While you're turning to Galatians
chapter six, I was thinking of that song we just heard and Rick's
comments. You heard the word sinner quite
a bit. I wouldn't dare say to a congregation,
I know that Christ died for you. I wouldn't dare say that because
I don't know that Christ died for you, but I would say this.
If you're a sinner, Christ did die for you without any question. Now, that begs this question,
what is a sinner? What are y'all talking about
when you're talking about sinners? What is a sinner? A sinner is somebody
who all they do is sin. A sinner is someone who cannot
not sin. A sinner is someone who cannot
look down their nose in moral superiority at anybody. They can't do it. And a sinner
is someone who has no claims on God. No claims. Now, if that would be you, Christ
died for you. 1 Timothy 1.15, this is a faithful
saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners. That's who he came to save. Paul
said, of whom I am the chief. In Galatians chapter 6, This is not my text, my text
is verse 14, but let me read verse 16. And as many, everybody in this
category, as many as walk according to this rule. Now this is the Christian's rule
of life. as many as walk according to
this rule." If I walk according to this rule, peace be on them. Now, this rule of the Christian's
life, if you and I walk according to this rule, we'll have peace. The peace of God and mercy. It's the mercy of God that's
caused you to be this way. And you are the Israel of God. The true Jew. The true Israelite. Now what is this rule that God's
people walk according to? Now this is the rule of the Christian's
life. Look in 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, if you
and I walk according to this rule, and this is the Christian's
rule of life, we'll have peace, we have experienced the mercy
of God, and we're true Jews. Now, I've entitled this message,
Do You Glory in the Cross? Now, this is a question you can
answer. You don't have to be confused about this. Do you glory
in the cross? This is the Christian's rule
of life. God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Do you glory right now as I'm
speaking to you? I'm asking myself that question
as well. Do I glory in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ? Now,
to glory is sometimes translated to boast or to rejoice. It's what you give credit to. It's what you have confidence
in. You could say, God forbid that I should have confidence
in anything save the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. When God looks at you, does He
see someone who glories in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ? The book of Galatians is about
the recovery of the gospel. That would be the theme of this
book. These people at one time seemed to believe and they were
leaving the gospel. Look in Galatians chapter 1. Paul says in verse 6, I marvel
that you are so soon removed from him that called you into
the grace of Christ unto another gospel." Paul says, I'm amazed
at you. I'm amazed at you that you're so soon removed, that
you've left so quickly the grace of Christ to another gospel. Look what he says in verse 7,
which is not another. but there be some that would
trouble you and would pervert, would change the gospel of Christ."
Now Paul is calling upon the Galatians back to the gospel. They were in the process of leaving
and he's calling them back. Now verse 14 really sums up everything
he's wanting to say in this epistle in Galatians chapter 6, but God
forbid that I should glory. that I should have confidence
in, that I should rest in, that I should boast in, anything,
anything save the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The most foolish thing in the
world is pride. It's the most groundless thing
in the world. It's a sin that God hates. Six
things that the Lord hate, yea seven, are an abomination to
him. A proud and haughty spirit. Pride. Now what does pride do?
Pride takes credit where credit is not due. Now let's think about
the Apostle Paul for just a moment. If he wasn't prevented by grace,
Paul would have had a lot of things he could have been proud
of. He's probably the most brilliant man to ever live. I really mean
that. I mean, he's the influence of
this man. He could have been proud of his
education, raised up at the feet of Gamaliel. He could have been
proud of his pedigree, a Benjamite, a Hebrew of the Hebrews touching
the law, a Pharisee. He could have felt pretty good
about the way the Lord used him. Now you think about this. What
if the Lord used you to write scripture? You'd feel pretty
blessed, wouldn't you? What if the Lord brought you
into the third heavens and taught you the gospel directly like
He did Paul? Paul was brought into the third
heavens and taught the gospel by Christ Himself. Paul was used
more than any other man to expound the gospel of God's grace. What
blessing this man experienced! But you know what he said about
all that? He said, God forbid that I should glory in any of
that. God forbid that I should glory
save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." Now, Paul understood
1 Corinthians 4, 7, who makes you to differ from somebody else. And what do you have that you
didn't receive? Now, if you received it, why
do you glory as if you didn't receive it? Who makes you to
differ? Now, if you do differ, it's true
that a believer differs. He's been made to differ. Who
made him to differ? God the Father did in eternal
election. God the Son did in redemption. God the Holy Spirit
did in regeneration. And what do you have that you
didn't receive? You didn't come up with it on your own. Whatever
intelligence you have, He gave you. Whatever ability you have,
He gave you. There's nothing you can be proud
about. Not at all. Salvation's of the Lord, not
of you, it's of the Lord. And anything you have, any spiritual
gift you have, He gave you it. The faith you have is His gift.
The repentance you have is His gift. The love you have is His
gift. The new heart you have, it's
a heart He gave you that you didn't have before. What do you
have that you didn't receive? Now, Paul the Apostle, I think
of how greatly he was used of God, yet he says, God forbid
that I should glory. that I should have any confidence
in, that I should rejoice in, that I should rest in anything
save the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now I want you to notice
he didn't say God forbid that I should glory save in the person
of Christ although indeed he did glory in the person of Christ.
He didn't say God forbid that I should glory except in the
life of Christ. although he did glory in the
life of Christ, but that's not the word he chose. The word he
chose is, God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Now what do you and I know about
actually glorying in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ? Now look back in verse 11 of
Galatians chapter 6. Paul says, you see how large
a letter I've written into you with my own hand. Now, Paul evidently
had a secretary that he would dictate most of the letters to,
and you can see where some of these men, like Tertullius or
whatever his name was in Romans, I, Tertullius, greet you. These
men would write for Paul. Some say it's because of his
eyesight. I don't know, but he talks about these big, large
letters he used himself. I'm saying this for emphasis,
Paul says. I want you to know how important this is. This is
boldface type, these big letters that I'm writing you to let you
know just how important and critical this is. He says in verse 12, as many as desire to make a fair
show in the flesh. And wouldn't that be a pretty
accurate description of man's religion? A fair show in the
flesh. Look at me. Look at me. Look what God has enabled me
to do. God, I thank Thee that I'm not as other men are. He's given God the credit, but
what He was thanking Him for is what He had been enabled to
do or be. A fair show in the flesh. As
many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they constrain
you to be circumcised. only lest they should suffer
persecution for the cross of Christ." Now they want you to
be circumcised. Now the issue of circumcision in Galatians,
understand, he's not really talking about physical circumcision. Paul was circumcised the eighth
day, just as he was supposed to have been as a Jew. He's not
really talking about physical circumcision. Circumcision represents
the law. Circumcision represents salvation
dependent upon something you do. Now, the example he gives
in Galatians chapter 4 is Abraham and Sarah, Hagar and Ishmael. You remember the story? God promised
Abraham a child through Sarah. Fifteen years later, nothing's
happened. Sarah comes up with a brilliant
idea. Now, Abraham, God's promise is not going to come to pass
unless we do our part. We need to do our part. Here's Hagar. Go into her, you do our part,
and we'll have a baby. God's promise is dependent upon
us doing something. Abraham said okay. He went in
and they had Ishmael. God refused to accept Ishmael
as a son. Fifteen years later, twelve years
later, something like that, I don't know how long it was, but all
of a sudden God comes to Sarah after she has already gone through
menopause, a miraculous birth. Not Abraham doing his part, but
God doing it all. Now that is what circumcision
represents, man doing his part. Now, they constrain you to be
circumcised. Let's go on reading. As many
as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, this fair show
in the flesh is, I've constrained you to be circumcised. Look what
an influence I've been on these people. I've helped them. I've
caused them to do their part. I've done something. But look
what he says about them. Here's the reality of why they
do this, only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross
of Christ. Now, he's talking about the preaching
of the cross of Christ, which is a denial of circumcision.
And if any man preaches the cross of Christ, he will be persecuted. Look what Galatians 5.11 says,
"'And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, salvation ultimately
depended upon what you do.'" And these Judaizers were saying,
Paul preaches circumcision. He says, I do not. They're saying
I do, but I don't. "'And I, brethren, if I yet preach
circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? Then is the offense,
the scandal of the cross, ceased.'" I like that term, the scandal
of the cross. You know, The most scandalous
thing that there could ever be is somebody like me or you to
be saved. Do you believe that? If me or you are saved, it's
a scandal. The scandal of the cross. Now,
look what he says about these people in verse 13. For neither
they themselves who are circumcised keep the law. They talk about
you need to keep the law. They don't do it. It's called
hypocrisy. It's called acting. They say,
you need to keep the law. They don't keep the law. The
next time you see someone or hear someone talking about their
goodness and their obedience and their efforts to keep the
law, remember this about them. They're phonies. That's it. Actors. No truth to them. They don't
keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that
they may glory in your flesh. Look at the influence I've had
upon that person. Look how God is using me. That's all that is. Now Paul
gives this statement, and this is such an important statement.
This is the Christian's rule of life. If I can learn what
it is to glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, I'll have
real peace. I will have experienced the saving
mercy of God, and I'm a true Jew. I want to be that, don't
you? that I should glory save in the
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I hope you know, and I believe
you do, that Paul is not talking about the physical pole that
Christ was nailed to. He's not talking about the piece
of wood. If we had that piece of wood with us, it would be
the biggest idol that there ever was. Men would worship that thing,
they'd sell that thing, they'd make money out of that thing,
it'd be the worst. I love what Hezekiah did when
they found that serpent of brass that was put up on a pole. You
remember what he did? He grounded it in powder and
called it, they started worshiping it, he grounded it in powder
and called it a worthless piece of brass. Now, Same thing about
that piece of wood. There's no saving efficacy in
it. If you had some of that wood that had some of the actual blood
of Christ on it, you know what it would do you? It would do
you absolutely no good at all. It'd hurt you. You'd worship
it. You'd feel funny throwing it in the trash, wouldn't you?
It'd be hard to do something like that because of just the
idolatrous way we are, but when he's talking about God forbid
that I should glory, saving the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
he's not talking about the piece of wood, that pole. that he was
nailed to. But he was talking about this.
First of all, he was talking about the fact of the cross. Look in Galatians 3 verse 13.
He's quoting the book of Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy chapter 21, when
he says, Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law,
being made a curse for us, for it is written, cursed is everyone
that hangeth on a tree." Now, the Lord Jesus Christ literally
was nailed to a pole. Now, it wasn't a cross like that,
the way we think of it. That didn't even come around
in the third century. It was just a pole. They wouldn't have
taken the time to make a cross. It was just a pole. He was nailed
to that pole, and it was brought up and put in the stand. I wish I could talk about that
the way it ought to be talked about. I can't. The Lord Jesus Christ,
the spotless Son of God, He who knew no sin, He who did no sin,
was nailed. to a tree. Can you imagine just
the physical pain of that? But more was the emotional pain
and the spiritual pain. You see, it wasn't the physical
pain that our Lord was so overcome by, but it was being forsaken
by His Father. You see, sin doesn't really much bother me and you.
Not like it did Him, or like it does Him. I mean, we're used
to it. We were born that way, and it's natural to us. But when
He was made sin, when He was nailed to a cross, at some time,
I don't know how this works, but at some time, He who knew
no sin was made sin. And He bore all the filth and
the iniquity of sin in His own body on the tree, because the
Scripture says, who His own self bear our sins. I don't understand
that. How did that happen? I don't
understand, but He bore my sins. Let me tell you something real
good about that. Sin can't be two places at once. If He bore
my sin, I don't bear them. They're gone. But He bore my
sin. And He was forsaken by His Father. He suffered the full equivalent
of hell. He didn't have anything but his
father's awful frown. He didn't have this father saying,
well, son, I know these sins aren't yours and it's kind of
noble that you're doing this. No, he felt nothing but forsaken
by his father. He didn't have his people there
saying, oh, we're so thankful you're doing this for us. No,
he was alone, nailed to a cross, having been made sin. And I wish I knew how to explain
what that meant, but I don't. There's no way you and I can
ever understand that, what the Son of God went through when
He was made sin as the sinner's substitute, but He was nailed
to a cross. That really happened. We preach Christ crucified. He was nailed to a cross. Now,
what does that mean? Why? Now, I want to learn what
it is to glory in the cross, don't you? I want to experience
that. I want to be somebody who actually,
just like Paul, glories, has confidence in, rests in the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, why? What's this all about? Well,
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1, verses 17 and 18, "...for Christ
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."
for the preaching of the cross." And that word preaching, it's
the doctrine of the cross, the Word of the cross, that which
the cross actually teaches. The preaching of the cross is
to them that perish foolishness. But unto us which are saved,
it, the preaching, the doctrine, the Word of the cross, is nothing
less than the very power of God unto salvation. Now, What's the cross teaches? The cross is the whole counsel
of God. The cross is the most God-like
thing God ever did. I like what Charles Spurgeon
said. He said, if we confined ourselves to preaching nothing
but the cross and never said anything else about anything
else, it would be a widening rather than a narrowing of our
ministry. The cross, the whole counsel
of God. Now, what's that mean? First,
the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ is the full revelation of the
character of God. You can't know God, I can't know
God, apart from the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, how
is that? I love thinking about this. The cross is a declaration of
the eternal purpose of God. He's called the Lamb, literally,
having been slain from the foundation of the world. What God purposed
in eternity must take place in time. The cross is this, Him
being delivered by the determinant counsel and foreknowledge of
God. You have taken and with wicked
hands have crucified and slain." The cross is a declaration of
the purpose, the sovereign purpose of God. The cross is a declaration
of every attribute God has been pleased to make known regarding
Himself. Now you think about the justice of God. as it's seen
in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will not let sin go
unpunished for any reason, even if it's on His Son. That's how just God is. Oh, the
holiness of God, His hatred of sin is displayed in the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ. God hates sin. He will punish
all sin, and that's what the cross declares. You think of
how the cross declares the power of God. God made a way to make sin where
it is no more. It's gone. It's put away. It's blotted out. That's what
Christ did. He actually put away sin. What power is displayed in Christ
actually satisfying God? Because of the death of Christ,
God said, I can ask for no more. God was completely satisfied
with what He did. The satisfaction of the Lord
Jesus Christ. This is the power of the cross.
It makes God satisfied with me. It makes God satisfied, completely
satisfied. He's got nothing to be mad about
because the sin was put away. It's gone. We're just saying
Jesus paid it all. I'm glad it says that. What if
it said Jesus paid a half, the other half I owe? That'd be bad
news, wouldn't it? But no, Jesus paid it all, all
the debt I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain.
He washed it white as snow. What power is displayed? What
power Christ displayed in dying? How did the God-man die? Can
anybody explain that to me? He did. What power? What power when He raised Himself
up? The cross displays the wisdom
of God, that God is so wise that He's made a way to be absolutely
just. and make me to be without guilt,
as sinful as I am." Oh, every attribute of God. What about
the love of God, that God would give His Son, God so loved the
world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Does
God love sinners? What does the cross tell us?
Is there really grace? Is there really free, unmerited
favor for sinners? What does the cross tell us?
Oh, the cross is a demonstration of every attribute of the living
God. Is it any wonder Paul said, God
forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ? The cross is a demonstration
of this great mystery. Paul said, I am crucified with
Christ. The great mystery of union with
the Lord Jesus Christ. When Christ was crucified, I'm
so united to Him that I was too. When He was raised from the dead,
I was too. I've always been accepted in
the Beloved. The cross Well, like I said,
it's the most God-like thing God has ever done. What a revelation
of His person is seen in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and that's why we glory in the cross. The cross tells us the
truth regarding the character of God, and God is not known.
The living God is not known apart from the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Now, secondly, it is only from the cross that
I get the true picture of who I am. Now, I want you to listen to
these words very carefully. It is only a spiritual sight
of the cross that only God gives that will let you know what you
really are. Now, it is amazing the prideful
things men think about themselves. and the high opinion men have
of their own righteousness and their own goodness and their
own spiritual abilities. It's amazing that men are so
proud that it's because they're dead in sins. If God ever teaches
me who I am, I'm gonna know that I'm a sinner. Now, understand
this. With regard to this thing about being a sinner, the cross
is the truth about all of mankind. The cross tells us who we really
are. Now, I hate talking like this, but I've done things, and
I'm not talking about a long time ago. I'm talking about the
last week. I'm talking about today. I've done things, I've
thought things that if you could see into my heart, I'd be ashamed
to look you in the face. I really would. I'd run out of
here. If you could see in my heart, I'd be out the door. Here's what's funny. You wouldn't
listen to me preach. If you knew what I was really
like, you would not listen to me preach. In reality, you're
just as bad. Isn't that ironic that we're like that? But it's
the truth. It's the truth. But do you know,
if you could witness the worst sins I've ever committed, they
wouldn't give you the true story. If you could see the darkest
thoughts that have ever passed through my heart, it wouldn't
give you the true story. The only way you're ever going
to see how bad, how sinful, how evil you really are is by looking
at the cross. They're the one time God let
man do what he wanted to do without restraining him. He delivered
Jesus to their will. The one time men were left alone,
what'd they do? They nailed Jesus Christ, the
only holy man to ever live, to a tree and put him to death.
And that is precisely what is in your heart. If you don't see
it, believe it. Believe it. Doesn't matter whether
you see it or not. You're not going to see it, really.
Somebody came up to me and said recently, they said, I'm afraid
I'm bad. And I said, it's a lot worse
than you think. It's a lot worse. But that being said, you're not
going to see it. The only way you're going to
see the truth about yourself, the only way I'm going to see
the truth about myself is by Christ being forsaken by God,
that's exactly what I deserve. Nailing Him to a... And you know,
I love to think about that. I really believe. You know, when
the Lord said, Father, forgive them, they know not what they
do, I believe. Everybody He prayed for is forgiven. Amen? Lord doesn't pray for somebody,
Father, forgive them. Father says, no, no, no. Everybody,
Father, I will that they whom thou has given me be with me
where I am. Only Christ could pray that way.
Can you imagine saying to the Father, Father, I will you do
this? We couldn't say anything like that, but he does. He does,
because of this glorious person. I can't help but believe that
some of the people that drove the nails in his hands, those
were the ones he was praying for. Father, forgive them. They know not what they do, and
we don't. We don't have any idea of how sinful we are, but the
only way we're going to have some glimpse is by looking to
the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. I tell you, you know why I glory in the cross?
Because I sure don't have I don't have any options. I don't
have any choice. I don't have anywhere else to
look. After I see what I am in light of the cross, what can
I glory in myself? There's nothing to glory in,
is there? You know, it's easy to glory in the cross if you
don't have anything else to glory in. Now that's what we're taught
in light of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. God forbid
that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, we only glory in the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ when we see what He actually accomplished
on the cross. Now, this is very important.
We only glory in the cross when we see what He actually accomplished
on the cross. I've already quoted this scripture
from Galatians chapter 3 verse 13. I love this scripture. Christ
hath redeemed us. Not he will if Christ hath redeemed
us. You see, when he said it is finished,
you know what? The salvation of everybody he
died for was completely and utterly finished. Nothing left for them
to do. Turn with me for a moment to
Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews the 10th chapter. Verse seven. Now this is a quotation
from Psalm 40. Then said I, the Lord Jesus Christ,
Lo, I come. In the volume of the book it's
written of me to do thy will, O God. Above, When he said sacrifice
and offering and burnt offerings and offerings for sin, thou wouldest
not, neither hadst pleasure therein, which are offered by the law.
Then said he, lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away
the first, that first covenant, that he may establish the second
by the witch will. Whose will? God's will. By the
witch will, we are sanctified. through the offering of the body
of Jesus Christ, His bloody death on the cross, once for all. Now, in the original, that's
in the perfect tense. That means perfectly completed,
never to be repeated. Once for all. Verse 12, or verse
11, And every high priest standeth." You know something that was not
in the tabernacle? A chair. Why? His work was never finished. He was always standing. His work was never done. And
every high priest standeth daily ministering, offering oftentimes
the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins, but this
man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever sat
down on the right hand of God. Why did he sit down? The work
was finished. From henceforth expecting till
his enemies be made his footstool for by one offering he hath perfected
forever. Them that are sanctified. by
that one offering. Now, I glory in the cross when
I glory in the accomplishments of the cross. And what was the
accomplishments? What did he actually accomplish? I love that
scripture, Hebrews 1-3, when he had by himself, notice that,
by himself. You know what that means? That
means me and you had nothing to do with it. Our hand was not
in it. When he had by himself purged
our sins. He sat down at the right hand
of God from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his
footstool." Now, the cross is everything in our salvation. Everything. Why were you elected? The cross. Why were you justified? The cross. Why were you redeemed? The cross. Why were you called? The cross. Why are you preserved? Why do
you believe right now? The cross. Why will you be in
heaven? The cross. Let me tell you something. Everybody in heaven, Moses, Abraham,
David, John, Peter, Paul, Everybody in heaven, they're there for
one reason. The cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, I don't, I can't even
express how I despise it when preachers talk about heaven like
it's going to be, there's going to be this inner circle of the
ones that, the really good believers, and then they're going on, you
know, the different rewards and everything, and then you've got
these people on the outskirts, they're on the outside and everything.
You know, all that is is idolatry. Nothing else. Idolatry. There's
one reason why any believer will be in heaven, and that's the
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation completed by Christ
on the cross is the only thing that gives me peace, joy, rest,
or comfort. It's it. And if you leave me
one thing to do, I'm undone. God forbid. God forbid. That's the strongest language
you can use. God forbid that I should glory,
that I should have confidence in, that I should rest in, that
I should hope in anything save the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. And I love the way He uses His
whole name. He's the Lord. Now, the cross we're talking
about is the cross of the Lord. He's Lord of creation. He spake
the world into existence. He's Lord of Providence. He controls
everybody and everything. Even the thoughts going through
your mind, He's in complete control of. He's in complete control
of the free actions of men. You wanna talk about glorious.
He's the Lord. He's Lord of Providence. He's
Lord of salvation. That means your salvation's up
to Him. You're in His hands. He's on your hands. He's Jesus. Matthew 121, thou shalt call
his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. He's the Christ. He's God's prophet. He's God's priest. He's God's
king. He's the word of God. He's the
one who represents me before God. I need his kingship to rule
and reign over me and cause me to do his will. Oh, how we need
him in his offices. He's the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you glory in the cross of
the Lord Jesus Christ? Now, you can answer that question.
Do you glory? Is the only thing you have confidence
in? Like Paul put it in another way in Philippians 3.3, we are
the circumcision. We're the true Jews, which worship
God in the spirit. That means we know we can only
worship Him through the Holy Spirit. And we rejoice, same
word as glory, we rejoice in Christ Jesus. And we have no
confidence, no confidence in the flesh. Now look what else Paul said,
back to Hebrews chapter six, because this is part of glorying
in the cross. God forbid that I should glory,
saving the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom? I think that's interesting, not
by what or by which, but by whom. You can't separate the cross
of Christ and the person of Christ. We preach a person. By whom? The world is crucified unto me,
and I unto the world. Now, this will demonstrate whether
we really do glory in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. If
we do, the world will be crucified unto us. And us to the world. Now, what
does he mean by the world? Now, there's a lot of things
in this life. We love the blessings of family. We love the beautiful creation.
Who doesn't like to go on vacation? Somebody says that's worldly.
No, it's not. It's fun. It's a good time. I mean, I love
to go on vacation. I always look forward to it. I can't wait. Can't wait till
my next one. Me and my wife were talking about
it last night. Is that worldly? No, that's just enjoying a part
of God's beautiful creation and blessings and so on. We're thankful
for the world in that sense, but what he's talking about is
where John said, love not the world, Neither the things that
are in the world. For all that's of the world,
the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of
life is not of the Father, but of the world. The lust of the
flesh, pleasure. The lust of the eyes,
being more concerned about what men see than God sees. The pride of life, power, influence. Are you saying you don't have
any trouble with these things anymore? How about you? Let's be honest. But I can say this. I hate the
world. I hate the lust of the flesh.
I hate the lust of the eyes. I hate the pride of life. and
I can't wait to be perfectly conformed to the image of Christ
where I don't sin anymore. I really don't love the world. It's a crucified thing to me.
In light of the cross, in light of the cross, what is the lust
of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life?
What's the attraction? You see its baseness and its wickedness
and its, and you know what else? It says the world's crucified
to me. Nobody's gonna love that person
who glories only in the cross. They're gonna find all kinds
of objections to it. Well, you must believe it's okay to sin,
it must be okay to live in an ungodly, all the objections people
come up with to the gospel. But that's okay, that's okay.
If I glory only in the cross, the world's crucified unto me.
And I unto the world For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision avails
anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature, a new creation. And as many as walk according
to this rule, do you glory only in the cross? Peace. You're an object of the mercy
of God. That's why you glory in the cross. You're a true Jew. and Israelite indeed, in whom
is no guile." Now, I hope we'll all ask ourselves that question
right now. Do I know what it is to glory? To boast? Here's my boast. I boasted what Christ did on
my behalf. Here's what I rejoice in. Here's what makes me happy. Jesus paid it all. All the debt
I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow. God forbid that me and you should
glory in anything save the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.