THE CROSS OF CHRIST

GALATIANS 4:1

A. "BUT GOD FORBID THAT I SHOULD GLORY, SAVE IN THE CROSS OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, BY WHOM THE WORLD IS CRUCIFIED UNTO ME, AND I UNTO THE WORLD."
  1. By the cross of Christ is not meant the mere wood on which He was crucified:
    1. It is superstition, and not piety, which is strengthened by handling and contemplating on a crucifix.
    2. There is no precedent in the Bible for using or venerating the sign of the cross.
  2. By the cross of Christ, the apostle refers to the suffering and death of the Redeemer, the death by which the atonement was made:
    1. To glory in the cross means to delight in its achievement.
    2. To make it our boast.
B. LET US NOTE, BRIEFLY, THE THINGS HIGHLY ESTEEMED BY OTHERS, AND DESPISED BY PAUL
  1. The Jews boasted that they were the children of Abraham- John 8:39; but what good did that do to them? - John 8:44
    1. Many glory in pious ancestors, but unless they will do the work of the ancestors, no good can come to them.
    2. People will call themselves Christians, but unless they live a Christian life, the name itself has no value to them - Rev. 3:1-3
    3. The Pharisees boasted to be far above the common people, yet read what the Son of God says about them - Matt. 23:13-27
    4. Some men boast of their learning. Paul ranks high among the educated, but he did not glory in his learning, but he gloried in the cross of Christ.
  2. What was treated with great contempt was the object of Paul's glory:
    1. The person and rank of Christ were contemptible.
    2. That was true, also, of his doctrine, humility and mercy.
    3. His condescension was to minister unto others, and not be ministered unto; that was looked upon with great disdain.
    4. The gospel of Jesus Christ was thought of as foolishness.
    5. But most of all, the cross was a mark of great shame unto the world.
C. THE APOSTLE PAUL HAD THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE REASON FOR GLORYING IN THE CROSS OF CHRIST.
  1. By the cross of Christ was the curse that had rested upon the world removed:
    1. This is the very heart of the plan of redemption - Gal. 3:13; Gen. 3:19, 20
    2. God sent his Son, not to condemn the world but to save it - John 3:16, 17
    3. But how did he redeem the world through the death of the cross?
  2. All blessings of the gospel flow from the cross of Calvary:
    1. Pardon - Col. 1:18
    2. Peace - Col. 1:20, 21; Rom. 5:1; Eph. 2:14-16
    3. Sanctification - Heb. 13:12
  3. The cross of Christ furnishes us with our only right to pray to God: Eph. 2:14-17
  4. The cross of Christ is the only real incentive to live and die for God: Gal. 2:20
  5. The cross of Christ is the only constraining power to love others and, if need be, die for them:
  6. The cross of Christ is the great instrument of the believers' triumph:
  7. The gospel of the cross of Christ forms the background to a new world:
  8. My prayerful appeal:
    1. Have you, dear friend, experienced the influence and power of the gospel of Jesus Christ?
    2. Can you show some tangible evidence in your life of the influence of the cross of Christ? Gal. 6:17
    3. Has it made you hate sin and love righteousness? Unless that is your experience, you must obtain a deeper knowledge of the meaning of the cross of Christ.


Design © John Bryant 2011