The Cross

Q: What does the Bible say about the significance of the cross?

The cross symbolizes the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, highlighting God's justice, mercy, and love toward sinners. The Apostle Paul emphasizes in Galatians 6:14 that our sole glory should be in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The cross is not merely a wooden structure but represents the culmination of Christ's work of redemption for His people. It reveals God's infinite wisdom where He could display His holiness and justice while simultaneously justifying sinners who believe. At the cross, we witness the unique blending of God's love and justice, demonstrating that He could be both holy and just yet also merciful. Through Christ's sacrificial death, He bore our sins and took our place, allowing us to be reconciled to God.

Q: How do we know that Christ's atonement is effective for our salvation?

Christ's atonement is effective as it fully satisfies God's justice while providing a perfect righteousness for believers. The effectiveness of Christ's atonement is clearly laid out in Scripture. When Paul states that he glories in the cross, he is affirming that through Christ's sacrifice, God was able to both punish sin and pardon the sinner (Romans 3:25-26). This reflects God's righteous nature while offering salvation to those who believe. The cross shows that Christ was made sin for us, fulfilling the law and providing an everlasting righteousness that assures us of our right standing with God. This union with Christ means that when He died, we died with Him, freeing us from the law's demands, thereby ensuring the full effectiveness of His atoning work.

Q: Why is it important for Christians to focus on the cross?

Focusing on the cross reminds Christians of God's immense love and mercy while keeping our pride in check. The cross is central to the Christian faith because it embodies the love, mercy, and justice of God. Paul highlights that glory should only be found in the cross because it leads to humility and gratitude, reminding us that we are saved not by our works but by Christ's sacrifice (Galatians 6:14). Additionally, reflecting on the cross enables believers to combat pride, self-righteousness, and despair. When tempted or sorrowful, looking to Christ's sacrifice serves as a powerful reminder of His love and sufficiency, encouraging us to live lives focused on His glory rather than our own accolades or desires. Thus, it shapes our identity and relationships as we strive to emulate the sacrificial love of Christ.

Q: How does the cross affect a Christian's understanding of sin?

The cross provides a clear view of the seriousness of sin, showcasing its consequences and the gravity of Christ's sacrifice. At the cross, the depth of human depravity is starkly revealed, showing that humanity's rejection of Christ resulted in His crucifixion (Romans 3:23). The sacrificial death of Christ for sinners exemplifies the consequences of sin and demonstrates God's holy judgment against it. Additionally, the cross signifies the ultimate solution to sin's power; through it, believers are no longer condemned because Christ has paid the penalty and has set us free from the bondage of sin (Romans 8:1-2). Reflecting on the cross should lead Christians to a deeper understanding of the weight of sin and how it contrasts with God’s grace, compelling them to pursue holiness out of gratitude for Christ's redemptive work.

Q: What does the cross teach us about God's character?

The cross reveals God's holiness, justice, love, and mercy all at once. The cross is the ultimate revelation of God's character, demonstrating His attributes in a harmonious way. God's holiness and justice are highlighted as the penalty for sin was paid through Christ's suffering, showing that sin cannot go unpunished. Simultaneously, His immense love for the unworthy is displayed as He sacrificed His Son for sinners (Romans 5:8). The glory of His grace is evident in how He justifies and reconciles those who have sinned against Him. Therefore, the cross encapsulates God's desire to maintain His divine justice while extending His love and mercy, illustrating how they do not contradict but rather complement each other perfectly.

Go with me now to the book of
Galatians, chapter 6. I've been wanting to deal with
this verse for a couple of weeks now. Look at Galatians 6 in light
of what we just read. Galatians 6, verse 14. Galatians
6, verse 14. 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 this world. When was the
last time you have read the account of the crucifixion? It hasn't been a while for me,
too. And I urge you to read all of them. Go back and read all
four accounts, because each one gives other things that took place
there. It had been far too long for
me, as it may have been for you. We should read it often. We should
think about the cross of our Lord daily. And I think we'll see why in
a moment. How did it make you feel when you read it? Every child of God who loves
the Lord Jesus Christ experiences every emotion while reading that. Sorrow. You have to sorrow for someone
you love that is going through what he did. Anger. Guilt. Shame. Wonder. amazement that he would
endure that willingly, admiration, worship. It should be no wonder that Paul
said, God forbid, that I should glory, that I should be taken
up with, that I should brag or boast or admire anything or anyone
save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. In another place, he said, I
am determined not to know anything, not to be taken up with anything,
not to study or to pursue anything save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. In light of that, let me attempt,
and the closer I got to bringing this tonight, the less able I felt and wish
someone else were dealing with. But let me attempt to declare
what the cross is, what our Lord did on Calvary's tree, and why
we should glory in it. I should not have to say that
Paul is certainly not talking about a wooden cross, a piece
of wood, a tree, that so many make an idol of which is blasphemous,
which takes away from His glory. What the cross is, is what Jesus
Christ did on Calvary's trip. Christ and Him crucified. When
Paul says, God forbid I should glory, save in the cross, he's
saying, that we glory in what Christ did on the cross, who
hung there and what he did. And here is what was taking place. God in infinite
wisdom and for his own glory and honor over and above creation,
his redemptive glory. God in infinite wisdom and for
His own honor and glory, and for the glory and honor of His
Son, the Lord Jesus, whom He loves supremely, in order to
display or show forth His glory, all of His glory, His character
in all of its attributes, His holiness, His righteousness,
His justice, His love, His mercy, His grace, His goodness, His
longsuffering and all things devised a way, the only way,
whereby God could display all of His character and glorify
His Son in such a way that He would be honored and glorified
forever by those for whom He did this. God devised the only
way whereby God could be both holy and just and yet justify
a sinner. The only way whereby God could
punish sin and yet pardon that sin. The only way whereby God
could kill the guilty sinner and yet let them go free. The
only way whereby God could be satisfied with the law having
been kept and yet Spare those who broke it. And He did this
by sending His Son to this earth to keep that law for these lawbreakers,
for these sinners. And then sending Him to the cross,
which God in Deuteronomy is the one who first said, let the sinner
be hung on a tree. In Deuteronomy 21, it says, He
that sinneth a sin worthy of death hang him on a tree. God is the one that did that.
I mistakenly before said the Romans began with the Romans,
but no, God said that. And so therefore, making his
son the curse for his people, had him hung on a tree, made
him to be sin for those sinners, he who knew no sin, made his
soul an offering for sin, laid on him the iniquity of them all,
his elect that is, put on him their iniquities, and that sin
was punished in him, condemned in his body, in his flesh, on
the tree, and that sin was put away by the sacrifice of himself at the cross." That's the fact
of the matter. as if we can't enter into the
glory of Him. And if we just believe the fact of
the matter, it should give us some peace and some hope and
some comfort, because what Christ did there, He did for His people. one with His people. He was a
substitute for His people. He was the second Adam, the covenant
head, in whom we were at that time. And when God killed Christ,
He killed us. And therefore, the law has no
more demands on us. The law cannot condemn us. The law cannot send us to hell.
God is not angry with us. God is well pleased for His righteousness
sake. And God is at peace. God is reconciled. But what we see at the cross,
we see everything. The will of God, the purpose
of God. We see the state of man. We see the character of God.
We see everything. This is why Paul said, God forbid,
I should glory save in the cross. At the cross, we see the depravity
and the evil that is in man. People deny this. Men deny this,
that man is inherently evil. But nowhere is that depravity
and that evil more clearly seen, undeniably displayed, than at
the cross. In Romans 3, where it talks about
our mouths being, our throats being an open sepulchre, and
our feet swift to shed blood, nowhere is that more clearly
seen than at the cross. But it says everyone, all of
the people, Herod and Pontius Pilate and Jews and Gentiles,
all of them, and if we'd have been there, we'd have done the
same thing, gathered together against this holy woman and killed
her. God, who is holy, came to this
earth. Man is evil, and man hates evil. Romans 1 says, Haters of God,
and nowhere is that more clearly seen than at Calvary. When we
got our hands on God, we killed Him. The depravity of man is
clearly seen at Calvary's tree on the cross. But man did what
God determined before to be done. What God in infinite love and
mercy and grace and wisdom purposed to do by putting His Son on that
cross as a substitute for sinners, we then see the holiness and
the righteousness and the justice of God on Calvary's trip. Are
you with me? It's because of what I'm attempting
to describe that we're not in hell right now. The holiness
and righteousness and justice of God is seen at the cross.
Does God hate sin? Christ was made sin and God killed
it. God-given. Will God punish sin? Never mind
what the world says. Christ was made sin and the wrath
of God was poured out on Him on Calvary's trip. Will God send
a sinner to hell for His sin? Jesus Christ was made sin. God forsook His Son because God
made Him the sinner and He forsook Him. He went through hell. He didn't leave his soul in that.
At the cross of Christ, the glory of God and His love and His mercy
and His grace and His goodness is seen nowhere else as clearly
as at the cross. In Romans chapter 5. You can
go there with me if you will. Romans chapter 5. Over in chapter 3, chapter 1,
it describes our utter evil heart and nature. And in chapter 5,
God says that Christ died for some, and He says who it was
He died for, verse 7, was not a righteous man. Scarcely for
a righteous man would one die. Yet for adventure, for a good
man, some would even dare to die but God. and commendation of His great
love, the glory of His great love, commended His love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Christ died for the very ones
who hated Him. God loved the very ones who hated
His Son. His love, the glory of His love,
is for the unloved. The glory of His mercy is for
the worst. like that thief on the cross.
Worse than him, those that killed him. The glory of his grace is
seen at Calvary's tree. Great grace, the gift, the son
of his love, unspeakable gift, the son of his love for great
sinners, for unworthy wretches. To the praise of the glory of
his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. At
the cross, the glory of God's great wisdom is seen, whereby a complete and eternal
peace with God is established. A complete, eternal peace with
God is established. The putting away of sin. Sin
is gone. Completely eradicated. Put away
like that scapegoat. Christ on the cross was that
scapegoat and that fit man who took the sins of God's people
that were laid on His precious head, our head, and took them
away and separated them from us as far as the east is from
the west. And an everlasting righteousness was brought in
there. The second Adam from above reinstated us in His love by
taking us in union with Himself And then the Spirit of God took
His seed and put it in every one of His people, creating a
new creature in them. And all of this and more is seen
at Calvary Trail. All of this was done by Jesus
Christ on the cross. And so Paul says in our text,
in verse 14, 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 let me ask several questions,
and they are answered in this one verse. In light of this verse,
in light of what we read, in light of what Christ did on Calvary's
tree, the glory of the cross, and the world crucified unto
us, and us to the world, what could we possibly glory in, brag
about, boast about, in light of what Christ did? what he had
to do to procure our salvation. Paul, in writing this verse,
had dealt with the Galatians all through, who some came and
said you had to be circumcised. You had to do this to keep the
law and so forth. And he said, circumcision of
them. If righteousness comes by the
law and circumcision, Christ died in vain, the only thing
that could put away sin the death of Christ on Calvary Street.
The only thing that can make us righteous is Christ. And in the very beginning of
this book, he wrote that Christ gave himself for our sins. That's
the subject of this whole book, the Bible. He gave himself for
our sins that he might deliver us from this present evil world
according to the will of God and our Father, to whom be glory
forever and ever. So he begins it. Amen. And he begins this by saying
this is all about Christ putting away our sins by himself. And
it's for his glory. And he ends this thing by saying,
what could we possibly glory in other than the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ? Can we glory in what we are?
Because by the grace of God, we are what we are. And with
glory in what we know, we only know because He gave us an understanding
that we might know Him. That is true. What work have
I done? One time when the people were
choosing up sides and talking about preachers as if they were
captains of the ball team, I like this preacher, I like that preacher.
He said, you're so carnal. He said, Who is Paul? Who is
Apollos? He said, Was Paul crucified?
No, sir. Was Apollos? No, sir. Jesus Christ
was crucified. What have I done? What could
I do? What would I glory in, brag or
boast in other than the Lord Jesus Christ? This is why all
of our righteousness, Scripture says, is filthy rag. This is
why the Scripture says that whatever highly pleasing to men, highly
esteemed among men is an abomination to God if he doesn't give all
the glory to Jesus Christ. Only what glorifies Christ is
acceptable to God. Let me ask you this. Let me ask us this. Who or what
should I be impressed with? He said the world is crucified
unto me. Who or what would I be impressed
with or enamored with in light of Jesus Christ hanging on Calvary
Street? What person in this world could
I possibly be impressed with, enamored with, honor and glory
in? Who? Huh? Other than Jesus Christ. What men have done. Who could
I call great? Who would I call wonderful? Who
would I be amazed at in light of Him? This puts everything
and everyone in perspective, doesn't it? In light of Christ and Him crucified,
it says, the world is crucified unto me. What do I aspire to
be? What do I aspire to do? Christ
made Himself of no reputation for me. What do I aspire to own
in this world? He had nothing. He who was rich
for our sakes became poor. What do I aspire to see, go and
see and wonder at and marvel at in light of this glory? Doesn't everything become utterly
vain and empty? and altogether unlovely? Doesn't everything fade into
worthlessness in light of this? And the world crucified unto
me. What about the wisdom of this
world? In light of the glorious wisdom of God in sending His
Son to die on Calvary's tree, the only way that God could display
Himself And in light of that, what wisdom do you see in anything
or anyone in this world? Nail it to the ground. What about
the ways of man, utterly evil and corrupt in comparison with
the ways of God? Is this the way of man? Such
mercy, such grace, such long-suffering, such compassion, such love, such
kindness? Sacrifice? Is this the way of
man? No one has ever come close to that. Who or what would I
glory in in their sacrifice? The affections of this world,
who or what would I be taken with? We sang that song, Love
So Amazing. See why that hymn? Love so amazing,
so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all. He who gave His
all for me who is nothing at all. Does it not deserve my all? As far as us being crucified
to the world, listen to this. What anyone says of me or does
to me, what difference does it make in light of what they did
to Jesus Christ? He was having done to him what
I deserve. I thought about them, and it
didn't read there in John's Gospel, but another Gospel says they
spit in his face. The height of a person's contempt
for another. Such disesteem and degradation
of one's person. in their face, to clear your
throat and spit in that person's face is to show the utmost contempt
for that person to sustain. And I thought in light of Christ
enduring that for me, I thought the only face I need to spit
in is my own. So what should it matter what
the world does to me? In light of what they did to
him. What we did to him. What sacrifice have I really
made? What have I given in light of
this? What suffering have I endured
in light of Christ crucified? Who has offended me like they
offended Him, like we did? Whom have I forgiven like this? Whom have I shown mercy to? like
this. Whom have I loved like this? Greater love hath no man than
this. What aggravation have I endured? What annoyance have I endured? What contradiction of sinners
against myself have I endured? How have I strived under blood
fighting against sin? in light of Christ crucified.
Huh? I need to be crucified. This
is what it means to be crucified in the world. Come what may,
it's less than we deserve. Because Christ, none of this
did he deserve. Two things that it's virtually
impossible for a human being to do. Two things. Take someone else's blame. Take
the blame for something someone else did. And that's exactly
what he did. And secondly, give all the credit
for something you did. It's virtually impossible for
us to do that. And Christ did though. God forbid that I should
lower it. And listen to this, in light
of the Calvary's tree, in light of the cross, this is the only
thing that will humble us. It's the only thing that will
humble our pride. The only thing that will break
us. The only thing that will make
us truly thankful. The only thing that will make
us truly loving. It tells us so many times the
motive and the reason why we should love. The reason why we
should forgive is because God, for Christ's sake, forgave you.
Husband, love your wife. How? Like Christ loved His bride. A gomer. A worthless, forlorn,
fallen woman who was never faithful to Him. Ever faithful to Him. That's our husband, the Lord
Jesus Christ. Nothing will make us gracious
but this, in light of His unspeakable gift. The cross is the only thing
that will kill pride. In light of the cross, there
is no room for boasting. No room for any boasting whatsoever. Boasting excluded. Pride I abase,
we sing. Think about that in light of
the cross. The only thing that will kill sin, listen to it,
The only thing that will kill sin and all of its temptations
and its power and its reigning rule over us is the cross. The
only thing. Only when we think about what
Christ suffered because of our sin will it give us pause when
we start to be tempted by it. That's the only thing. It's the
only thing. When we're tempted, we look to
Christ crucified and think on what He endured to put away our
sin, and that's the only thing that will make us stop and think,
how could I sin against such love like that? The only thing. It's the only thing that will
kill self. And our Lord said, if you're
going to come after Me, you deny yourself. The only thing that
will Take up the cross. Think about the cross. Self-righteousness. God forbid. That's your glory. Self-pity. The only thing that
will kill is self-pity. Christ pitied not Himself. Took
not pity on Himself. When He was carrying His cross
on those lacerated shoulders, He turned to the women. In Luke's
account, I believe it is. Mark, I forget. He turned to
the women who were weeping for Him. He said, weep not for me.
but weep for yourselves and your children. The only thing that will kill
self-pity. When we are tempted, look to Christ and Him crucified. When we are sinful, look to Christ. Christ was crucified. Christ
died. God is satisfied. When we are
afraid, look to Christ. The worst thing possible that
could happen disciples would be for them to take their Lord
and kill Him and put Him away. But it was the best thing that
could have happened. So in light of that, Christ being crucified,
the worst thing that could happen, the best thing came out of it.
What bad thing could happen to you in light of that? Nothing. Nothing. Who is He that would
harm you? Christ died. When you're sorrowful,
look to Christ. Christ crucified, but He didn't
stay dead. I wish we could have gone on
reading in John 20. It says the first day of the
week that stone was rolled away. And Christ came and uttered those
wonderful words, Behold my hands and my side, it is I. And He
rose from the grave and seated right now at the right hand of
the majesty on high, when sorrowful, looked to Christ, crucified,
risen, seated, and God satisfied. When tired and weary, be not
weary in well-doing, the Lord grew weary and then sat on a
well and looked to Him. When hurting and suffering, no
one hurt and suffered like Him. When lonely, Christ was forsaken
that we might never be forsaken. Our Lord said, I'll never leave
you or forsake you. Why? Because God forsook His
Son. That's why. We should be forsaken,
but we won't be. And you have God's Word on it.
Why? Because Christ died. That's why. When angry at someone or angry
at the world or whatever, when angry, look to Christ. Remember, those words just slew
me. Father, forgive me. Father, forgive
me. If slighted, if ignored, if insulted,
if abused, if ridiculed, if said it not, if neglected, if evil
spoken of, if reviled, Look to Christ crucified, who deserved
none of these things, yet endured all of these things. And He did
it for us who do deserve these things. And He did it for us
who did these things, who endured these things by us and from us.
And this is why Paul said, God forbid that I should glory, save
in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. and why the world should
be crucified to us. There's nothing and no one in
this world worth our notice. Hang him on the tree. And why
we should be crucified to the world, dead to its applause,
dead to its insults, dead to be offended by it or anyone.
Because Christ was crucified in light of that. And now listen
to this in closing. Or when, rather, we forget these
things. Love so amazing, so divine, so
wonderful. When we forget these things,
such mercy, such love, such grace, such glory. When we forget these
things, almost as soon as we've heard them, When we, like the children of
Israel who did so often, and we are just like them, are we
better than they? And know why. When we forget His mercies, when
we forget His grace, when we forget His goodness to us, and
when we begin all over again to murmur and complain, when
we have no room for murmuring or complaining, or when we boast
of something, we act like we have not received something.
But when we act in a way that is completely contrary to one
who has received such mercy and such grace, remember this. May
God remind us all over again. It is of the Lord's mercies that
we are not concerned. Why? Because Christ was crucified. Our Lord, we thank You for Your
Gospel. It is both good news and yet convicting. Lord, it is wonderful. It is glorious, yet it brings
great shame upon us. It should give us great hope
and peace and comfort, fill us with amazement and horror and
wonder. It's both solemn and serious
and yet joy and rejoicing. Lord, take Your Word and remind
us again and again, bring Your Word back to our memory of Christ
and Him crucified. And may this world be crucified
to us with all of its affections and lusts thereof. And may we,
like our Lord, lay down our lives for others, and when reviled,
revile not again. O Lord, let us be constantly
mindful of Christ and Him crucified. Let us never glory in anything.
but Him. It's in His name we're met here
tonight and done these things. Amen.

The Cross

What does the Bible say about the significance of the cross?

How do we know that Christ's atonement is effective for our salvation?

Why is it important for Christians to focus on the cross?

How does the cross affect a Christian's understanding of sin?

What does the cross teach us about God's character?

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The Cross

What does the Bible say about the significance of the cross?

How do we know that Christ's atonement is effective for our salvation?

Why is it important for Christians to focus on the cross?

How does the cross affect a Christian's understanding of sin?

What does the cross teach us about God's character?

Sermon Transcript

About Paul Mahan

Comments

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