God saves through the simple preaching of the cross, not through human effort, signs, or religious rituals.
According to 1 Corinthians 1:18, the cross is God's power to those who are saved. Les Feldick teaches that this power must be released by believing the gospel, and God uses ordinary human messengers to bring people to faith.
1 Corinthians 1:18 — Shows that the cross is God's chosen instrument of salvation, even though the world sees it as foolishness.
Romans 1:16 — Declares that the gospel itself is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.
Romans 10:14 — Demonstrates that God uses human preachers to bring the message so people can believe and call on Him.
The Bible teaches that God's saving power does not depend on human wisdom or spectacular signs. In 1 Corinthians 1:18, Paul shows that the message of the cross appears foolish to the lost but is actually God's power to the saved. Romans 1:16 echoes this, calling the gospel the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. Romans 10:14 demonstrates that God uses human preachers to carry the message. Romans 4:5 adds that God justifies the ungodly who believe, not those who work. Thus, Scripture consistently points to the simple message of the cross as the unexpected means God uses.
Les Feldick emphasizes that salvation is entirely an act of God's sovereign power. He often turns to 1 Corinthians 1:18 to show that the cross is not a weak message but the very power of God. Les stresses that humans cannot work for or earn salvation; they simply release God's power by believing the gospel. He also notes that God has chosen human beings to spread the Word, so people rarely get saved alone. Finally, Les teaches that God only saves those who admit they are ungodly and cry out for mercy, referencing Paul's statement about justification in Romans 4:5.
Scripture and Les Feldick both explain that the cross is God's unexpected power source. People may expect signs and miracles, but God chose a crucified Savior. The world sees it as foolishness, yet to believers it is the very power of God. Les illustrates that this power is so great that it exceeds the power used to create the universe. It cannot be earned or merited; it is released only through believing the gospel.
Les Feldick points out that God could have left the work to angels, but He deliberately chose human beings to promote His salvation. Paul asks in Romans 10:14 how people will call on the Lord without a preacher. Les says he has rarely met anyone who found salvation completely alone; God arranges for another person to share His Word.
Les Feldick is emphatic that good works, baptism, communion, church membership, and tithing have nothing to do with salvation. He points to Paul's statement in 1 Corinthians 1:18 that the preaching of the cross is the power of God. Salvation is not participating in religious activities; it is trusting the gospel completely and entrusting one's eternal destiny to God.
According to Les Feldick, God saves the ungodly. The only person God can save is one who recognizes his own ungodliness and cries out in desperation for mercy. Paul writes in Romans 4:5 that God justifies the ungodly who believe. Les illustrates this with a man who hit rock bottom and finally prayed, 'God, if You're out there, save me.'
Old Testament Miracles and Signs
still supreme. But all right, now all you have to do is just follow Israel throughout all her hundreds of years of history. Over and over, God did the supernatural. The one that comes to mind first, you remember Elijah up there on Mount Carmel? And he was confronting the prophets of Baal, and Israel was at a crossroads.
The Power of God in Salvation
Now read on, "...but unto us who are saved," and remember we're precious few anymore, "...but unto us who are saved it," that is the preaching of the cross, or the preaching of the Gospel, "...unto us who are saved it is the power of God." I like to put it this way. It took greater amounts of God's power to save this old sinner than it did to create the universe.
Sovereign Power in Salvation
He has paid the sin debt, He has suffered our punishment, and He has opened the windows of heaven if we�ll just believe it, even though it happened 2,000 years ago. So the preaching of the cross is to them that perish, foolishness, but unto us who are saved, it is the power of God. Now you see salvation has to be an exercise of the sovereign power of an Almighty God.
Human Messengers of Salvation
Now as you come into verse 14, how shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? Now as we come through these succeeding verses, I want you to realize something. God has ordained from the beginning of the human race that He will use human beings to promote His salvation, whether it was in the Old Testament or whether it's in the New.
God Justifies the Ungodly
But to him that does not work, but—what's the next word again? Believeth. See that? But believeth on him who justifies what kind of people. Oh, that shocks people. I can always think years back of one man in particular who had just literally hit the skids and he had gotten down to the bottom where he was, as he termed it himself, ungodly.
No Works, Just Believe
But to us who are saved, the Gospel, the preaching of the Cross, isn�t just a ticket to Heaven, it�s the power of God. Now I can�t emphasize that enough, because this flies in the face of Reformers. This flies into the face of the good works people. I had a letter just yesterday almost screaming at me. I mean it was so ridiculous I didn�t even bother to finish it.
Preaching the Cross as Power
But I Corinthians 1, verse 18, verses that I like to use over and over because they are so simplistic, and yet they say everything that needs to be said. I Corinthians 1, verse 18. All there? For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish, to lost people, it's what? Foolishness.
Faith Alone, Not Rituals
It is the power of God unto salvation to everyone, and here's where I always get people's attention hopefully. It doesn't say that it joins the Church, gets baptized, takes communion, tithes, does good works. See none of those things are in here. Now they're all right in their rightful place, but they have nothing to do with our salvation. But the power of God is in nature.
1 Corinthians 1:18: For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
Paul explains that the cross is God's power, though the world considers it foolish.
Romans 1:16: For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
Paul declares the gospel is God's saving power for everyone who believes.
Romans 10:14: How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
Shows that human preachers are essential in God's plan of salvation.
Romans 4:5: But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
Reveals that God saves the ungodly who stop working and simply believe.
In the Old Testament, God used miracles to gain Israel's attention. Today, Les Feldick emphasizes that the gospel itself is the power of God. Even a simple message about Christ's death and resurrection can save a person without any spectacular sign.
No. Les Feldick teaches that rituals and good works have no saving power. Only the gospel, believed from the heart, brings salvation.
No. God saves the ungodly. Les Feldick says the only person God can save is the one who admits he or she is ungodly and cries out to God for mercy.
Watch the Teaching: Why the Cross Is Foolishness to the World — 1 Corinthians 1:18-25