You're looking at verses 12 through
verse 14, but my text will be found in verse 14. And I've entitled this message,
The Cross. The Cross, my glory and my theme. The Cross, my glory and my theme. Galatians 6 and verse 12, the
apostle says, as many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh. These are those Judaizers, those
legalists, those pretenders. They constrain you to be circumcised
only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of
Christ. For neither they themselves who
are circumcised keep the law, but desire to have you circumcised
that they may glory in your flesh. But God forbid that I should
glory, say in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the
world is crucified unto me and I unto the world. cross Christ, my glory and my
theme. That's my subject tonight. Now the Apostle Paul starts out
in verse 11, just above this, informing them that this letter
that he has written, this letter of Galatians that he has written,
he wants them to understand it was written by his own hand.
This wasn't done by someone else. This wasn't done by him speaking
to someone. But this was done of his own
hand, and this shows his love. That he himself was so moved
by their trouble, by their condition, that he himself had penned this
letter. And so then, with this act of
love, in his final words to the Church of Galatia, these final
words, by his own hand, he warns them again. I've heard this said, I've heard
this said by God's people. A lot of times we preach and
we are warning you concerning those of the false free will
works religion. We often warn you of them. We
do this on purpose. Can you be warned too much? Are you so sure of yourself that
you need not warning again? How many times did Paul warn
them alone in this epistle? He warned them over and over
and over again. Why? Because as in Jude, they
crept in unaware. False religion always comes in
not in a flood, but in a trickle. It comes in unaware. unassuming,
and if you're not paying attention, if you're not sober and vigilant
concerning these warnings, you who say, well, you talk too much
about this, you're the one ready to fall. Paul is warning them again, as
he did many times, of these false preachers. These false men, they
have no real love for your souls. Paul is warning them. He said
that. He said, as many as desire to
make a fair show in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised. These false religionists have
one goal, one aim, and that is to glory in your flesh. To glory in the flesh. The only thing they desire is
to make merchandise of your souls. They make a fair show in the
flesh though, don't they? Religion, false religion, always
has a beautiful appearance. It always makes a fair show. That's why the Lord likens false
religion to the harlot who paints herself up. who makes her bed
to be beautiful and allures the simpleton in so as to destroy
him. That's what false religion does.
False religion, they appear and dress up in their religious robes,
they present their message surrounded by beautiful music and sights
and smells and sounds and they constrain you, they constrain
you to obey the law. They constrain you who say to
you, believe in Christ. They compel you to go back under
the law. Anyone who does that is making
a vain show, mere pretense of religion. They use you, they
use all their outward appearance of holiness, their high influence
and office so as to pressure you. That's what they do. You don't.
Well, you know, You don't mean me. You're speaking to a friend,
you're telling your friend about the gospel of Jesus Christ, and
they're in false religion. They say, well, you don't mean
that I'm not saved. See what they did? They appealed to your emotion,
to your friendship. No, the truth must be told. If
you believe in free will, false That's a false religion. Free
will works religion is false. It's a lie. If that's what you
believe, you're lost. It's not the gospel. It's not
the gospel. And be not deceived by their
appearance. Don't be deduced by their by
their appeal to your emotion. Don't be deceived by their vain
show of will worship. Our Lord said of those Jewish
legalists, He said, you are whitewashed tombs. You appear beautiful on
the outside, but inside are dead men's bones. And He said, look, those that
constrain you to go under the law, I want you to pay attention.
They themselves have not obeyed. They constrain you to obey it,
but they themselves. Our Lord said, you may go compass
land and sea to make one proselyte, and when you made it, you made
twofold more a child of hell. And the law yourself you do not
touch. You can't touch it with a ten-foot
pole. Our Lord tells us plainly what
men are by nature. He said, from the sole of the
foot to the crown of the head, is nothing but wounds and bruises
and putrefying sores. As it is written, there is none
righteous. And so, therefore, no man shall ever be justified
by the law. Now, for one to be under the
law, do you know what it takes for you to be under the law?
For you to take one law to yourself. Take one. to be justified, sanctified,
or redeemed by one law, you have taken the whole law upon yourself. You can't take one without taking
the whole thing. Cursed is everyone that continueth
not in what? All things written in the book
of the law to do them. So then those who preach the
gospel of work, salvation, They glory not in the gospel of Jesus
Christ. They glory not in the gospel
of God's free salvation by grace. They glory in one thing. Flesh. Flesh. The works of the flesh. The will
of the flesh. That's what they glory in. They desire the glory in their
success as it is measured by numbers. Isn't that right, how
religion measures success? Isn't that how modern religion
measures success? First question I ask is not,
what do you preach? That would be wonderful if I
had somebody come and ask about our church. The first question
they should be asking is, what do you preach? You know what
the first question I get? Number one question. How many
people you got? Number one question. What does that matter? That matters
absolutely not at all. Why? Because they glory in the
flesh. They glory in the appearance
of things. They don't glory in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Beware
of these men. This surely is the mind of free
will works religion in our day. They set their foul gospel in
the midst of a beautiful scene. Music all around, beautiful buildings,
nice sights and sounds and smells, coffee shops and trinket shops,
and it looks beautiful. And they set that piece of dung
they call gospel in the middle of it and try to disguise it. So then how may we tell the true
gospel preacher? Is that not a good question? How shall we tell? How can we
know a true gospel preacher from one of these who are false pretenders
that Paul is warning us from? You can tell by this, what are
they preaching? What is the theme of their message? What is the sum of their message? What are they saying? What are
they preaching? Because what a man glories in,
that's exactly what he'll preach. I don't care what he says he
glories in. Well, I glory in Jesus Christ. Okay, what are
you preaching? Are you preaching Jesus Christ? Well, no, then
you're not glorying in Christ. You don't glory in Christ. What
a man glories in, that's what he'll preach. That's his theme. The theme of all his messages. is what he glories in. Is it
works? Is a man preaching works? Constantly
preaching works? Then that's what he glories in.
If a man is constantly preaching man's free will, man's decision,
then that's what he glories in. Make no mistake, they glory in
your flesh. False religion always glories
in the flesh. These men creep in unawares and
make a vain show in the flesh. It's vain because no one is ever
saved by it. That's why it's empty. You understand
why false religion is empty? Because no one is saved by it. You think that someone would
just walk into one of these churches accidentally and that man might
accidentally say something. No. Man doesn't know God. Not gonna
be accidental. Matter of fact, God says false
religion profits these people not at all. Not at all. But one who is sin of God. The
apostle Paul was sin of God, wasn't he? He was sin of God.
And a man's sin of God has one thing he glories in. He has one
theme, one message, one object. Paul said this, but in opposition
to them, God forbid, I should glory save in the cross of Jesus
Christ our Lord. That was his theme. That was
always his message. That's what he gloryed in. There's
only one theme of our message, one hope for sinners. One way
the guilty sinner may be redeemed and reconciled, and that is the
cross of Jesus Christ. The theme of God's preachers
is always and only the cross of Christ. Now, when Paul was
preaching to the church of Corinth, they had a lot of problems, didn't
they? That was a messed up church.
They had a lot of problems. You know what Paul said at the
very beginning? He said, I determined not to know anything among you,
but what? Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Paul determined. Why? Because that's what he gloried
in. He gloried, he boasted only in
the cross of Christ. For a false religion of this
world determines to glory and preach man's will and works in
religion and ceremonies as a means of salvation. God's men glory
in the cross of Christ. And this gospel that we glory
in is not vague. It's not vague. It's not ambiguous. It is this, that salvation is
by the grace of God alone. That is the theme of the cross
of Christ. Salvation is something done by
God for you, outside of you. It is something God has done
at Calvary long before we were ever born and then takes what
was done and applies it to the sinner. Therefore, salvation
is all of God. That's what the cross says. That's
the preaching of the cross. We are not saved by Christ and
then in some act of will make it effectual. That's not how
salvation comes. We are not saved by the power
of the Holy Spirit and then made to finish by our obedience to
the law. Paul said that in chapter 3, didn't he? He said, are you
so foolish that you think you've begun in the Spirit and finished
in the flesh? No. It's foolishness. The only hope for sinners is
salvation by the cross of Jesus Christ. I need a salvation that's
purposed of God. I need a salvation that is accomplished
by Christ. I need a salvation that is applied
by the Holy Spirit and kept by the power of the Spirit until
I see Christ. I need a salvation completely
done by God. for me, and in me, and through
me, solely by God. This is the glory in the cross. Now look what the apostle says
in our text here. He begins this by saying, God
forbid. God forbid. Now the apostle used
this phrase in several other places. In Romans 9, you remember,
he said concerning election. He said, God loved Jacob and
hated Esau before they were yet born, having done good or evil
that the purpose of God according to election might stand. Then
he asked this question, is God unrighteous? And he said, God
forbid you should say such a thing. How could you even think such
a thing? God forbid, God forbid. In Romans chapter six, he said,
salvation's by grace, completely by grace, but yet, Shall we sin
that grace may abound? God forbid. How could you think
such a thing? God forbid. Romans 11, when he
said that the Jews, most of the Jews had been cut off nationally,
he said, does that mean that God is going to throw away them
that he foreknew? He said, God forbid. He won't
cast away his elect, his people. How could you say that or think
that? And so now in our text, he says this. But God forbid
that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. God forbid that I should be one
of them. Expose those who glory in the
flesh and say, God forbid that I should be one. God forbid that
I should be even counted with them. I don't want anybody to
confuse me with them. God forbid that you should confuse
me with them. God forbid. And if God forbid it, then I
won't glory in anything else. God forbid that I should I should
spend one waking moment glorying in anything but the cross of
Christ. And so, as every preacher said,
God forbid that I should preach anything but the cross of Christ.
That's what I say about myself. God forbid, Lord, please forbid
it, that I should preach anything but Jesus Christ to be crucified,
please. Don't let me glory in any of
my preaching. Don't let me glory in any of
those that have come to hear me. Don't let me glory in my
flesh or your flesh. Don't let me glory in my will
or your will. Let me glory only in Jesus Christ
and Him crucified. That is all I want to say. It's
all I want to preach. God, please be gracious that
I should only preach Christ. God forbid that we should preach
any other gospel. God forbid that we should be
allured by the glory of the flesh, or false religion, or our abilities,
or our education. God forbid that we should glory
in any numbers or riches, but that this is all our glory,
all our salvation. All we ever cared to hold before
men is the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. God forbid that
I should ever stray from it. I ask your prayers. I ask for
your prayers that God would always keep me right here. That God would always let me
preach Christ and nothing else. Because nothing else matters. Nothing else is worth your attention
or time. Christ alone is everything. If there is any salvation to
be had It is only in Him and done by His cross. There is no
other salvation anywhere else. There is, listen, none other
name given among men whereby we must be saved. There is no
other place to go. You won't find it. God forbid
I should glory or preach anything else but this. You know, Paul had a lot to glory
in, didn't he? In the flag? He had a lot to glory in. His
heritage. He was a Hebrew of the Hebrews,
a Jew. Paul, he was an educated man,
studied at the feet of Gamaliel. He was a rising star in the Jewish
religion, blameless in the eyes of men according to the law.
No one could accuse this man. He was a moral man, above reproach. He said, yea, doubtless I count
all things lost. For the excellency of the knowledge
of Jesus Christ, yea, I do count them, but done that I may win
Christ and be found in Him. This is the heart of God's preachers
and this is the heart of everyone who is saved by grace. Our glory
is only found in Christ. We seek no other glory in the
flesh. We count it all. We make a clean sweep of everything. Just as Paul did, we count it
all but done. Now then, look at this second thing. What is
the cross of Christ? I've been talking about the cross
of Christ. Now, for what? What is it? With the glory of
the cross of Christ. What does that mean? What does
that mean? What is this cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ? Paul counted it to be the only
thing he would preach, the only thing he would glory in, the
only thing he counted loss of all things for. But what does
it mean, the cross of Christ? When he says we preach Christ
crucified, what is he talking about? When he's determined not
to know anything but Christ crucified, what does that mean? When he's
saying preach the cross, what is he telling us? Now, I want
you to listen carefully to this. He is not talking about a physical
cross. Now, many of you understand that. How many in the world do not
understand that? He is not talking about a physical... He's not talking about that wooden
cross upon which Christ died. He's not speaking about the cross
that was erected at Calvary's Hill that hung between two thieves. He's not glorying in a wooden
cross. Why? There's no power to save
in that wooden cross. There's no power there. There's
no efficacy there. There's no salvation there. There's
no magical power in the cross. it away so that nobody could
ever find it. I'm so thankful for that. You
know why? Because if somebody found it,
they'd worship it. If somebody found the cup that
Christ drank out of, they would worship it. If they could find the dirt that
He rode in, they would pick up the dirt and worship the dirt. How do I know they would do that?
That's exactly what the Jews did with the brazen serpent.
Remember, God told them to make that brazen serpent. He told
them to put it on a pole. He told those that were bitten
to look and live. It was a picture of Christ. It
was a good thing when it was useful. But once that was gone,
they should have destroyed it. But they kept it. And Hezekiah
found this, that in 2 Kings 18, they were lighting incense to
the snake. And what Hezekiah do? He burn
it! Do you realize what I would do if I had that cross? I would burn it. Why? There's no value there.
And I say this because man by nature is superstitious. You
and me both. Pay attention. I'm not just talking
to them. Let's talk to us. We're superstitious. Our nature
is superstitious. That cross could not bring one
soul to glory, nor could it make us any closer to God if we had
it. It cannot bring you closer to
God. You ever hear those foolish people
that go over to Israel and say, oh, I felt so close to God. They go inside the tomb and they
say, oh, I felt so close to Jesus. They walk in the river Jordan
and say, oh, I feel so close to Christ. You want me to tell
you what that is? Idolatry. They found something to worship
above Christ. They worshiped the place that
He stood rather than the one that stood there. It's idolatry. That's all it is. Simple and
plain. You see this wherever you go.
Look around you. How many crosses do you see? Every time you see
a church building, what do you see? You see a cross. You see
a cross on the steeple. You see a cross on the building.
You see crosses on the side of hills. You see crosses around
people's neck. You know that I read this. One
man spent three million dollars putting wooden crosses on the
highway. Don't you suppose that money would be better spent preaching
the gospel? Superstitious idolatry. As though
somebody passing by that cross should be saved. No, not one. No one's saved by looking at
a cross. No one. Why? The cross has no power.
It has no power there. It's only a symbol. It's the
person of the cross that has power to save. Not the cross. Not the cross. Men and women
who wear crosses around their neck, they might as well wear
rabbit's foot. I'm telling you true, people
are so superstitious, they believe because they got a cross around
their neck, they're somehow protected. They put a cross in their house,
they think their house is protected. No. That's nothing. A cross is nothing. I'm sure you see him every Easter,
that man running around with a cross, makes a four by four
piece of wood, eight foot long, four feet wide, and holds it
on his shoulder. Guy got a little wheel at the bottom, dragging
it around, thinking he, oh, he's really doing God a service. Look
how holy he is carrying that cross around, fool. It's idolatry is all it is. Worshipping
the cross instead of the Christ of the cross. Make no mistake
about it. That's what it is. So what does
it mean then? Paul is not referring to a piece of wood. What is he
referring to? Here it is. I will glory in the atonement
of Christ. That's what he's talking about.
The cross of Christ speaks of the atonement of Christ. The
atonement of Christ. There is no atonement in a wooden
cross or a golden cross, but only in the offering of the spotless
Son of God. Salvation to sinners cannot come
in any other way but by a blood offering. A blood offering without
the shedding of what? What? Blood. There is no remission of sins.
Without the shedding of blood. Blood. You know, in Hebrew, the
root word for atonement means to cover. Cover. A covering. Isn't that what God made when
He made those skeleton skins for Adam and Eve? A covering
for their nakedness. That's what God makes by Christ's
death. A covering. It means to appease. Isn't that what happened at the
cross? God was appeased by His suffering and His death. It means
to cleanse, to forgive, to be merciful, to pardon, to put off,
or to, here's a better word, reconcile. Reconcile. Matter of fact, in the New Testament,
there's only one time the word atonement is mentioned, and that
is in Romans chapter five and verse 11, and it is better translated
reconciliation. So every time you see reconciliation,
same thing, atonement. God says, it is the blood that
maketh atonement for the soul. It is the blood that covers. It is the blood that appeases
God. It is the blood that puts away
sin. It is the blood of Christ that reconciles us to God. Paul said, if I'm going to glory,
that's what I'm gonna glory in. I'm gonna glory in the perfect
atonement of Jesus Christ that he made upon the cross. I want
you to know this. that we by nature are enemies
of God. Man by nature is at enmity against
God. Don't you know there's a war
going on? There's a war going on. Man has rebelled against
God. Man is at enmity against God. Man is shaking his fist in the
face of his Creator and says, I will not have Him to rule over
me. I'll do what I please. God, being holy, must and will
punish all sinners. What then do men need? Do they
need a wooden cross? Do they need a golden cross?
Or do they need atonement? What man needs is atonement. He needs reconciliation. And this is our message. Peace
that God has sent His Son into the world to make reconciliation. Isn't that the message of the
angels? Peace on earth. Goodwill toward man. What do
you mean by peace on earth? It's talking about Christ. God's
saying, you want to know where peace is found? There He is on
the earth. Peace on earth. Christ came on
earth to make peace. God sent his son for that one
purpose, to reconcile his elect to himself, to make peace for
all his chosen people. He said, I lay down my life for
the sheep. As many as the father giveth
me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no
wise cast out. This is the will of him that sent me, that I lose
nothing, but raise him up again at the last day. Go to 2 Corinthians
chapter five. Look at this with me. 2 Corinthians
chapter 5, verse 18. This is the message we go in
right here. All things are of God. Isn't
that a good message to go in? All things are of God. All things
in time, eternity, and providence are of God, but especially this.
who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given
to us the ministry of what? Reconciliation. This is what
Paul means by he set out glory in the cross. My theme, my gospel,
my message, my glory is the cross of Christ, the reconciliation,
the ministry of reconciliation. Our message of the cross is This
accomplished reconciliation. That God hath reconciled us. Our message is not God is now
reconciling. He hath reconciled us. That's
what he was doing when Christ came into the world. He said
while Christ was in the world. Look at that. In 2 Corinthians 5. He says to wit, verse 19, God
was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. How do you
know that? Not imputing their trespasses to them. You see how he reconciled to
them? God was not willing to impute your sins to you. Is that not a message of glory
then? Why am I going to glory? Because God will not impute my
sins to me. Where do they go? Justice cannot hide them. and
be just. Here it is, verse 21. For God
hath made him sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made This is the message we glorify. It is a message of atonement.
It is also a message of substitution. Isaiah said this, Surely he hath
borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem
him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded
for our transgression. Substitution! He was wounded
for our transgression. He was bruised for our iniquity. The chastisement of our peace
was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed. God, very God, became man, very
man. So has to be our substitute. As when Adam sinned alone in
his transgression, we what? died. Even so, by the righteousness
of one shall many be made alive. Substitution. Him burying our
sin in his own body on the tree and dying under the wrath of
God that was ours. Made him to be sinned for us. God seen sin in his own son wounded
and crushed and punished him in our stead. And this is the
glory of the cross. Jesus Christ, who was sent to
make an atonement to be our substitute, has accomplished both. He's atoned for our sin and as
our substitute died in our stead. And so when justice was exhausted,
I always like to think of justice being completely exhausted. Could not ask for one more sorrow,
not one more tear, not one more pain, not one more sorrow. Justice
says, I am completely and absolutely satisfied with His death as a
substitute for you. And that's why Jesus said it
is finished. This is what we glory in, isn't
it? What? It is finished! We glory in a
finished work. That's what he's saying when
I glory in the cross of Jesus Christ. He is glorying in a finished
work. Something that does not require
anything of us. We don't glory in the flesh because
the flesh could add nothing to this. Flesh adds nothing to this. Sinner, do you desire ever to
know what God requires of you? You want to know what God wants
from you? Then you better look at the cross. God demands perfection. But I'm
telling you there is perfection already accomplished in Christ. This is the message with Gloria,
because it's done. There's nothing to add to it. It's just finished. And when
he died, how do I know it was finished? Because God raised
him from the dead and sat him on the throne of glory. God raised
him from the dead. We worship and glory in the Son
of God who loved us and gave him. We worship him who was made
flesh and dwelt among us. Therefore, I glory in preaching
the full and free justification accomplished by the cross of
Christ. And God forbid that I should
glory in any other gospel than this. Please, God forbid that
I should glory in anything but this. God forbid that we should ever
give any credit to our will. God forbid that we should trust
in anything we've ever done or will do for salvation to complete
what Christ has done. To do so is utter blasphemy and
counts the blood of Christ as an unholy thing. And the last
thing, and this is manifest by his resurrection and ascension.
He's, as I've already said, he's resurrected from the dead. So then, where then is boasting?
Know what Paul says? Salvation is by the justification
through faith. Where then is boasting? It's
excluded. Completely and utterly excluded.
By what law? By the law of faith. You know
what the law of faith is? The law of faith is this, that your faith, even your faith,
is a gift of God. There's no boasting in faith.
Faith is a gift of God, not of works. Why? Lest any man should
boast. Do you believe on the Son of
God? Completely trusting your soul on the Son of the living
God. in His cross, His work. That's
a work of God in you. So where then is boasting? How
could you lift up your head against anyone else? We can't. We are saved by grace. Herein, wherein, Paul says after
He chose us in Ephesians 1, he says He chose us and we were
Redeemed by the blood of Christ, it said, wherein He hath abounded
toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known the mystery
of His will. How did He make known the mystery
of His will? He raised us from spiritual death to spiritual
life. And those who are raised from
spiritual death to spiritual life have one thing. What is
your thing? I find my glory nowhere else
but in Christ, in this cross by which he has made atonement
for me, by which he was a substitute for me, by which he has victoriously
accomplished all my salvation. That's what all means by the
cross of Jesus Christ. I like this hymn. I'll close
with this. How deep the Father's love for us. how vast beyond all measure,
that He would give His only Son to make a wretch His treasure. How great the pain of searing
loss the Father turned His face away, as wounds which marred
the Chosen One bring many sons to glory. Behold the man upon
a cross. My sin is upon His shoulder. Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
called out among the scholars. It was my sin that nailed him
there until it was accomplished. His dying breath that brought
me life, I know that it is finished. I will not boast in anything,
no gifts, no power, no wisdom. I will boast in Jesus Christ,
his death and resurrection. Why should I gain from his reward? I cannot give an answer. But
this I know with all my heart. His wounds have paid my ransom. Now, do you know what it is to
glory in the cross of Christ? It's not some wooden object,
is it? It's a person. It's a work that person accomplished. cross of Jesus Christ. May God
cause us to always glory in that and not be duped to glory in
anything else or preach anything else. God forbid that we should
do that. Let's stand and be dismissed
in prayer.