Paul's letter to the Corinthians,
the first one, 1 Corinthians chapter 1. We'll take our reading. While you're finding that spot,
I want to read you a statement out of Revelation 4.11 where
we just, that chorus basically is taken from this statement.
But one of the expressions that we used for thy pleasure we are
created." Here it is in terms of the Scriptures. To understand
this, in Revelation 4.11, these words properly understood teach
us the meaning purpose of life. What is it? The divine pleasure. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive
glory and honor and power, for Thou hast created all things,
here it is, and for Thy pleasure, His pleasure, they are and were
created. What is our purpose for being?
The pleasure of the Lord Jesus Christ. Do with me whatever He will,
and it has to be right. If He does it, it's right. All
right, 1 Corinthians chapter 1, and this is not our text this morning,
but I'd like to read a passage of Scripture out of 1 Corinthians
chapter 1, beginning at verse Oh, verse 18 will do fine. Beginning at verse 18 and reading
through verse 31. My subject this morning is going
to be the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. And I'm going to borrow
the title out of Galatians 6.14, God forbid that I should glory
save in the cross. And it goes on to say of our
Lord Jesus Christ. But here's a wonderful passage.
in regard to the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 18,
1 Corinthians 1. For the preaching of the cross
is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which or who are
saved it is the power of God. The cross is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy
the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding
of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the
scribe? Where is the disputer, the debaters
of this world? Has not God made foolish the
wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom
of God The world, by wisdom, knew not God. It pleased God
by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Don't miss this. The foolishness
of preaching is preaching Christ and His cross. It's preaching
Jesus Christ and Him crucified. It made me lose my place. Ah, verse 21, before we finished
up, wasn't it? Verse 22, dividing the human
race into two groups. Jew and Gentile, or Jews and
Greeks, for the Jews require a sign. If you're familiar with
the Gospels, they were always demanding of the Lord Jesus to
give them a sign. They had enough to choke an elephant,
but when you're blind, you can't see. And they could not see. He said, the only sign I'll give
you is the sign of the prophet Jonah, who was three days and
three nights in the whale's belly. Our Lord would be in that grave
three days. The Jews require a sign, and
the rest of this world, we think we're smart. We seek after wisdom. Paul declares in absolute, utter
simplicity No matter what Jews demand and no matter what Gentiles
demand, we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block
and unto the Greeks foolishness. But unto them who are called,
doesn't matter if you're a Jew or Gentile, Christ the power
of God and the wisdom of God. because the foolishness of God
is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For you see your calling, brethren. If you are a believer, look at
yourself in the mirror and look around you at other believers.
You see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after
the flesh Not many mighty, not many noble are called. So that
old Queen of England, a hundred or so years ago, somebody asked
her what she was thankful for. She said, of all things in this
world, I'm thankful for the letter M, because without it, it would
say not any wise men, Not any mighty, not any noble. She thanked God for the letter
M. But God has chosen the foolish
things of the world to confound the things, to confound the wise. And God has chosen the weak things
of the world to confound the things which are mighty. base
things of the world and things which are despised has God chosen,
yes, and things which are not to bring to nothing things that
are. All to this purpose, verse 29, that no flesh should glory
in his presence, none, none. But of God are you in Christ
Jesus, If you're in Christ, it's because God in His infinite wisdom,
power, and grace puts you there. Of Him are you in Christ, Jesus? And if we're in Christ, God has
made Christ to be four things for us, among many other things.
Who of God is made unto us? Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. What is the purpose? That according
as it is written, he that glories, let him glory in the Lord. Now if you would please take
your Bible again and this time if you would turn to Galatians Chapter 6, Galatians 6. Just one verse out of Galatians
6. That verse is 14. Galatians 6, 14. But God forbid that I should
glory, that I should boast, save or accept in the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ. God forbid that I should glory,
accept in the cross of Christ, by whom the world is crucified
unto me, and I unto the world." What a statement. Glorying only in the cross of
our Lord Jesus Christ. Now what is this cross in which Paul is declaring is
his only glory? What cross is he talking about? What is this cross? Now you say,
Preacher, you must be nuts. Everybody knows what this cross
is. Well, I probably am not far from there. To be perfectly honest with you,
everybody doesn't know what this cross is. This whole religious
world in which we live is totally off base when it comes to the
cross. I want you to look around this
room. Do you see a cross? I hope not. Whatever's here was here when
I came. I just thank God they ain't in here. That ain't the cross this is
talking about. It's not a literal, material, physical cross. It's not. It's not an object that you can
carry. What was this preacher's name who used to drag that big
cross all over the United States, and I guess the world? He died
maybe months or a year ago, I don't remember. That's just sheer nonsense. It is nothing less than idolatry
and pure, simple paganism. It is not. I tell you, it is
not true Christianity. It ain't. It simply is not. never has been, is not now. Secondly, it's not only not a
literal cross that we speak of, but neither is it the symbol
of the cross. You see a lot of sports figures
before they tackle something difficult, you know, they do
whatever, I don't know what the order is, but that's That has
something to do with the cross, but it ain't this cross. And
the one people wear around their neck. Carried around like a rabbit's
foot, so to bring them good luck. This is ridiculous. It is as foreign to what Paul
is teaching in this book and God is revealing to us through
this apostle concerning the cross as day from night. Simply not
the same thing. Is not and cannot be the same
thing. So this cross in which Paul gloried
is not the symbol of the cross. It's not in any kind of religious
signs or superstitions. But it is referring to the person
who died on that cross and what he accomplished while he was
there. That's the cross. That's the cross. The cross is
a Redeemer who has redeemed. God forbid that I should glory
save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, if you've
got a Bible with you, I better find myself a marker, put back
over here in Galatians. I lost my train of thought. Luke's Gospel, chapter 9. I want to give you a Scripture
now for about four things that define in our Bibles this cross. Luke chapter 9. The Lord Jesus is on the Mount of Transfiguration,
that mountain in which the Lord Jesus visibly was transfigured
in front of three of His apostles, Peter, James, and John. Moses
and Elijah come back from glory to meet the Lord Jesus on the
Mount of Transfiguration. What was their subject of discussion? What would Moses and Elijah talk
to the Lord Jesus about? Here it is. One simple statement. Verse 31. They appeared in glory and spoke
of His, that is Christ, deceased, that is, death. Surely this next phrase must
have been put here by the printer by accident. It says concerning
Christ's death, which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. That's the whole point. The cross
is the accomplishment of redemption. Everything God purposed, everything
Christ intended to do on that tree, He absolutely did. His decease, which He should
accomplish at Jerusalem. Alright, the second scripture
that I need you to visit with me is Colossians. Let's see, that's Ephesians,
Galatians, Philippians and Colossians. So it's, if you ever get a hold,
just pass where we were a little bit ago and go by the letter
to the Ephesians and Philippians and you'll come to Colossians
chapter 1. Colossians chapter 1. Here's the second thing that
this cross that Paul declared that he could glory in nothing
else except the cross of his and our Lord Jesus Christ. Have you found Colossians chapter
1? One verse. Verse 20. having made peace, God, Jehovah, having made peace
through the blood of His, namely Christ's cross, having made peace
through the blood of Christ's cross by Him, by the Lord Jesus,
to reconcile all things unto Himself. By Him, I say, whether they be
things in earth or things in heaven. All right? What is the
cross? Number one, it is God in Christ
accomplishing the salvation of every last one of His people.
Secondly, it is God, through Christ and His shed blood, it
is God reconciling those same persons for whom Christ died
to be at peace with Himself. It says the Father has made peace,
how? Through the blood of Christ's
cross. And then it tells us, as it spells
that peace out to us, it says, by Him, by Christ, in His death
on the tree, by Christ, reconciling all things unto Himself. Everything. So the accomplishment of our
Lord's death is in the second place to accomplish reconciliation. What it means is this. Peace
with God. can only belong to a sinner like
you and me through the precious death, blood, and righteousness
of the Lord Jesus. Anybody else that tries to sell
you some plan for peace with God that doesn't have to do with
the blood, the righteousness, the cross, the death of our Lord
Jesus Christ ain't telling you the truth. You tell me if there's another
way. God put his son to death for nothing? That's real smart. That's something I would do.
That ain't something God does. All right, third scripture, all
the way to the Old Testament. And you're getting a free sword
drill here, you know, to boot. So Isaiah chapter 53, you can
hardly talk about the cross. and leave out the 53rd chapter
of Isaiah because it is an Old Testament prophecy with so many
specifics and particulars that it is just absolutely astounding
that this prophet, over 700 years before Christ ever came to this
earth, could give such an account of this as a prophecy of that
which is to come. But indeed, he has. Let's see,
verses 4, 5, and 6. We ought to take all 12, but
you won't stay long enough for me to finish if I do. So verses
4, 5, and 6. Here's what we're looking at.
The next thing that is wrought and accomplished in the death
of Christ on the cross, it is that He took my place. He stood
in my place. He is called our substitute. Therefore, the core, the foundation,
the central blessed theme and thought of the gospel is that
it is a substitution. Salvation how? By divine substitution. Christ taking our place. Suffering in my room place instead. Isaiah 53 verse 4. He, Christ, has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows. Boy, we were tickled, weren't
we? Heck no! Here's what we did. Yet we did
esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. We said,
what's wrong with Him that God would let this happen to Him?
I'm what's wrong with Him. Verse 5, but he was wounded for
our transgressions. He was bruised, why? For our iniquities. The chastisement
of our peace was upon him. With his stripes, we're ever
going to be healed. With his stripes, we are healed. There ain't no healing for the
soul anyplace else. except in the sufferings and
death of the Son of God. That's the only place there is
in Him. Verse 6, all we like sheep have gone astray. We've
turned every one to his own way. Here it is again, and the LORD,
all capital letters LORD means the Lord God Jehovah, has laid
on Him, that is the Lord Jesus, the iniquity of us all. Let me tell you this, if my sins
were not born by Christ on the tree, I'll perish eternally and
so will you. And if He put them away, God will have to cease to be
just to punish me or you for the same sins that were charged
to Christ on the tree. That's the essence of substitution.
That's the gospel, plain and simple. I'm telling you, what
we have on our hands today ain't the gospel. It's some kind of
mixed up, mcmashed, it just has no salvation in it. Salvation
is a person and what that person did on this tree. Period. That's all. That's it. It ain't
what Christ did and what I do. It's what He's already done and
who He's done it for. All right. Yeah, maybe one more
scripture. All right. Romans. Go back. I know you want to know why I
couldn't put these things in order. Don't ask me because I
don't know. But Romans chapter 3. I could probably have done a
better job than I did, for sure, but sometimes you can't just
get it to work out like that. Number four, this cross in which we are to
glory is a cross of an accomplished atonement and redemption. It
is a cross of perfect reconciliation and peace with God, and it is
a cross of substitution, Isaiah 53. Now in Romans chapter 3,
here's the fourth thing the cross is. It is a sin offering to God. Christ's death is the sin offering. Every other offering, every other
sacrifice in the whole of the New and Old Testament combined
is nothing but pointing to and picturing and typifying this
one, the one at Calvary. You and I could not calculate
how many tens or hundreds of thousands of animals the Jews
sacrificed from the beginning of time in the Old Testament
to Malachi's day, not including the time that our Lord was on
this earth. I'm telling you, we could not comprehend how much
blood was shed. But we know this for sure. Scripture
tells us plainly, without the shedding of blood, there's no
remission of sins, there's no forgiveness of sins. And yet,
the blood of goats and calves cannot take away a single solitary
human sin. Why do they offer them all those
hundreds and thousands of years? To picture the coming Redeemer
whose death and blood is their only hope and it's our only hope. They look forward to Calvary,
we look back to Calvary. There, everything took place. Everything. All right, here's
the fourth thing about the cross. Verse 26, Romans chapter 3. To declare, I say at this time,
His, God's righteousness. You've got to have a little bit
of understanding about this. Everything God does becomes Him. It is becoming of Him. If God is holy, everything He
does is holy. If God is righteous, everything
He does is righteous. He doesn't take any shortcuts.
He doesn't sweep anything under the rug. He doesn't do any kind
of pretending, none whatsoever. It's transparent, crystal clear. Here it is in Romans 3.26, to
declare, I say it this time, God's righteousness. Talking
about the death of Christ and the cross of Christ, whatever
else comes and whatever else goes or doesn't come and doesn't
go, this has to be so. God has to do righteously. And when it comes to saving sinners,
He must do that which honors His character and His being,
of which holiness is the overriding attribute of every last single
one. To declare, I say it this time,
God's righteousness, that He, God, might be just or righteous
And at the same time, the justifier of him that believes in Jesus. In order for God to satisfy his
being, and at the same time to justify the ungodly like ourselves,
he must put his son to death on the tree. Isaiah 53.10 says it pleased
the Lord to bruise Christ on that tree. when he made his soul
an offering for sin. Hebrews 10.14 says that the Lord
Jesus has offered one sacrifice for sins forever. Just one. All the other sacrifices
were pointing to the one. The one that really counts, the
one where everything takes place. Well, how could the Lord save
all those people, all those generations past before Christ came? That
ain't hard. He took His Son's Word and the
covenant that what He said He would do, He would do. He became
our covenant surety and our representative. And the Father saved His children
in Old Testament generations purely and simply on the promised
word of our Lord Jesus Christ called His covenant oath. I don't think He'd take my word.
He took His Son's word to declare, I say it this time, God's righteousness. that he might be just and still
justify him who believes in the Lord Jesus. Hey, I've got some
more time. I want you to turn to one other
Scripture. Psalm 85. Well, that's where it was the
last time I saw it there, and it may be moved. Psalm 85. If you can get a hold of what
I'm about to show you, if I can ever get to Psalm 85, it will be a tremendous blessing
to your soul. And I can't tell you how many
years I was a church member, grew up in an organization for
young boys called RAs and went through all that stuff. Sunday school teacher, deacon,
preacher, pastor, I didn't have a clue that this
statement was even in this book. And if I had read it, and I probably
did, I didn't have a clue as to what it meant. That's how
dumb I am. That's how dumb we all are. I
mean, until the Lord opens the eyes of the soul, you can't see. No matter how plain something
is. Alright, Psalm 85. Now here's what's going on at
the cross. Verse 10. Mercy and truth are met together. They meet in Christ on the tree. God is merciful and God is truthful. How can both of those attributes
be said to be at peace with one another? Truth says the soul
that sins must surely die. Mercy says let's show him mercy. But God cannot show mercy at
the expense of truth. Therefore, He must put His Son
to death in our place to enable Him to have mercy on people who
don't deserve mercy. I mean, if it's mercy, it ain't
deserved. If it's deserved, it can't be mercy, the very definition
of the word. That's just how it is. And the
next statement is just as good as that. Mercy and truth are
met together. Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other on the cross. Every characteristic of God Almighty
is fully revealed and honored and magnified and exalted so
that the being and character of God is gloriously proclaimed
and at the same time gloriously protected because The person
who was on that tree and what he accomplished in those six
hours enabled God to be just and justify the ungodly. That,
my friend, is a gospel that 2008, oh, I just about tell you that
in 100 miles of where we're sitting
and standing, I doubt it be mentioned. And
the reason I doubt it is because I don't think they know it. You
can't tell what you don't know. But if you don't know it, you
ought to get on your face, figuratively speaking, before the Lord and
ask Him to teach you these things. I can't make you learn it. I
couldn't even help myself to learn it. God has to come to
us in His grace and in His gospel
or we won't ever know it. Well, I'm through rambling.