哥林多前书1:18-31

愿恩惠、平安从神我们的父并主耶稣基督归与你们——不以十字架为羞耻，却以为荣的人。阿们。

我们信耶稣为基督的，一定与十字架撇不开关系，因为我们所信的基督，不是随随便便的基督，而是像保罗在今天经文中所说，传讲的福音乃是“十字架的道理”，是传“钉在十字架上的基督”。你看我们崇拜的场所不仅有一个单纯的十字架，还有十字架苦像（基督挂在十字架上的画面），目的只有一个，就是提醒我们所信的是谁，并且祂为我们做了什么，让我们信祂。有些基督徒会认为，基督早已经复活了，为什么还把基督受难的像放在教会当中呢？是的，基督是复活了，哈利路亚，如果没有复活，我们所信的都是假的。但是，我们信基督的本质是赦罪，而这个赦罪是藉着基督的十字架死亡来成就的。罗马书4:25 “耶稣被交给人，是为我们的过犯；复活，是为叫我们称义。”我们信钉十字架的基督，我们受洗是归入祂的死，我们举行圣餐礼是为了“表明主的死，直等到祂来”（罗6:4；林前11:26）。基督徒总是把死挂在嘴边，这也是十字架所要提醒我们的，我们基督徒的生命也是，藉着每日的痛心悔改，“向罪死，向神活”（罗6:11）。

也因此，我们的信仰一定是以十字架为中心，为标志，我们以十字架为我们的荣耀和冠冕，因为基督钉十字架就是祂得荣耀的时候到了，“人子得荣耀的时候到了”（约12:23）。我们若要跟随主，祂说，就要“舍己，背起自己的十字架”，也因此，十字架就是我们基督徒生命的全部，我们乐意与基督一同承受苦难，这是教会在地上对付罪，对付老亚当，对付魔鬼所必要经历的苦难，既然基督钉了十字架，我们跟随祂的门徒们，怎能随时想着逃避临到我们的十字架苦难呢？

这十字架不仅是我们所信的，也是我们所传的福音标志。每当我们跟人分享福音的时候，一定需要围绕着基督钉十字架，为世人赎罪来讲，而不是淹没在人喜欢听的高言大智里面，保罗在这一章前面的经文说，他传福音“并不用智慧的言语，免得基督的十字架落了空”（林前1:17）。换句话说，即使人以为我们所传的十字架福音是愚昧，愚拙的，我们仍要本本分分地按照圣经的启示去传，不需要，也不能为了取悦人而更改或者稀释掉我们基督信仰的核心和本质。保罗说，这愚拙的十字架道理，为“神的大能”。引领人信主的能力不在于我们的口才，而是单单在于神的道，圣灵所使用的福音信息，感召人，改变人的心，让人归信主。

保罗还告诉我们，世人拒绝十字架福音的原因乃是，“犹太人要神迹，希腊人是求智慧”（林前1:22）。不是这样吗？多少时候，我们听到不信的人会质问说，“你说有神，那就让神显给我看看？”又或者，多少时候，我们听到身边的人，甚至亲戚朋友，会带着不屑的态度质疑基督徒的信仰，“这人脑子有问题，还信起主来了，不好好挣钱，去教会真是浪费时间等等”。尤其是我们华人，这些年的主旋律就是赚钱的智慧，科技智能等等，其他一概不重要，也不去想。

说实在的，不仅是别人，就连我们自己信了主的，回想起不信的时候怎么看待基督信仰的呢？不也是觉得这是愚昧的？我还记得在国内自己上学那会儿不信主了，我妈隔三差五打电话劝勉，“孩子回教会吧”，我心里想，“这信仰就是神话故事，给人的一种自我安慰而已，你信了感觉好就行，跟我没关系了”。感谢主怜悯了我，把我重新带回恩典的路上。是不是这样？在座的各位，可能都记得自己从前是怎样地抵挡福音，轻看钉十字架的基督？别人再苦口婆心相劝，我们仍然无动于衷，甚至还会激烈辩论，把他怼回去？你看国内过去十几年，强拆教堂十字架的事儿，这里面还真的不仅仅是为了限制教会和基督信仰的传播，其实不信的人啊，也以为这教堂的十字架太不体面，太丢面子，显得社会倒退了，人的思想退化了，竟然迷信起来信教了。

在我们用人的智慧，自己的智慧，世上的智慧去想要认识祂的时候，我们都是瞎眼的，也是傲慢的，更是与神为敌的。既然如此，神就“乐意用人所当作愚拙的道理拯救那些信的人；这就是神的智慧了”。你不是想要智慧吗？神的方式是，偏不，就是要用让人大跌眼镜、认为不可思议、认为愚蠢的十字架方式，来拯救罪人。感谢上帝，感谢祂用这样的方式，在不可能当中，成就可能，在我们这些心中刚硬、故意顶撞神的人身上，成就了信心，就像起初祂造万物，从无到有一样伟大奇妙。祂用自己显得愚拙的十字架揭露人的智慧是何等的愚昧不堪，为的是让我们拥有真正的智慧，得救的智慧。祂用自己显得软弱的十字架来揭露人的自强是何等的虚妄，为的是让我们拥有真正的能力和刚强。保罗说，“神的愚拙总比人智慧，神的软弱总比人强壮”（林前1:25）。

我们作基督徒的，信仰的中心和焦点永远不是我们自己，而是怜悯我们的神。我们因着信已经被带进了神的家，总算可以给自己一个中肯的评价，因为我们是活在神面前，面对的是神的审判，而不是人的审判。保罗说，“你们蒙召的，按着肉体有智慧的不多，有能力的不多，有尊贵的也不多”（林前1:26）。我们中间，按照世人的标准，按照肉体，有没有尊贵、有能力、有智慧的？有，但真的不多，我肯定不算。但神拣选的不是按照肉体的标准，不是你在世上有多么成功，有多么尊贵。神的拯救方法不仅仅是让人跌眼镜，而且祂所拣选的人，也是出乎意料：“神却拣选了世上愚拙的，又拣选了世上软弱的，也拣选了世上卑贱的，被人厌恶的，以及那无有的”（林前1:27-28）。弟兄姐妹们，这是我们的本相啊，我们大多数人都可以这样地评价自己啊，而且也不需要不好意思，因为说实在的，主拣选我们不在乎我们是什么样子，而完全在乎祂的怜悯和恩慈。

如果我们做了基督徒，还要指着自己夸口，还要天天跟不信的世人争竞，那岂不是又回到老路上去了？就抛弃了十字架，抛弃了拣选我们的主基督？别说不可以跟不信的世人争竞，争抢，较劲了，我们弟兄姐妹们之间更是要以尊荣彼此相待，“存心谦卑，各人看别人比自己强”（腓2:3）。我们在神家的人，都是因着基督成为神的儿女，我们的信心带给我们的是同样的位份和产业，也因此我们应该彼此谦卑顺服，不要高看自己，不要轻看他人。说到底，我们能指着什么夸口呢？“夸口的，当指着主夸口”。为什么？因为是主给了我们一切，用祂的大爱救了我们，赦免我们的罪，赐给我们永生的盼望。保罗说，基督“成为我们的智慧、公义、圣洁、救赎”（林前1:30-31）。什么意思？就是一切都向耶稣基督看齐，祂是我们的一切，不仅仅是智慧和救主，就连我们的圣洁和公义生命也都全是从基督而来的。意思是说，哪怕我比身边的弟兄姐妹们信得好一些，行善多一些，也没有什么可以自夸的，更不能轻看身边软弱的肢体，因为都是靠着恩典礼物来亲近神的。感谢上帝。保罗在第四章继续说到，“你有什么不是领受的呢？若是领受的，为何自夸，仿佛不是领受的呢？”（林前4:7）

最后再多说一点，就是这十字架的道理对我们信徒来说是何等的安慰，尤其是在我们处于患难当中的时候，更当拥抱十字架的道理，让基督作我们的安慰。弟兄姐妹们，这世上有苦难，罪仍然在侵蚀着社会的每个角落和所有人的心，甚至有时候也会在教会信徒，甚至牧者的身上凸显出来，因为，别忘了，我们罪得赦免了，但那老亚当和肉体邪情私欲仍然时刻纠缠着我们已经蒙恩得救的基督徒。我们的一生就是在与老亚当，与罪和魔鬼争战，靠着十字架，我们向罪死，向神活。而且有时候，一些苦难加在我们身上，是没有理由的，不是因为我们犯了什么什么罪，我们不知道为什么，但我们可以欣然背起这十字架，也许是一生的功课，一生的负担，但因着基督，我们已经得胜有余了，可以在苦难中以神为乐，以十字架为荣耀冠冕。雅各书1:12“忍受试探的人是有福的，因为他经过试验（或试炼、磨难）以后，必得生命的冠冕；这是主应许给那些爱他之人的”。奉圣父、圣子、圣灵的名，阿们。

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ—to those who are not ashamed of the Cross, but rather confident in it. Amen.

As those who believe in Jesus as the Christ, we are inextricably bound to the Cross. For the Christ we believe in is not a Christ of our own making, but as Paul says in today’s text, the Gospel we preach is "the word of the cross," and we preach "Christ crucified." You will notice that in our place of worship, we do not merely have a simple cross, but a crucifix (the image of Christ hanging upon the Cross). The purpose is singular: to remind us in whom we believe, what He has done for us, and to lead us to trust in Him. Some Christians might ask, "Christ has already risen; why do we still place the image of His suffering in the church?" Yes, Christ is risen! Hallelujah! If He were not risen, our faith would be in vain. However, the essence of our faith is the forgiveness of sins, and this forgiveness was accomplished through Christ’s death on the Cross. Romans 4:25 says, "He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." We believe in the crucified Christ. In Baptism, we are buried with Him into death. In the Holy Supper, we "proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" (Rom 6:4; 1 Cor 11:26). Christians always speak of death, for the Cross reminds us that our life is one of daily contrition and repentance—"dead to sin and alive to God" (Rom 6:11).

Therefore, our faith must be cross-centered and cross-marked. We take the Cross as our glory and our crown because the crucifixion of Christ was the very hour of His glorification: "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified" (John 12:23). If we are to follow the Lord, He says we must "deny ourselves and take up our cross." Thus, the Cross is the sum of the Christian life. We willingly endure suffering with Christ. This is the necessary suffering the Church experiences on earth as she contends with sin, the Old Adam, and the devil. Since Christ was crucified, how can we, His disciples, think only of escaping the suffering of the cross that comes upon us?

The Cross is not only the object of our faith but also the hallmark of the Gospel we proclaim. Whenever we share the Gospel, it must center on Christ crucified as the atonement for the world’s sins. It must not be drowned out by the "lofty speech or wisdom" that people love to hear. Earlier in this chapter, Paul says he preached the Gospel "not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power" (1 Cor 1:17). In other words, even if the world deems the word of the cross to be folly or foolishness, we must faithfully preach according to the revelation of Scripture. We cannot, and must not, alter or dilute the core and essence of our Christian faith to please men. Paul says this "foolish" word of the cross is "the power of God." The power to lead people to faith does not lie in our eloquence, but solely in the Word of God—the Gospel message used by the Holy Spirit to call and change hearts, bringing them to faith in the Lord.

Paul further tells us the reason the world rejects the Gospel of the Cross: "For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom" (1 Cor 1:22). Is it not so today? How often do we hear unbelievers demand, "If there is a God, let Him show me a sign?" Or how often do we hear those around us—even relatives and friends—question our faith with disdain: "There’s something wrong with his head, believing in the Lord; he should be making money instead of wasting time at church." Especially for us Chinese, the dominant theme of recent years has been the "wisdom" of wealth-building and technological intelligence; everything else is deemed unimportant.

To be honest, it isn't just others. Looking back at the time before we believed, how did we view the Christian faith? Didn't we also think it was foolishness? I remember when I was a college student in China and didn't believe; my mother would call me every now and then to exhort me, "Son, come back to church." I thought to myself, "This faith is just a myth, a form of self-consolation. It’s fine if it makes you feel good, but it has nothing to do with me." Thanks be to the Lord for His mercy in bringing me back to the path of grace. Is it not the case for many of you? You likely remember how you once resisted the Gospel and looked down upon the crucified Christ. No matter how earnestly others pleaded with the Gospel, we remained unmoved, perhaps even arguing fiercely to silence them. Look at the removal of crosses from churches in China over the last decade; this wasn't just about restricting the spread of faith. Unbelievers truly felt that the cross on a church was "unseemly" or "shameful"—a sign of social regression and intellectual backwardness, as if people were regressing into "superstition."

When we try to know God through human wisdom, our own wisdom, or worldly wisdom, we are blind, arrogant, and enemies of God. Therefore, God was "pleased through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe" (1 Cor 1:21). This is the wisdom of God. You want wisdom? God’s way is to use the very thing that makes the world roll its eyes—the "foolish" Cross—to save sinners. Thanks be to God that He uses such a way to make the impossible possible, working faith in us hard-hearted people who willfully opposed Him. This is as great and wonderful as when He created all things from nothing. He uses the "foolishness" of the Cross to expose how truly foolish human wisdom is, so that we might have true wisdom—the wisdom that leads to salvation. He uses the "weakness" of the Cross to expose how vain human self-reliance is, so that we might have true power and strength. Paul says, "For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men" (1 Cor 1:25).

For us Christians, the center and focus of our faith is never ourselves, but the God who has mercy on us. Having been brought into God’s family through faith, we can finally have a sober assessment of ourselves because we live before God and face His judgment, not man’s. Paul says, "For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth" (1 Cor 1:26). Are there those among us who are noble, powerful, or wise by the world’s standards? Yes, but truly not many—and I certainly am not one. But God’s election is not based on fleshly standards or worldly success. God’s method of salvation is not only unexpected, but the people He chooses are also surprising: "But God chose what is foolish in the world... what is weak... what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not" (1 Cor 1:27-28). Brothers and sisters, this is our true condition. Most of us can describe ourselves this way, and there is no need for embarrassment. To be honest, the Lord’s choosing of us does not depend on what we are, but entirely on His mercy and kindness.

If we become Christians and yet still boast in ourselves or compete with the unbelieving world for status, have we not returned to the old way? Have we not abandoned the Cross and the Lord Christ who chose us? We must not only refrain from competing and quarreling with the world, but even more so among ourselves as brothers and sisters, we must treat one another with honor, "in humility count others more significant than yourselves" (Phil 2:3). In the household of God, we are all children of God because of Christ. Our faith brings us the same status and inheritance.

Therefore, we should submit to one another in humility, not exalting ourselves or looking down on others. Ultimately, what can we boast in? "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord." Why? Because the Lord gave us everything. He saved us with His great love, forgave our sins, and gave us the hope of eternal life. Paul says that Christ Jesus "became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption" (1 Cor 1:30). What does this mean? It means everything is found in Jesus Christ. He is our everything. He is not just our Wisdom and Savior; even our life of holiness and righteousness comes entirely from Him. This means that even if I  have a better faith, or do more good works than the brother or sister next to me, I have nothing to boast about. I cannot look down on a weak member, for we all draw near to God solely by grace. Thanks be to God. Paul continues in chapter 4: "What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?" (1 Cor 4:7).

Finally, how much comfort this "word of the cross" brings to us believers! Especially when we are in the midst of tribulation, we should embrace the doctrine of the Cross and let Christ be our comfort. Brothers and sisters, there is suffering in this world. Sin still corrodes every corner of society and every human heart. Sometimes it even manifests in believers or pastors, because—never forget—though our sins are forgiven, the Old Adam and the fleshly desires still entangle the redeemed Christian. Our whole life is a battle against the Old Adam, sin, and the devil. Through the Cross, we die to sin and live to God.

Sometimes, suffering is laid upon us for no apparent reason; it is not because of a specific sin we committed. We may not know why, but we can cheerfully take up this cross. It may be a lifelong lesson or a lifelong burden, but because of Christ, we are more than conquerors. We can rejoice in God in the midst of suffering, taking the Cross as our glorious crown. James 1:12 says, "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him." In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.