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2 Contents 1. Conquering Through The Cross 2. Six Positive Principles For Proper Practice 3. Why Doesn t God Heal All Sick Saints? 4. The Triumph of Faith 5. Tune In, Tone Down, and Sweeten Up 6. If There Had Been No Easter 7. The Lost Christ Of Christmas 8. A New Year Without Fear 9. The Only Hope For America 10. The Grace Of Giving Page 3 Page 16 Page 26 Page 36 Page 49 Page 62 Page 70 Page 79 Page 90 Page 102

3 Conquering Through The Cross By Adrian Rogers Main Scripture Text: 1 Corinthians 1:18 Introduction The Work of The Cross The Word Of The Cross The Way Of The Cross Conclusion Introduction Now, would you open the word of God to First Corinthians chapter one and we will begin our reading in verse eighteen. I don t know of a book that s more applicable to our lives and to modern day Christians than the book of First Corinthians and so that s what we re going to be studying. Today our topic is and the title of our message is Conquering through the Cross. Now, First Corinthians chapter one, verse eighteen, for the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jew require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block and unto the Greeks foolishness, but unto them which are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men. Off the south coast of China some pilgrims and some harbor settlers once built a massive cathedral and this cathedral was a place where they worshipped and enjoyed worshipping until a typhoon came through and destroyed that cathedral and proved that it was stronger than the work of men s hands. Only the front wall of that great cathedral was left standing and on that front wall was a huge bronze cross. Sir John Bowring was shipwrecked off the coast of China and despaired for his life and as he was clinging to a piece of the ship he floated closer and closer to the shore until finally he saw that cross there, that standing 3

4 on the ruins of that old building. Silhouetted against the sky he saw the cross and that cross spoke to him of safety and spoke to him of security because he knew that he was nearing the shore. Later that same man wrote: In the cross of Christ I glory, towering o er the wrecks of time All the light of sacred story, gathered round its head sublime. And I want us today just to glory in the cross a little bit. I. The Work of The Cross Three things I want you to learn about the cross of Jesus Christ. First of all, the work of the cross, secondly, the word of the cross, thirdly, the way of the cross. What is the work of the cross? Look in verse eighteen again, will you please. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. Now, look at that phrase unto us which are saved. Look at it very carefully, because, may I tell you friend, that it could be and should be translated: unto us who are being saved, unto us who are being saved. Now, that s very important that you understand that because if you don t understand that I don t think you ll really understand what Paul is saying. So, the work of the cross is this, that through the cross we are being saved. Now, that may be confusing to some of you because you say now wait a minute pastor, I thought I already was saved when I received Jesus Christ. That s right, you were. The Bible says believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved. Well, yet the Bible says now is our salvation near than when we believed. Now, wait a minute, I thought I was saved when I believed. How could it be nearer than when I believed? And then Paul told Timothy, take ye to thyself and to the doctrine for and so doing thou shalt save thyself and them that hear thee. You mean he s a preacher and he s not yet saved? You say pastor, you re confusing me. All right now, listen, salvation is in three tenses. I have been saved, that s finished, I ll never go to hell, bless God, hallelujah, it is done, tis done, the great transaction is done, it is settled, I m a child of God, I m born again, that is fixed. I have been saved, but wait a minute. I m also being saved. I am being saved and I will be saved. Now, if you don t understand that, you re going to get in a lot of difficulty understanding the Bible. You see, there s salvation in three tenses. I 4

5 have been saved, that is, from the penalty of sin, I ll never go to hell. I m being saved, that is, from the power of sin, that s my sanctification. I will be saved from the presence of sin, when Jesus comes again, you see. I have been saved. I m being saved. I will be saved. Now, you need to understand what happened when Adam died. You remember God said to Adam, In the day that you disobey me, in the day that you eat, you will surely die. Well, Adam disobeyed God and did he die that day? Well, if you read the record he went on to live for eight hundred plus years. Well, did he die or didn t he? Yes, he did, but he didn t. Actually, the scripture says dying thou shalt die. You see, what happened to Adam? When Adam disobeyed God, he died immediately in his spirit. God moved out of Adam s spirit and Adam became minus God. You see, the spirit of man is where God dwells. God dwells in your spirit. Now, when a man sins or when a man is a sinner, an unregenerate, unsaved sinner, he is minus God in the spirit and so the minute Adam died God moved out of Adam and Adam became minus God and he died immediately in his spirit. But he died progressively in his soul. The soul is the ego, the mind, the emotion, the will, the Greek word for soul is psyche the word we get psychology from, psychiatry from. And so, Adam died immediately in his spirit, he died progressively in his soul and then he died ultimately in his body. You see, Adam was dead from the moment that God moved out of him, but he continued to function in his soul and in his body. There are a lot of dead people who go to work tomorrow morning in Memphis, Tennessee. Their soul is still functioning, their body is still functioning, but they are dead because they re alienating from the life of God. Now, watch it. How did Adam die? He died immediately in his spirit, progressively in his soul, ultimately in his body. Adam was body, soul, and spirit. When you get saved God reverses all of that. When you receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal savior, when you repent of your of your sin, you open your hearts, you believe on Jesus, you receive Jesus, what happens? You are justified immediately in your spirit. You are sanctified progressively in your soul and you will be glorified ultimately in your body, you see. I have been saved, that is, I m justified in the spirit. I am being saved, that is, I m sanctified in the soul and I will be saved, that is, I will be glorified in my body. What I m trying to say is friend, God isn t finished with me yet. Amen, wouldn t you be disappointed people, the enemy put the tares in with the wheat and tares and wheat are hard to tell the difference and the workman on the farm 5

6 said, Master, do you want us to go and pull up the tares? He said, You be careful, you d pull up some wheat, you d pull up some wheat if I left it to you. You can t tell dear friend, who s saved and who s not by looking at them because God isn t finished with yet. He hasn t finished with me yet, but let me say the same thing is true in verse eighteen about those who perish. It says unto them which perish it is foolishness. The same thing is taught, it literally means to those who are perishing. You see, God isn t finished with the unsaved man yet either. Here s a guy sitting in church today says well, it s not so bad being lost, he s living high, wide and handsome. And he doesn t worry about being lost, he says I m getting along all right without God. Maybe he is. He reminds me of a man who jumped out of a ten-story building, as he passed each window he said he s all right so far. He s getting along all right now, but you see God isn t finished yet. You read in James chapter one, and verse fifteen, this phrase: and sin when it is finished. You need to see the finished product of the devil s art. You need to understand that sin is not yet finished yet. Salvation is not yet finished and neither is sin. People right now in this congregation who are saved and lost some are in the process of being saved, and some are in the process of being perished, if you can put it that way, of being perished. That s exactly what it means. They are in the process right now of perishing. Sin when it is finished. There was a television series that was on several years ago about a man who had an incurable disease and he knew he was going to die at a certain time. Do you remember that? And so, he was trying to get all the gusto he could, he was just living it up until you know, and the thing about that series is that that man, though he had an incurable disease, he didn t look sick and he didn t act sick, but he was dying and that s the way it is with a man without the Lord Jesus Christ. He may not look sick, he may not act sick necessarily, but if he doesn t have the Lord Jesus Christ, he is perishing and you need to see sin when it is finished. You see, God isn t finished with me yet and if you re not saved, the devil isn t finished with you yet. You need to see the finished product of the devil s art. You know it s the end that really counts. Look for example at Proverbs chapter twenty three, Proverbs twenty three, let s think for a moment about the sin of liquor, or the sin of drinking in the book of Proverbs. Proverbs chapter twenty three and verse thirty one. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth it s color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. Do you know there s nothing more beautiful to the sensual eyes than a glass of wine or, some of these liquor advertisements. What are the most beautiful 6

7 advertisements that you see around? Won t it be liquor advertisements, you know, the frosty glass and the four roses and you know all this is so beautiful, you know, they make it look so appealing. You see, that s the first, but you have to look beyond that, look beyond that, listen, what it says now. At the last you see, when it is finished, sin when it is finished, at the last it biteth like a serpent and stingeth like adder. You need to see it at the last, not at the first. You know, the liquor people don t want you to see the end, brother. I wish I could put in the newspapers some of the things that I have to deal with as a pastor. One time when I was down in Fort Pierce, Florida, I had an artist in the church who painted a man in the alley, in the garbage and by the garbage can, there was a big old rat about that long running past, and this man had in his hand a bottle and he was dressed in rags lying up there in the alley with the vermin and so forth and underneath he wrote these words the finished product of the brewer s art. It was a sign that was on a piece of four by eight plywood, I thought that was pretty good sign and so he said, Pastor, you can do with this what you wish. I said, Well, I ll just put it on our church parking lot. So I put it up on the church parking lot, and after a while I got a phone call. It was from one of the local distributors. He said, Mr. Rogers? I said, Yes. He said, I need to have a talk with you. I said, What is your name sir? He told me. I knew who he was. I said, I ll see you in fifteen minutes. Went right down to my study and met him there. I said, Now, what do you wish to talk about? He said, It s about your sign. I said, What about our sign? He said, That sign discriminates against my product. I said, Your product is thickened with blood, flavored with death, and brewed with tears. He said, Huh? I said, If I were you I would get on my knees right now and ask God to have mercy on me. Well, he got a little incensed at that. He said well, I think that s grounds for a lawsuit. I said, So do I, I wish you d sue me. I d like to see this picture on the front page and I d like for you to prove that s not the finished product. I said you ve got some kind of nerve. You bombard me day in and day out in magazines, newspapers, television, radio, telling everybody to drink, drink, drink, drink. I put up one sign to warn Sunday School boys and girls that there s more to it, and you get incensed. I said, I ll make a deal with you. You take your signs down, I ll take mine down. Amen. You take all yours down, I ll take mine down. Well, he walked out, didn t have much more to say, but let me tell you, friend, you need to see when it is finished. You see, God isn t finished yet, and the devil isn t finished yet. At first the man takes a drink,then the drink takes a drink, and then the drink takes the man. It s the same thing with this sin of immorality. 7

8 Open your Bible again, you re in the book of Proverbs, turn to Proverbs chapter five. Proverbs chapter five, verses three through five. The lips of a strange woman drop as a honeycomb and her mouth is smoother than oil. Ol Honey Lips. Oh boy, sure, she ought to get a centerfold, Ol Honey Lips, and boy, listen to the way she talks, seems to make sense, her mouth is smoother than oil, but listen, watch verse four. But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two edged sword, her feet go down to death and her steps take hold on hell. God says consider the end, consider the end. Look all the way through, see the finished product. You see, the devil is not finished yet. The bread of deceit is sweet, but afterward a man s mouth shall be filled with gravel. Now, for example, turn to the book of Jeremiah chapter seventeen and verse eleven. Listen to this verse, those of you who perhaps say, Well, liquor is not problem and immorality is not my problem. Well, maybe materialism is. Listen to this. Jeremiah seventeen, verse eleven. As the partridge sitteth on eggs and hatcheth them not, so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool. Now, here s a guy, he doesn t care for God, he doesn t care for the things of the spirit, his creed is greed, his God is gold, riches mean more to him than God. God says in the middle of his days he s going to leave them and at his end he ll be a fool, at the end. Sin when it is finished. That s the reason when Billy Sunday was preaching to his congregation about ungodly riches he said you can t take it with you and if you could it d melt where some of you are going. You see, verse eighteen speaks of the work of the cross. The work of the cross is this. That it is to help us, not only to be saved in the past, but to be saved right now day by day from the power of sin. All right, what you will be you are now becoming through the power of Satan or the power of the cross. II. The Word Of The Cross Now, the second thing I want you to notice, not only the work of the cross which is salvation in the present tense, those who are being saved, but the second thing I want you to notice is the word of the cross, the word of the cross. For this verse says for the preaching of the cross is to them that are perishing foolish. But unto us who are being saved it is the power of God. Now, the word that is translated preaching here is not the regular word for preaching. It s simply the Greek word logos and it simply means word and it could be translated the word of the cross, the word of the cross and that doesn t 8

9 mean therefore the preaching about the cross is power, that s not what it s saying. It s not what I say about the cross, it is what the cross says to me. The cross has a message. There is the word of the cross, there is the preaching of the cross, and it is the preaching of the cross or the word of the cross what the cross teaches me, what the cross preaches to me that is power so that I can live victoriously day by day. And so, the message of the cross is how to get the power of God in my life now. Notice what it says. Not the preaching of the cross was the power of God, not will be, but is the power of God right now. You see, salvation is a decision followed by a dynamic. It is a crisis followed by a process. I believe on Jesus, I am saved, that is, it s settled, I m going to heaven, but that s not all. Now the cross that saved me is the cross that is to empower me, it is the cross that is to energize meant to help me to live day by day right now in the power of God right now. And so, what is the word of the cross, what is the word that the cross preaches? All right, let me get back to First Corinthians 1, and look beginning in verse 18 again. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God, for it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world, for after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it please God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believed. Now watch verse twenty two. For the Jews require sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block and unto the Greeks foolishness but unto them which are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. Now, two words I want you to underscore in verse twenty four. Power and wisdom. You see, the two things that every may needs is the power to do right and the wisdom to know right. He needs to know what is right and he needs the power to do it. That s the way to be saved, that s the way to be saved. That s what everybody needs, wisdom and power. Now, if you have the power without the wisdom that s no good. If you know what is right and can t do it, that s no good so you need the wisdom to know right and the power to do right. Now, how are you going to get this wisdom and how are you going to get this power? Well, from time and memorial different people have been trying different ways to unlike the mystery of life to see what is right and to do what is right. For example, the Jews were very power conscience. Look in verse twenty two, verse 9

10 twenty two says for the Jews seek a sign. Now why is this? The Jews require a sign. You see, the Jews were looking for a Messiah who would be a powerful being, a very glorious Messiah. They were looking for a kingly person who would come in majesty and glory, a person who would dazzle them with his, his great l power. That s the reason Jesus was tempted by the devil to jump off the pinnacle of the temple because if he were to just come floating down in the middle of the temple, everybody say look, how wonderful, oh hallelujah, but Jesus wouldn t do that, you see. They required a sign, they said to Jesus, give us a sign from heaven and we ll believe, that is, make the stars dance around, do a little cosmic magic if you will. Even when Jesus Christ was on the cross they said come down from the cross and we ll believe. The Jews required a sign, but Jesus would not give them a sign. He said no sign will be given to this sinful and adulterous generation. And so, when the Jews saw Jesus hanging on the cross, they said what kind of a Messiah is that? What kind of a Messiah is that? Why, that s a stumbling block to us, we can t accept a crucified Messiah, someone who is crucified. Notice verse twenty three. But we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews, a stumbling block, what kind of a king, what kind of a leader who would die in agony and shame upon a cross. And oh, they said give us a sign, we want to see some power. Now, what about the Greeks? Look in verse twenty two. What did the Greeks want? Ha, look in verse twenty two. The Greeks seek after wisdom. Now the Greeks were a little more cultured than the Jews. They wanted a God they could intellectualize. They had Plato and Socrates, they had all of the great philosophers and, amid their idea of a Messiah, their idea of a spiritual leader would be sort of a double Socrates. They wanted someone who would explain God, to put god in concepts that they wanted someone who would do mental gymnastics with them. They were looking for wisdom and culture and again they said what wisdom is there in dying on a cross, of all things, to die, foolishness. And so, notice verse twenty two. But we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block and unto the Greeks foolishness. The Jews were interested in power, the Greeks were interested in wisdom, but Christ is Doth the power and the wisdom of God. Christ crucified. Look verse twenty four. But unto them which are called both Jews and Greeks Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Not Christ the conqueror for the Jews, not Christ the philosopher for the Greeks, but Christ crucified for everybody. And in the cross is seen the power of 10

11 God and in the cross is seen the wisdom of God. Now, how? It s very simple. You see, man is very power conscience today, we think we ve got so much power, we think we know so much, if we do, why are we in such a mess? The more we learn the deeper we get. There s only one power that can change lives and it s the power of the cross. I m not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation. I have preached it long enough now, I have opened this book long enough now, I ve given enough invitations now, I ve dealt personally enough now, I ve counseled enough now to know there is power, power, wonder working power in the precious blood of the lamb. I believe that. Brother, that s the only power that ll do this old sin sick world any good. Atomic power is not the answer, and governmental power is not the answer and intellectual power is not the answer and physical power is not the answer, it s the power of the cross or nothing, Mister. And what about wisdom, what about wisdom? Christ the wisdom of God. You know the thing I like about Christ the wisdom of God? Brother, you don t have to be a high muckety muck, a PhD, an intellectual top water to understand Jesus Christ, for God hath hidden these things from the wise and the prudent and hath revealed them unto babes. You talk about wisdom, what about the kind of a wisdom that a child can understand? Isn t that wisdom? Where God, the great God who made the universes, the God who scooped out the seas, heaped up the mountains, flung out the stars, that God has made himself known to a little child. That s wisdom which none of the princes of this world knew. If they had they d not of slain the Lord of glory. Mister, you ll never come to the Lord headfirst, you better come heart first for God hath hidden these things from the wise and the prudent and God hath revealed him unto babes and to anybody who wants to know and wishes to know. And what is the word of the cross? The word of the cross is that power is in Jesus crucified, that wisdom is in Jesus crucified and all you need to know to live the victorious life is found in the power of the cross. Now, the work of the cross is salvation, the word of the cross is that Jesus is the wisdom and the power of God. Some of you say well, that sounds a little nonintellectual. I heard of Harry Ironside, a great preacher of yesteryear; used to pastor Moody church. He was traveling with some friends on a ferry, going across from San Francisco to Oakland, and they were Christians and they were singing choruses and praising the Lord. And a man was standing by there and he heard them and after a while he started to criticize. He said who are you people, what 11

12 are you doing? And Harry Ironside, a great preacher said well, we re just some Christians, we re having a good time, we re just praising our Lord. And the man said you re a bunch of fools. Ironside said you re right, we are. We re fools for Christ sake. Whose fool are you? Fools for Christ s sake. To those that perish foolishness, but unto us who are saved, it s the power of God. III. The Way Of The Cross Finally, I want you to notice the way of the cross. How does this power become real in your life? How do I appropriate it? I know that the work of the cross is that I m being saved. I know that the word of the cross is that Jesus is power and Jesus is wisdom. Jesus shows me what to do and Jesus gives me power to do it, but now what is the role of the cross? How does it become real in my life? How do I get a handle on it? How can I bring it in tomorrow and take it to work with me? How can I carry it home with me? How can the cross become real in my life? The way of the cross is faith. Notice chapter two, verse one. And I brethren, when I came to you came not with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring unto you the testimony of God. That is, Paul said I didn t try to dazzle you with my intellectual powers. Do you know the problem in America today? In too many pulpits we have the flesh on parade, book review, culture, quoting this theologian and that theologian, Dr. Smell Fungus, Professor Tinkling Cymbal. Paul says, When I came to you I came not with excellence of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God, for I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified and I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. He never would have won a better speakers tournament, that my, and my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man s wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. And there it is, there s the key. The way of the cross is faith, that your faith, that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Conclusion You see, there are two responses that you can have toward the cross, foolishness or faith. To those that perish, it s foolishness, to those of us who are being saved, we exercise faith and through that faith God s wisdom and God s power is released in us. Let me illustrate it from the Old Testament and we ll be finished. 12

13 Do you remember in the Old Testament where the Israelites had rebelled against God, they were on their way from Egypt to Canaan, they were in the wilderness and they began to complain and to criticize and they said we re sick and tired of eating this manna and there s no water and we re going to die in the wilderness and God sent fiery serpents among the people to bite them and many people of Israel were dying and they went to Moses and they said Moses, we ve sinned, for we ve spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to God that he ll take away the serpents. Moses went to the Lord and the Lord said to Moses, Moses, make a brazen serpent and put it upon a pole and it should come to pass that if any man is bitten when he looketh upon the serpent he ll live. Now, why a brazen serpent? Well, the serpent is a symbol of sin. Brass is a symbol of judgment. This was sin being judged and there are rapturous shouts of joy as instantaneous healing takes place, people from all over, poor snake bitten victims are looking to a twisted piece of metal on a pole and immediately they re being made whole. This serpent lifted upon a pole represented Jesus Christ who took our sin upon himself and carried him to the cross. And so Moses said now, people, God s plan is this. That if you want to be delivered from the hideous snakebite, from the fatal fangs of the fiery serpent, you must look and live. Now, let s suppose that we re back there in the desert, let s suppose that the hideous reptiles are everywhere, faces are white with fear, eyes are red with weeping, hands are trembling, all over they re hurried funerals as people are burying their loved ones who have died because of the venom of the poisonous snake which represents God s judgment upon sin. Let s imagine that here s a mother who has taken her son and has place him there in her tent, she s waiting for him to die, his temples are throbbing with pain, his hands and limbs are growing numb and cold, he s being paralyzed and he s dying very rapidly and she s saying, oh God, oh God, don t let my boy die, oh God, save my boy, and about that time someone comes into the camp of Israel and he s shouting at the top of his voice and this is what he s saying: A cure, there s a cure, and everybody stops and they find this man and they say, What is that sir, what did you say? I said there is a cure. One of the elders of Israel takes him by the lapel and says, I order by God tell me the truth. Is there a cure? He said Yes, there s a cure. He says, What is it? He said, Listen, man, I don t understand it, I can t explain it, but God told Moses if he would take a serpent and put it upon a pole, that whosoever would look upon that serpent would live. Tell me sir, does it work? Yes, it works. How do you know it 13

14 works? Because I was healed, and all over the camp of Israel men and women begin to look and be healed. I want you to notice this mother as she goes back to her tent, she pulls back the flap of the tent, she goes in, and she says to her son, My boy, Mother has wonderful news for you, you don t have to die, God has prevented provided a remedy, and she says, Now son, Mama can t explain it all, but you come to the door of the tent. You see that brazen serpent over there on that pole? Look son, look at it and you ll be healed. He says, I see it Mommy. He says, Oh, Mommy, something happened, ha, Mommy, the pain is gone, the throbbing has ceased, the swelling goes down. He sits up, he stretches, he stands, he leaps, he says Mother, ha, I ve been made well. And, oh, they embraced and praise the Lord God Jehovah! Now, that s one scene that may have taken place. I want you to notice another one that might have taken place. Here s a woman, she rushes to her tent, her husband lies dying. She goes in, her face is glowing like the noonday sun. She says to him, Husband, husband, listen, I ve got good news! What is it? You don t have to die husband. God has provided a remedy, husband. I don t know how to explain it, but let me tell you husband what it is. Listen, God told Moses that if he Hold it right there. Are you talking about the brass serpent theory? Well, husband, I m talking about the brass serpent, but it s no theory, husband, are you Hold it, hold it. I am a reasonable man. I have a philosophical bent of mind, and I ve got enough sense to know that there is no possible connection between by poor wretched miserable condition and some silly, stupid twisted piece of metal on a pole. Don t mention it again. But husband I said be quiet, don t you mention your foolish fanatical religion around this house one more time. Do you hear? Yes husband. And so he died. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish, foolishness, but unto us which are saved it s the power of God. You see, what did that brazen serpent represent? Jesus said, and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the son of man be lifted up that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but should have ever-lasting life. The way of the cross is faith. I want to tell you with all of the unction and function of my soul this morning that if you will believe that Jesus Christ is the wisdom of God and the power of God and if you will put your faith in the blood of Jesus Christ and the Christ of the blood, God will reveal to you a wisdom that you ll never get from books and God will give to you a power that no other source 14

15 can give and you will be saved from the penalty of sin, you will be being saved from the power of sin and one day bless God, you ll be saved from the presence of sin. In the cross of Christ I glory, towering o er the wrecks of time. (John Bowring, 1825) COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: The text contained in this database is protected by copyright and International Law, and is solely owned by its authors. The reproduction, or distribution of this product, or any portion of it, without the expressed written authorization from the contributing authors is forbidden. Remember, this database is to inspire the development of new messages to further the Kingdom s work. 15

16 Six Positive Principles For Proper Practice By Adrian Rogers Date Preached: January 27, 1977 Main Scripture Text: 1 Corinthians 6:12; 1 Corinthians 8:1; 1 Corinthians 10:23, Outline Introduction I. The Principle of Expediency II. The Principle of Enslavement III. The Principle of Example IV. The Principle of Edification V. The Principle of Exaltation VI. The Principle of Evangelism Conclusion Introduction Would you take your Bibles, please, and turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 6? We re preaching through 1 Corinthians, and not every verse, but simply some of the more important factors of the book. And, today, we are in chapter 6. Now, we re facing a New Year, and we trust that this New Year will be the very best ever. And, some of us have made some resolutions. The problem with too many resolutions is they go in one year and out the other. And, we need to carry them out. Somebody said that New Year s resolutions are like babies crying in church: They need to be carried out. And, sometimes, it s hard for us to carry out the resolution that we have made. But, isn t it great, and isn t it grand, and isn t glorious that our God is the God of the new start. He came to my desk with quivering lips, The lesson was done. Dear teacher, he said, I want a new leaf, I ve spoiled this one. 16

17 And for the old leaf stained and blotted, I gave him a new one all unspotted; And into his sad eyes smiled. Do better now, my child. I came to the throne with a quivering soul, The old year was done. Dear Father, I said, Have you a new leaf? I have spoiled this one. For the old leaf stained and blotted, He gave me a new one all unspotted; And into my sad heart smiled. Do better now my child ~Kathleen Wheeler And, we want to do better. We ve got a new year, and we, every one of us, I believe, want it to be the very best year it can be for His glory and for our good. But, in order to do better, we need to know how to do better. And so, I want us to think, this morning, on this subject: Six Positive Principles for Proper Practice. That s hard to say: Six Positive Principles for Proper Practice. That is, six principles that will teach us how to decide between right and wrong. Now, you know that s not as easy as it may sound. Sometimes, it s easy to decide between right and wrong, because we have the Ten Commandments, and the Ten Commandments do not change. Men and women come and go, but the Ten Commandments are here for every age. And, men and women are broken, trying to break the Ten Commandments, but we thank God that they are here. However, there are many questions about right and wrong that are not covered, specifically, by the Ten Commandments. You see, the Bible is not a rulebook. The Bible is a guidebook. The Bible is not a book of minute laws; the Bible is, rather, a book of great principles. And, you ought to be glad. You see, God doesn t write everything in the Bible that we need to Well, He writes everything we need to know, but He doesn t write it in a way that, sometimes, we d like to have it. For example, God doesn t say in the Bible, Thou shalt not smoke pot, or God does not say in the Bible, Thou shalt not drive through a school zone at 110 miles an hour, but God does put certain principles in the Bible. And, the principles are what we re talking about. You see, if God were to make the Bible of minute laws rather than great principles, it d take a boxcar to carry it around probably take a railroad train. And, besides that, the principles that would be in it that would be applicable to us would not be applicable to Paul. Can you imagine somebody in Corinth reading and 17

18 saying, God says, Thou shalt not attend X-rated movies, and he d say, What s that? Well, you see, it wouldn t make sense to them. And, another thing if God simply made the Bible a rulebook rather than a guidebook, you know, there are folks who can always find loopholes in laws, but you can t find loopholes in God s great principles. So, let s notice what these six positive principles for proper practice are that are recorded in the book of 1 Corinthians. I. The Principle of Expediency All right, first of all, 1 Corinthians chapter 6, and verse 12. Here s the first of these principles: All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient (1 Corinthians 6:12). All right. Now, the first principle of proper practice is the principle of expediency. Paul says: All things are lawful that is, no longer are we under the Mosaic Law but all things are not expedient (1 Corinthians 6:12). Now, what does that word expedient mean? Well, when you think of expedient, you think of travel; an expedition is a journey somewhere. Now, what Paul is saying, when he says, all things are not expedient, is that not all things help me on my way (1 Corinthians 6:12). Now, ladies and gentlemen, a Christian is somebody who s going somewhere. A Christian is somebody with a goal, a purpose in mind. He s not just drawing his breath and drawing his salary, eating to live and living to eat. He has a purpose; he has a goal in his life. And, if you don t have one, you ought to get one, because you won t be worth much in this year, or any year, unless you are goal-oriented. I heard of a man, who went to some farms, and he noticed on every barn, on every tree everywhere, there was a bull s eye-type target, and right in the center was a mark right dead eye in the center of the bull s eye. He said, Well, I don t know who lives around here, but, evidently, the world s best marksman. I m going to look him up and talk with him. He asked around, and they directed him to the town moron, and found out this was the man who d been doing all of the shooting. He said, I don t understand it. How do you do it? How do you hit the bull s-eye every time? He said, Well, I do it differently than other people. He said, You see, I shoot first and then draw the target, later. And then, he explained it. He said, I aim at nothing, and I hit it. I will guarantee you that you will hit it every time. But, you are not to be aiming at nothing. You re to be aiming at something; you re to have some goals; and you re to have some plans. And, these goals are to be God-directed, Holy Spirit-given goals. And, everything you do in word or deed every action this year you ought to ask yourself, Is it expedient? That is, does it help me toward my goal? You see, is it expedient? Does it help me, or does it hinder me? Now, there s nothing wrong with a hundred-pound barbell, but, if I ve got it on my 18

19 shoulder when I m running a hundred-yard dash, I d better throw it away, right? You see, there s nothing wrong with it, as such; there s nothing wrong with a barbell. But, it s not expedient to carry one on your shoulder, if you re running a hundred-yard dash. And, some of the things in your life are wrong, simply because they are a waste of time that s all. They are a drag anchor that keeps you from arriving in God s appointed harbor. So, the first test the first principle for proper practice is this: expediency. And, the question you should ask, before you do this or that, is this: Is it expedient? II. The Principle of Enslavement All right. Number two: There is the principle of enslavement. Look in chapter 6, and verse 12, again; Paul says: All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient; all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any (1 Corinthians 6:12). That is, I am not going to be enslaved by anything. You see, Jesus Christ not only gives us goals, but Jesus Christ came to set us free. We re to be free. And, the Bible says: If the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed (John 8:36). Those who talk the most about freedom are those who have the least of it. It s seems to me, in this day and this age, people are talking about free speech, free sex, free love, and all of that, and they themselves are the slaves of sin. Now, they would deny that if I were to say that to them. They d say, I do what I want to do. That s the reason why he s a slave, you see. Jesus Christ sets us free not to do what we want to do, but to do what we ought to do, you see. He is free to do what he wants, but he s not free to do what he ought. He is free to sin, but he s not free not to sin. Do you understand what I m saying? It is only in Jesus Christ that we become free not to sin. It is only in Jesus Christ that we become free to do what we ought, rather than what we want. It is Jesus Christ who gives us that pure liberty. And, we are not to be enslaved by anybody or anything, and yet, many Christians, who have been set free by the Lord Jesus Christ, can again become entangled, if they fail to abide by it. There are many Christians who are free theoretically, but they are not free practically. There s an old story I heard. During a war and a certain battle, one of the soldiers called to his commander and said, I have taken a prisoner. And, the commander said, Wonderful, bring him with you. And, the soldier said, Well, he won t come. And so, the commander said, Well, leave him, and you come on. He said, He won t let me go. Now, you wonder who has taken who. There are a lot of Christians who are talking about victory in the Lord Jesus Christ, but they themselves seem be enslaved. III. The Principle of Example You want to know whether a thing is right or wrong? You may ask yourself this question: Will this thing enslave me? You d be surprised what some people in this congregation 19

20 may be enslaved by. Some say, I can take a drink, and it doesn t hurt me. Friend, that s a mighty selfish way of looking at it. Did you know that? May I say that again? You say, I can take a drink and it doesn t hurt me. If that s all you re thinking about, you had better read chapter 8, verse 1: love edifies (1 Corinthians 8:1). And, if what you do may cause somebody else to stumble, then what you do is wrong, wrong, wrong. Moderation is not the cure to the liquor problem; it is the cause of it. It is the moderate drinker who can drink and hold his liquor that encourages the one who cannot drink and hold his liquor to drink. And, that s the reason we re in the mess that we re in, because the magazine ads always show the man of distinction, rather than showing the drunk in the gutter. Now, go back to Romans chapter 14, for a moment; just keep one finger there in 1 Corinthians. There s been a lot in the newspaper about social drinking. I m warming up a sermon on it, and you ll just get the front end of it, right now. All right now, look in Romans chapter 14. Look in verse 13. It s not up to us to go around judging other people who may drink. It s not up to us to go around judging other people who may smoke. It s not up to us to go around judging other people who watch the wrong kind of films. Chapter 14, verse 13: Let us not, therefore, judge one another any more oh, but it s not finished yet, watch it but judge this, rather: that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother s way (Romans 14:13). As Christians, it s not our job to go around judging other people; it s our job to judge ourselves, and to see to it that we, as Christians, do nothing that would cause anybody else to stumble. And so, therefore, continue to read in Romans 14, verse 21; just put a big star by it: It is good neither to eat meat, nor to drink wine, nor anything by which thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak (Romans 14:21). Do you see it? The question is not Would it hurt you? The question is Will it hurt somebody else? Will it cause somebody else to stumble? If it will, then the principle is you leave it alone. No man lives unto himself; no man dies unto himself. And, the question that everybody must ask is not only Will it hurt me? Some of you older teenagers you are addicted to rock music, and you say, Well, I love Jesus. And yet, you have in your family a little brother or sister, and all day long they re listening to the records of yours. You say, It doesn t hurt me. I wonder what you may be doing to your brother or sister. I wonder what kind of an influence you may be having on your little brother or your little sister by this so-called liberty of yours in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is time that Christians stop thinking simply of themselves and start thinking of each other. And, you may come to me with a big argument, and you say, Well, I don t see anything wrong with this; I don t see anything wrong with that. Yeah, you re pretty smart: Knowledge puffeth up, but love edifies (1 Corinthians 8:1). Now, had you rather 20

21 be smart or loving? You see, the question that we need to ask before we do anything is What about my example? Would it wound somebody else s conscience? Would it cause somebody else to sin? Would it drag somebody else down? If it would, for their sake then, I d leave it alone. First of all, expediency: Will it help me on my way? Secondly, enslavement: Does it enslave me? Thirdly, example: I can get by with it, but would it cause somebody else to be hurt? Would it cause somebody else to stumble? IV. The Principle of Edification All right, the next principle principle number four: the principle of edification. Look in chapter 10, and verse 23. Paul repeats again: All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient we ve dealt with that. Now, he gives another reason all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not (1 Corinthians 10:23). The test of edification. What does it mean to edify? To edify means to build up. An edifice is a building. You see, by your life, you re either building or tearing down. Everything that you do as a Christian should have a positive influence, or it will have a negative influence. If your word is not a positive word that encourages, it will be an idle word that discourages. Every conversation, every friendship, every joke, every television program, every friendship, should pass this test: Does it edify me? Am I a better person? Am I a stronger person for having done this? Are they better people? Are they stronger people for having done this? You see, there s nothing wrong with entertainment; there s nothing wrong with recreation. We ve got some sourpusses around that are so negative that if they ever get into Heaven, they ll back into Heaven. They think that anytime God sees anybody having fun, He moves in to break up the game. As I told my class, this morning, they think of God as a cosmic killjoy, but God is a good God, and God wants you to have plain, old fun. And, if you re a blue-nosed, blackrobed Puritan, who believes it s wrong to have fun, I m sorry for you, because I m having a glorious time going to Heaven, and a lot of fun. There s nothing wrong with fun; there s nothing wrong with recreation. But, you ought to ask yourself this question: Does this recreation does this entertainment edify? You put a test to your entertainment. Do you know, after you ve had your entertainment, it ought to refresh you; it ought to relax you; and it ought to restore you. You ought to say, Boy, I feel like going to work now; boy, I m happy in the Lord. Where s that Bible? Let me get at it. You see? But, if it just kind of leaves you with a blue feeling and a dark brown taste in your mouth, and you just kind of feel defeated, and you watch some old story, and you say, Oh, man, I feel depressed after watching that, it just didn t edify. You see, a Christian is to be somebody who edifies himself and 21

22 who edifies someone else. That s the reason we call it recreation. Now, I know I ve got some folks some of them are edifiers, and some of them are wreckers. I ve got friends, boy, when I m around them, it s like a breath of fresh air; they just make me feel so good. I can think of several people. Boy, I just can t be around them long before I just want to say, Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! There s just something about them. I ve got other friends they look like an accident going somewhere to happen. I mean, they re like that guy who s got that little cloud over his head everywhere he goes. They re like a drink of water to a drowning man. They re just gloom spreaders and depressive fault-finding people, who do not encourage, who don t edify, and who don t build up. I want to be the kind of a person, who, when somebody is around me and leaves me, they love Jesus just a little more. I want to do the kind of things that will make me a stronger person, a better person. All things don t edify. Now, you can argue long and loud that it may be right or it may be wrong, or, I don t see any harm in this; I don t see any harm in that. But, ask this question: Has it built me up? Has it edified me? If it edifies fine. All things don t edify; all things may be lawful. You may come along like a Philadelphia lawyer, and back me into a corner, and say, There s nothing wrong with this. I just want to know: Does it make you a better person? Does it build you up? Are you stronger in the Lord? If so, praise the Lord! Have at it! V. The Principle of Exaltation All right. Now, the next principle chapter 10, verse 31: Whether, therefore, ye eat, or drink, or whatever ye do, do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). The next principle is the principle of exaltation. Does it exalt the Lord? Does it glorify the Lord? If it glorifies Him, if it exalts Him, you can do it. If it doesn t, you have no business doing it. Isn t that plain? Isn t that simple? Would you do it if Jesus were with you? Well, folks, He is. You know, aren t you glad we don t live in the day and the age, boys and girls, where, when you went on a date, a chaperone went with you? Some dear lady with a face like a hatchet would sit right between you. They called her a chaperone. Well, I want to remind you, if you re saved, you still have a chaperone: His name is the Holy Spirit. And, everywhere you go, He goes. You don t say to the Holy Spirit, Now, Holy Spirit, I m going in here; You ll have to stay outside. You know, a little boy goes to school, he says, Fido, you stay out here; I ll pick you up on the way back out. A little dog can t come in the school. Can you imagine how the Holy Spirit of God must be grieved at some places some Christians go? Can you imagine how the dear Holy Spirit of God must be grieved at some things some Christians do, because those things dishonor the name of Jesus? One of the tests one of the principles that I can ask is Does it exalt Jesus? If Jesus were standing here, in His literal presence, with His literal eyes, and flesh, 22