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Christ Divides Men – 1 Cor. 1:18-31 – Bible study

Christ Divides Men – 1 Cor. 1:18-31 – Bible study

CHRIST DIVIDES MEN

I Corinthians 1:18-31

by Cooper Abrams
(This message is based on one of the same title preached by J. Vernon McGee)

    Introduction: I recently received the following e-mail concerning the material on my Web Site Bible Truth:

    “Contention is of the Devil andthat’s what your articles try and spread. Why don’t ya’ll spend sometime livinggospel principles instead of persecuting others, maybe you are like the Pharisees who persecuted Christ?”

    The use of the word “ya’ll” identifies the writer as a Southerner, and ishumbling to us Southerners who might think everyone in the South is smart andintelligent and knows the Bible! Truly, this person who was trying to advise me knows nothing about the Bible or what he is talking about.

      1. Christ died as he lived, the object of love or scorn. Some openly loved and followed Him, others scornfully rejected Him. Everywhere Christ went there was trouble. Many tried to kill Him. Why? What was it He did that got people so worked up? Is not the Lord Jesus the God of Love?

        a. In Luke 23:26-31, V27-28, a great number of people followed himincluding women, they mourned and wailed for Him as He was being crucified..

        b. V32, says there were two men crucified with Him. Verse 39, says one ofthem, a criminal, insultingly shouted at Christ, Aren’t you the Christ, save yourself and us! What in the world brought that on! Why did this man,being crucified himself shout so angrily at the Lord?

        c. However, this man was rebuked by the other criminal being crucified,”Don’t you fear God, seeing you too are sentenced to die, We are punishedjustly, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he ask Jesus toremember him when you come into your Kingdom.

        That very day that man was in paradise with Christ, the other woke up inHell, and is there at this moment awaiting the Great White Throne Judgment and eternal damnation.

        Even in His death…Jesus divided these two men.

      2. Folks there is no middle ground, not then not and not now! Even to rejectChrist through indifference is to oppose Him.

      3. I Cor. 1:18, says, that preaching to those that perish is foolishness, but to othersit is precious, the means of hearing salvation and receiving eternal life.

      4. I wrote this message after I read a book by Dr. J. Vernon McGee, by the sametitle “The Cross Divides Men” and Dr. McGee gives a most interesting expositionof this verse.

        a. In 1 Cor. 1:18, preaching is the word, “Logos” which simply means”word.” It does not the foretelling, or speaking.

        b. John 1:1, Uses the same word, “Logos.” “In the beginning was theWord, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Jesus Christ is the”Logos” the “Word.”

        d. The word “foolishness” is interesting. It is Greek word, “moria” and in English it is word “moron.” It literally means “stupid” or good for nothing.

        e. “Power” is Greek word, “Du-na-mis,” The English word “Dynamite”

        In Greek, it means to the “nth” power. Dynamite is misnamed, atomicpower is much greater.

        f. Thus the verse is saying that to those who reject Christ the preaching ofthe Cross is stupid or foolish. These misguided souls totally refuse to acknowledgethe Jesus Christ’s suffering on the Cross means anything. On the Cross Christ wassuffering for their sins as well as the believer’s, yet these people could care less.

        However, to those believed and are saved…the preaching of the Cross is themost powerful thing in the Universe. The Gospel is what saved, them changed their lives and gave them true abiding peace.

      5. There are two groups of people who hear the Gospel Message:

        (a) To one group the Cross of Christ is good for nothing and foolish.

        (b) To the other group the Cross of Christ is the power of their lifediscovered when they trusted Christ as their Savior.

      6. The question is to each of us: What Group are we in? You are in one or the other! There is no middle ground on this question.

        a. One Group depends on church membership, baptism, taking thecommunion, good works, doings sacraments, obeying their prophet or church officials, etc to merit heaven, or they just ignore Christ all together. Some in the group might speak highly of Jesus Christ, but not enough to follow Him or believe in Him and be saved.

        b. The other group, will do obey the Bible instructions and join a church, be baptized, obey the Lord, and yet there is a big difference in why they do it. They are not trusting in these religious acts or good works to save them. They are trusting in the Grace of God, and the Cross where Christ shed His precious blood for them.

      7. Some believe that because God is love He overlooks sin. These people,many who are very religious, will kill you in love. The false religious people arethe most dangerous people in the world. If you know anything about the comingGreat Tribulation, the Bible says the evil world leader called the Anti-Christ will come to power aided by the False Prophet a world wide religious leader.

      Do you get the point? False religion will has a large following. In fact most of the world’s people are involved in false religions that have gods that do not exist and cannot help them. Almost all the wars men have fought is in the name of their religion….in the name of their god. Like the person who wrote me and strongly criticized me….religious people in false religions are the most dangerous people in the world. September 11, 2001 is a good example. These Muslims who worship a god that does not exist hate everyone who does not worship Allah. They murdered over 3000 people in the name of their god thinking they would go straight to heaven and there be rewarded with riches, glory, women (yes that is right). Sadly the instant they died….they awoke in the flames of hell fire. They most hate Americans because we have been a Christian nation. They deny the Deity of Jesus Christ, and hold their founder and prophet Muhammad above Christ Jesus.

    I. Early in His ministry Christ began to Divide men!

      A. Luke 8:33-39. Note the response:

      The demon possessed man was healed and sought to follow Christ. Heput on clothes, and was in his right mind.

      The others, sought Christ to go away! They were fearful..and rightlyso as this was the Lord Jesus Christ…yet they wanted nothing to do with him.

        1. The main reason was that He had caused them financial lost…theherd of swine went into the sea and were lost. The Jews were not suppose to eventouch swine were making money raising them and selling them to the Gentiles. Folks, to a lot of people business comes be their religion. The are not so seriousabout their religious beliefs as to let it interfere with their making money! It did notimpress them that a crazed demon possessed man was freed and made whole. Theywere more concerned about the dead pigs!

        2. Instead of seeking the truth, they refused to consider who Christwas and why he had done this.

        3. Many today….do the same, They see saved people, they hear theGospel, but they stand off, saying “I really do not want to be confronted with thetruth. Let me alone. I don’t want to think about it, go away!”

        4. They you see reject Christ, with indifference. Christ did awonderful miracle and good thing…but it caused division.

      B. Matt. 10:1, Twelve men followed Jesus, and to them Christ gave getpower. As you read the list of disciples you find the name Judas Iscariotin Verse 4. There was division even among Jesus’s disciples…one was alost man who would betray the Lord.

        a. Jesus told these men in Verse 16, that He send them out as sheepin the midst of wolves.

        b. Jesus warned them “Ye shall be hated of all men, for my namessake” (Verse 22).

        c. What was this terrible thing that these disciple would be doing to getsuch a bad response from those they were being sent to? Verse 7, reveals theremessage: ” Preach the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!”

        d. Was not Israel waiting for the Messiah? Had they not been waiting forthousands of years! Here was here….praise God….everyone would be excited andhappy and rejoice at His coming. Right!?

        f. Well, a few would…a very small number would, the rest were indifferenceor either wanted to murder Him. Folks the wanted to murder the Messiah. Whatdid He do? Well he healed the sick, the blind, and the lame. He even forgave mentheir sins! And He preached righteous living….Godly living. To Jews the peopleof God….He told them they should obey their God! What Jesus explained toNicodemus was surely proven to be true, “And this is the condemnation, that lightis come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because theirdeeds were evil” (John 3:19).

        g. Jesus’s good works and message divided the Jews. The believers gladlyreceived Him…the unbelievers sought to kill Him.

        Jesus Christ is the divider of men.

      C. Matt. 11:7 Jesus address the great multitude of people.

        a. In Verse 6 Jesus said, “Blessed is he whosoever is not offendedin me.” In Verse 19, these religious people called him a glutton and a wine bibber,or a drunk, and a friend of publicans and sinners.

        b. In Verse 20, they rejected Him, and he left them alone..because

        they would not receive the true and repent of their sins.

        c. You see it is not Jesus who divides, but sinful men who love theirsin, more than their eternal soul.

      D. Matt. 12:47, Jesus healed a man with a withered hand, but inVerse 24, they accused him of being in league with the Devil.

      Verse 14, says they held a council to plan a way to kill Him.

      E. Matt. 16:13-18. Jesus ask who did men say He was. The disciplesanswers shows the people’s division.

        a. When He ask them who they thought He was it was Peter whoboldly proclaimed…”Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

        b. Peter was not speaking for all the disciple because in Matt. 26:47,the Bible tells us another disciple, Judas, betrayed him with a kiss.

    II. There is no middle ground! Matt. 27:22-24

      A. Pilate knowing that Jesus was innocent tried to remain in the middle.

        1. First he offered them an easy choose. Barabbas or Christ. They chose themurder. Do you understand what was going on? The mob of Jews was crying forChrist to be crucified. This was the loving Jesus who had healed so many and doneso much for so many people in Israel. These people asked that the cruel and hatedBarabbas be released rather than Jesus.

        2. When all else failed, Pilate washed his hands publicly, but turned Jesus overto the soldiers.

      B. Pilate had no middle ground.

        1. He heard and knew the truth!!!!! Yet he refused to act on it.

        2. He tried not to be involved, yet his very soul lay in the balances.

      C. Lets go back to Matt. 10 and read what Christ said about His coming andits effect.

        “But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before myFather which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I camenot to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against hisfather, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against hermother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that lovethfather or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son ordaughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, andfolloweth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and hethat loseth his life for my sake shall find it” (Matt. 10:33-39).

      Jesus said He came to put a “variance” between man and his own father, adaughter and her mother. In the home because of Christ a man would have foesin his own household. That sounds like Jesus said division would follow those whobelieved and followed Him.

      That condemns the hellish teachings of the ecumenialists of today. Theyproclaim…let their be no division among us. Come together be brother and sistersand put aside doctrine and God’s pure Word. Unity is move important thatdoctrine, more important than even God’s truth. God wants us all together, right?!

    III. TODAY EVEN IN DEATH, THE CROSS DIVIDES MEN.

      A. There is no middle ground at death’s door.

    1. The Lord said in Matt. 7:13, “Enter ye in at the strait gate, for wide isthe gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many therebe which go in thereat.”

    2. Verse 14, “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, whichleadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

    3. Then we read in Verse 15, Jesus warned “Beware of false prophets.”

    4. There is a division in eternity! It is Heaven or Hell. One or the Other.Eternity life or Eternal death. God Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ is the divider.

    B. Folks most tell you today, it all right to believe as you will, we are all goingto heaven if we want to,…. each in his on way.

    Many tell you, join a church – be saved

      be baptized – be saved

      take sacraments – be saved

      be good – be saved

      obey the prophet- be saved

    C. But what does God say….that is His answer to the question?

      1. John 14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: noman cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

      2. Acts 4:12. ” Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is noneother name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

      3. Hebrews 12:25, “See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if theyescaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape,if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven.”

      4. Ephesians 2:8-9 , “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

    Conclusion:

      To put off trusting Christ as your Lord and Savor is to be in the state ofrejecting HIM!

      Every day you put off Christ, is to mock the Cross and His suffering foryou.

      There is no middle ground, if you have not come to Christ by simple faithand been born again, made spiritually alive…then you have rejected Him.

      If you are in a religion or church that rejects the Bible and its message then you have no hope and you are putting yourself at odds with your Creator and rejecting His word which is truth.

      If you chose some other way, Church membership, baptism, goodworks…you have rejected him. That was the sin of the Pharisees…Christ showedup their supposed good works, as rejecting God Himself.

      If you are lost, there is no middle ground, you are lost or saved.

      If you are saved, God has changed your life and you are in the process ofmaturing from sin.

      If you are not saved and changed you are lost.

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