“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written
‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.’
“Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For the Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
“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. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is week in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even the things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’” (1 Cor. 1: 18-31)
It always causes me to stop in wonder when I hear a professing Christian tell a street preacher, “You’re doing it wrong.” Not because I believe they have presented to me information that I have never considered before, rather, that they are blindly holding to a mindset that identifies with the wisdom of the world instead of the wisdom of God. That is not to say that everyone who says this is a false believer who worships the world (though that is possible), but that they are blind to what God’s Word has said regarding the preaching of the cross. Sadly, such mindsets are not reserved for judgments on street evangelists. It is far too often the case in American Evangelicalism that pastors and churches embrace this thinking. There are a great many churches who, in an effort to increase numbers of professing believers, endorse pragmatic, worldly minded techniques to achieve their goal. The result are churches who look, sound and taste like the world and have little to no resemblance to the God they claim to worship.
The Compromise of Corinth
In the above passage, the apostle Paul is writing to the church in Corinth. History tells us that Corinth was well known for its hedonistic debauchery. For a modern corollary, we may think of Las Vegas, New Orleans or even San Francisco. While my readers might be from any of these locations, and may object to the characterization, it cannot be denied that these cities have a reputation tied directly to the industries they support. As such, when people speak of these cities, those who live there are seen in light of those reputations. Such was the case with Corinth. In Paul’s day, to be one who lived in Corinth was to be one who had a reputation of being part of a very perverse culture.
The church in Corinth, while having members who were born again in Christ, had not grown in maturity and was still adversely affected by its sinful proclivities. Paul wrote much in his letter to the church in the way of correction and rebuke. Among the issues he addressed, he wrote of the Corinthian believers’ penchant for dividing themselves into sects based on who they followed. Some were enamored with the teachings of Paul, others saw Apollos as the better preacher, still others lined up under Peter, and another group (apparently taking the high ground) said they only followed Christ. Paul rebuked the church, demonstrating that such divisions were worldly and carnal. He taught the church that it was not men (or their teaching abilities) that they were to follow. It was the simplicity of the gospel message of the cross on which their faith was founded.
The opening chapters of Paul’s letter repeatedly hammer the point that it is not the wisdom of men that Christians should follow; rather, it is the message of the cross that we are to trust in. In verses 18 – 31, Paul takes to task the wisdom of man and contrasts it with what the world sees as the foolishness of the cross. The unbelieving world is often entranced by what sounds impressive, intellectual and philosophical. Speak things that contain large words and big concepts, and you can woo many to your cause. Speak to the ability of man to step above his circumstances and lift himself out of his troubles, and you will attract a large following. But speak to the wretchedness of man, his vile sinfulness which demands judgment, speak to his desperate need for a crucified and risen Savior, and you will find precious few lining up to hear you. But it is that foolish message that Paul writes is the glory of God, the message that must be proclaimed loudest of all.
You can imagine that many in the Corinthian church must have been challenged to hear this message. At the time of Paul’s writing, the church had greatly compromised itself with the culture of their day. In fact, later in the letter, Paul rebukes the church for allowing a man in an ongoing incestuous relationship to remain in their ranks. In their desire to be seen as loving, they had utterly failed to address a sin even the Corinthians were not known for. The church did not see the message of the cross as all important. They had taken a worldly position that could have allowed a man to be sent straight to hell without ever hearing of the heinous nature of his offense. Such a compromise is deadly to those who sit in the ranks of the church, but do not hearing the convicting message of the cross.
It is with this backdrop in mind that Paul wrote the passage above. He rightly calls the Corinthian church to contrast the damning “wisdom” of the world with the life saving “foolishness” of the cross. The world never seeks after the true God of scripture in its own wisdom. It seeks a false deity that tickles the ears and satisfies the desires of the flesh. It will create intricate and highly articulated arguments why the god it worships is true, giving it a form of godliness. But the arguments are entirely of a tainted, sinful heart that is in rebellion to God. The world cannot allow for the foolishness of the cross because it must be confronted with the truth of its nature. The cross exposes the darkened and sinful heart of man, a heart that has no good in it whatsoever. It demonstrates that all of the world’s efforts to appear righteous are entirely loathsome. The cross calls us to die, to admit our inability to atone for ourselves, and to trust entirely in the completed work of Christ. The world sees this as foolish because it must admit it needs Christ to be saved when it desires only to save itself. It is Paul’s clarion call to the Corinthians to abandon the wisdom of the world and return to the foolishness of the cross.
Modern Day Corinthians
There can be a certain temptation to look at the Corinthian church and, somewhat arrogantly, question how they could possibly allowed such compromise to exist. After all, they had mightily gifted preachers and apostles who had taught them the gospel truth. Men who had learned it from Christ Himself. So how could they possibly be willing to make such concessions with the world and dilute the pure teaching of the Word of God? We must keep such arrogance in check and remember that, but for the grace of God, we too are prone to such compromise. Paul makes it clear that the Corinthians had the pure milk of the gospel. But, due to their failure to progress deeper into the teachings of Scripture, they were malnourished and weak. As such, Paul had to start them again on the milk of the Word. Compromise comes easily to those who neglect the means of grace we have in the Scriptures.
In fact, while we may be tempted today to see ourselves as being better than those foolish Corinthians, it is undeniable that in our culture that the same sinful compromise exists in churches all around us. In American Evangelicalism, we see that many churches today are focused on numbers in the church. The argument seems to be that if you really want to make an impact for Christianity, you have to see large congregations and that they can never stop growing. More numbers means more “conversions” and more conversions means you are really doing God’s work. It is this emphasis on growth that drives much of Evangelicalism today. Bookstores, blogs and videos abound with church growth techniques, and pastors are under increasing pressure to measure up to those “celebrity” churches that everyone sees on TV. And with the church growth movement, we see the compromise with the world that Paul warned the Corinthians against.
In order for churches to “grow,” certain things have to change. The first is the notion that church is only for believers. According to the Bible, the church is the bride of Christ (see 2 Cor. 11: 2), it is the universal body of believers purchased by the blood of Christ and made as new creations in the Holy Spirit. The local gathering of believers, also called the local church, is a microcosm, a slice of that universal body. When the local church gathers in the building we call “church,” it is for the worship of, prayer to, and the edification from our Savior. Thus, our “grandfather’s old church,” is the church where believers for hundreds of years have gathered to grow in the knowledge and grace of our risen Lord so that we might be equipped to do His work.
In modern church growth methodology, this church is exclusivist and non-welcoming. It makes unbelievers feel rejected because they do not share the beliefs of the church members. If unbelievers do attend, they feel uncomfortable with the teachings on sin and judgment. The theology being taught feels dry and boring. The worship music is stale and does not motivate them. Therefore, there is no incentive to stay because they do not feel like they are part of the “experience.” Church growth teaches that the “old way” of doing church does not market to unbelievers and that, after all, is what we are supposed to be doing, marketing Jesus to the world.
That is a form of the Corinthian compromise. When professing Christians reject the notion that the church is the gathering of believers, it embraces the marketing thinking of the world. Rather than equipping the saints to do the work of Christ, which includes the preaching of the gospel to the lost outside the church, growth methodology changes the church building into a recruitment center tailored to attract the unregenerate unbeliever. To do this, pastors must reject all teachings of scripture that demonstrate that the lost are haters of God who have no desire to pursue Him (see Rom. 3 for example). The pastor must adopt the worldly view that the lost are generally good at heart and are seeking some kind of connection with God. With that in mind, the church makes changes to attract them in.
The pastor must also reject the notion that the preaching of the entirety of scripture is for the benefit of believers. When the lost are sitting in the pews, they do not feel comfortable under the hard truths of scripture. In order to keep them there, the more difficult passages must be put aside and messages which speak to the felt needs of the attendees are taught. Such a compromise neglects the truth that all scripture is profitable and needed to equip those who profess faith in Christ (2 Tim. 3: 16-17). The pastor dare not teach through the totality of the Bible lest he teach doctrines that drive away the “seeker.” In order to speak to their felt needs, he must pick and choose passages that address the topic, if even in the most tangential manner, so that the unbeliever can buy into the notion that scripture is about affirming his life choices.
In like manner, the worship styles are changed, the layout of the church building is redesigned, prayer becomes a way of just hanging out with God, and so forth. The seeker friendly movement has been, and continues to be, an embracing of worldly thinking that denies the foolishness of the cross. Unbelievers are not challenged with their sins in the light of a holy God and commanded to repent, trusting in the work of Christ. Rather, they are taught God exists to give them a pass for their errors and mistakes, and they need only invite Jesus into their hearts to have a better life.
Church growth “experts” have sold the idea that Jesus is a product, something to be marketed to the unchurched public. When you want a potential consumer to buy your product, you sell them on all its positive aspects. You concentrate on the perceived benefits and how it will completely enhance the life of the consumer. The consumer can never be allowed to see the product in a negative light, because it may cause him to doubt the value that is being promised. Thus, Christ must be marketed in such a way that the unchurched believe that their lives are incomplete without Him. They must be wooed and enticed in “buying” Jesus to make their lives complete. But, the unbeliever, the consumer, cannot see the hard truths of Scripture which call us to confess our sins, admit we deserve damnation and must die to ourselves in repentance and faith. Such teachings would taint the product, making unbelievers unwilling to see Jesus as something they cannot live without.
The problem with this marketing scheme is that it is entirely unbiblical and completely of the world. Jesus is not a product to be sold, He is Lord of all. He is not a life enhancement add on, He is the Almighty King to whom we owe our existence. You cannot sell Jesus, you must submit to Him as a servant and slave. Seeker friendly marketing strips all that Jesus is and reduces Him to an item on a shelf to be chosen. This is the wisdom of man. We see success in businesses, how they grow and reap the rewards, and we think we can apply that in the church. All of God’s true wisdom in the revelation of the cross and our need for a Savior is thrown out in favor of courting the whims of unregenerate rebels.
The preaching of the cross is foolishness in the seeker friendly model. It is seen as divisive and unwelcoming. The church is not the blood bought bride, it’s the storefront to woo customers. The seeker friendly church bows to the wisdom of man, believing it far superior to the foolishness of the cross. And, sadly, it is the predominant model of church methodology in our country today. We are seeing the modern day Corinthian compromise in front of our eyes. As Christians, we must reject the allure of the shiny salesmanship of church growth gurus and trust solely in the Word of God in all its glorious “foolishness.”
Are You a Corinthian?
It would be easy for me to leave the article here, to point my finger at the seeker friendly church and say “They’re the problem!” In fact, it is very tempting to do so. However, the truth is, if I were to do so, then I would be expressing a pride and arrogance unbecoming of a Christian. I must realize that for all the sin of the compromise in those churches, my sins against a holy God are far greater. It is my sin that put Jesus on the cross; it is His death and resurrection that redeems my wicked soul. If I assume I am better than the church growth gurus, then I have demonstrated that I do not understand the gospel at all.
So I must ask myself, and my readers, are we Corinthians? Are we making compromises in our lives that demonstrate we follow the wisdom of man rather than the foolishness of the cross? I think it happens far more often than we realize. For instance, look at the choices we make in our daily lives. As Christians, we should desire greatly to pray and study the word of God. Yet it is all too easy for us to claim that our hectic schedules prevent serious commitment to these things. We get up late because we believe the lie that five more minutes of snooze will give us greater rest. When we are at work, during our break times we talk with co-workers and spend time on social media. After work, we commit an inordinate amount of time to entertainment. Participation in sports, games, exercise, and so forth is seen as paramount. Then we get to bed late, because we had to watch the programs we set to DVR while we were busy about other things. Are these things sin in and of themselves? Of course not. Each of these can be partaken of in proper proportion. But when they are the excuse for our disobedience in being with the Lord, they are deadly compromises within the body of Christ.
We could examine a myriad of issues in the Christian walk: evangelism, discipleship, serving in the church, the raising of our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, and many more. Within each of these arenas, it is my firm belief that a great many compromises exist in the life of truly born again, God-fearing Christians. And it is in these compromises that we find ourselves bowing to the wisdom of the world, believing the lie that it is acceptable to neglect our duties to the Lord while we serve and entertain ourselves. I say these things not to accuse my brethren, I have sinned far too often in these areas. But I write them to cause ourselves to examine our walk in the light of Paul’s teaching to a church that compromised terribly. We see what it did to the church of his day. We are seeing now what it is doing in the churches of our modern era. Will we neglect the lesson that must be learned in our own lives this moment? I pray we do not and that we repent now before the Lord.
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