Useful Bible Studies > 1 Corinthians Commentary > chapter 1
Really, there are only two groups of people in the world. What separates the two groups is their reaction to Christ’s death on the cross.
God’s people believe that God has saved them by means of Christ’s death. They even call it ‘the Gospel’, which means ‘the good news’. Like everyone else, they were guilty of many wrong and evil deeds, and they did not deserve God’s kindness (Romans 3:23). But on the cross, Christ suffered the punishment for their evil deeds (Hebrews 9:28). The result is that God is saving them from the power of evil deeds (Romans 6:23), from the devil (Hebrews 2:14), and from death (15:54-57).
But for other people, Christ’s death is not good news. It is clear evidence that they too must die. And it reminds them that they cannot avoid God’s punishment for their evil deeds. Of course they do not want anyone to tell them about Christ’s death. It seems foolish even to mention such a shameful matter. The Son of God died in an awful manner, as criminals die.
Such people do not see how powerfully God was acting to save his people. And they do not realise that God wants to save them, too. God does not want to punish anyone for their evil deeds (2 Peter 3:9). But he can only save people who believe his message (John 3:16). And nobody can believe a message that they have never heard (Romans 10:12-14).
So it is essential for Christians to speak about Christ’s death. Of course many people will consider that message foolish. But some people will believe, and by means of that message, God will save them.
Next part: The limit of human intelligence (1 Corinthians 1:19-21)
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© 2014, Keith Simons.