Oh, that was such a blessing.
Thank you for that, Solomon. Would you turn back to Galatians
chapter 6? I've entitled this message, The
Believer's Rule of Life. Now, let me say at the outset
that this is authoritative. from the word of God, the believers
rule of life. This isn't what some denomination
thinks or what some preacher thinks. This is what the word
of God declares in no uncertain terms. This is a very important
message. The believers rule of life. Look in verse 16, once again
of Galatians chapter six, and as many as walk according
to this rule. Peace be on men and mercy and
upon the Israel of God. As many as walk according to
this rule. Now the word walk in our text
is found five times in the Old Testament, I mean, the New Testament,
and once it's actually translated walking orderly. Your walk is
your life, the direction you are going. As many as walk according to
this rule, Now, the word rule is where we get the word canon
from. Perhaps you've heard of the canon
of the scripture. A ruler, a measuring rod. All things are measured by what
the scripture says. Don't ever miss that. All things
are measured by what the scripture says. If it's according to the
scripture, it's true. If it's not according to the
scripture, it's false. The canon of scripture means
the measuring rod of the scripture. All things are measured by the
scripture. And let me also say this, the
canon is closed. There are no new revelations. the rule, the canon of scripture. The rod we measure by, our limit,
we can't go beyond this boundary. As many as walk according to
this rule. And I like the phrase, as many
as. All who walk by this rule, and
may I say that every believer does, And there's not one unbeliever
who walks according to this rule. And these people, look what it
says, as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them. The only people who have peace
with God are the people who walk according to this rule. The blood
of Christ, purchase their peace, and this is the peace of God
being satisfied with what Christ has done. Now, the only place
you and I will ever find peace is being peaceful with what Christ
has done. He satisfied God. God's not looking
for anything else. God's not expecting anything
else. He's perfectly satisfied with what his son has done. And
you know what? I am too. That's my peace. He made my peace with God. And
notice he also says, as many as walk according to this rule,
peace be on them and mercy. The only people who have obtained
God's mercy, the evidence of it is they walk according to
this rule. If you don't walk according to this rule, you've
never had the mercy of God. But all who walk according to
this rule, they have experienced the mercy of God. That's why
they walk according to this rule. And as many as walk according
to this rule, peace be on them and mercy and upon the Israel
of God. Now this is the Israel of God. This is the true Jew. Forget
that nation in the Middle East that they call Israel. Israel
is every believer, every true Jew. This is the true Jew, the
one who walks according to this rule. Now, if you ask the average
person, what is the believer's rule of life? They would probably
say the Ten Commandments. I mean, that's a guide to live
by. Try to measure up to the Ten
Commandments. And I love the Ten Commandments.
I would never speak disrespectfully of the Ten Commandments. And
I think that's exactly what Paul meant when he said, I delight
in the law of God after the inward man. We love the Ten Commandments. And the reason we love the Ten
Commandments is we don't have anything to fear. I've kept the
law. I've kept the Ten Commandments. When Christ kept the Ten Commandments,
I did too. But saying the Ten Commandments are the rule of
the believer's life is not what the scripture says. As a matter
of fact, all God's law does is expose sin. That's all it does. That's all it was meant to do,
to expose sin. We know that whatsoever things
the law saith, and saith to them that are under the law, that
every mouth may be stopped, and all the world become guilty before
God. Now, I love God's law, but to
call the law a rule of life, if that's the case, I mean, you're
in big trouble, because we haven't kept one commandment one time. And if you think you have kept
one commandment one time, You expose that you really are completely
ignorant of the law of God and the holiness of God and your
own sinfulness. Now, the law of God is not, I repeat, the
law of God is not the rule of the believer's life. It exposes
sin. That's all it was ever meant
to do. And let me emphasize once again, I do not speak in any
disrespect for the holy law of God. I love it. And I've kept
it in Christ. And the only way you can honor
the law of God is by looking to Christ only as your only righteousness
before God. If you look any other direction,
you're dishonoring the law of God and you're showing that you
have no true respect for the law of God. But what is this rule that he's
speaking of? As many as walk according to
this rule. Well, look in the previous verse.
For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision avails anything
nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. Now in Christ Jesus,
there's no more important statement in the word of God than that
in Christ Jesus. This speaks of union with the
Lord Jesus Christ, being in the Lord Jesus Christ. Like Paul
said in Philippians chapter three, verse nine, oh, that I may win
Christ and be found in him. And let me tell you exactly what
that means. That means when God comes looking
for me, the only place I want to be found is in Christ, where
all God sees is Jesus Christ. That's it. In Christ Jesus, neither circumcision
avails anything nor uncircumcision. You know what that means? That
means what you do or don't do has no bearing on your standing
before God. I'm circumcised. Big deal. What's that gonna do for you?
Well, I don't, I'm not circumcised. Big deal. What's that do for
you? You see in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision
avails with God, but a new creation. Now, let's think of this concept
of creation. When God created the universe,
how much help did he have? How much did you have to do with
that? in the new creation, regeneration,
the new birth. How much did you help God in
that? Why, you didn't help at all. This is his work. We are his workmanship, created. There's the word, created in
Christ Jesus. unto good works which God hath
before ordained that we should walk in them. Now, this thing of being a new creature
in Christ Jesus is not a cooperative effort between God and men. And anything outside of this
is not walking according to this rule. the very notion of free will. And what do I mean by free will?
Everybody does what they want to do, right? You do what you
want to do. You can't blame God's sovereignty
if you sin. You do what you want to do. Everybody
does exactly what they want to do. When we talk about free will,
it's not saying people don't do what they want to do. But
the idea that man's will is free and it's up to his free will
to accept what Christ did, that's contrary to the scriptures. That's
saying man's will is independent of God's will. God's will is
sovereign and totally, completely in control over man's free will. There's no such thing as free
will. And if I speak of free will, I'm saying I'm not walking
according to this rule. But this rule is actually stated
in verse 14. I'm sure verse 15 is a part of
this, but here's the rule of the believer's life. If you want
to know what the rule of the believer's life, what the Bible
says, the rule of the believer's life, here it is. Verse 14. 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. Now there is no stronger negation
than this. God forbid. May it never be so. God forbid that I should glory
save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Notice it doesn't
say by which, but by whom. By whom? I'm crucified to the
world. The world's not impressed with
me. And I'm not impressed with the world. The world's crucified
unto me and I to the world. Now, this is our rule. This is
our law. This is our standard of measurement. Glorying only in the cross. That is the believer's rule of
life. You find me somebody that glories
only in the cross, I'm not worried about them, they're gonna be
fine. They're gonna be fine. They're walking according to
the rule. Now, I love the way Paul states
this. God forbid that I should glory
save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is personal.
It's personal. He's the Lord. That means he's
the one whose will is always done. He's never frustrated. His will's never thwarted. He
never thinks, well, this is not what I want to happen. No, he's
in absolute control because he's the Lord. He's the Lord of creation. He's the Lord of providence.
Everything that happens is his will being done. Most especially,
he's the Lord of salvation. The leper understood this, Lord,
if you will, if you will, you can make me clean. He's the Lord. He's Jesus. Thou shalt call his
name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. He's
the Christ. He's God's anointed. He is the
Word of God. He's God's anointed priest. If
he brings you into God's presence, you must be saved. He's God's
king. He's the one whose will is done. And none of this, our Lord Jesus
Christ, is understood apart from the cross. God forbid that I
should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. We glory, we boast, we rejoice,
we have confidence in only the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. And that's our role of life.
Simple, isn't it? Very simple. You know, Paul was
used by Christ more than any other man to expound the gospel.
He wrote 13 books in the Bible. He established churches. He was
actually the chief apostle. And he said, God forbid that
I glory in any of that. He was brought into the third
heavens and taught the gospel by Christ directly. And he said,
God forbid that I should glory in that. There's only one thing
I glory in. the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. All of those who walk according
to this rule are the only ones who have true peace. They're
the only ones who have experienced God's mercy. They are the true
Israel of God. Those who glory in the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, what do you and I know about
glorying in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, by the
cross, I don't merely mean that wood upon which he was nailed. And I think this is interesting.
The cross was never known as this until the third century. You know, a pole with a one,
that was never even known in the third century. The cross
was a pole. That's all it was, was a straight
tree, a pole that the Lord was laid upon and nailed to. And
I think it's kind of ironic how people use this so much. And it's such an idol. It's such
an idol. And you know, people think this
shows my faith and all that kind of stuff. And maybe people don't
realize what they're doing, but it's an idol that was a symbol
of Chaldean religion. And it was never even used or
known into the third century. Constantine had the vision of
the cross, you know, and that's pretty much when the state adopted
Christianity, that's when things really started going south as
far as So I'm not talking about this. He was nailed to a pole. But here's what we're talking
about when we talk about the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We're talking about who died. Why he died. Who he died for. and what he actually accomplished
by that death. That's what we're talking about
when we talk about the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
Paul said, God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Now, here's the most important
point. Well, they're all most important
points, but this is where we got to begin. Who died? This is what makes meaning to
everything. Who died? I love the way Paul
said, who is he that condemned? It's Christ that died. Nothing else needs to be said.
Who died? Let me tell you who died. Who
died is the Son of God, the God-Man, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Second
Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Creator of the universe,
the Word of God. That's who died. The Lord Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, the Creator, equal with the Father. That's
who died. What good would it do you if
the scripture says, it's Todd that died. Think how stupid that is. It's
Todd, big deal. That's what you ought to do,
die. It's Todd, that doesn't get it, does it? You put any
human being, it's so-and-so that died. Meaningless, but it's Christ
that died. It's who he is that makes what
he did effectual. Why did he die? That's the second
question when we're talking about the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Who died? Second question, why did he die? Well, here's the
first answer to that, because God purposed it. He is the lamb
slain from the foundation of the world, according to Revelation
13, 8. And the word slain is in the perfect tense, a completed
action. God made the universe for the
cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. God ordained the fall because
there was a lamb slain before any man was ever created. Why did he die? For the glory
of God. Father, the hour has come. Glorify thy son that thy son
also might glorify thee. Jesus Christ died for the glory
of God. attribute of God is displayed,
honored, and glorified in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ
on the cross. All that God is, is revealed
in that bloody death, His justice, His sovereignty, His holiness,
His love, His immutability, His grace. Whatever you want, whatever
God is pleased to reveal about himself, he's revealed through
the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Why did he die? He died to save
his people from their sins. Matthew 1 21 says, thou shall
call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins. Why did he die? Because the wages
of sin is death. God's just. God will not let
sin go unpunished. My sin became his sin. He became guilty of that sin
and God smote him and put him to death, dying what I deserved. My sin became his sin. For he
hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might
be made the righteousness of God in him. But his death accomplished
what only his death could do, complete satisfaction to God. You know, that's why he never
went through the process of decay. You know, as soon as we die,
we'll start rotting and decaying and before long we'll smell real
bad. Never happened with him. You know why? Because his death
completely satisfied God. And beloved, I'm satisfied with
that. Third question, first, who died? Second question, why did he die? Third question, for whom did
he die? Now, please listen real carefully. For whom did he die? Well, let me answer that scripturally.
For the elect, for his sheep, Those the Father gave him from
the foundation of the world, his church. Now, understand this. Understand this. Jesus Christ
did not die for all men without exception. If he did, all men
without exception would be saved. It is impossible for him to die
for somebody and that person not be saved. Now, does somebody
think, well, I'm afraid that's excluding me. I don't feel very
comfortable with this. Well, he died for the elect.
He died for his sheep. He died for the church. He died
for his bride. Listen to this, he died for sinners. He died for sinners. Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners. When we were yet without strength,
In due time, Christ died for the ungodly. If you're without
strength and ungodly, listen to me, Christ died for you. Everything's fine. Most believe that he died for
all men without exception. And if that were true, let me
tell you three things. If that's true, that he died
for all men without exception, and not all men are saved, number
one, he's a failure. If he intended to save somebody
and they're not saved, he failed. He failed. Secondly, if he died
for somebody and they wind up not being saved, God's not just. That means he is requiring two
payments for sin. First, that sin's paid for, and
then you gotta pay for it in hell. And thirdly, that means
it's not the blood of Christ that accomplished salvation,
but something you do. Now that's the monstrosity of this thing
of saying that Christ made salvation available and possible for all
men. No, he didn't. He saved his people. And don't
anybody say, well, I'm afraid that cuts me out. If you're a
sinner, it's for you. If you're not a sinner, you don't
need him in the first place. But if you're a sinner, oh, this
is for you. Now, Fourth question, what did
he accomplish by his death? Who died? Why did he die? Who did he die for? And what
did he actually accomplish by this death? When he bowed his head on Calvary's
tree, he said, is finished. You know what that means? My salvation, my acceptance before
God was finished by what Christ Jesus did on Calvary street.
It's finished. I love it there in Luke chapter
nine, when the Lord has transfigured before the disciples and they
see him shine like the sun and Moses and Elijah are sitting
there or standing there or whatever they are talking with him. And
you know what the scripture says in Luke 9 31 they were talking
about? They spake of the decease which he should accomplish. You see, his death was an accomplishment. It was the accomplishment of
the salvation of everybody he died for. Now, this is the rule
of scripture. No scripture is understood apart
from the cross. Now, do you hear that? No scripture
is understood apart from the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The seed of woman crushing the serpent's head while
the serpent bruises the heel of the seed of woman. All that is, is the cross. That's
all it is. When Abel brings that blood sacrifice
and God respects him, All that is is the cross. What about the
great day of atonement? All that is is the cross. The
scapegoat, all that is is the cross. The Passover, when I see
the blood, I will pass over you. All that is is the cross. Every
story in the scripture can only be interpreted in light of the
cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. And if I don't see it in that
light, I don't understand it at all. There's no doctrine of
the scripture understood apart from the cross and any understanding
we have that would leave us glorying in something other than only
glorying in the cross is antichrist. It has the stench of death. The cross of Christ is all we
glory. Let me show you this in the scripture. Will you turn
with me to Romans eight. Romans chapter eight, verse 31. What should we then say to these
things? What he'd been saying in verses 29 through 30, the
accomplishments of the cross, for whom he did foreknow, he
also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom
he did predestinate, whom he also called, Whom he called,
whom he also justified. Whom he justified, whom he also
glorified. Now this was all accomplished
by what Christ did on Calvary Street as the Lamb slain from
the foundation of the world. Now what do we say to this? If
God be for us, who can be against us? There's nothing to intimidate
me, nothing to be afraid of, except God himself, the fear
of the Lord. But there's nothing, absolutely nothing to intimidate
me. Don't be intimidated by religious
people that try to put on the way they do. Let's go on reading
verse 32. He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not? What could
possibly prevent him from freely giving us all things? There's nothing you can do that
will prevent God from freely giving you all things. Now that's
what it is to glory in the cross. You're glorying only in the cross.
Go on reading. Verse 33, who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. You
see, there's nothing that can even, because of the cross of
the Lord Jesus Christ, there's nothing that can be laid to your
charge. You stand before God's holy law
without guilt. Perfect in Christ Jesus. Verse
34, who is he that condemneth? Come on. Paul's issuing a challenge. Who is he that can condemn? It's
Christ that died. What else needs to be said? Yea,
rather, that's risen again, who is even at the right hand of
God, who shall separate us from the love of Christ. There's no
separation. Now, that's what it is to glory in the cross.
God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ. What can wash away my sin? Nothing
but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus. For my pardon, this I say, nothing
but the blood of Jesus. For my cleansing, this my plea,
nothing but the blood of Jesus. Nothing can for sin atone. Nothing
but the blood of Jesus. Not of good that I have done.
Nothing but the blood of Jesus. This is all my hope and peace. Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
This is all my righteousness. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is that flow. That
makes me white as snow. No other fount I know, nothing
but the blood of Jesus. And let me wrap this up. The
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is our only message. Now, I wish I could emphasize
this the way I ought to emphasize it. It's our only message. Paul said, God sent me not to
baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest
the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. We only
preach the cross of Christ. We don't have any other subject.
What about Paul said, I determined not to know anything among you. save Jesus Christ and him crucified. And let me say this to you. If
you want to hear something else, it's because you've never heard
the, seen the glory of the cross. If you ever see the glory of
the cross, that's all you'll want to hear. It's all Paul wanted
to preach. I love what Chris Cunningham
said, uh, uh, at that cross full conference. He said, we're with
regard to every message I preach, wherever it is from the scriptures.
If I can't call it Jesus Christ and him crucified, I need to
get rid of it. I love what Charles Spurgeon said. If we limited
our preaching to nothing but the cross, it would be a widening
rather than a narrowing of our ministry. That's the truth. Oh, there's such glory in the
cross. The whole counsel of God is the cross of the Lord Jesus
Christ. It's Christ crucified that is
the drawing power of the gospel. I love what the Lord said, and
I, if I be lifted up. And he's talking about the cross
because the next verse says this signified what death he would
die, talking about the Roman crucifixion. If I, if I be lifted
up, we'll draw all men to me. The whole, the word anthropos
or man in the Greek, he said, I'll draw the whole to me. And
here's, here's what this means. Sinners are drawn to this message.
Every sinner is drawn to this message, irresistibly, invincibly
drawn. Paul said, Christ sent me not
to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words. And what that's talking about
is trying to dress the cross up, to make it more attractive
to the natural man, to keep from offending the natural man. Paul said, if I preach circumcision,
then it's the offense of the cross ceased. Now the message
of the cross is offensive to the natural man. It's offensive
to his pride. So you're a sinner. It's offensive
to his sense of personal rights. You don't have any rights. You
forfeit them by your sin. It's offensive to his wisdom.
You can't figure this out. You're totally dependent upon
God for revelation. It's offensive to his love of
self because we're called upon to deny self. Take up our cross
and follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, following this sense of this
rule, God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of the
Lord Jesus Christ, is the only thing that truly creates true
consecration to the Lord. Now, when Paul was exhorting
the Corinthians to give, what argument did he use? If you don't give, God will get
it somewhere else. You'll probably have a car wreck,
and you'll lose money from that, or you'll get sick. God might
take it out in a coffin. If you don't give, you're not
being obedient. No, he said, you know the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your
sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might be
rich. That's all that moves of a leader. What is our rule of life? God forbid that I should glory
save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Lord, we ask in Christ's name
that you would enable by your grace each person in this room
to glory only in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. In his name we pray, amen.