.

But not baptized and still go to heaven, but let me ask you this question. Could you ever go to heaven without hearing the gospel preached? The answer is no. Some things are more important than others and the great official duty of the gospel preacher was to preach the gospel.

Paul said there's a priority of preaching over baptism because baptism doesn't save. It's an important identification with the church. But preaching saves and so I'm going to be doing the main thing and that is Preaching because I'm here to do Christ Commission and that is preach the gospel so people get saved.

I think I mentioned last time that you don't want your pastor to be a CEO an Administrator if you have to hire a new pastor someday you say well We really want to have a good kind of a jack-of-all-trades kind of guy.

We want him to do some janitor work good business administrator. He's really good leading singing as his wife's got a good voice. I mean, there's all kinds of things you could look for but you find one thing and that is he preaches the gospel.

Yes, that's it. Anything else as I said last time is gravy. You want to find a person who lives to preach they exist to preach? Because that's how people get saved. Paul said in chapter 9 of this book.

Woe to me if I do not what preach the gospel. Salvation does not come without preaching. There are different priorities, but You've got to preach the right way if I got up and preached that you're saved by works.

What would you call me? Go ahead say louder. Why. I got a lot of different. I was looking for the word heretic. I Wasn't looking for any other word that ended in. I see I'm saving my offending part of the sermon till later.

So I don't need to use that right now. You'd call me a heretic and we all would say that's right. You're preaching a gospel of works, and and we don't want that and evangelicalism would say don't preach that way.

But not many evangelicals would say if you preach you're saved by grace alone through faith alone. But you've got to preach it in the right method. Not many people say that they'll say as long as you preach the right gospel.

We don't care what way it comes just preach the right gospel. And Paul says in chapter 1 verse 17 You've got to preach the real gospel and you've got to preach it the right way. And what does Paul say not in a way that somehow would distract or detract from the gospel?

He says in chapter 1 verse 17 not in cleverness of speech. Why look at this so that the cross of Christ would not be made void. There's a way to preach that makes the cross vacuous. Meaningless to preach the real gospel in the wrong way voids out the cross.

That's pretty amazing when you think about it. Paul says there's a way to preach the good news. To announce the good news, but do it in a wrong manner. The manner of preaching and I said last time It would be wrong if you wanted to sing great as thy faithfulness to the tune of Barney's I love you.

And you love me. Arch MacArthur said sing Holy holy holy to the tune of Yankee Doodle Dandy. Form and function have to go together. Content and methodology have to go together when it comes to preaching the cross.

There is a way that you can be a Sunday school teacher and evangelist a mom or a dad that you preach the right gospel Jesus Christ substitutionary death literal resurrection. Soon return, but you do it in such a way where the attention goes towards the way you deliver it.

Not towards the substance of what you deliver. Rhetorical displays over content. Paul says I'm not gonna let that happen. So last time we looked at some of the ways you could evangelize and make the cross void that we would want to run away From let me give you those quickly in review and we'll pick up a couple new ones today.

I want to get into verse 18 18 through 31 to use a vernacular rocks. I'm just kind of salivating. I'm just kind of like David with the spit above the door. You're just kind of waiting to preach 18 to 31 and I can feel that Rollercoaster kind of getting to the top click click click click click click because you know 18 is straight down.

But I just can't go there yet. Because this is important. I don't want I don't want myself to preach in a way that Makes the cross void and I don't want you to evangelize or teach Sunday school or a wanna same way.

Dressing the Gospel With Fashion, Comfort, and Success

Number one the first way we saw last time that you could make the gospel void is When you dress the gospel. With trying to look good you dress it with the clothes of fashion. People dress fashionably I assume because they want to look good.

And so if you preach in such a way evangelize in such a way where you want to look good. You can void out make vacuous the meaning of the cross. When Paul preaches the cross in chapter 1 18 and following guess what he gets from the Jew and from the Gentile.

He does not get a standing ovation. He gets what? Derision. He doesn't get applause. He gets martyrdom. Woe to the one who gets up and says I want to preach and I want to look like Cicero. I want to look like Rome's greatest orator when everyone would come and admire me.

Second way you can make the cross void of its contents because of the way you deliver. It is what I call when you dress it with the clothes of comfort. That is when you preach a felt needs gospel a Felt needs gospel.

I said last time that forgiveness is the issue. Not do you have a great marriage or you're not lonely anymore managing relationships talking about money and finding fulfillment. You can have the world and still go to hell.

Tell me if you think this is felt need preaching if anyone wishes to come after me. Let him deny himself take up his cross daily and follow me for whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake he is the one who will save it Jesus.

Luke 9. Number three, we need to review these and get on to the new information. The third way you could make the cross void by your certain method would be when you dress the gospel with what I call a power tie dressing for success.

Do you think it's good for the preacher for you for the evangelist? You for the one who is a Sunday school teacher to say my main goal as I teach about Jesus should be Numbers should be attendance, you know, it's the ABCs of church growth.

What are the ABCs of church growth? Attendance buildings and what cash. That's what we want to do. We want to try to be successful. I Personally never want to get to heaven and hear from Jesus this well done good and faithful market driven servant.

By most studies, did you know over 90 of the churches in America have 200 people or less? It's an interesting phenomenon. We don't say to ourselves as leaders. How many people do we want to have come to the church and what's our five-year plan and ten-year plan?

Oh, we might say what happens if the church gives us growth and we plan strategy. But at the end of the day we preach and if God brings people he brings them, but we don't change the method. We don't change the message.

I Never figure out a sermon by saying this. I wonder if this will work. I Wonder does it work? I wonder if if I preach this sermon in such a way that Maybe more people will come. No One man said anything goes as long as it is defended for the sake of evangelism our church growth.

You can't mess around with the motives and keep the message pure. It's a fact that if you mark at the church, you're going to change the message. Are we in the truth business are in the profit business.

Well, if you think that was bad, how about this one new information number four today? How can you make the cross void of its contents? Well number four if you dress it with clown outfits, I call this dressing it with entertainment.

Did you know consumers want entertainment? There's a God that's on the horizon and his name is entertainment. Now I'm not saying every clown ministry is wrong if you wouldn't have it. I want a clown ministry or something fine, but clown ministries on Sunday morning worship I don't go for at all as I've said before over my dead body.

Well, we have a clown my ministry on Sunday morning worship. I talked to a person the other day and I said, oh you go to that church. It was a particular church around here and I said, well, that's interesting.

Scott and I were buying a bike from this particular person. Oh, that's neat. And he said, oh, yeah, I saw your email BBC pastor at BBC Church, you know I think I know you're the pastor at BBC Church. Yeah, that's right try to try to be you know under the radar and Said well, you know we Having some guest speakers lately and you know the kind of speaker that I really like and I wanted him to go the guy.

That's going verse by verse. He teaches the tough stuff. He teaches the encouraging stuff. He's really just he teaches the whole Council of God. God is sovereign. I thought come on. Just say it. I could just I'm just wanting to say it.

He goes I I kind of like it when when we had the guy he was the magician. He did the magician sermon. And I just go. I mean the day that you have to have video clips of comedies R-rated comedies our Braveheart for that matter to supplement the Sermon is the day that you say to all your people the Bible is not sufficient.

The Bible has no power shamefully voiding the message by the methods. Vance Havner had some words for this particular church. Ichabod Memorial Church decides to pack them in with folk music and then they say over at Ephesus.

We'll try a TV personality then Pergamos says Well, we're gonna have a fella who can play the fiddle and beat tap drums and blow a harmonica all the same time. Then over at Sardis they say we're gonna put on aunt Dinah's quilting party come dressed like they were a hundred years ago.

And we'll all see Nellie home. Then over at Laodicea. They have a talking horse. I Heard one of those horses some time ago. They asked him how many commandments he stomped ten times. How many Apostles he stomped twelve times?

Some nitwit in the crowd asked how many hypocrites they were in this church and the horse went into a dance on all fours. People love to be entertained. I don't mind entertainment. But entertainment in the house of God for worship, please define worship.

Please define entertainment and tell me that they're not parallel lines that never intersect the Bible alone true or false tells us everything we need to please the one who has made us in a local worship service and You won't see magicians and mimes and Entertainment my job is not to entertain.

Oh if we laugh once in a while. It's usually calculated because after the laugh comes the throat slitter. Just trying to manipulate you a little bit. No, just kidding. I'm not saying we can't laugh. What I'm saying is I'm not here to entertain you.

I don't get up and go. I've got to really entertain the folks today. I'm not here to amuse you. I Don't think anyone when they've been in the presence of the Living God has said of themselves Quite entertaining.

Jeremiah 5 says an appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land. The prophets prophesy falsely and the priests rule on their own authority and my people love it. So turn with me if you would to 2nd Timothy chapter 4 I want to talk a little bit more about this God of entertainment and giving the people really what they want.

It's People want to be entertained so much these days I think it evacuates the message of the cross come be entertained come worse come worship the God of entertainment. 2nd Timothy chapter 4 the last book that Paul has ever written the last chapter.

He was he ever wrote before he had his head chopped off. Not for his comedy routine. May I add 2nd Timothy chapter 4 verse 3 We need to pick the right kind of leaders the right kind of elders because They want to make sure to give the Word of God out to the people and not give the people what they want.

Especially if those people are immature. 2nd Timothy chapter 4 verse 3 right after the big preach the word passage in verse 2 for the time will come. When they will not endure sound doctrine, but wanting to have their ears Chickled or might I say entertained they will accumulate for themselves Entertainers teachers in accordance to their own desires.

Some people Paul says at the end days Timothy. They won't endure sound doctrine. This is a hatred. This is a dislike. This is like don't you preach doctrine to me kind of folks and they don't want selfie a healthy hygienic doctrine.

They want something else. They want their ears to be tickled. Frankly, I think when you hear Bible preaching sometimes your ears aren't tickled some most times your ears what? Burn, I've only been in one boxing match in my life Scott labs, and I got some of these boxing gloves.

We went down to his basement. We were about 14 years old and we gained a box back and forth. Nobody really taught me anything you know, I'm just thinking I'm Joe Frazier or somebody and I'm back and forth and he came with a right hook and hit me in my ear.

One punch to the ear could have been my stomach. I could have handled it my face. I could have handled it my nose. I could have handled it, but it was my ear and it hurt so bad. I cried like a baby and had to quit 14 years old.

Hurt. Oh. But you know what if you say to yourself I don't really want to have the Word of God prune me and Conform me and make me like Christ and deal with my sin and encourage me in righteousness. I just want to be tickled.

I want to go there and go, you know, that was very good. I was entertained for an hour. I wasn't thinking about other things. That's excellent. Tickle my ears. Got a hankering for something that's spiritually unhealthy.

Problem is there's lots of teachers who will be happy to teach that Vincent said teachers of all kinds swarm like the flies of Egypt that a man creates a supply. The hearers invite and shape their own preachers.

If the people desire a calf to worship a Ministerial calf maker is readily found. Look at verse 4 of this passage and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you verse 5 Timothy entertain people.

Be the clown. Draw the crowds. He doesn't talk that way at all. Does he listen to what Tozer said? If this is true, and I believe it is then the present inordinate attachment to every form of entertainment is Evidence that the inner life of modern man is in serious decline.

The average man has no central core of moral assurance. No spring within his own breast. No inner strength to place him above the need for repeated Psychological shots to give him the courage to go on living.

He has become a parasite on the world drawing his life from his environment unable to live a day apart from stimulation which society affords. Tozer said it is not hard to see why the great God Entertainment is so ardently worshiped by so many for there are millions who cannot live without amusement.

Life without some form of entertainment for them is simply Intolerable. They look forward to the blessed relief afforded by professional entertainers and other forms of psychological narcotics as the dope addict looks for his daily shot of heroin.

I Think if you click on YouTube, you're gonna see that exact same thing sadly happening in the church and it is my Belief that if you wrap the real gospel in the form of entertainment you make it void.

Let me ask you this question for those of you that might disagree if I have to use entertainment to get you to listen to the gospel. Is there a problem? The answer is yes. But I forgot about Ephesians.

Then he gave some as clowns some as prophets some as comedians and some as stand-up. No. Doesn't God know what he's doing when he gives pastors and preachers and evangelists and Apostles and prophets.

Show me a prophet who preached the Bible and I won't show you someone who said let's invite him back next week. It would be persecution more likely than not Spurgeon said. I thought we were the salt of the world not the sugar candy.

Say yeah, but people are bored with the Bible. Well people are bored with the Bible. The cure is not entertainment. Number five. Number five if you've got the real gospel, but you wrap it in this is it made void?

The Danger of Entertainment-Driven Ministry

Number five the gospel can be made void when you dress it with the clothes of pressure and manipulation. Coercion if you didn't think I was going to talk about this. You would be wrong so let's just talk about it.

Years ago. I got here 13 years ago for the first five years I heard this refrain almost every week. Something in effect like this pastor. You don't really believe in evangelism, I guess. You know, how do people get saved at this church.

I thought through preaching and you know what every one of these conversations was driving at Mike you don't do a what? Altar call. How many people here have seen altar calls. How many people here have never seen an altar call.

A few? Praise the Lord. All right, just to get your attention. Nobody was ever saved because of an altar call. Not one person was ever saved because of an altar call. You say well, I don't believe that.

I Think people were saved because the gospel was preached at an altar call. But let me give you some reasons why I don't think altar calls are ever going to be popping their heads up at Bethlehem Bible Church.

Say what is an altar call? Well, typically an altar call is something at the end of the service and the light sometimes can be dimmed. The mood music is playing. The organs are kind of you know playing just as I am right.

Stanza 45. I Surrender. All have my own own way. The preacher is praying and talking leading for a decision for Christ. God has been speaking to you and you need to know you have forgiveness and so he'll say something like this.

I'm going to ask you to come forward. Come up and pray. Come up and do the. My son's filling in my sermons for me. Every head bowed every eye closed. That's right. I see that hand. Before it's too late.

God's knocking on your heart and you want forgiveness. Come to the front give your life to Christ. Maybe they'll say. Just raise your hand and I'll see that hand. They do it a variety of different ways.

For him if you're here with friends or relatives, they'll wait for you. Don't let distance keep you from Christ. It's a long way. But Christ went all the way to the cross because he loved you. Certainly you can come these few steps and give your life to him.

Why don't we do altar calls? Number one. Why don't Altar calls show themselves at Bethlehem Bible Church number one because there's no command in the Bible to do any altar calls. There are commands to preach there are commands to evangelize, but there's not a prescription in the Bible do this altar call.

There's not a description in the Bible. This altar call has been done. I've searched the Bible. I've especially searched the pastoral epistles where the pastors are instructed on what to do and the Bible is quiet about altar called altar calls.

Turn with me if you would to 1st Corinthians chapter 15 verse 11. I believe the burden of proof for altar call proponents is on the altar call proponents. The Methodist Episcopalian Church began this idea.

1800s camp meetings. Finney the heretic Finney and his proponents also. Push this into the spotlight. But what about 1st Corinthians chapter 15 verse 11. I Don't do altar calls because number one they're not commanded and number two I don't need to do them because God saves through preaching so we preach so they believe faith comes through hearing.

Whitfield the Calvinist never did altar calls. Wesley the Arminian he never did altar calls. It's not until heretic Finney comes along that altar calls were pushed up and we're going to talk more about this later.

But before I go farther 1st Corinthians chapter 15 verse 11 whether then it was I are they and Paul almost. Just you know off off the cuff says. I know it's not off the cuff because it's spirit inspired.

So we preach and so you believe. Do we really think that if I don't get people to come up to the front they might leave the church and then God could Never save them again. People say don't let the people get out of the church without coming up to the front without giving an invitation.

Friends I don't invite you to come up to the front. I invite you to believe. I beckon you to believe in Christ. Why call you to the front when I can call you to the Savior. Come here and receive Christ is Confusing at best.

Where's the biblical justification for that people say well. You don't do invitations. If you mean I don't call you up to the front you're right. But I invite you. I beseech you. I command you you have to look to Christ and live.

There's no other way to be saved. Venture on him holy as one man says let no other trust intrude none. But Jesus none, but Jesus can do helpless sinners good. Second reason why I don't do altar calls is because it confuses an outward act with an inward new birth.

It confuses the outward act with the inward new birth. True or false. God commands men everywhere to repent. True acts 1730. If anybody ever says that about a Bible verse you have to quick say true. Coming forward and coming to Christ are two separate things.

People who have not been changed on the inside can come forward true or false. True. People who have not been changed on the inside can come to Christ. True or false. Answers false. I'm not going to confuse people with coming to the front with some inward new birth.

What do we tell people repent believe? We don't tell them to come to the front. What about this? Do you think this is biblical if you really want to go to heaven when you die then step out of your seat wherever you?

Are come and let us know about your decision. Christ went all the way to the cross for you. Won't you just walk a few steps for him? Poor God he can't do anything until you kind of do the first step. Third reason why I don't do altar calls it because altar calls give a superficial view of sin depravity and conversion.

I'm going to ask people to do what only God can have them do and that is to repent and to believe and to follow. Total inability. Total depravity. Total sinfulness. Can still have a man get up and walk to the front of the aisle?

But if you're totally depraved. You need to be saved on the inside. It is him who wills know him who runs. No, but of God who has mercy. Now I know what you're saying some of you. I already know you're saying.

I was saved by an altar call. I went up to the front and I got saved. Are you're saying this. I have a pastor who I really respect my old pastor. I really respected he did that. Billy Graham. He does that.

Here's what I'm trying to say. How were people saved before the 1800s when the altar call came up. How. Preaching the gospel. Why doesn't God tell us to bring people up to the front? He doesn't he tells us to Call them to Christ.

Unbelievers can walk up to the front. Finney said we're not really after a change in their nature by creative power, but we want them to yield to the truth. And How do we get them to yield to the truth.

You come up to the front. I prefer Spurgeon. What the Arminian wants to do is to arouse man's activity. Get them to the front. What we want to do is to kill it once and for all. To show him that he's lost and ruined and that all his activities are not now at all.

Equal to the work of conversion. He must look upward. They seek to make the man stand up. We seek to bring him down and make him feel that there he lies in the hand of God. And all his business is to submit himself to God and to cry aloud Lord save our we perish.

Did you know? You say well, this is anecdotal evidence. Okay, maybe it is. How many people have come up to the altar call to receive Christ when the real gospel wasn't even preached? You can preach the wrong gospel that doesn't include Lordship repentance belief.

Substitutionary atonement literal resurrection. And still coerce and manipulate people to come up to the very front of the church and they're saved from number four altar calls. Put the focus on the preachers commands not divine commands.

The divine commands are repent trust follow believe. The preachers commands are come up here. Raise the hand meet me in the back. Comply with the preacher. Sign the card and here's the big one. All those other words just Fluff.

I don't do altar calls because it gives people false assurance. It gives people false assurance. They may say coming to the front won't save you. But can you blame the person for equating the two coming up to the front saves?

I don't think you can blame the person. Come to Jesus right now. Let this be the moment of decision. Come as you are. He will receive you and it encourages people. I've done what he says. Therefore. I must be a Christian.

But it's not necessarily true. I believe what Ian Murray says is true. Many Have responded to the measures of the altar call without being converted and are now in a far worse position. For in coming forward they did what they were told to do without any result with some justification.

They could come to regard conversion as an illusion and then they think to themselves I I'm better than the other people are. I'm not changed. But I see through the disguise and the other people who have come they can't see through the disguise true or false a momentary external and even emotional.

Feeling of joy hearing the word preached does not imply conversion. That's Luke chapter 8. Many receive the word with joy. And what do they do? They fall away. Whitfield said there are so many stony ground hearers who receive the word with joy that I have determined to suspend my judgment till I know the tree by its fruits.

Converts that are born in excitement die when the excitement is over. Why is it that those who do altar calls now coolly and calmly say. Well, probably only about five out of fifty people who come are really Christians.

Number six. The altar call deludes Christians in the church. Into inviting unbelievers to church instead of evangelizing them. We might as well push the envelope a little bit. So here goes. If you're an unbeliever here today, you're a welcome guest.

But we're not going to do anything in this service for your sake. Directly say what do you mean by that? The church gets together as a body of Christ to worship their Lord. True. Unbelievers don't worship.

Unbelievers. Blaspheme. You may sit in and you may sing and you may look and we're happier here. And I hope you get saved by the preaching the gospel. But we gather as Christians because the New Testament says Christians gather to worship.

This is not an evangelistic service. Say well pastor didn't give the call to salvation at the end of the service. Well, because I'm preaching to the believers today. Not the unbelievers. Oh, there may be times where I might say if you don't know Christ, this is the gospel.

That's fine to do it. Cost me nothing. But what do you do if you want your friends saved? Please come to church and then when Mike gives the altar call, let's pray that they go. If that's how people are saved then that's what you'll do otherwise if you say how P are people saved.

They're saved by preaching the gospel them friends never invite your unbelieving friends to this church. Never. Well, okay. Let me change that. Never invite them until you preach the gospel of them face to face.

It's your duty to preach the gospel of them. It's my duty to feed the Saints. Don't invite people to church so they'll come up to the front. By the way to this day when I'm in a church that has an altar call I feel like I'm not saved and I got to go.