For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Christians believe the good news that God was saving the world through a relatively obscure man who was executed by the Roman government. It’s not hard to understand why, for some, this news is difficult to believe. That was as true in the first century as it is today. But when it comes to faith, we are not alone. God calls to us through the gospel, inviting us into a relationship with him. God helps us to believe the good news that appears to some to be folly. God says “Yes” to us before we say “Yes” to God.
For those of us who have been Christians for a while, it might be hard to remember how foolish the good news about Jesus might have seemed to us at first. I know some people who, the very first time they heard the gospel, it made deep sense to them and they responded in faith. But many respond differently at first. The story of God saving the world through Christ just doesn’t make much sense.
The seeming folly of the gospel isn’t new to our time of history. In fact, those who first heard the good news about Jesus tended to think it was nonsense. Both Jews and Greeks, though for different reasons, just couldn’t stomach the thought that God was saving the world through an obscure Jewish man who was crucified on a Roman cross. That was about as far from a sensible salvation story as anyone in the first-century A.D. could imagine.
But, as the Apostle Paul and other early Christians proclaimed the good news of salvation through Jesus, many came to believe in spite of the apparent folly of that message. Why? What made the difference? And what makes it possible for an intelligent person in the 21st century to believe that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself (2 Corinthians 5:19)?
Paul answers these questions by pointing to the call of God. The good news of Christ crucified is “a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:23-24). Those who are called by God are able to receive the gospel in faith, to accept Christ crucified as the power and wisdom of God.
As you might imagine, theologians have for centuries debated this notion of “the called ones” who are enabled by God to accept the gospel. They get into complicated arguments about predestination, election, and free will. There’s no way I can begin to deal with these heavy ideas here. But, no matter how you come down on such doctrines, it seems clear that our ability to respond to the gospel in faith depends profoundly on God’s calling us to himself. When we call out to God to save us, we are replying to God’s prior call to us. We can say “Yes” to God because God has already said “Yes” to us.
This truth matters, not only in the moment we first put our trust in the gospel but also throughout our lives. Many Christians experience seasons of doubt, times when we’re not sure about our faith. We may feel overwhelmed by intellectual challenges to Christianity. Or we may get caught in the anti-Christian current of our culture. Or we may experience suffering that feels utterly inconsistent with a loving God. When uncertainty digs its claws into our hearts, it’s good to remember that believing the gospel isn’t something we do all by ourselves. God is with us. God is for us. God is on our side. God is inviting us into a deeper and truer relationship with him through Jesus Christ.
Comments