保罗并不以基督的福音为耻. 他不敢谈论任何其他事情，除了被钉十字架和复活的基督, 永生神的儿子. The preaching of the cross of Christ was in his mouth continuously. Because Paul knew that the gospel of Christ and the preaching of the cross is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes. The other believers also preached the cross, not for their own gain, but for Christ’s gain. 但现在还是这样吗? Is the same cross of Christ still preached? Or has the preaching of the cross lost its power due to the modernized version of the cross that is preached?
The first church and the preaching of the cross
After the coming of the Holy Spirit to the earth and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the new man, Jesus Christ and the preaching of the cross of Christ was the center. The believers were filled with the Holy Spirit, whereby they preached boldly the gospel of Jesus Christ and called the people to 悔改.
The preaching of the cross and the resurrection of Christ from the dead, pricked the people in their hearts (cut to their hearts), whereby many of the house of Israel repented and turned to Jesus Christ, Who had shown His great love for them, when He died on the cross and suffered death for them and rose from the dead.
3000 Souls of the house of Israel believed the words of Peter. They were convicted of their sin and gave their lives to Christ.
Through the baptism in water and the baptism with the Holy Ghost, they were added to the Church. Together with the 120 disciples of Jesus, they formed the Body of Christ on earth and became witnesses of Christ.
That is what the unadulterated preaching of the cross; the crucified and risen Christ, 造成的. It is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes.
The good news was not well received by all
然而, this good message of God was not well received by all. To the religious leaders of the house of Israel of which many had the devil as father and did the lust of their father, this message was an offense and a threat to them.
They couldn’t endure the words of the believers and followers of Jesus, because their words called unto repentance. Their testimony made them so furious that they sought ways to silence the mouths of those, who preached this message.
The gospel of Christ and the message of the cross caused persecution
And so the Body of Christ; the Church was persecuted. 许多基督徒, who didn’t keep silent but boldly preached Jesus the Christ, 被杀了. 只, because of the preaching of the cross of Christ that is the power of God
然而, the apostles and believers of Christ had counted the cost of following Jesus. They knew they would suffer persecution for the Name of Jesus and the cross of Christ. 然而, they were not intimidated and it didn’t stop them. The believers continued with the preaching of the cross, 尽管后果.
They remained faithful and obedient to their Lord Jesus Christ. They obeyed His commandment to preach the gospel to everyone and to make disciples of all the nations. (另请阅读: 算算成本).
The spiritual war between the light and the darkness
古往今来, we see an ongoing spiritual war between the light and the darkness. We see the attacks on the gospel of Christ and the persecution of Christians.
The ruler of the darkness (世界) can’t endure Jesus Christ. He doesn’t allow the truth and light in his kingdom. Therefore the devil and those, who belong to the devil and the darkness, do everything they can to tempt and silence Christians and extinguish the light. (另请阅读: 黑暗熄灭了光明).
They tempt and pressure them and pull on the feelings and emotions of Christians. And because many Christians are carnal and to many Christians faith is a religion, instead of having a personal relationship with Jesus (that originates from their encounter with Christ and their repentance) and living in Him in the light, they succumb under the temptations and pressure of the world.
Through the modern preaching of the cross, 许多灵魂迷失了
多年来, minor changes have been slowly made to the message of the cross. Whereby people took the feelings and emotions of people into consideration. So that the preaching of the cross of Christ would not cause the people to feel offended, insulted, 谴责, 被拒绝, and make them fearful, 沮丧的, or angry.
Through ignorance (a lack of spiritual knowledge of the truth) and interference of the flesh. And through personal experiences and opinions, a modernized version of the preaching of the cross has been created.
This modern version of the preaching of the cross doesn’t convict sinners of their sins, and doesn’t call to repentance and the crucifixion of the flesh. But this modern version of the preaching of the cross allows sinners and embrace the evil works of the flesh and darkness. (另请阅读: 没有人想听到的信息).
Through human adjustments, the message of the cross has become powerless
Through the modern preaching of the cross, souls are not delivered from the power of darkness anymore. But souls keep living in the power of darkness, whereby many souls are lost.
Because by taking the flesh of man into account and adjusting the message of the cross of Christ, so that the message of the cross would no longer be an offense to people, the message is stripped of its power and the message of the cross has become powerless.
最糟糕的是, that the preachers and believers of this modern gospel assume they walk in the will of God and please Him and preach Jesus and make disciples of Jesus. 虽然在现实中, they are henchman of the devil, who preach partial truths of God (谎言) and make children of the devil, who live as enemies of the cross after the will, 欲望, 和肉体的欲望 (另请阅读: 伪造的耶稣, 谁产生伪造的基督徒)
The people can’t endure the preaching of the cross
我们生活在一个世界, where everything revolves around pleasing the will, 情欲, 和肉体的欲望. 正因为如此, the people can’t hear and endure the unadulterated preaching of the cross of Christ. That’s because the preaching of the cross is an offense to the carnal man, due to the conviction of sin and the call to repentance and the removal of sin.
In the early days, the people experienced the greatness of God through the preaching of Jesus Christ and the cross and the conviction of their sins by the Holy Spirit. By the hearing of the truth and the conviction of sin, they were cut in their hearts and repented. They devoted their lives to Jesus Christ and the Father.
They lived in submission and obedience to Him and walked in His will.
但如今, people have become indifferent, through the pride and hardness of their hearts.
They don’t repent based on hearing the truth of God’s Word. But they feel offended, insulted, and become angry.
They can become so angry, that they are even able to kill Christians, who follow the true Jesus Christ and preach the truth of the gospel and the preaching of the cross of Christ.
Let the preaching of the cross which is the power of God be heard again!
因为十字架的道理，对那些灭亡的人来说是愚拙的; 但对于我们得救的人来说，这是神的大能 (1 哥林多前书 1:18)
The preaching of the cross of Christ means salvation and justification of man and reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ and His redemptive work. It means the death of the old man (肉) and the life of the new man (精神).
At the cross sinners die, and the righteous arise in newness of life.
If you are crucified with Christ and risen in Him and you have received the Holy Spirit and you are a witness of Christ and the truth of God’s Word is in your mouth, you shall experience persecution in your life from your environment.
But you must remember, that many have preceded you.
The prophets in the Old Covenant didn’t stay silent. But they spoke the words of God and called God’s people to repentance and obedience to God.
耶稣, 基督和永生神的儿子, spoke the words of His Father. He called the house of Israel to repentance and obedience to God.
And all the apostles and believers in the New Covenant (from the first church until now) preached the gospel. They spoke the words of Christ (the words of the Father) and called the people to repentance and obedience to Jesus Christ and the Father.
Let the sound preaching of the cross, as it is written in the Bible without interference from people, be in the mouth of Christians and return to the church. So that the preaching of the cross becomes the power of God again until salvation for everyone who believes and is willing to take up his or her cross and follow the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ.
有关十字架的文章:
‘成为地球之盐’
