Understanding Gospel Ministry: The Condition of the Perishing

By Robb Brunansky

Published April 24, 2025

As we continue with our study of 1 Corinthians, we see the apostle Paul explaining his philosophy of ministry, telling readers how and why he does ministry.

The Corinthians had lost sight of the centrality of the cross. To battle the conflict that had engulfed that church over a man-centered view of ministry, Paul had to remind the Corinthians to put the word of the cross back at the center of their ministry.

Paul first notes the content of the preaching, which should be cross-centered and focused on the gospel of Jesus Christ. Without the cross, there is no gospel, no salvation, no forgiveness, and no eternal life for sinners.

Next, in verse 18, Paul highlights the condition of the perishing.

The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. Unbelievers have not rejected the gospel message because Christians are bad examples of Christ (although this is sometimes true and definitely wielded as an excuse). Rather, unbelievers reject the gospel because they think it is moronic, foolish, unnecessary, useless, and fictional.

Thoughts about the unconverted drive every philosophy of ministry. Most churches have a fundamental misunderstanding of the condition of the perishing. Those churches believe people can be won to Christ by appealing to something these men, women, or children already have within themselves. The length of the sermon, style of music, lighting, effects, illustrations, and everything else in the church service is essentially determined by what may appeal or speak to those who are perishing.

Now, let me reiterate that most churches operating within this philosophy of ministry have the right desire to see people saved. However, the problem with this methodology is that God has charged us, not only to preach a certain message, but to do so using a certain method. Our desire in ministry should always be faithfulness, and a central key to being faithful is to recognize and accept what the Bible says about the condition of the perishing.

Those who are perishing find the gospel to be folly, foolishness, and stupidity. There are, at least, seven reasons why those who are perishing find the gospel to be foolishness.

First, the perishing are spiritually blind.

We see this reality throughout the New Testament, where our Lord frequently described those offended by His preaching as blind. In Matthew 15:14, Jesus said that the Pharisees – and those who followed those religious leaders and rejected Christ – were blind. False religion, whether it is of the organized sort or whether it masquerades as no religion at all, is nothing more than the blind leading the blind.

In John 3, Jesus tells Nicodemus that unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Notice that unbelievers cannot even see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. This is evident today, as many men and women are completely caught up in the kingdoms of the world. Politics is the religion of many Americans, who scramble and grasp for power. They worship this power because they cannot see there is a greater kingdom that will devastate all those on earth when Christ returns, and that Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. They are spiritually blind, so they live lives totally oblivious to the spiritual kingdom that is infinitely more important than any earthly political power.

Second, the perishing are spiritually dead.

Paul, in Ephesians 2:1, reminds believers that we were dead in our trespasses and sins before we were saved by grace through faith. The idea of being dead in our trespasses and sins contrasts with the position of the Christian who is alive in Christ. For the believer, Christ defines us because we are in Jesus. For the unbeliever, his sinfulness marks, defines, and identifies him. In that sinfulness, the unbeliever is spiritually dead.

Third, the perishing are slaves of the devil.

The great lie of Satan, which he often uses to blind the perishing to the truth of the gospel, is that this good news will take away their freedom. For the world, freedom means being able to do whatever evil desires one has. When Christians point out the sinful nature of these inclinations, the devil uses that truth to deceive the unconverted into thinking that believers are enslaved, not them.

In 2 Timothy 2:24-26, we see the unbeliever is not doing what he wants but is being held captive to do the devil’s will. There is a sense, of course, in which unbelievers want to do evil things because they are spiritually blind and dead, but they are not acting as people who are free – even if they sin willfully. They are not living lives of unrestrained liberty and freedom, joyfully pursuing what is good and pleasant. No, the devil’s lie is that the sinner is really free to do anything he wants, when the sinner is in actuality doing the devil’s bidding.

Fourth, the perishing are slaves of sin.

Jesus said in John 8:34 that people sin because they are enslaved to it. Those who sin apart from Christ are under the dominion of sin, which rules the lives of the perishing and determines their choices, desires, and actions. Not only are these individuals doing the devil’s will, but they are also doing the will of sin.

Fifth, the perishing are children of wrath.

Paul asserts this fact in Ephesians 2:3 about our pre-converted nature, which speaks to something that is inescapably true: when one is something by nature, he is that way because he was born that way – and there is nothing he can do to change it. We are children of wrath because we were born sinners and will remain apart from Christ. The destination of all unregenerated children of wrath is eternal destruction in the lake of fire.

It is vital, then, to understand the nature of those who are perishing. They are not good people who do bad things. They are wicked people who do wicked things. They are born opposing the gospel of Jesus Christ, thinking that it is foolishness. Finding the gospel foolish is not learned behavior; it is natural behavior and how the natural man thinks in his unconverted state.

Sixth, the perishing are unable to please God.

The unbeliever is not merely unwilling to please God, but he is unable to please God. In Romans 8:6-8, Paul bluntly states that the unbeliever does not submit to God’s law nor have any interest in obeying His commandments. Paul is not saying that the unbeliever does not grasp the commands of God and cannot obey because of an intellectual or physical deficiency, but that the unconverted has no moral ability, whatsoever, to obey and to please God – this is the doctrine of total inability.

Finally, the perishing hate God.

In Colossians 1:21, Paul speaks of Christians before they came to know God to help readers understand the nature of the unbeliever. We hated God in our minds. Our thinking was opposed to God, and the entire orientation of our lives was hostile toward God, His will, and His ways.

Hatred of God, Christ, and the gospel is why countless Christians throughout history have been persecuted and martyred for simply sharing the good news of the word of the cross. The condition of those who are perishing is that they are hostile toward God, and so when they hear the gospel, they discern something that sounds moronic and foolish – so foolish, stupid, and offensive that many people, including Paul, who preached the message of the cross, were killed for it.

These seven attributes comprise the condition of the perishing. No movie, sporting event, barbeque, comedian, lighting, stage effects, manipulation, or gimmick can change the hearts of those who are perishing so that they find the gospel to be wisdom from God. The word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, not due to a lack of saving power with the gospel, but because the sinful heart of the unbeliever is by nature opposed to Christ and His message.

If this is the condition of the perishing, is there any hope for them?

Yes, there is hope. All who love Christ were once among the perishing. Now, however, we are being saved by the power of the word of the cross and the gospel of Jesus Christ. The word of the cross – alone –opens the eyes of the blind and raises the spiritually dead to life, sets the captives of sin and Satan free, transforms a child of wrath into a child of God, transforms a heart from being unable to please God to living for the glory of God, and changes a person who hates God into a person who loves God.

Praise God for the power of the word of the cross.