If you want to follow the message
in your Bibles this morning, I invite you to turn to Galatians
6, verse 14. Galatians 6, verse 14. And my subject today is the cross
of Christ, my glory. The cross of Christ, my glory. Now, many years ago, the hymn
writer wrote these words. In the cross of Christ, I glory. Towering over the wrecks of time,
all the light of sacred story gathers round that cross sublime. When the woes of life overtake
me, when hopes deceive and fears annoy, never shall the Lord forsake
me. He gives me peace and joy. My friends, the cross is the
purpose of God. It is the purpose of God. The
scripture says it pleased God to bruise him. When Peter was
speaking at Pentecost to those who had crucified the Lord Jesus
Christ, he said, you did. YOU DID WHAT GOD DETERMINED BEFORE
TO BE DONE. YES, YOU WITH WICKED HANDS CRUCIFIED
THE LORD OF GLORY, BUT YOU CARRIED OUT THE DECREES OF GOD. SO THE
CROSS IS THE PURPOSE OF GOD, AND THEN THE CROSS OF JESUS CHRIST
IS THE FULFILLMENT OF SCRIPTURES. PAUL WROTE IN I CORINTHIANS 15,
HE DIED FOR OUR SINS ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES. He was buried
and rose again the third day according to the scriptures.
So while the cross is the purpose of God and the cross is the fulfillment
of scriptures, it is also the way of peace. For he made peace
by the blood of his cross. Our peace with God is not secured
by something we've done. But Christ made peace for us. God was in Christ reconciling
the world unto himself. And the cross is the only hope
of forgiveness, remission of sins. For Paul wrote in Hebrews
9, without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. There
is no remission. Without the shedding of the blood
of Christ, there's no forgiveness for anyone. but we have in Him
forgiveness and redemption from our sins. And then the cross
is the preacher's theme. Paul wrote, we preach Christ. But not only do we preach Christ,
we preach Christ and him crucified. And that's what he's saying in
my text. I told you to turn to Galatians 6.14. And this is what
the apostle is saying in Galatians 6.14. The cross is my theme. The cross is my message. The
cross is my gospel. He says, God forbid that I should
glory save or accept in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by which
the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world. In other
words, this great apostle made a clean sweep of all other grounds
of boasting, all other grounds of bragging, all other reasons
to glory, and he declares that the object of my delight IS THE
CROSS OF JESUS CHRIST. THE ONLY HOPE OF MY SOUL BEFORE
GOD IS NOT MY WORKS OR MY DEEDS OR MY RELIGION OR MY HERITAGE. THE ONLY HOPE OF MY SOUL BEFORE
GOD IS THE CROSS OF JESUS CHRIST. GOD FORBID THAT I SHOULD GLORY
OR BOAST OR BRAG OR TAKE DELIGHT IN ANYTHING IN ANYTHING EXCEPT
THE CROSS OF JESUS CHRIST. AND THE ONE THEME OF MY MESSAGE
AS HE SAID TO THE CHURCH AT CORINTH, I AM DETERMINED TO KNOW NOTHING
AMONG YOU SAVE JESUS CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED. NOW THEN, THE
APOSTLE PAUL MIGHT HAVE GLORIED IN HIS HERITAGE. MANY PEOPLE
DO. THEY GLORY IN THEIR FAMILY TREES.
THEY GLORY IN WHO THEIR ANCESTORS WERE. PAUL WAS HIGHBORN RELIGIOUSLY. HE COULD TRACE HIS HERITAGE RIGHT
BACK TO ABRAHAM. HE SAID, I WAS BORN A HEBREW
OF HEBREWS. HE COULD HAVE GLORIED IN HIS
HERITAGE, BUT HE DIDN'T. HE GLORIED IN CHRIST. PAUL MIGHT
HAVE GLORIED IN HIS EDUCATION. MANY DO. PAUL WAS A RECOGNIZED
SCHOLAR. Once when he was on trial before
the ruler of the land, this ruler from his throne, aware of this
man's education, aware of this man's scholarship, said to him,
Paul, much learning hath made thee mad. But Paul didn't glory
in his education, he gloried in Christ. He might have gloried
in his religious accomplishments. Many people do. He was a member
of the Sanhedrin. He was a Pharisee of Pharisees.
He was a man of great morality, a man of great enthusiasm, a
man of great religious leadership, a man of great zeal, but he chose
to glory only in Christ. Paul might have gloried in his
apostleship. There were only 12. He was perhaps
the chief apostle. And we do know this, he was the
apostle to the Gentiles, the whole Gentile world. The message of the gospel of
the grace of God came to the Gentiles through this man, the
apostle Paul. But he chose to glory in Christ.
Paul might have gloried in his writings. We do know that he
wrote 13 epistles of the New Testament, probably 14. He might
have gloried in his work of establishing churches. He was the first missionary
to travel all over the then known world. Paul might have gloried
in his revelations. He had been to the third heaven.
He said, whether in the body or out of the body, I do not
know. BUT HE SAID, I HEARD THINGS, IT'S NOT LAWFUL TO UTTER. I SAW
THINGS AND HEARD THINGS AND WAS WITNESS TO THINGS THAT I CAN'T
EVEN TELL YOU ABOUT. PAUL MIGHT HAVE GLORIED ANY SUFFERINGS
FOR CHRIST. I'M ALWAYS READING THE ACCOUNT
OF SOMEONE WHO HAS SUFFERED IN PRISON OR SOMEWHERE ELSE AND
THEY SAY THEY SUFFERED FOR CHRIST. BUT THIS MAN WHO KNEW GOD, THIS
MAN WHO KNEW GOD AND FEW DO, This man who knew the living
God, who received his gospel directly from Christ himself,
he said immediately, when God revealed his son to me, I conferred
not with flesh and blood. But this man made a clean sweep
of his heritage, of his background, of his education, of his religious
accomplishments, of his apostleship, of his writings and works, of
his revelations, of his sufferings. He made a clean sweep as if to
push them aside with his hand. And he says, I declare unto you,
I glory only. And God forbid that I should
glory in anything. except the cross of Jesus Christ,
my Lord." That's my glory. That's my delight. That's my
gospel, the cross of Jesus Christ, my Lord. We preach Christ and
Him crucified. Now then, what is this cross
in which Paul gloryed? When he says, we preach Christ
crucified, what's he talking about? When he says the preaching
of the cross is to them who are perishing foolishness, and the
preaching of the cross is to those who have saved the power
and wisdom of God, what's he talking about? What is this cross? Now listen to me very carefully. He's certainly not talking about
the material cross on which Christ died. That's not what he's talking
about. He's not talking about Golgotha's
hill, and he's not talking about that wooden cross that was erected
on that hill, nor the two on either side of it. There's no
saving power for any person in that tree. There is no efficacy
and no magic in the wood cross itself. The cross of wood on
which Jesus Christ was crucified is long gone, long rotted, long
decayed, and long forgotten. And I'll tell you this, now listen
to me. If the actual cross of Jesus Christ could be found,
say, fellas got to digging around over there, dug down deep like
they've dug and found ruins of Pompeii and other old cities,
and they could come up with the actual cross on which Jesus Christ
died, what would you do with it? I'll tell you what the average
person would do with it. The average preacher, the average
religious person, the average denomination, they'd worship
that cross. They'd make a symbol of worship
out of it. I'll tell you this, if that cross could be found,
it would have to be destroyed. It would have to be destroyed.
It would have to be burned up and totally destroyed or men
would worship it. They would fall down before it
like idolaters. Now, that thing happened in the
Old Testament in the second king's age. You say, oh, wait a minute,
preacher, I'm telling you the truth. Are you familiar with
the story of Moses and the brazen serpent? You remember the people
were bitten with fiery serpents and they were dying and Moses
went before God and he said, Lord, the people have been under
this judgment, under this judgment of the fiery serpents and they've
bitten them and they're dying, they need mercy, they need help.
And the Lord said to Moses, make a brazen serpent in the likeness
of the serpents that have bitten the people. put it on a pole
and lift it up between heaven and earth. And whosoever looketh
on that brazen serpent shall live." Now, that serpent was
a picture of Christ. For our Lord reached back and
said, as Moses lifted up the serpent, even so must the Son
of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life. But you know what they did with
that serpent? They took it down from the pole and saved it. and
made a shrine and an altar and worshiped that thing. And when
Hezekiah came to power, you can read it yourself in II Kings
18, 4, Hezekiah the king tore down the high places, destroyed
the idols and all the religious symbols, and he took the serpent
of brass, which Moses made, ground it to powder and he called it
he called it in the inspired Word of God a Worthless piece
of brass and let me tell you something that you listen to
me carefully If you could find the cross on which Jesus Christ
was crucified 2,000 years ago and brought it into my presence,
I'd tell you what it is. It's a worthless piece of wood.
It can't help you, can't give you any hope, can't give you
any powers, can't save your soul. It's Christ that saves and not
the block of wood. I'm telling you that. And Paul
didn't glory in that material cross. HE DIDN'T GLORY IN THAT
OLD, RUGGED CROSS. HE GLORIED IN THE CHRIST OF THE
CROSS. WE'RE NOT WORSHIPPING WOOD, WE'RE
WORSHIPPING THE LORD, THE LIVING, SOVEREIGN LORD. NOW, YOU NEED
TO LEARN THAT. IT'S SO EASY, SO NATURAL, SO
ADAMIC TO BE AN IDOLATRY. AND THAT'S SATAN'S TRICKERY,
AND THAT'S HIS SUBTLETY, AND THAT'S HIS CRAFTINESS TODAY.
AND PAUL'S NOT TALKING ABOUT THESE SYMBOLIC CROSSES ON CHURCH
STEEPLES. You see them everywhere. I was
driving down the highway just a few days ago in West Virginia,
and I saw three crosses on a hill. I looked up there, I said, who
put that there, and why'd he put it there, and what's it there
for? It has no saving power. It has no redeeming power. These
crosses on church steeples and hillsides and around people's
necks is superstition, and you might as well wear a rabbit's
foot. Now here's one preacher that'll tell you the truth, that
you might as well wear a rabbit's foot around your neck as to wear
a cross around your neck. Because the power to save is
not in a symbol, it's in a person. It's in the living God. And we
laugh about people who break mirrors and throw salt over their
shoulder and put horseshoes on the barn and talk about walking
under a ladder or all these different things when you wear THAT RELIGIOUS
SYMBOL, YOU'RE AS SUPERSTITIOUS AND IDOLATROUS AS THOSE PEOPLE
WHO CARRY RABBIT'S FOOTS. AND YOU'RE NOT WORSHIPPING A
PERSON, YOU'RE WORSHIPPING A SYMBOL. AND THERE'S A WORLD-RENOWNED
PREACHER, I SAW HIM ON TELEVISION JUST MOMENTS AGO, WHO CARRIES
A LARGE CROSS MADE OUT OF FOUR-BY-FOUR WOOD. IT'S ABOUT EIGHT FEET LONG
AND FOUR FEET WIDE, AND HE CARRIES THAT THING WITH HIM ALL OVER
THE WORLD. AND THIS IS IDOLATRY. And people gather around that
cross, and they hold to that cross and hold to that man. And
it's Satan's subtlety and craftiness. It's paganism. It's idolatry. I wish people could see that.
Paul is not giving glory to symbols and signs and superstition. He
gloried in Christ who died on the cross. One hymn writer wrote
these words years ago. Let others who will praise the
cross of the Christ. The Christ of the cross is my
theme. While we must cherish his death
on the cross, it's the Christ of the cross that redeems. The
cross has no saving power. It's just like the wine and the
bread at the Lord's table. This is a memorial supper. It's
a symbol. It's a picture of Christ. Christ
is the one who saved. In a word or two, when Paul said
this, God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of Jesus
Christ, you know what he's referring to? Not that block of wood, and
not those symbols we have around everywhere, and not these superstitious
crucifixes. He's talking about this. Now,
listen to me. HE REFERS TO THE GREAT ATONEMENT
THAT CHRIST ACCOMPLISHED ON THAT CROSS. GOD SAID IN LEVITICUS
1711, THE LIFE OF THE FLESH IS IN THE BLOOD, NOT IN THE WOOD,
NOT IN THE SYMBOL, IN THE BLOOD. I HAVE GIVEN IT TO YOU UPON THE
ALTAR TO MAKE AN ATONEMENT. YOU KNOW WHAT THE WORD ATONEMENT
MEANS? ATONEMENT. YOU KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO ATONE
FOR SOMETHING, MAKE IT RIGHT. WELL, ATONEMENT IS THREE WORDS,
Atonement. We're atonement with God. Where
is that atonement, that atonement? It's the blood that maketh atonement
for the soul. In Christ, we're one with God
in his person and in his work. All right. Secondly, when Paul
says that God forbid that I should go save in the cross of Christ,
he's referring to reconciliation. You know what reconciliation
is, to be reconciled? Well, we were reconciled to God
by Christ's death on the cross. God was in Christ reconciling
the world to himself. Do you know that God is at war
with sin? God is at war with evil men? THERE'S A WARFARE BETWEEN HEAVEN
AND EARTH. WHY DID GOD TALK ABOUT PEACE
ON EARTH AND GOOD WILL TOWARD MEN, NOT AMONG MEN, TOWARD MEN? THERE'S A WARFARE BETWEEN THE
HOLINESS OF HEAVEN AND THE HORRIBLE EVIL OF EARTH. AND IN CHRIST,
GOD RECONCILED OR MADE PEACE WITH MEN. THEREFORE, BEING JUSTIFIED
BY CHRIST, WE HAVE PEACE WITH GOD. God was in Christ reconciling
enemies to himself. You don't reconcile friends.
People talk about God's in love with the world and God's the
friend of the world. The world's a friend of God.
Then why'd Christ die? Why did God have to reconcile
the world to Himself? If the world's so in love with
God and God's so in love with the world, why'd He have to reconcile
it? You don't reconcile friends, you reconcile enemies. People
who are separated, people who are apart, people who are at
war are reconciled. And that's what the cross of
Christ did. It reconciled God to sinners. Then He refers to substitution.
Isaiah 53, four through six says this, he was wounded for our
transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him and by his stripes were healed. My friends, if you
want to know the gospel, it's the gospel of substitution. Christ
took our place on the tree. He died in our stead. It is over
and it's done. The debt is paid. Jesus paid
it all, all the debt I owe. Sin left a crimson stain. He
himself, by himself, purged it white as snow. There's no reason
to go back to the place of condemnation. You won't find a prisoner vest
in the jail where he served his term. THERE'S NO NEED FOR ME
TO GO BACK TO THE PLACE OF CONDEMNATION BECAUSE THERE IS NO CONDEMNATION
NOW IN JESUS CHRIST MY LORD. AND PAUL REFERS TO THE SIN OFFERING
WHICH ENABLED GOD TO BE JUST AND JUSTIFY. GOD FORBID THAT
I SHOULD GLORY SAVE IN THE CROSS. HE'S TALKING ABOUT A SIN OFFERING.
ROMANS 3 26 SAYS THAT IN THE DEATH OF CHRIST GOD HAS DECLARED
HIS HOLINESS. In the death of Christ, God has
declared His righteousness. In the death of Christ, God has
declared His justice. And by the death of our substitute,
the holiness and righteousness and justice of God is so honored
and so satisfied that Almighty God, because Christ died on the
cross, can now be both just and justified. He said, I'm a just
God and a savior. And by one offering, Paul wrote
in Hebrews, he had perfected, perfected forever them that are
sanctified. Paul didn't glory in a material
cross. Paul didn't glory in a superstitious
symbol. Paul gloryed in a glorious person
and the work of that person. AND THE REDEMPTION THAT PERSON
ACCOMPLISHED WHO DIED ON THAT CROSS. THE CROSS IS THE PLACE
OF DEATH, AND YET IT, YET FROM IT COMES ETERNAL LIFE. THE CROSS
IS AN EMBLEM OF SHAME, YET FROM IT GOD IS GLORIFIED. THE CROSS
CONDEMNS, YET BY HIM WE'RE PARDONED. THE CROSS IS OVER. IT IS DONE. IT IS FINISHED. GOD LET IT FALL
ON THE GROUND AND DECAY. CHRIST LIVES, AND HE LIVES FOREVER. AND I WANT YOU TO HEAR ME. YOU
MAY NEVER HEAR ME AGAIN, BUT YOU HEAR ME NOW. WE DO NOT WORSHIP
MARY, WHOSE BODY GOD USED TO BEAR CHRIST INTO THE WORLD AS
AN INFANT. WE DO NOT WORSHIP AT THE CRADLE WHERE HE LAY. WE
DO NOT WORSHIP THE LAND IN WHICH HE LIVED, NOR DO WE CALL IT A
HOLY LAND. IT'S NO MORE HOLY THAN HUNTINGTON,
WEST VIRGINIA. We do not worship the cross of
wood on which he died. We do not worship the tomb in
which he lay. This is idolatry, this is paganism,
and not one step ahead of the idolaters who dance around the
fire and worship a golden cave. We worship the eternal, almighty,
living God. who came to this earth in the
person of His Son and tabernacled among us, the Word was made flesh
and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the
only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, the
exact image of God's person and the brightness of His glory.
We worship Him, we praise Him, we love Him, we serve Him for
His redeeming work on that cross of Calvary. And that's what Paul's
saying. God forbid, God deliver me from
ever glory, or boasting, or worshiping, or taking delight in anything. I don't care what it is, however
religious it is, and however pretty it is, and however appealing
it is, anything but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. You see, the
preaching of the cross is the preaching of the gospel of Christ.
The preaching of the cross is the preaching of the free and
full justification accomplished by Jesus Christ. And this gospel
is not just the gospel of Christ on a cross. This gospel is the
gospel of His eternality. If He's not their God of their
God, it didn't do Him any good to die on a cross. You see what
I'm saying? HIS ETERNALITY IS AS IMPORTANT
AS HIS SUFFERING, BECAUSE WE'RE REDEEMED NOT JUST BY THE SUFFERING,
BUT BY HIM WHO SUFFERED. AND HAVING AN INFINITE CHARACTER
AND AN INFINITE NAME, HE'S ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH INFINITE GLORY. YOU SEE, THE GOSPEL IS THE GOSPEL
NOT ONLY OF HIS ETERNALITY, BUT IT'S THE GOSPEL OF HIS INCARNATION.
HE HAD TO BECOME A MAN TO DIE. The gospel is the gospel of His
holy life. We needed a righteousness as
well as a justifier. The gospel is the gospel of His
sacrificial death. The gospel is the gospel of His
resurrection. If Christ be not raised, you're
yet in your sins. I see crucifixes on walls, you
know, and they got Christ still hanging on the cross. Hey, wait
a minute. If He's still hanging on that cross, He's not my Savior.
He's not my Savior. If he's still hanging on the
cross, he didn't save anybody. He's got to be raised. By his
resurrection, the father is saying, I accept what he did. I accept
who he is. The gospel, you see, is not only
the gospel of his death, but of his resurrection. And not
only of his resurrection, but of his exaltation. We've got
to have a mediator. And that mediator's got to be
not in a place made with hands, but in heaven itself. at the
right hand of the majesty in glory. And the gospel is the
gospel of his return. He's coming back. He said, I
go away, but I'll come again and receive you unto myself.
If he doesn't come again, I'll never come forth from the tomb.
Not one single part of this gospel can do without the other. It's
a complete gospel. It's not just the gospel of a
block of wood. It's the gospel of an eternal
incarnate God, of a holy, righteous life, of a sacrificial death,
of a glorious resurrection, of a great exaltation, of a complete,
sufficient intercession, and of a glorious return. And I know
the reaction of the world, the religious world, and I'm talking
to the religious world. Now, the whole world is religious
today, but you know the reaction of the religious world to what
I've been preaching? foolishness. The preaching of the cross is
to them who perish foolishness. That's sheer nonsense, a pack
of foolishness. But what is it to those who believe?
The reaction of those who believe is this, the gospel is the power
of God unto salvation. It's the power and wisdom of
God. And in that gospel, I see the
full revelation of the saving mercies and grace of God, the
fulfillment of all the scriptural sacrifices, priesthood, tabernacle,
temple, atonement, and all things. I see it. And Paul is saying,
your shame is my glory. Paul is saying, your foolishness
is my wisdom. Paul is saying, your weakness
is my power. Paul is saying, your despair
is my hope. Well, in the death of Christ,
everything's brought to light. The attitude and spirit of all
men is revealed. Everyone speaks at the cross
man speaks. We'll not have this man reign
over us crucified You say we don't hate God the cross tells
another story Well, this world doesn't hate God stand at the
cross You say they've got no right to judge. I'm not judging
the cross is judging. I And the death of Christ draws
away the mask of pretended religion, and pretended love for God, and
pretended holiness. For they cried when they gathered
themselves together. Man got his hands on Almighty
God one time, one time in all the history of the universe.
Man got his hands on God, and he nailed him to a cross. At
the cross, the law of God speaks, the justice of God speaks. Do
you think you know something about the holiness of God's law?
Go to the cross and you'll see there the holiness of God. The
cross tells us of the mercy and love of God in giving his son
to redeem sinners. Now, if you want this message
on a cassette tape, The Cross of Christ, My Glory, along with
a message I'll bring next week, you write to me and send $2 and
we'll mail it to you. Until next week, God bless you,
everyone.