Galatians 5:11 (NKJV)
‘And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased.’
The cross is an offense and the preaching of the cross will offend many in today’s church; and that’s why it’s not being preached. We can preach about anything except the cross. Some think it’s too old fashioned for this new generation. True, there’s a way the cross can be taught that it’s not seen as relevant and may not make sense with the modern Christian. I don’t believe the cross must only be taught using the old King James Version of the bible. The cross can be taught with the Amplified or NLT. It can be taught with any Holy Spirit approved version of the bible. What counts is that we teach the cross. We must restore the teaching of the cross and when we do, it will bring persecution.
The cross is the only solution for the sins, the whims and the self-centered life of man. The cross is an affront to religionists who think they’ve discovered another way to reform man and make man a better specimen of human living. The cross laughs at all these modern preachers and their exciting new messages. Yes, our new messages are surely filling up our churches, but filling them with whom? With sanctified redeemed consecrated ‘walking-dead-men’ who are full of the lightening rod of heaven? Or with modernized sinners who still live the normal pleasurable life of sin-centered and self-centers lives. If the cross does not kill you, you are useless to God and to man. So let’s move away from the fanciful teachings of modern Christianity. Let’s get back to the cross and if we face offense from preaching it, then we are preaching it correctly. The cross is the only wonder drug for the sickness of humanity. Until we discover this, human existence can never be truly transformed.
‘Lord, I know I am often tempted to teach themes that make people comfortable but Lord, help me to focus on what matters to you and not what pleases men. I may not know how to make people laugh but may I preach the Word that wounds their consciences and heals them again in the right way. May I, Lord, speak your truth in such a way that you permanently transform men. And only the message of the cross can do this. This I ask in Jesus name. Amen.’
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