I want you to open your Bibles
today to the book of Galatians. I'm going to be speaking from
Galatians chapter 6, the sixth chapter of Galatians. And the
title of this message is, The Glory of His Cross. The Glory of His Cross. Now,
I want you to give me a good hearing. I'm going to say some
things that need to be said. And I'm going to preach a message
from the Word of God on one of the most important subjects that
you can possibly entertain or look into, the glory of His cross. Now, there never lived MAN WITH
MORE CONCERN AND COMPASSION FOR HIS FELLOW MAN THAN THE APOSTLE
PAUL." NOW, I'M SURE OF THAT. HE SAID ON ONE OCCASION IN ROMANS
9, VERSE 2 AND 3, I HAVE GREAT HEAVINESS AND CONTINUAL SORROW
IN MY HEART, FOR I COULD WISH THAT MYSELF WERE ACCURSED FROM
CHRIST OR SEPARATED FROM CHRIST FOR MY BRETHREN. NOW, THAT'S
CONCERN. THAT'S DEED. and compassion for
others. I could wish that myself were
accursed from Christ for these brethren of mine who are Jews
in the flesh." And then on another occasion in Romans 10, he said
this, verse 1, "'Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to
God for Israel is that they might be saved.'" Now that's compassion,
that's concern, heart's desire and prayer to God. For my brethren,
according to the flesh, is that they might be saved. But while
Paul had this deep concern and compassion for his friends to
know God, yet Paul could not tolerate a false gospel. He just could not tolerate men
compromising the truth of God and denying the substitutionary
sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He couldn't tolerate it. He said
in Galatians 1, though we are an angel from heaven, though
we are an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto
you than that which we have preached. Let him be accursed. Let him
be damned. Let him be under the condemnation
of God Almighty. There's no room for another gospel.
We cannot give place to another gospel. We cannot suffer another
gospel. And Paul strongly rebuked those
who turned aside from the gospel of Jesus Christ, and he declared
this, and this is found in our text, Galatians 6. I want you
to turn to Galatians 6. I want you to find the Scripture.
I've had several people say to me in letters, we follow in the
Bible while you're preaching on television. I hope you do.
Be like the noble Bereans. They searched the scriptures
to see if these things be so. Even when they heard the great
Apostle Paul preach, they went home and searched the scriptures
to see if these things be so. And I want you to look at Galatians
6. Now, verse 12 first. And what I'm saying is this.
The Apostle Paul strongly rebuked people who turned aside from
the gospel of Christ, and he declared, they have other motives
They have other reasons. They have other objections than
the glory of God and your good. They're in the ministry for something
else besides the glory of God and your good. And this causes
them to turn from the gospel. This causes them to preach other
things. Now look at verse 12 of Galatians
6. First of all, he says, they desire
to make a fair show in the flesh. They desire to be successful
in the flesh. They desire to impress. Why would
a man turn from the true gospel? Why would a man turn from the
substitutionary death of Christ? Why would a man turn from the
greater glory of God to preach something else? Paul said, I'll
tell you why. They desire to make a fair show
in the flesh. They desire to build impressive
followings. and to impress other people.
Our Lord Jesus said this, they seek the honor that comes from
men and not the honor that comes from God. There's absolutely
no reason for a preacher or a church to count people. There's no reason
for us to keep records or numbers. No reason for us to make reports,
is there? Except as we desire to make a
show in the flesh. And if you look at religion in
our day, This is the very charge that Paul is bringing against
this group here. He says they desire to make a
show. They desire to impress someone.
They seek the honor that comes from men and not that honor that
comes from God. And again in verse 12, he says
this, listen, and they constrain you to be circumcised. They constrain you to be circumcised
or to be baptized or to come forward or to sign up or to make
some sort of physical commitment. My friends, coming to Christ
is not a physical move. Coming to Christ is a heart work.
Coming to Christ is not coming to the front of the church. Coming
to Christ is a personal, individual heart committal to Jesus Christ. Paul wrote in Romans 10, If thou
shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus to be Lord, and believe
in thine heart God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt
be saved. For with a heart, with a heart man believeth unto righteousness. Our Lord said, My son, give me
your heart. to keep thy heart with all diligence
out of it are the issues of life. The sacrifices of God are a broken
heart and a broken spirit. The Lord is known to them of
a broken heart. Coming to Christ is not a fleshly
move. It's a spiritual commitment to
Christ in the heart. But like Cain of old, the natural
man wants something to do. He wants something to do outwardly.
He wants an aisle to walk. He wants a physical altar to
which he can come. He wants a day to keep. He wants
a church to join. He wants a tithe to pay. He wants
a law to observe. He wants a work to do. He wants
a righteousness to work out. That's what the natural man wants.
He keeps asking, what must I do to be saved? What can I do? What work shall I perform in
order to obligate God, in order to merit God's mercy or God's
grace? And like Aaron of old, like Aaron
of old, the preachers helped these people to build their golden
calves. Aaron said when Moses came down
off the mountain, well, they wanted a calf, so I built them
one. This is what they wanted. Let the people have what they
want. Tell the people what they want to hear. Cry peace, peace,
when there is no peace. Go along with their fleshly music
and entertainment. Let the people erect crosses
and pictures and idols of religion. Build their altars at the front
of the church. Call them forward to fleshly
public displays. Go along with anything. Go along
with anyone in the name of religion. Live and let live. And I ask,
why? Why should a prophet of God give
in to the desires of the people when they're contrary to the
Word of God? Well, I'll tell you why. Look at the next verse
right here, the next statement. He said, They desire to make
a fair show in the flesh, and they constrain you to act, to
be circumcised, to be baptized, to do all these things. And here's
the reason. Lest they suffer persecution
for the cross of Jesus Christ. lest they suffer persecution
for preaching the true way of salvation. I'll tell you this,
if a preacher does not go along with the trend, if a preacher
does not compromise and go along with the tradition of religion,
if he does not go along with the customs of his day, he'll
be branded a fool, a radical, and a fanatic. But I'll tell
you this, my friends, the cross of substitution The gospel of
God's free grace in Jesus Christ is now and always has been and
always will be offensive to the natural man. It's called in Galatians
the offense of the cross. What's offensive about the cross?
Well, it addresses all men as sinners. And that offends man's
dignity. We be not sinners. It declares
salvation is the free gift of God. and that offends man's pride. He likes to make some contribution
to the salvation of his soul. It presents a full and complete
and effectual atonement, and that's in direct opposition against
man's efforts to save himself. And then this gospel of substitution
of the cross comes by revelation, not by reasoning. And that offends
man's wisdom. Look at the next verse. He says
this in verse 13. Now look at this carefully. These
men who desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they like
to make an impact. They like to make an impression.
Everything's got to be big, numbers big, growing. Tremendously, every
year, records, reports, all of these things, big buildings,
impressive statistics. These men who preach law and
rules and regulations, they tell you how to live and what to do
and where to go and what to eat and what to drink and what days
to keep. They constrain you to be circumcised,
to be baptized. They constrain you to give all
you have. to keep holy days and sacrifice,
to keep their programs on the air, sacrifice to build these
great monuments to religion, keep the law. Well, he says in
verse 13, these men do not keep the law. These men do not keep
the law. They don't do these things. What
they constrain you to do, they don't do. I tell you this, some
of the most worldly people in the world are those who preach
against worldliness. They're the richest, gaudiest,
live with the fashions, live the highest, materialistic, fleshly
in their thinking, in their ways, in their dress, in their conduct.
Some of the most worldly people in this world are those who preach
against worldliness. And some of the most unsanctified
people in this world are those who continually preach sanctification,
sanctification, sanctification by deeds and works and laws.
They got the cruelest spirits, the meanest tempers, the sharpest
tongues, and the most hateful attitude you ever ran into in
your life. Their churches are confusing
places of division. They're the sanctified folks.
Oh, they don't go to a movie, and they wouldn't drink a beer,
they wouldn't smoke a cigarette, but they sure mean to live with.
Some of the most unsanctified people on Earth are those who
claim to be sanctified. And some of the most ill-tempered
and selfish and egotistical and unholy people on Earth are the
preachers and those who call themselves holiness people. And
you know what I'm saying so. You ever tried to live with one?
You'll find it out. And I'll tell you this. This
is what Paul is saying. He's saying these people desire
to make a show in the flesh. That's what they're after, to
impress people, to win the honor and praise of men. And they constrain
you to be circumcised. They constrain you to sacrifice
and give and work and go and abstain from this and abstain
from that. They don't abstain from anything.
They stretch the line as far as they can stretch it. And here's
the reason for their inconsistency. Two reasons. Two reasons for
their inconsistency. One, they don't know the gospel.
Now, that's the first reason. They just do not know the gospel.
Never been converted in their hearts, and they're gonna hear
Christ say to them, depart from me, I never knew you. Why, he
said, many are gonna say to me in that day, Lord, we preached
in your name, and we did many wonderful works, and we cast
out demons, devils in your name. I never knew you. I never knew
you. You made a profession, but I
never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work iniquity." These
men have never discovered the gospel. They don't know the living
God, nor Jesus Christ whom he has sent. They don't know the
glory of God, the character of God. They know nothing about
what happened in the garden, They know nothing of the extent
and the consequences of the fall. They know nothing of how God
can be just and justify the ungodly. They may talk about the blood,
but never in reference to God, always in reference to men. They
know nothing of atonement. They know nothing of reconciliation.
They know nothing of redemption. They know nothing of a new heart,
a new life, a new creature, a new birth, a new family, a new direction.
Nothing of those things. It's a profession. It's an outward
veneer of religion, and it's distasteful to God Almighty.
And here's the second reason. Why they seek to make a show
in the flesh. Why they constrain you to be
circumcised. Why they shy away from the offense
of the cross. Why they are easy to buy off.
They're easy to bribe. They're easy to turn their heads
because they're not bond slaves of Jesus Christ. They sell out,
they're covetous men. And here's the other reason,
listen, that they make glory in your flesh. That they make
glory in your flesh. You're just so much merchandise
to them. So much merchandise. I tell you
this, everything a man does is for a reason. It's for a reason. And if what he's doing is not
supremely, supremely done for the glory of God and the good
of those to whom he's ministering with no thought for his own comforts
and no thought for his own luxury and no thought for his own fame, no thought for his own
popularity, he does it for the glory of God. If he doesn't,
it's for his own glory. It's for his own praise. It's
for his own recognition. And I'll tell you, most of the
religious organizations with which I've been affiliated, and
that I know anything about, and all the buildings and the shows
and the efforts, it looks like to me, it's for the glory of
their leader. And you find out who the leader
is. Find out in whose name they operate. Find out whose name
they promote. Find out whose name's always
before you. And you'll find out what their
objective is. Paul summed up his ministry in
this way. In Acts chapter 20, he was ministering
to the elders of the church at Ephesus. And he said, brethren,
you won't see my face anymore. This is the last time I'm going
to preach to you. But he said, I'll tell you this. I've served
the Lord among you with humility. He said, I even made tents to
support myself and those with me. He said, I've coveted no
man's silver or gold. I've never asked you for a thing.
He said, I've kept back nothing profitable unto you, nothing
whatsoever. I haven't been afraid to declare
unto you all the counsel of God. He said, I leave you now. And
I, watch this, I commend you to God. I commend you to God
and to his word. And that's a good place to leave
a man, isn't it? Commend him to God. Don't commend him to
an earthly counselor. Commend him to God. Commend him
to the Word of God, which is able to build you up and to give
you an inheritance in the kingdom of God. Now watch the next verse. Now he's talked about these folks
that make a grand, fair show in the flesh. And they constrain
people to do things and constantly seeking the approval of men,
be circumcised, baptized, do all these things, and they're
fearful of the offense of the cross. They don't want to suffer
persecution for this hated gospel of God's grace. And the reason
they do this is because they want a glory in your flesh. They
got the glory in something. But Paul said in verse 14, listen,
God forbid. That's as close as Paul ever
came to cursing. That's an oath that he often
used, God forbid. God forbid, God forbid that I
should glory, that I should glory in myself, or in my flesh, or
in my accomplishments, or in my attainments, or in my ancestry,
in anything, except the cross of Jesus Christ, our Lord. That's my glory. That's my chief
glory, the cross of Jesus Christ. Now, what does Paul mean by the
cross of Christ? when he says, God forbid, everybody's
gonna glory in something. Everybody's gonna have an objective,
a motive, something that is important to him, most important. And Paul
said, that which is most important to me is the glory of my Lord
and the glory of his redemptive work. And what does he mean by
the cross of Christ? Well, he certainly doesn't mean
that cross of wood on which Paul died, of which Christ died. when
he said, God forbid that I should glory save in the cross, he's
not talking about that cross of wood. And he's not talking
about all these crosses that are on top of church buildings
and hanging around people's necks and symbols of religion everywhere. We don't glory in that at all.
Most of the time, that's an embarrassment because it's idolatry. What Paul
is saying is this, when he said, I glory in the cross, I preach
the cross. He's referring, listen to me
now, he's referring to all that Jesus Christ did in the redemption
of his people. The cross on Calvary is but the
top stone of God's building. Everything that God did leading
to that cross and everything that God did leading from that
cross is fulfilled and completed and heads up in that cross. That's
what Paul's talking about. He's using the word cross, the
death of Christ on Calvary to sum up all that God did in preparation
for the cross and the death of his son, and all that resulted
from the death of his son. Now, in other words, I say this,
when we preach Christ crucified, when we preach the cross of Christ,
We're preaching Christ who was foreordained from before the
foundation of the world as our Lamb slain. You see, he who died
on that cross, that was no sudden, impulsive decision on the part
of God. He was the Lamb slain from the
foundation of the world. Before there was a sinner, there
was a Savior. He was our surety in the everlasting
covenant. His blood is the blood of an
everlasting covenant. And then all the way through
the Old Testament, those pictures and promises and prophecies point
to the cross. You see that Passover lamb in
Egypt, that's Christ. Christ is our Passover. That
smitten rock, that's Christ smitten and afflicted of God. You see
that? And then Christ incarnate. When we preach the cross, we're
preaching Christ incarnate. God became a man. In order to
die on the cross, he had to have a body. Only a man can die. God can't die. So Christ had
to become a man. You have the virgin birth, born
without sin, born without a human father. God, the Word was made
flesh and dwelt among us. We're preaching the cross because
he had to become a man in order to die on the cross. And then
we're preaching actually his redemptive work in dying. And
then not only that, but the high priest entering the holiest,
with his blood, for he was set forth as a propitiation, as a
mercy seat. And Christ is not entered into
the holy place made with hands, but into heaven itself. And then
Christ's resurrection, if he be not risen, well, we're yet
in our sins. The resurrection is as important
as the death. because the death without the
resurrection means nothing. God raised him from the dead.
And God set his approval on all that Christ is and all that Christ
has done. And then not only that, but when
we preach the cross, the crucified, risen, ascended, exalted Redeemer
intercedes for us. He prays for us. So the cross
of Christ, When Paul is saying, God forbid that I should glory
save in the cross of Jesus Christ, he's talking about all the glorious
person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ for his people. And my
friends, this is our glory. It's not in our numbers, it's
in our Redeemer. It's not in our strength, it's
in his strength. is not in our accomplishments,
in His accomplishments. This is our glory. This is our
hope. This is our gospel. This is our salvation. And the
glory in anything else is to reveal a total ignorance of God's
glory. One day Moses said, Lord, show
me your glory. Show me your glory. And the Lord
God said, I'll cause all my goodness to pass before you. My goodness
is my glory. And I will be merciful to whom
I will be merciful, and I will be gracious to whom I will be
gracious. And God's glory is not in our
toys. God's glory is in His grace through
Jesus Christ our Lord. So I say this to you, I glory
in the cross of Jesus Christ. He is my message. the person
and work of God's dear Son in the full redemption, justification,
sanctification, and keeping of all believers. And without the
Christ of the cross, your religion is like a heaven without a sun,
all darkness. It's like a lamp without oil,
no light. It's like a stove without fire,
no warmth. It's like a profession of religion
without hope. But I'll tell you this, God's
true preachers are not seeking to make a fair show in the flesh,
for they're not puppets of men. And God's preachers do not constrain
you to be circumcised or baptized or do anything but close with
Jesus Christ. And God's true preachers are
not seeking their own personal welfare and benefit and glory.
They're not slaves of self. They're servants of God Almighty.
And their message is Christ and Him crucified. And they delight
in that message and glory in that message and never weary
of preaching that message. And their methods and their means
are not carnal and fleshly. Their methods and means are spiritual. They preach the gospel and wait
on God and look to God. And their one objective is not
to make a name for themselves, but that you might have in Christ
a new name. Their one objective is that Christ
be formed in you, and that you come to Him and not to them. For they know in coming to them
nothing of any eternal value will be accomplished, but coming
to Him you have all things. And their glory is not in their
accomplishments. They know without Him they can
do nothing. Paul said, I'm not one whit behind
the chief apostle, though I be nothing. He said, I labored more
abundantly than you all, yet not I, but Christ in me. Our glory is in his grace. Now
let me give you four or five things and I'll close this message. Are you listening? Oh, how we
need somebody to tell the truth to this generation. how we need
somebody to call men back to the Word of God. We've played
games so long that we're completely enamored with our games. We've
played with the toys and traditions of religion so long we mistake
them for the real thing. Why did Paul glory in the cross?
Why did he glory in this glorious person and work of Jesus Christ?
I'll tell you why in about four or five statements. Number one,
He saw, not in religion, but in the person and work of Jesus
Christ, a full display of the character of God Almighty. Would
you know God? Don't go to the law. Somebody
says, well, the law is a summary of the character of God. It is
not. There's no mercy in the law. God's merciful. There's
no love in the law. God is love. Huh? There's no grace in the law.
You won't find any grace in the law. The law is hard and cold
and demanding. Only in Christ will you see the
full summary of God's character. God's just, God's holy, God's
righteous, God's love. God is grace. God's plenteous
in mercy. And you find that at the cross
and nowhere else. And then Paul saw in the person
and work of Jesus Christ, the actual putting away of sin. Sin's
hard to put away. The Jewish sacrifices wouldn't
do it. Repentance won't do it. Hell won't put sin away. He that's
filthy, let him be filthy still. But what will put sin away? He
put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. He bore our sins
in his body on the tree and brought us to God. Huh? And then thirdly,
Paul saw in the cross of Christ, in the person and work of Jesus
Christ, the sting of death removed. If you know Christ, you don't
have to be afraid to die because you've already died in him. And
death is only sleep. It's only... He called it sleep.
It's not death. Oh, death, where's your sting?
It's piercing the heart of my Lord on Calvary's cross, and
no sting is left for me. The sting of death is sin, and
if He paid the sin debt and put it away, I don't have to be afraid.
I don't have to be afraid of death or judgment because Christ
was judged. Pardon me, there's no judgment
to them who are in Christ. And then he saw in the person
and work of Christ, the believer's full entrance into the presence
of God. Because I live, you shall live. And he saw in the person and
work of Christ, his own death to the world. He said, the world's
crucified unto me. I don't need it. and I'm crucified
to the world, they can't have me. All right, that's a straightforward
message. Maybe you wanna hear it again.
Maybe you wanna share it with somebody else. I'll send it to
you. Have to charge you $2. If you want this message, the
glory of Christ, write for it. And I'll have another message
on the other side. Till next week, God bless you,
everyone.