Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. Paul made it very plain that
the only circumcision which was acceptable in the sight of God
was a circumcision of the heart and not the flesh. For he is
not a Jew which is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision
which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew which is one
inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart in the spirit
and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men but of God.
Any sort of reliance which a man has in his own self or ability
is an affront to the grace of God and a path of sure destruction
for those who traverse it. The basis upon which the sons
of God expect to stand before the face of Almighty God is completely
devoid of any human endeavor, and that faith which they confess
and stand in rests wholly upon the finished work of Christ as
their substitute atonement and present righteousness. The preaching
of the cross is offensive to all men who view themselves as
able to perform some deed or act of obedience, which will
cause them to gain some favor with God. Circumcision was that
act for many Jews, even after they had professed faith in Christ.
Being circumcised was to them the ultimate test of whether
or not one was obedient to God, and therefore was a sign of their
acceptance with Him. In doing so, they disregarded
the all-sufficiency of the blood of Christ. They were not opposed
to the preaching of the fact that Christ died on the cross
or was raised from the dead. Rather, their despising of the
preaching of the cross lay in their denial that Christ actually
obtained eternal redemption for His elect by His death, leaving
nothing which they could do to gain acceptance with God. While
these Jews held on to circumcision as a necessity, the same scenario
is played out among the Gentiles in the present day, as there
are numerous points of obedience which various sects and orders
of those who call themselves Christians hold on to as being
necessary acts on the part of man, which make a man acceptable
in the sight of God. It may be water baptism to some,
a profession of faith to others, speaking in tongues, or a general
outward keeping of the Ten Commandments, most especially the Sabbath day.
the adoption of a particular doctrinal order, etc., etc. Whatever
a man considers as a necessity to his salvation is that upon
which he will trust and find a reliance in even if he labels
such as mere evidences or results. The majority of those in our
communities here in the South would embrace the notion that
Jesus Christ of Nazareth hung upon a cruel instrument of torture
and execution commonly referred to as a cross. There is, in reality,
quite a bit of mention made concerning those facts on the radio and
TV, as well as in newspapers and other publications. The publishing
and proclaiming of these facts is an offense to relatively few.
Yet the preaching of the cross, of which Paul refers, is very
offensive to most of the religious societies. which teach that the
action of faith on the part of man is just as important to their
salvation as the work which Christ performed on Calvary's tree.
In fact, it is quite common for salvation to be described by
them as having two parts, one being God's part, where Jesus
died on the cross for everyone, hoping that some would receive
him, and the other being man's part, where he must acknowledge
and believe what Christ did by water baptism or simple confession
of faith, et cetera, and therefore make salvation effectual. The
true preaching of the cross only has one part. It is the declaration
that Jesus Christ did offer up himself as an atonement for the
sins of his people. It is the declaration that he
shed his precious blood to purchase their eternal redemption. It
is the statement that in no uncertain terms he has obtained eternal
redemption for everyone for whom he shed his blood. Nothing needs
to be added, nor can be. He is the salvation of His people
whom He has loved with an everlasting love. The preaching of the cross
is a declaration that Jesus Christ alone is the Savior of His people.
There are really only three scenarios which can be presented to the
reason of men concerning the work of Christ on the cross.
Number one is by His death He paid for the sins of all men
and therefore all men are saved. This is called universalism.
Number two is by his death, he made salvation a possibility
for all men, but he actually procured the salvation of none,
leaving their salvation up to their own free will. This is
called modern evangelicalism. Number three, by his death, he
actually paid the sin debt of the people which he chose before
the foundation of the world by becoming their substitute and
dying in their room instead, being made sin for them. This
is called the offense of the cross. While it is offensive
to those who go about to establish their own righteousness, it is
the sweet sound of deliverance to those who know themselves
to be lost and undone sinners. For the preaching of the cross
is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it
is the power of God. But God forbid that I should
glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at forthepoor at windstream.net.