August 2, 2019

CHRIST CRUCIFIED

1 Corinthians 1:22-24

For Jews request a sign, and Greeks 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.

Personal Challenge

For Paul, and the Corinthians, the entire world was divided into two types of people, the Jews and the Greeks (Gentiles). The Jews were those who lived under the Old Testament covenant with God. They had the law of God. They were blessed as God's chosen people, set apart from the rest of the world and the only ones that would receive God's mercy and grace. The Greeks were everyone else. They were the pagans, the unbelievers, the unclean. Paul makes it very clear that Jesus is no respecter of groups that we are put into. He came for everyone. The Jews, like so many today, claim that they are the only ones with true connection to God, and they kept demanding a sign. Show us that you are God. The Greeks in this scripture pursued wisdom as their God. For both of them, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news, was either a stumbling block or foolishness. Our modern versions of Christianity have created so many fake religions under the name of Christianity. We have got to stop creating and practicing these fake religions in our churches and embrace Jesus. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!