Christianity Is Stupid, Dull, Dumb, And Foolish

Text: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

Did you realize that Christianity is stupid, dull, dumb, and foolish? Yes, you heard me correctly. Christianity is indeed stupid, dull, dumb, and foolish… at least it is according to the world. 

You see, in our Epistle Lesson from 1 Corinthians we hear from the Apostle Paul that the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. That is to say; unbelievers do not and cannot view the central message of Christianity – the cross – as wise, good, and true. For their ears, eyes, and minds, the message of Jesus bloodied on the cross for the forgiveness of sins is foreign, and frankly a waste of their time. For unbelievers, the doctrine of the cross sounds dumb and looks foolish.

The message of the cross not only sounds dumb and looks foolish according to unbelievers but it is also a stumbling block. That is to say; the message of the cross causes the world to trip. The message of the cross is like a pesky fallen tree on a grassy trail that hikers trip over. It is like a rock that sticks out of the ground that a shoe catches on, causing people to fall. And so, the message of the cross causes frustration and disgust among unbelievers. It simply does not jive with the culture of our day. In fact, Christianity with it proclamation of the cross has never fit into the world’s way of thinking and it never will. It is a foreign message to the world - a foolish message that causes people stumble. More specifically, the message of Christianity poses a problem to the world’s thinking to the point that it causes unbelievers to become frustrated and even snort at Christianity in disgust.  

What this means is that according to the world – according to unbelievers – we Christians are frankly not cool and certainly not wise. Indeed, Christianity is viewed by the world as a religion for losers and the weak. The world does not understand Christianity, so the world scorns it. The world looks at Christians and writes them off as fools.

This presents a huge problem for us Christians, though. The problem is this: we want to be cool, and we want to be accepted, and we want not to be viewed as fools by our unbelieving friends and family. We want to be the popular kids on the block. We want to be in the ‘in-crowd.’ We want to be with movers and shakers of our social circles and our town. However, Christianity, with its foolish message of the cross, seems to keep us down, it holds us back. It brands us as fools, so that we are always the last ones chosen for the team. Indeed, that pesky message of the cross can make us look dull and dumb and stupid in front of the high-rollers of the world.

As a result of this, Christians across our lands often suppress and hide the message of the cross. That is right; Christians become so consumed with the need to be accepted by the world that the message of the cross is buried. We are ashamed of the foolishness of the cross – we do not want to be looked upon as fools, so we either do not talk about the cross, or we shove it into the background, and hope unbelievers do not notice it.

To make things worse, whole Churches shy away from the cross as well. What this looks like is this: since the cross is a stumbling block to unbelievers, churches go the way of a bait and switch. In other words, the church will engage the world and the community that it finds itself in but will do so without the cross. Deep down the church knows that if it presents the cross of Jesus too boldly and too clearly that it will cause many people in the world to stumble and it will give the church a reputation of being foolishly religious and irrelevant. So, like that church in South Carolina who gave away flat screen TVs to people or that church in southern California that hired a fast food restaurant to give away hamburgers and fries, churches across the land present unbelievers a form of Christianity with free handouts but no cross. Yes, the idea is to present a view of super cool and hip and relevant Christianity without the cross, so that unbelievers will not stumble over the cross. And then at some future time and point, the goal is to introduce the cross to these unbelievers, once they are in the door. That is to say; the church baits the world into the church with a crossless Christianity and freebies but once inside the doors, if the church ever gets around to it, the message is switched to the cross.

Dear friends, not only is this disingenuous, but it is unethical. The reason why? Christianity without the cross is not Christianity. And baiting and switching? That is the way of get-rich-quick schemes not the way of Christ’s church. Furthermore, this cunning does not work. You see, the way in which congregations entice the unbeliever 'through' their doors, will be the same ways that the church will need to keep the unbeliever 'inside' the doors. Give an unbeliever a flat screen TV; they may come through the doors of the congregation. However, to keep them inside, they will demand a DVD Player and Soundbar as well.

And here is the most important thing to note. The cross – the message and doctrine of Christ-crucified for the forgiveness of our sins – is not only the central focus of Christianity but it is the instrument of our salvation! This means that a Christianity without the cross is no Christianity at all. Christianity without the cross is like a lion without teeth – it is like an army without soldiers or a sunrise without the sun. Remove the cross from Christianity; you eliminate the power of the Gospel, and you no longer have Christianity but a Christianity in name only. 

Dear friends, the reality is that the more an unbeliever wants to comprehend the cross of Jesus with his or her own reason, the less they will understand or believe. This should not surprise us because the wisdom of the world does not approve or promote the Gospel, but opposes it and sees it as empty, foolish talk.

Unbelievers will demand signs, philosophical proofs, and logical demonstrations, to be convinced about Christianity. Other unbelievers will want the bait without the switch – they want promises of greatness, they want the glittery messages, they want the free handouts, and they want entertainment. However, in spite of what the unbelieving world wants, God gives to the world and to us, simply this… one crucified.

Indeed, we have been given the message of one crucified. Christ Jesus continues in the character of the crucified one. The church has been given this message of the cross; it is the only message that we preach.

“But Pastor!” you may say, “That message causes the world to stumble! The message of the cross is foolishness to the world! The world mocks the cross! Unbelievers are not going to buy into a bloody uncool cross! My neighbor will think I am crazy and a fool for believing such a message! And our church; if we hold to that message, no one will think we are relevant – they will consider us as dumb-stupid-religious fools!”

Dear Baptized Saints, according to the world, we are indeed dumb, stupid, and foolish because the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. However, this shall not sway us, for you have been called. Yes, you have been called by the message of the cross, which is the power of God.

Dear Baptized Saints, you must not lose heart! You are baptized into Jesus – you have been called. You have been given the power of God – forgiveness, life, and salvation. You are saved by the Lord’s power of grace, love, and mercy – Christ saved you in the cross and has joined you to His death and resurrection in your baptisms!   

And get this, the foolish thing that God does in the cross for you and me, is wiser than anything done by mankind. That is to say; the apparent weakness of Christ’s cross is in reality stronger than the might of mankind. What seems to be foolish in the eyes of the world is, in reality, wiser than mankind’s wisdom. What seems to be God’s weakness is stronger than mankind’s strength.[1]

And so, we proclaim Christ and Him crucified! We proclaim Christ and Him crucified because this message is the power of our salvation and the power of salvation that our unbelieving world needs to hear.

And as the world hears the message of the cross, some will call it foolish. Others will call us fools. And others will stumble over the message, fall to the ground in repentance and be raised up in faith, faith which receives forgiveness, life, and salvation.

Indeed, the world will consider the message of the cross as foolishness and a fable… that is until the Holy Spirit through the message of the cross calls, enlightens, and converts them.

So, dear Baptized Saints, let the world call us fools. Let the world call us stupid. Let the world call us dumb. Furthermore, we do not have to hide the cross, and we do not have to be ashamed of the cross, for we are indeed foolish according to the world, but according to God, we know that we have wisdom, power, and truth.

Truly, we know this day that Christ dying on the cross is that which conquers death, the devil, and sin. We know that according to God that which is seen as foolish is actually strength. We know that the foolishness of the cross is the power of God unto our salvation – here, now, and for all of eternity.

Let the world mock and laugh. Let the world scorn and snort. And may we rest in the wisdom, assurance, and hope of Christ’s cross, a cross that is for you and me.

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

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[1] Harold Buls, “Buls Notes on the New Testament” Pericope.com, http://www.pericope.org/buls-notes/1_corinthians/1_corinthians_1_18_31.htm (accessed July 15, 2017).

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Why We Like To Judge And Condemn

Text: Luke 6:36-42

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus is really giving us an alternative to the golden rule.  He is not just saying, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”  Instead, He is taking the golden rule to a different level.  He is making it 2.0.  Listen carefully. He says:  “Do unto others as you would have your heavenly Father do unto you.”

In other words, do you want God not to judge and condemn you?  Then don’t be judging and condemning others.  Do you want God to forgive you of your sins and give you the bounty of His riches?  Then let go of those grudges and put stinginess far from you.  You see, today’s Gospel reading is not hard to understand, Jesus lays it out pretty clearly.

But there is something inside of us that does not like what Jesus has to say.  There is something about us that does not like to let go of old wounds; we like to replay those times when we have been hurt in our mind to fan the flames of resentment and keep the bitterness burning. Yes, there is something inside of us that actually likes judging and condemning others. 

And that something inside of us is that old Adam, that part of our nature that is sinful and rotten to the core. 

But why does the old Adam like to judge and condemn others?  I am not talking about a judging that discerns sin in a person’s life – sin that should be pointed out in love, but rather I am speaking about judging others in a way that destroys.  In other words, I am not talking about judging and discerning sin to redeem a person from a wrong but a loveless judging that is meant to enact vengeance upon someone for a wrong.  So, why does the old Adam in all of us resort to this loveless-destructive judging?  It is because the old Adam is all about pride.  The old Adam thinks more of

himself than he should!

Indeed, the old Adam has a way of building himself up by pointing out and condemning and gossiping about the sins and failings of others.  If we can point out other people’s sin, we can then mock them behind their backs. Not only does it make us feel like we are better than them but it also puts these other people under our thumb – under our control.  Or so we think. 

And why does the old Adam want to hold on to grudges and refuses to let go of the wrongs that we suffer? The answer, because our sinful nature believes that if you do not look out for #1, no one will.  The old Adam does not want us to be just doormats that others will wipe their feet on.  The old Adam does not trust that vengeance is the Lord’s and that the Lord will repay. The old Adam wants to be the prosecutor, judge, and jury of other people’s sins. 

And why is the old Adam in us so stingy?  The answer, because our sinful nature does not trust the Father to provide for our every need. Our sinful nature thinks that it is all up to us and our hard work.  We fail to realize that all that we have is one big-good-gift from God.  Tragically, we rather believe that all that we have is due solely to our hard work – all that we have earned.  And so, we hold tightly to all that we have with stingy tight-fisted hands. 

Does this old Adam sound familiar? Does this sinful nature sound familiar?  All of this should be very familiar.  We should all know this old Adam – this sinful nature – very well.  The reason why?  This old Adam is alive inside of everyone of you and me.  And this sinful nature does not believe the Lord, despises the Lord’s Ten Commandments, and wants to rule and control you. This sinful nature wants to be your master and commander.  This sinful nature wants to keep us cozy in the much and poison of sin.

But contrary to what the devil and the old Adam might whisper into our ears, the good news of the Gospel is that we have been claimed by Another.  We have been marked with the sign of the cross, and we belong to the New Adam, the Crucified and Risen Lord Jesus.  Yes, you and I are baptized into Christ.  Jesus’ life has been given to you and me so that we might live as one of His own.  We belong to the Lord, not to sin, death, the devil, and the old Adam.    

Dear Baptized Saints, even though this might sound too good to be true, stop and think of our Lord for a moment.  Did He come into the world to judge and condemn?  No, in His first Advent – in His birth and life and death and resurrection some 2,000 years ago – He came for the sole purpose to rescue us. He came for those who were already judged and condemned by the Law.  He came not to be served but to ransom mankind who stands guilty under the Law; He came to redeem those worthy of death.  God did not send His Son into the world – into human flesh - to condemn the world but rather that the world might be saved through Him!

Baptized Saints, did Jesus come to humanity some 2,000 years ago to pay us back for our rebellion and distrust of God?  No, He did not!  He came to rescue us from our sins by taking them upon Himself and enduring the weight of His Father’s judgment as He hung on the cross.  “Father, forgive” is the cry of Jesus’ life!  “Father, forgive” is the message of the Cross!  And all who take shelter under Jesus’ cross in faith are just that: forgiven.  His cross is like a great shield protects from the wrath of God. 

And unlike the old Adam with his distrust of God, our Lord Jesus accomplished everything by trusting His Father.  And the Father was not disappointed in Jesus’ trust. 

Jesus who had not judged and not condemned, but had forgiven and given everything, even to the point of laying down His life, was raised on the third day and seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty for all eternity.

This is the same life that Jesus has given to you in your Baptisms: forgiveness, life, and salvation.  Furthermore, in those Baptisms, the Lord calls us to drown that old Adam and the old Adam’s distrust of God.  Yes, we are called to daily drown that old Adam in repentance of our sins, confessing that we have logs in our own eyes – logs of pride, resentment, stinginess, and distrust.  You see, the old Adam daily clings to us around our neck, which means that the old Adam must daily die.  Indeed, the end of the old Adam is not moral advancement or holy progress, but death.  Yes, the old Adam died in our baptisms, and daily dies in our repentance and faith, as we are returned daily to our identity as Baptized Saints! 

What this all means is this.  When we confess our sins to God and receive His absolution, the old Adam not only drowns, but we are also, “taking the log out of your own eye” so that we can finally be of some use to our neighbors.

Dear friends, when you truly see yourself as a sinner, as a prisoner who had been condemned justly and sitting on death row, but who has now been given an undeserved pardon and absolution; then you are a forgiven sinner who can freely love your neighbor!  Only forgiven people can truly forgive and only loved people can truly love.  We love because He first loved us! 

Today and every Sunday, Christ continues His giving to us.  In His Word, in Holy Baptism, in the confession and absolution and in His Holy Supper.  Indeed, our Lord pours into us more life than we can hold.

In all these wonderful ways He reaches out and gives to us His forgiveness for all our sins in His promise and seals that forgiveness to us with His own body and blood.

Baptized Saints, you have received all good things from our Lord, and the rich forgiveness it gives.  Walk not in the pride and grudges of the old Adam, for you belong not to darkness, but to light.  Leave this church today in the name of Jesus.  Leave today knowing that Jesus has given mercy, mercy from the Father.  Leave this day being strengthened in faith towards God and love towards your neighbors. 
  

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

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The Gospel Is For Sinners Only

Text: Luke 15:1-10

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

What kind of people do you expect to find in church?  Maybe an even better question to ask is this, what kind of people do you think should be in church? 

Now, typically we think of church-goers as those who wear nice suits and nice-looking dresses and skip their way into church each Sunday, with pretty smiles on their faces.  Church-goers are those who have certain moral standards and certain customs and characteristics. For example, it is easy to spot church-goers at restaurants on Sundays after church, for they are the ones with nice clothes and well-combed hair. 

So, generally speaking, we expect that the church should be full of respectable people, those who take life serious, and those who seem to have everything together. 

However, what would be your reaction if the church pews began to fill up with those in our culture that cause us to be a bit worried.  You know, people who live in the back alleys of life.  Yes, what if the pews began to fill up with people who don’t scrub behind their ears – the drug addicts, the swingers, and the drunks!  How would you respond if they started filling up the pews of the church?  How would you feel if they took your seat and you had to sit closer to the front?  You might respond the way that one lady did to me years ago, “Pastor we wanted to reach out to the lost, but not to those lost people.  We need to reach out to normal lost people.”

To make things worse, how would you feel if these people of ill-repute came forward in repentance of their sins at communion, seeking the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ?  What if they drank from the same chalice as you?

Frankly, this would cause you and me a bit of discomfort. 

“What are they doing in this church?”

“Who do they think they are sitting in my pew.  Don’t they know who I am?”

“Do they know what we are about here?”

“They can’t possibly be a Christian, they have just done too many bad things!”

Dear friends, the problem with the religious leaders in Luke’s Gospel, was that they struggled with Jesus welcoming sinners and eating with them.  They began to grumble at Jesus’ acceptance of the ragamuffins of the day.  You see, He not only welcomed poor miserable sinners, but He rubbed elbow with them by eating with them.  Eating with them showed acceptance.  That is to say; saying hi to a sinner or even shaking a sinners’ hand is fine, but eating with them?  This shows too much acceptance.  It crosses the line!  And when lines are crossed, religious leaders grumble.      

And thus we see the problem with the religious leaders.  They did not understand that Jesus and His Gospel were for sinners.  Yes, the Gospel is for sinners only.  The church is for sinners only. 

That means that the Gospel is not for those who have convinced themselves that they are self-righteous.  You see, the self-righteous do not want the Gospel, and they think that they do not need it because they believe that they have everything together in their lives. 

And those who hide their sin?  Well, they don’t think that they need the Gospel either. 

And let us not forget those who celebrate their sins – those who try to normalize sin.  These people are no different than the self-righteous and those who hide their sin because they have dismissed their sin by celebrating it and normalizing it. 

Indeed, a person who denies or conceals or celebrates their sin has no use for Jesus and no use for the Gospel.  When people act as if they are not sinner, whether they are self-righteous or if they are hiding their sin or if they are celebrating their sin, they are essentially demonstrating that they have no use for Jesus and His church. 

However, on the other hand, those who beat their breast and confess, “God have mercy on me, the sinner,” well, these are the people whom the kingdom of God belongs to. Yes, Jesus and His Gospel are for sinners – repentant sinners.  Jesus and the Gospel are for sinners who acknowledge their sins of thought, word, and deed.  Jesus and His Gospel are for those who understand the malady of their sin and desire the medicine of forgiveness. 

This idea, though, of the Gospel being for sinners only offended the religious leaders of the day.  It also seems to offend many goodie-two-shoe church-goers as well in our day and age.  The reason why?  Both the religious leaders of the first-century and in our day and age believe that they are not that bad of sinners.  They think that they have somehow been raised above the status of sinner.  They become oblivious to their sin because they become preoccupied with their self-righteousness and then end up judging other people’s sins, instead of their own.

The Scribes and Pharisees wanted nothing to do with Jesus.  They preferred perfect people, like themselves.  So they missed out.  They did not draw near to Jesus and neither did they draw near to life, salvation, and forgiveness.  They missed out on the kingdom of God.  That is what happens when we deny that we are sinners.  Denying that we are sinners, simply leads us to be all alone, in the lonely hell of our sins forever.

Dear friends, the religious leaders had it all wrong.  And we get it wrong too.  The Gospel is not for the self-righteous, but it is for the sin-sick.  The church is not a museum for saints, but a hospital for sinners.  The Gospel is for sinners only.  The church is for sinners only.  This is why we confess so boldly each Sunday that we are poor miserable sinners in thought, word, and deed and that we justly deserve God’s present and eternal punishment.  In our confession of sin each Sunday, we are acknowledging that we are in this church as sinners – beggars – to receive forgiveness, life, and salvation. 

Indeed, we are all beggars, coming together to receive the free warm bread – the forgiveness of sins.    

Dear friends, we all come to this church not as self-righteous jerks, but we come as sin-sick-sinners.  We come because we have been beaten up by the sins of the world and our very own sins.  We come because we have become dirty by the muck of our sins.  We come to this church knowing that this is the only place in our world that we are not only admitted as sinners but forgiven of our sins.

This is the essence of Christianity!  We come to church in repentance because we know that we are not perfect.  We come with all of our failures.  We come as idolaters.  We come as rebels.  We come as haters.  We come as adulterers.  We come as thieves.  We come as gossips.  We come as sinners to this church – we come before our Lord Jesus Christ – with our broken and crushed hearts because we know that the Lord Jesus Christ not only welcomes sinners but eats with them as well. 

That is the way that it is with the church, my friends.  In the church, you do not find perfect people, but you only find forgiven people.  In the church, you find those who beat their breast and confess their sins boldly and boldly receive Jesus’ Word and Jesus’ body and blood for the forgiveness of all of their sins. 

So, come to the place where Jesus can be found – His church.  Never quit coming to the Lord’s church where the Word and Sacraments are proclaimed into your ears, poured upon your head, and laid upon your tongue.  Continually come to receive from Jesus for you are His, and He is yours. 

Jesus comes for sinners; He especially comes for sinners on Sunday mornings.    He comes to welcome you by His precious Word and dine with you in His holy supper.

Indeed, the Lord welcomes sinners and eats with them… He welcomes and dines with you.     

In the name of Jesus: Amen. 

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