I believe because it is absurd

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website, morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. There was an early church father, a man named Tertullian. He once said that he believed the gospel because there are people saying the gospel is absurd.

The Christian message is absurd. You believe this? And he said, here's what he said. He said, I believe the gospel. He said, I believe it because it's absurd. Let that sink in. I believe it because it's absurd.

Don't react right away. I admit the first time I heard that kind of rubbed me the wrong way. But I think we have to acknowledge that's how the average person, that's certainly how the average atheist views the gospel of Jesus Christ.

This is absurd. This whole thing is absurd. So how should we respond to that? Knowing that many, if not the majority of the people around us view it that way, how should we respond? Well, one of the ways you can silence your opponents when they are saying things like that, you can just take their criticism and embrace it.

You can just wear it as a badge of honor. When someone insults your faith, what are they trying to do? They're trying to make you feel stupid. They're trying to make you feel bad. They're trying to make you embarrassed about Jesus.

God forbid we should be embarrassed about the gospel of Jesus Christ. But you can just embrace their critique. Oh, you think it's absurd? Well, that's why I believe it then. It's absurd. That'll kind of take, they'll be taken aback by that.

It kind of takes the wind out of their sails because they're trying to get one reaction. That's why they do it. They're trying to get a reaction from you. And when you do the exact opposite, they don't know what to say.

But about this statement, and I believe that this is what Tertullian was doing. He was engaging in apologetics, a defense of the Christian faith. Because the gospel goes so much against the grain, he was simply acknowledging that.

Yeah, and it's true, and I believe it. Now, of course, he didn't really think it was absurd, and we don't think it's absurd. But here's the point. Nobody in their right mind would come up with the gospel as the solution to humanity's problems.

This can't be man's message. It makes no sense. Every other religion on earth is work your way to God, do rituals, do this, don't do that. Christianity is God became a man and died on the cross. He's already done it for you.

It is completely different. Oh, all religions are the same. The only people who say that is the people who have no clue what any of these religions teach. On top of that, God chose to be his primary preacher of the gospel.

God chose the man who is fighting hardest against the gospel. Galatians 1 .13, Paul tells the church, For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it.

And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through his grace to reveal his son in me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles.

They say that the Lord works in mysterious ways. That doesn't begin to describe it, though. Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. But isn't this the way that the Lord works? He does things that no person would do.

He does things in a completely unexpected way. Just a few examples in the ancient world. It was understood the firstborn took over the family after the father passed. The firstborn would rule. The firstborn would receive the blessing.

So, what did God do? Well, He chose the youngest one. He chose Isaac, and Jacob, and then Joseph. Moses was the younger son. And then King David was the young, unimpressive son of Jesus. This kid isn't going to amount to anything.

And then once God chose him, then people started to realize, hey, this young guy is pretty special. Why was he special? Because God had His hand upon his life. Of all the people and nations of the earth that God could have chosen, you would think this is what most people would do if they were doing it.

God does it completely different. This is what most people would do. We'll find the greatest people, greatest in number, greatest in power, and we will use them. I'll choose them. What did God do? He chose a small family, wandering in the desert, herding goats and sheep.

I'm going to change the world through them. No man would come up with that. And when the Son of God was born, you might expect Him to be born to a wealthy family and born in a beautiful palace. Instead, Jesus was born in a barn.

That's not the way man does things. Look at 1 Corinthians 1, verse 18, Paul says, For the message of the cross is, what? Foolishness to those who are perishing. But to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.

For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

For since in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God. The most intelligent people, the brightest people on earth that everyone looks to, they're the ones who are furthest away from God.

I mean, there's obviously exceptions. But generally, that's the way it is. It says, It pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. Verse 22, For the Jews request a sign.

They want a miracle. They want to see something. The Greeks, however, seek after wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness. But to those who are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God.

What is Christ? He is the power of God and he is the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men. This is clearly what Tertullian was getting after here.

That's what he had in mind. 1 Corinthians chapter 1 when he made that statement. There were all these people calling the gospel absurd. And Christians, you know, they're a bunch of whatever. I didn't say anything pleasant about them.

And they're not saying anything pleasant about us. And say, Yeah, that's fine. Oh, you're a Christian?

Ha, ha, ha, ha.

They're not going to be laughing on Judgment Day. But when you're a believer and following Christ, you're going to receive that.

Right?

You're going to be insulted. People are going to make you feel bad. They want you to buckle under the pressure. Are you going to do it, though? That's the question. Besides, what did Jesus say? He said, Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake.

For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Those missionaries kidnapped in Haiti. I don't know what God has in store. Here's the thing. If they do end up giving their life for Christ, God is going to bless them beyond imagination in the life to come.

Or he might just turn all that around and use that for his glory right here and now. Which I believe he will. It's just a matter of waiting to see what's going to happen. Jesus also said, Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you.

And say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. And let's not forget.

Okay, they might mock believers. They mock Jesus, too, didn't they? Jesus said in Matthew 10, A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher.

If they mock Christ, they're going to mock you. That's what you should expect. Jesus said if they have called the master of the house Beelzebub. Basically, they call Jesus the devil. How much more will they call those of his household?

So they call Jesus Satan. They said the miracles that he was working, he was working by the power of Satan. If they say that about him, what are they going to say about us? What do they say about us? Well, you're a science denier.

Have you heard that one? You're a threat to public safety. You realize that's the exact same thing they said in the pages of the New Testament? The Jewish leaders looked at the apostles. They were going around preaching.

That's all they were doing. They were preaching.

They're a threat.

Their ideas are too dangerous. We need to shut them down. That led into the Roman emperors who claimed that Christians were a threat to society. When Rome burned in the first century, who got the blame?

Christians. Did Christians do it?

No.

But their ideas were a threat. They were threatened by the Christian message.

Why?

Because it's the truth. And the truth threatens to expose their depravity and corruption. Concerning things that are absurd. There are some things out there that are absurd, aren't there? Now, they want to say, well, you're absurd.

And the gospel is absurd. Believing in God became a man. That's absurd. Let me tell you a few things that are absurd. Let's talk about the absurd. How about the universe creating itself? That is absurd.

You say, I don't think they really believe that. Yes, they do. The world's leading cosmologist, or at least he used to be before his death, the world's leading cosmologist Stephen Hawking once said, because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing.

You realize, the whole universe created itself from nothing because of gravity. Well, that's the type of person the world looks to and exalts for wisdom. That's crazy. That's crazy. But we're surrounded by this.

And, you know, the people in authority are teaching this everywhere. And you start to wonder, maybe I'm crazy. You're not crazy.

They are.

How about the belief that life just popped into existence? The complexity of DNA just happened, just came into existence. And this single cell organism evolved into a monkey that evolved into you. That is insane.

Pond scum essentially evolved into people. It's really like they say. I can't believe that because I don't have enough faith to believe that. I don't have enough faith to be an atheist. All of that is absurd.

That, my friends, that's the fairy tale. That's the fairy tale. There's this new term that I learned over the past year. It's called gaslighting.

You know what that means?

Well, you can look it up later. That's what they're doing. There's a lot of things they're doing that with too. They're gaslighting you. This is crazy. Now, God created all things. God is the author of life.

God created the animals. And you can see they produce according to their own kind. God created you in his own image. Your life does matter.

You know what?

If you're just an evolved animal, why would your life matter?

It wouldn't.

Your life matters. People's lives only matter because God created them. You remove that, nobody's life matters. And then you have, well, why not eliminate two-thirds of the earth's population?

Why not? They're just animals.

That's how they think, which is the scary thing. So, in conclusion, this is the Bible. This is the gospel. God so loved the world. You matter. He loves you. He loves you so much that he sent his only begotten son to suffer and die so that you could be forgiven of your sin and inherit everlasting life.

That is not man's message. That is God's message. And we have the privilege to proclaim it. Let's close. Heavenly Father, I thank you for your word, which tells us these things. We don't have to wonder.

We don't have to guess. And, Lord, the more we have our eyes opened to your truth, Lord, the crazier this world seems. And, Father, I don't want to be a part of it. But, Lord, you have us here. You have us here to do your will and do your work.

So give us opportunities throughout the week, we pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Thanks for listening. I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Morris Cornick Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website, morriscornickchurch .com.

And we'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett. Until next time, may the grace of God be with you.