How about taking your Bible, please,
and let us go to Galatians chapter 6, reading a portion of that chapter
as our reading. And our reading will be comprised of verses 7 through
18. And our subject this morning is the
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. which we'll run into in just
a moment in that famous 14th verse of this chapter. Now may
we pray. Lord, thank you that even in this degenerate age when
the Christian world has lost its bearings, yet there are still
songs that are clearly based on your word, and what a joy
to sing them. And these choruses that so clearly
and succinctly speak these truths concerning our Savior, Oh, what
a delight to join together in singing them. But Lord, it takes more than
singing to communicate this blessed gospel of Christ, to describe
and set forth this cross that belonged to our precious Lord
Jesus Christ. And oh, that this day as we come
to this statement found in our Bibles, in this wonderful chapter
of Galatians, Lord, that your blessing would be upon our time
and upon our reading and our feeble attempts to preach. Lord, there is so much in this
book. so much I do not know, please help me. Teach us one
and all to understand, to believe, and
to rejoice in what we find written in this book that is nothing
less than the book of God. Oh, to be able to find Christ in every chapter, every verse,
and virtually every line, to find our Savior represented,
often in some humble manner. So Lord, we beg for your mercy
this morning that our time together in this place is not wasted. But if you do not come in the
power of your spirit and speak these words to our souls, they
have no lasting benefit. Our dear Savior, the Lord Jesus,
tells us in the simplest of language the essence about which we speak. He says, the words that I speak
unto you, they are spirit and they are life. Lord, that's what
we're begging for. A message from heaven to our
poor earthbound souls. Lord, speak. If you just speak,
it's all accomplished. It's all done. We cannot add
anything to it. nor take anything from it. We thank you for your help and
aid and your blessing this day. For Christ's sake, Amen. Galatians 6, verse 7, Be not deceived, God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man sows, that
shall he also reap." Now there is another man, that
whatever he sows, namely the God-man, Christ Jesus, oh, that
he would bless us with what he reaps. Whatsoever a man sows, that shall
he also reap. For he that sows to the flesh
shall of the flesh reap corruption, but he that sows to the Spirit,
capital S, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let
us not be weary in well-doing. For in due season we shall reap
if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity,
let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are
of the household of faith." Now, if I remember right, this is
the only letter that Paul wrote How many did he write, Greg?
Thirteen? Over half the New Testament. This is the only letter that
he wrote with his own hand. He says in verse 11, you see
how large a letter. I have written unto you with
my own hand. Now he's not talking about the
size of the book of Galatians. He's talking about a difficulty
with his own eyes that causes him to have to write in these
large letters. Galatians is much shorter than
several other letters in the New Testament that Paul wrote. You see how large a letter I've
written unto you with my own hand? As many as desire to make
a fair show in the flesh, They constrain you to be circumcised. Now, I've told you probably a
dozen or two dozen times or more than that, that the problem in
the Galatian congregations at this time were the Judaizers
from Jerusalem who were telling these people, you must not only
believe and trust Christ, but you must believe and trust Moses. And you must keep the law that
God gave through Moses. And Paul is certainly seeking
to destroy that false report that these religious persons
from Jerusalem are so intent on converting these congregations
to believe Moses as well as Christ. That makes Moses on a level with
Christ, and that he ain't, and that we ain't. If you've got the book in your
Bible called Hebrews, it will explain that to you. What chapter
would that be in? A chapter memory just left me,
so I can't tell you that right now. If it comes back to me,
I'll break in and tell you. I can see it on the page. I know right where it is on the
page, but I don't know what chapter it's in. Okay. As many as desire to make a fair
show in the flesh. They want to boast, the Jewish
Judaizers want to boast in making converts to that religion that
merges Moses and Christ. They constrain you to be circumcised
only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of
Christ. For neither they themselves who
are circumcised, they don't keep the law. Well, Preacher, you've
added a word. Don't. I know because it says, as many as desire to make a fresh,
fair show in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised,
only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of
Christ. For neither they themselves,
the Judaizers, who are circumcised keep the law. They do not keep
the law, and our Lord Himself in John chapter 7 says that as
plainly as words can say it. These people, the Pharisees in
particular, boasted that they kept every aspect of the law
from A to Z, and He stands to their face and says, you do not
keep the law. And you can take that same statement
and speak it to every human being on this planet this morning and
it would be accurate. So these Jews could not keep
the law and the persons to whom they were urging to be circumcised
would not keep the law if they were circumcised either. That
they may glory in your flesh. Here's our text, 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. For in Christ Jesus, neither
circumcision avails anything, nor uncircumcision." It's a moot
question. It's meaningless. Neither circumcision avails anything
nor uncircumcision. Well, what does matter then if
that doesn't matter? A new creature. That is, a new
creation. This is the work of grace in
the soul, in conversion. We're made new. We're new people. We have a nature we never had
before. But sadly, we still have our
own too, and there is a constant battle and struggle as a result.
And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them
and mercy, and upon the Israel of God, that is, upon spiritual
Israel, not the literal Jewish Israel. And as many as walk according
to this rule, Peace be on them and mercy, and upon the Israel
of God. From henceforth let no man trouble
me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Brethren,
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. Amen. All right. First of all, we come now to
this matter of the cross. Just by way of introduction,
what do we think? What are my thoughts and understanding
of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ? Do I have a right understanding
as revealed in this book and taught to us by the Spirit of
God? So just what is our thoughts,
our opinion, our position, we might call it, about the cross
of the Lord Jesus Christ? Some people say we live in a
Christian nation, but that ain't so and you know it. Some people
attend church, you know, once a year, twice a year, some occasionally,
some even regularly, like yourselves, maybe more than regular. These
things in and of themselves is not where the issue is. But if
the only place the gospel is heard is inside the walls of
a church building, then it might be a good place to find ourselves
as frequently as we possibly can. It's certainly something
we ought to live for and to take advantage of at every opportunity. So I'm going to take Paul's very
words out of verse 14. God forbid that I should glory
save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Somebody has called
these the sinner's gospel. And that's the only kind of people
that God saves, sinners. So what is the sinner's gospel? Here it is. This is my hope. Christ and him crucified. This
is my hope. Christ died for my sins. If he did not die for my sins,
then there is no remedy for my sin, and I'll perish one day,
taking my sins with me to hell. Secondly, this is my song. And
we've got one coming up, don't we, Brother Rogers, that will
stir you at least physically, I hope spiritually. Hallelujah
for the cross. Thirdly, this is my religion. Christ died for my sins. And if He died for them, I cannot
die for them. And neither can you, if He died
for you. This is my message. You've heard
it often from this pulpit by me and many others. Many of these
men sitting here this morning have certainly addressed this
very matter, the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. So, consequently,
this is my refuge. It's my hiding place. Christ
died for my sins. Preacher, how do you know you're
going to heaven? Well, if Christ died for my sins, I'm going.
And if he didn't, I ain't. We are to trust in nothing except
Jesus Christ and him crucified. We rest on nothing, lean on nothing,
build on nothing but Christ and him crucified. I rejoice in nothing else, hope
in nothing else, and glory in nothing else but Christ and him
crucified. My hope, according to that wonderful
song, I believe we sung it last Sunday, The Solid Rock, my hope
is built on nothing less than what? Jesus' blood and righteousness. blood and righteousness, his
living and his dying, the precious blood and righteousness of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Life or death will be determined
not by anything in me, but in Jesus Christ and him crucified. That's the hinge on which everything
turns in regard to our soul and the God of heaven and earth.
All right, here's my first question. I've got three of them, and it's
not exactly a short answer question, if you understand what I'm saying.
What did Paul If He gloried in the cross, what did He not glory
in? What did He refuse to boast about
if His boast was in Christ and Him crucified? Now, there are
many ways to answer such a question, but I'm going to do it in like
four or five statements. Paul did not glory, at least
not now, when he wrote this letter, he did not glory in his national
privileges as a Jew. He had renounced all of that
for Christ. Do you remember how much hatred
was in him toward these people calling themselves Christians?
He went no telling how many places. We have a number of them in our
Bibles telling us this. But there's no telling how many
other places he went, seeing that this book nowhere claims
to cover every event that took place every day, just like in
the gospel accounts. John said, if all the books were
written which should be written, The world would not be able to
contain them, speaking of Christ and all that he had done as set
forth in the four Gospels, but it's still just a meager, bare
outline. So Paul did not glory in his
first religion. And many of us have come to that
place that we despise. the religion that we knew as
children growing up and as teenagers and young adults. Paul did not glory in his own
works. Thirdly, he did not glory in
his knowledge or revelations. Now Paul, the Lord, when he went
to of Arabia, I think it was, shortly after his conversion
and stayed there. I can't tell you if it was months
or years, but it was a lengthy period of time. And the Lord
Jesus taught that man and instructed that man during that period of
time. Paul even speaks of having gone
to what he called the third heaven. But he said, I can't talk to
you about it. I can't put it in the language
that you would understand. He knew many deep mysteries. Fourthly, he did not glory in
his graces, in God's grace and all that his grace enabled Paul
to do. That was not his glory. His glorying
is what Christ has done before Paul ever was heard of in our
Bibles. Paul was a bold man. If you have
time today, if you'd look up Acts 17, you'll find him in Mars
Hill with all these learned people and how many gods I don't even
remember. They had one on every side and
every hand, and just in case they had missed one, they said,
to the unknown God. And Paul said, that's the one
I want to talk to you about. He's bold. Right by himself,
waiting for others to join him. But could not resist. Paul was an humble man. He declared
himself to be nothing. He was a self-denying man. This
man had more difficulties in just a short space of a few years
that you and I will never see in a lifetime. I mean, it was
awful, the things that were done to him, the places that he went,
the times that he was shipwrecked at sea. But he is also an humble man. I am nothing and Christ is all. He's also a self-denying man,
a prayerful man, a thoughtful man. But he was a man of God, yet he never glowed in himself. I mean, can you just think What kind of relationship there
was between Paul and Christ? You know, it's like they knew
each other through and through. And it's revealed on so many
pages of our Bibles. And yet Paul never gloried. And here's how we know that.
I'm quoting him now. He said, I'm not worthy. to be
an apostle. He said, I'm less than the least
of all saints. And then he said, I am the chief
of sinners. Now that one phrase, the chief
of sinners, it didn't fly too well in Paul's day and it doesn't
fly too well in ours. Religious people cannot swallow
that. They can't make themselves swallow
it. Everything inside them, religiously speaking, is against it. And
therefore, they avoid it. But if Paul was the chief of
sinners, and his conversion is said to be, in one of the letters
to Timothy, a patterned conversion, 1 Timothy chapter 1, I think,
A pattern conversion, if Paul's conversion is the pattern of
all conversions, then we must all have that same attitude of
mind and heart in regard to the cross, in regard to ourselves,
and in regard to God. If Paul never gloried in any
of these things, what right have we to glory? Now, some of you guys don't know
this, but about 75% of you do. Maybe 65. Did you ever go to church when it
was time to be promoted from one class to the next one, you
know, in Sunday school? And if you had perfect attendance,
you got a pin to hang on your shirt or your coat, whatever. Where we grew up in Sampson County,
if you can call it growing up, we grew up physically but not
spiritually. But one of the guys that was
in the same class in high school that I was, a senior at that
time, if I remember right. He stood on that pulpit and he
had a list of perfect... Oh, he lived right next door
to the church, by the way, but he had a list of years. He played tackle. I mean, it must have been four
feet or more tall. Now, what does that do? Because I'll guarantee you one
thing, what we're reading in this Bible we didn't hear read
then. I was in those same classes. I went to church because I was
made to go to church. And thought I was doing what I was
supposed to, but I sure was wrong. I'm not going to do you as bad
as Ed did the Bible class this morning, but I need you to turn.
I was about to go the wrong direction.
1 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 7. 1 Corinthians 4-7, for who makes you to differ from
another? Who makes me or you any different
than anybody else? And what have you that you did
not receive? Now, if you did receive it, why
do you glory as if you had not received it? Now, spiritual things must come
to us as the gift of God. We cannot earn them. We cannot
pay for them. We cannot deserve them in spite of Who we are and what
we are, God in mercy and grace in Christ bestows them. There's one thing that we ought
to be scared to death of more than a rattlesnake or a copperhead,
and it's called self-righteousness. Self-righteousness. Religion
promotes this highly. and give all kinds of awards
to people because they have so much self-righteousness. Our Lord's harshest words in
our Bibles, particularly the gospel accounts, our Savior's
harshest words were for self-righteous people. Boy, I mean, he set the fields
on fire for Pharisees and Sadducees and all kinds of people in the
Jewish religion in that century when our Lord walked the face
of this earth. Let's read this verse one more
time. For who makes you to differ from
another? And what do you have that you
didn't receive? And if you received it, why do
you boast as if you had not received it?" Let that statement run through your mind and hopefully
by the grace of God your heart. And may this come home to you
and me and remind us again, as this book does in so many ways
and places. If we have anything worth having, we didn't come up with it. It's
a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Now, that takes care of what
Paul did not glory in when it comes to the cross of Christ. I'm going to read you our text
once more back in Galatians 6. You need not necessarily turn
unless you want to. Verse 14, Galatians 6, but God
forbid, that I should glory, save, or
accept in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world
is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. All right, now we
come to the question, what did Paul glory in? And that state, that verse that
I just re-read is exactly descriptive of that very thing. The cross
to some people means the wooden cross upon which Christ died. That is not the cross that Paul
is talking about in Galatians 6.14. The cross sometimes means,
in the Bible, it means the afflictions and trials of believers. We are to take up our cross and
follow our Lord Jesus Christ. And that results then in these
afflictions and trials. Thirdly, what this cross means
is the all-sufficient, substitutionary sacrifice of Christ to redeem
us His work that led to Calvary, his work on Calvary, and his
work now in glory has to do with his incarnation, it has to do
with his obedience, and with his death, resurrection, and
intercession. Let me read that again. 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 am crucified unto the world. You sometimes go to funerals,
and it's hard to go to one that you don't hear these words, I
have never heard a negative word about this person in all my life.
Everybody says nothing but good things. That ain't true. If it is true,
that's a lousy person. You understand what I'm saying?
Now, believers can expect some people to say things about them
that aren't true. And if that hasn't happened to
you, I don't know. You be in mighty quiet, you know. If you let some people know what
you really believe, you would realize it. You would
know it. These people would crucify you
if they could. And I've been on the receiving
end more times than I care to remember. But I thank God for
every single bit of it. What did Paul mean by this cross? The cross to some is nothing but a symbol, a figure. They hang them on their
ears and around their neck. That's incredible. That's utter blasphemy. to make something that's shiny
and pretty and let that represent the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. That ain't His cross. That's
what religion wants you to think about the cross, because they
don't want you to think. The cross means all-sufficient,
substitutionary sacrifice of Christ to redeem us. His work that led to Calvary,
I'm repeating myself, His work on Calvary and His work now on
His throne in glory is all the benefits, the blessings, of his hanging on that cross. That's what it took for our Lord
to ensure our blessing and our eternal salvation. Paul gave no thought to what
he had done for God, but only to what Christ
had done for him. Now, that's a good rule. We're not to measure and try
to somehow fit in. what we have
done in Christ's name, you know, for some remembrance down the
road. That's a wrong view of the cross. You're looking at a wrong aspect
of the cross. So this is vital and important
in regard to these matters. Now, the hymn that we're about
to sing was written by Horatius Bonar, and I forgot the page 211 in the
songbook.