My Chief Glory

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

The Bible teaches that the glory of the cross of Jesus Christ is paramount for believers and is the source of our hope and salvation. In Galatians 6:14, Paul expresses a profound sentiment by saying, 'God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.' This illustrates that the highest glory of our faith stems from the redemptive work of Christ on the cross. It is in this act that we find the essence of God's grace and the fulfillment of His divine plan for atonement. The cross serves not merely as a symbol of Christianity but as the crux of the Gospel message itself—a testament to God’s love and justice intertwined. Without the reality of the cross, we would lack any foundation for the Christian faith.

Q: How do we know the doctrine of the cross is true?

The truth of the doctrine of the cross is established through Scripture, particularly in its presentation of Christ's purpose and achievements. The doctrine of the cross centers around the reality of Christ's unique identity, His sacrificial purpose, and the totality of His accomplishments on the cross. According to Paul, who affirms throughout his letters that Christ's death was a deliberate and effective act of atonement, it is clear that the message of the cross declares who Jesus is, why He died, and what He accomplished. In Romans 5:8, we see that 'God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.' This substantiates the claim that Christ's death was not an accident but a divinely orchestrated event with specific goals tied to our redemption. Furthermore, believers understand that Jesus' victory over sin and death, evidenced in His resurrection, confirms the truth of His work on the cross.

Q: Why is the cross important for Christians?

The cross is crucial for Christians as it signifies the foundation of our salvation and the depth of God's love. For Christians, the cross represents the ultimate expression of God's grace and justice. It is through the cross that sin is atoned for, as stated in Romans 3:25, which mentions that God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement. This means that Christ bore the penalty of our sins, allowing believers to be justified before God. The importance of the cross cannot be overstated; it is where God's holiness meets His mercy. Additionally, the cross is central to the believer's identity. In Galatians 6:14, Paul emphasizes that it is the cross by which the world is crucified to him, and he to the world—signifying that our relationship with the world is redefined through our union with Christ’s death and resurrection. Thus, the cross is not only the historical event that offers salvation but is also the heart of the Christian's ongoing faith and life.

Now let's open our Bibles to
the book of Galatians, Galatians chapter 6. I'm going to speak
tonight on the subject of worship, the parts of worship, the privilege
of worship, what is true worship. And I'll
be speaking, if you want to read the scripture, this afternoon,
chapter 3 of Ephesians. That's what I'll speak on tonight.
We're going verse by verse through the third chapter of Ephesians.
And if you want to read it ahead of time and be prepared to study
it tonight, please do so. Now, Galatians 6. Paul said, If a man be overtaken in a fault,
you which are spiritual, mature, restore such a one, and do it
in the spirit of humility and meekness, considering thyself,
lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's weights,
infirmities, and so fulfill the royal law of Christ, that you
love one another as he loved us. For if a man think himself
to be something when he's really nothing, he deceives himself. But let every man prove his own
work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and
he won't have to compare himself with another and say, well, I'm
this and that better than the other man, he can rejoice in
the fact that Christ has blessed him. Every man shall bear his
own task or service. Now let him that is taught in
the word communicate unto him that teacheth. Take care of your
preachers and your teachers and your pastors and your missionaries.
in all good things. If you benefited from their ministry,
then you see that their needs are met. And don't be deceived
now. God's not mocked. Whatsoever
a man soweth, that shall he also reap. He that soweth to his flesh
the things of this world, that's what he's interested in, that's
what he invests in, that's what he gives himself to, he shall
of the flesh reap corruption. He'll go down with it. But he
that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let's not be weary in well-doing. Don't give up, don't quit. In
due season we shall reap if we faint not. And as we have therefore
opportunity, as God opens the door, gives us the opportunity
and the means, let's do good unto all men. unto them who are
of the family of God, the household of faith. Now, Paul said, you
see how large a letter I've written to you with my own hand? As many
as desire to make a fair show in the flesh. These preachers
and teachers that are trying to make a show and trying to
produce numbers and statistics and organizations and impress
folks. They constrain you to be circumcised,
or baptized, or catechized, or this, that, and the other. They
constrain you to do something. Do something. Do something. Show
of hands. Write me. Fill out a card. But let's make
a show. Let's see some results. These
folks that are interested in showing the flesh results and
something they can see, something they can report, something they
can brag about, then they constrain you to do something. And the
reason they go that route is given in the last part of verse
12, only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of
Christ, for the true gospel. For neither they themselves who
are circumcised keep the law. Those fellows aren't keeping
the law. They're not saving themselves. They're not pleasing God. They're
not producing anything with which God is pleased, but they desire
to have you circumcised that they may glory in your flesh.
Their glory is not in the Lord, their glory is not in the person
of Christ, their glory is not in the blood of Christ, their
glory is in the flesh. And you're their glory, and you
add to their glory, and you feed their flesh, and feed their desires,
and feed their programs, that they may glory in your flesh.
They brag about where they preach, to whom they preach, how many
they preach, and all these things. Now verse 14, but God forbid,
God forbid. And that's an expression that
is characteristic of Paul. Paul's the only scriptural writer
that uses that phrase, God forbid. And practically every time he
uses it, he uses it when it's an expression of exasperation.
In other words, somebody said one time, If our sinfulness exalts
the grace of God, in other words, if God's grace is to the wicked,
and the more wicked a man is, the more glory God gets from
cleansing him and saving him, then less sin that grace may
abound. He said, God forbid. Exaggeration, you know, how could
you come up with that? God forbid. And then he talks
about these flesh merchants, these merchandisers of souls,
these preachers in religion and preaching for professionalism
and vocation and vainglory and filthy lucre and every other
reason, he said, as far as I'm concerned, God forbid, God forbid
that I should glory, take any delight, rejoice in, have any
pride, boast of, 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. Doris and I enjoy our birds. I think most people in this congregation,
I've mentioned it several times, are well aware of the fact that
we talk to the birds and the squirrels. When you get old,
that's what you do. But Ed Ballard made me a bird
feeder and I've got a bird bath and we sit there in front of
the patio door and we put out, my birds are the best fed birds
in the country. I buy pecans and peanuts and
sunflower seeds and wild bird seeds for my birds. And I put
it out every day, sometimes twice. And we've named them. We've got
cardinals named Louis and Louise. That's the St. Louis Cardinal,
you know. Darcy's names are my joy. She's got Blue Jays with names
and Chickadees. But I found out this, that every
bird has its own song. Did you know that? Every bird
has its own song. The Blue Jay. We can be in the
room and hear him hollering for peanuts. We know who it is. It's
Jay. And I don't know where he's usually
sitting when he's hollering, but he's got his own song. And
the robin and the cardinal has their own little noise, their
own little song. That's right. Every bird, whippoorwill,
whatever it is, they have their own personal song. Even so, every preacher, every
preacher has his own message, his own song. And when you hear
him, you'll hear that message. You'll hear that message. And
that's what Paul is saying here in my text. The Apostle Paul
sounds his note. The Apostle Paul sings his song. The Apostle Paul makes his own
special noise. And this is it. He said to the
Corinthians, God, I'm determined. to know nothing among you, save
Jesus Christ in Christendom." He said, God didn't send me to
baptize. God sent me to preach the gospel
of Jesus Christ. And I'm not ashamed. He said,
I'll come down there to Rome, but I want you to know this.
I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It's the power of
God unto salvation. And here in our text, he said,
this is my song, this is my message, this is my glory. God forbid
that I should glory, save in the cross. Saving the cross. Saving the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ. The redemptive, substitutionary,
effectual, cleansing, saving atonement that Christ accomplished
at Calvary. That's my psalm. That's my message. I tell you this, the highest
glory of our faith And our faith includes everything that we believe
and everything to which we hold and everything in which we hope.
And I tell you, the highest glory of our holy faith is the cross
of Jesus Christ. That's the highest glory. I know
the history of God's grace goes back before the world began. And I know God's grace extends
throughout eternity future. The history of God's grace goes
back before the world began, and the continuation of God's
grace reaches out into the eons of the future, but in the middle
of it all. And rising to the highest mountain
in the middle of all of the expression, manifestation of purpose of God's
grace on the highest mountain stands the cross of the Lord
Jesus Christ. That's right. And somebody said
of the two eternities, Calvary is the meeting place. And someone
said of all the past decrees and all the future glory, the
cross is the pivot. and the hinge. And of the old
covenant and the new covenant, the cross is the heart, and the
sum, and the substance, and the essence. And of believers of
every dispensation, those who have believed, are believing,
and will believe, this is the one hope. If you ask any of Christ died for my sins. That's it. That's what Isaiah
said. He was wounded by our transgression. That's what Abraham said. He
said the Lord will provide himself a land. You see, there are a lot of things
in which Paul could have honestly gloried. That's right. There
are a lot of things. He had a rich choice of things in which he
could have gloried. He might have gloried in his
birth, in his education. He might have gloried in his
heritage. He said, anybody got anything in which, in the flesh,
in which they want to glory? He said, I'm over. Wasn't that
what he said? He might have gloried in his
visions and revelations. After all, he did write about
14 of the 27 books in the New Testament. And after all, he
was taken, he said, whether in the body or out of the body,
I don't know, but into the third heaven and heard things I can't
even talk about. He might have gloried in his
sufferings for Christ. He talks about being shipwrecked.
He talks about being stoned. He talks about being scourged. He talks about being in prison. He might have gloried in his
works. He said, I labored more abundantly than all of you, yet
not I but Christ in me. But here we are saying, God forbid,
that I should boast or glory or rejoice save in the cross,
in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, right here, Listen carefully to me, and please
understand what I'm trying to say. There are many things about Christ
in which Paul might have gloried, and his message been less offensive. That's right. There are many
things about Christ in which Paul might have gloried, and
his message and his ministry not been so offensive and not been so despised. Now
let me show you. For example, he might have gloried
in the Incarnation. Most religions today make much
of it, don't they? Mary and the child, isn't that
correct? They have the nativity scenes,
the virgin, the virgin birth. Most every denomination in this
world will fight you clear down to the back alley at the virgin
birth. So Paul could have said, I glory
in the incarnation of the Son of God. He was born of a virgin. in Bethlehem's manger. And he
would have taken much of the offense out of his message. That's
right. I'll tell you something else
about Christ in which he might have gloried. He might have gloried
in the perfect life of Christ. Pilate said this, I find no fault
in him. Even Pilate said I find no fault
in him. Pilate's wife sent a note and
said this is a just man. Not long ago, a man wrote a book
on what would Jesus do, and advised everybody to make the life of
Jesus Christ their pattern. And Paul could have gloried in
the perfect life of Christ and taken a whole lot of the offense
out of his message. That's right. The offense is
in the cross, I'm trying to tell you. And I'll get to something
else in a minute about that cross. The offense is not in the fact
of the cross, it's in the message of the cross. Paul might have gloried in the
miracles of Christ. The TV preachers are making a
fortune on Christ's power to heal. There's no offense there.
They can go to a town and everybody that's got anything from an abscessed
ear to a head cold will be there to be healed. And they said Christ
is still on the throne, Christ is still able to heal, he's still
able to do these mighty things. Yeah, he sure is. He did. And
Nicodemus said no man could do the miracle of Judah except God
be with him. If you'd had a healing campaign, Nicodemus would have
been there. But if you meet to rejoice in the sacrifice of Christ,
Nicodemus wouldn't have been there. He admired the power of
Christ. A lot of other people did. Paul might have glowed in the
resurrection. Boy, I tell you this, when you
start getting old and start thinking about dying, you kind of hope
there is a resurrection. You appeal, you go down to the
rest home and appeal to everybody, they're talking about the resurrection.
And anybody that's down at the hospital, they're like, tell
me about that resurrection some more. Tell me about that Straits
of Gold, Gates of Pearl. I like to talk about that sort
of thing. And you can have a sunrise service, old Putnam Stadium,
and pack them in. But don't get over there and
tell them you're going to preach about God's elective grace, in particular
redemption. You allow them not to even have
anybody to usher. Or to sign him. Because they're
interested in the resurrect, take the offense out. That's right. I'm telling the
truth. You can even glory in his second coming. There are
a lot of things about Christ. There are people today who preach,
debate, argue, make much of the second coming, the kingdom, restore
the temple, restore Israel to its great glory. Israel is even
interested in that. Those Jews are interested in
that. So you see what I'm saying? Now I'm getting to the main part
of this thing right here. The Apostle Paul talked about
these circumcisers and Judaizers and flesh merchants and hucksters
and merchandisers of soul. And he said, they got a message,
they got a gospel, it's another gospel. They got things in which
they glory, but God forbid, God forbid, that I should glory save in the
cross, in the cross. A whole lot of things in which
I could glory in this flesh, but I don't find any glory in
it. And there are a lot of things about my Lord, even, that are
not offensive to this human flesh. That's right. A lot of things
about him, his incarnation, his perfect life, his power to heal,
his resurrection. But he said the offense is in
the cross. He said this, to the Jew, it's
a stumbling block, the cross. To the Greek, it's foolishness. To the religious legalist, it's
offensive. He said, if I preach circumcision,
then why am I persecuted? The offense is gone. The offense
is gone. When Paul says, I glory, when
he says, my chief glory, My cheap blow is that particular point
in our Lord's redictive work which is most hated and most
offensive and most assailed by me. What is it? The cross. But now wait. Here's the main point of this
message. The offense is not in the fact of the cross. No sir,
not in the fact of it. People wear them in their lapels.
Even the ballplayers wear them around their necks. The ladies, you can pick out
a burlesque dancer and she'll have a cross hanging right here.
The cross, they don't have a church building. They're everywhere. The fact of the cross is not
offensive. The fact that there was a cross,
Jesus Christ became a man. took our nature, was arrested,
tried by Pilate, died on a cross, died between two thieves. Those
are facts, nothing offensive in it. If he died as an example,
that's not offensive. If he died as a martyr, that's
not offensive. But here it is, catch it now. The message of the cross, the
doctrine of the cross is a different matter. That's what's offensive. What is that cross saying? What
does that cross declare? That message of that cross, the
doctrine of that cross, is what makes it foolishness to the Greek,
a stumbling block to the Jew, and ridiculous to the religious.
What does that cross say? I'll tell you. This is that which makes it the
wisdom and the power of God to every believer. And this is what
makes it our song and our glory. Number one, who died? The one
on that cross is not a mere man. That's the God-man. Feed the
church of God, Paul said, which he purchased with his own blood. God was in Christ reconciling
the world to himself. Who is he that condemneth? It's
the Christ who died. See that? Who died? It's the
Son of God. It's the Lamb of God. It's God
in human flesh. It's the second person of the
blessed Trinity. It's the one who created all
things, who upholds all things, by whom all things consist. That's
the God-man. That's the second Adam. That's
the Lord from heaven. That's who died. Secondly. Why did he die? Here comes the offense now. Here
comes the offense. He didn't die as an example.
His death is a good example, but that's not why he died. He
didn't die because he couldn't do anything else. He said, I
lay my life down. He didn't die because they killed
him. They didn't kill him. He gave up the ghost. He died his death toward God. That's right, toward God. His
blood was offered to God as an atonement, as a sacrifice, as
a sin offering, which was pictured all the way through that Old
Testament by every blood and bull and bullock that died on
a Jewish altar, starting with Abel. But his blood was not toward
men, it was for men, but not toward men. Jesus Christ didn't
die to win your sympathy, or win your pity, or win your allowance,
or allegiance. He died to satisfy an angry God,
a holy God. That's right. The soul that sinnethes
shall die, and he died for every soul that believes. He died toward God. He died to
enable a holy God to be holy, and save you and me. He died
to enable a holy God to be just and justified. God sent him forth
as a perpetuation, as a covering, as a sin offering that God may
be just. He died toward God to enable
God to be righteous and merciful. That's right. And he died for
us. That's right. And what did he
accomplish when he died? Here's the offense. You see,
the fact of the cross is not offensive. I can preach in any
pulpit in this whole world, I don't care where it is, Greek Orthodox,
Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, whatever, virgin
birth, perfect life, the charismatic power of Christ to heal, resurrection,
second coming. That's right, cut loose. Christ's
death as an example? Just preaching anyway. Here's
the offense. When he died on that cross, he
did what he came to do. His blood is sufficient and effectual
to the salvation of every person for whom he died. He didn't make an effort to save,
he saved. He didn't make an effort to atone,
he atoned. His redemption redeems. His salvation
saves. His atonement atones. His sacrifice
satisfies. He made a full atonement, a full
satisfaction, a full redemption for all believers. He is an effectual high priest
who entered into the Holy of Holies and obtained eternal redemption
for us. That's right. That's offensive. And I'll tell you this. And here's
where men stray. And when they do, they have no
saving gospel. If Christ died the same for everybody
in hell, as for everybody in heaven, then he didn't save anybody. That's right. If he on that cross
made an offer and set up a way and established a program, and
it now depends on me to make it work or make it effectual,
he didn't save anybody. I'm my own Savior. My faith is
my Savior. My works are my Savior, or whatever. Old John Owen made this statement.
If Jesus Christ died on that cross for all the sins of all
people, then all people will be saved. Is that correct? That is correct. If Jesus Christ
died on that cross for some of the sins of all people, this
is what some say, he died for the Adamic sin. He didn't pay
for the sin of unbelief. That's my greatest sin, unbelief. If I didn't have unbelief, I
wouldn't have no sin. If he died for some of the sins
of all people, then nobody's going to be saved. But if he
died for all the sins of some people, then some people are
going to be saved. I don't know who they are. God
does. He said, I know my sheep. He said, known unto the Lord
are all his works from the beginning. The Lord knoweth them that are
his. I never knew you. You're not
of my sheep. That's why you don't believe.
My sheep believe. All that my Father gives me will
come to me. This is the will of him that sent me, of all which
he has given me. I'll lose nothing but raise it
up the last day. That is the offense. Where is
he now? Where is Jesus Christ now? Where is he? He's at the right hand of God.
What's he doing now? He's seated. He's not struggling. He's not standing. He's not pacing. He's seated. Because his work's
finished. He has nothing left to do in
redemption. It's done. It's finished! The high priest in the Old Testament
never sat down. He had no chair. He never sat
down because he never finished his work. Christ finished. Sat
down. And ever liveth to make intercession.
You mean he sits up there and calls names all day? Uh-uh. Doesn't
have to. His very presence assures them
of acceptance. We're accepting the beloved.
His wounds plead. The Father knows all. The Father
knoweth them that are His. God's not in the dark. God's
not expecting something to happen that he didn't know would happen.
There's no surprises. Everything's on schedule. Christ
died for his people. And that's the offense. God forbid that I should glory
save in the cross. Not the fact of it, but the message
of it, the doctrine of it, the truth of it, what was accomplished
on that cross. And I'll tell you this. If a
preacher preaches, and if a believer witnesses, not just the fact
of the cross only, but the doctrine of the cross. Who is Christ?
Who died? Why did he die? What did he accomplish
when he died? Where is he now? You declare
that loud and clear, then you'll have to bear the consequences
of the cross. That's when you take up your
cross and follow him. And the Jews will not have a
crucified Messiah. They'll have a ruling, elevated,
magnified sacrament, not just cross business. The philosophic Greeks and Gentiles
will have redemption, but not by blood, not by blood. And the fundamentalists and the
Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, Nazarenes, Pentecostals, Assembly
of God, Church of God, all of the people of our day, they'll have an atonement, but
not a full, complete, free, effectual atonement. They want an offer. And my friends, the gospel is
not an offer. It's a gift. If you bring me something and
you say, here's a present for you, and I'll give it to you
if you give me five dollars a week. It's not a gift. You're selling
me that blooming thing. See what I'm saying? But if you
come to me, no strings attached. There it is. I love you. You may not love me. But there's
my gift. There's my gift. No strings attached.
That's salvation. That's the way God brings salvation.
It's free. Now, I know His people, if somebody comes along, well,
you know, you can't get people doing things that way. Well,
no I can't, but He can. His people will be convicted
of sin. His people will repent. His people
will hear the gospel. They will believe. They will
walk in obedience. They will continue in the faith.
They will be new creatures, but nothing they do, believe, or
think has one thing to do with putting away their sins. Christ
did it. Is that right? Christ did it. And if it's any other way, It
says, he walked the winepress alone. It says, by himself purged
our sins. God said, not when I see your
faith or see your baptism or see your works or hear your sermons. When I see the blood, I'll pass
over you. It hadn't changed. Christ, I'll
pass over his sacrifice for us. That's it. There's an old fellow
named Palerio, Cronio Palerio. over in Italy, 16th century.
He wrote a book on the benefits of Christ's death. The benefits
of Christ's death. Of course, the Pope and Catholicism
raised up in arms over this book. And he was brought before the
judge by the order of the Pope. And three questions were put
to him. Three questions. And he was to
answer these three questions and his fate rested on his answer
to these three questions. Here are the three questions.
What is the first cause of salvation? What is the second cause of salvation? And what is the third cause of
salvation? They thought he would say something
for the glory of the church or the glory of the individual of
the glory of someone. And he replied, the first cause
of salvation is Christ crucified. The second cause of salvation
is Christ crucified. The third cause of salvation
is Christ crucified. And they put him to death. But
that's my glory. Christ crucified. And I'm telling
you this, not just the fact of it, but the message of it. The doctrine of the cross. All
right, Mike's going to come and sing for us at this time.

My Chief Glory

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

How do we know the doctrine of the cross is true?

Why is the cross important for Christians?

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About Henry Mahan

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My Chief Glory

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

How do we know the doctrine of the cross is true?

Why is the cross important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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