Now if you'll turn back in your
Bibles to Galatians chapter 6. When we rebuke other people, we ought to be prepared to clear
ourselves of the same charge, the same offense. When we sit
in judgment on someone else, and call attention to their failures,
we ought to be willing to sit in judgment on ourselves and
be sure that we're not guilty of the same offense. Now in verse
12, Paul is rebuking those who wish to glory in the flesh and
not in the cross. And he says, as many as desire
to make a show in the flesh. They constrain you to be circumcised. They put tradition and carnal
ordinances in front of the cross. They talk more of circumcision
and ceremony than to do the crucifixion. He said they seek the eternal
glory, not which comes from God, but the external glory which
comes from man. He says these false teachers
want praise. They want honor. And instead
of preaching redemption by the blood of Christ and through the
cross of Christ, they wrapped themselves and their followers
in tradition. They wrapped themselves and their
followers in ceremony and in carnal ordinances. Now, do we
want new scriptures in place of the revelation of God? Do
we want a new Savior in place of Him who by His blood reconciled
us to God? Do we want a new sacrifice other
than the Lamb of God? Do we want a new song other than
the one which says, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain? In verse
14, the Apostle Paul waxes eloquent, and his eyes flash with fire,
and he cries, God forbid. Putting tradition
and ceremony and experience in front of the cross, God forbid. Constraining men to be circumcised
rather than to come to Calvary, God forbid. Putting ceremony
in front of Christ's redemptive work, God forbid, he said. There was no doctrine that Paul
treasured more than Christ crucified. There was no experience that
Paul touched on more tenderly than the fellowship of Christ's
sufferings. And there was no security that
he found greater than, who is he that condemneth? Christ is
dying. The cross was the center of this
man's faith. The cross was the center of this
man's life. The cross was the center of this
man's hope. And when he thought about these
false teachers glorying in the flesh and making a show in the
flesh and constraining men to be circumcised to be saved, his
heart pounded. And his eyes flashed with fire
and I know his lips quivered. And he stepped forth and he said,
You do what you will. But God forbid that I should
glory save in the cross of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. You do what you will. You take
a chance on what you will. But as for me, God forbid that
I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by
whom the world was crucified unto me and I unto the world. I see three crucifixions here.
First of all, Crucified. Now, that's the main part of
our message. That's the main part of our subject. Look at
the language of Paul. God forbid that I should glory
save in the cross. Save in the cross. Stop just
a moment. Now, when I said the word cross,
God forbid that I should glory save in the cross, what was your
impression? What were your thoughts? The
cross, the word c-r-o-s-s. How did it affect you? Was it
repulsive? Well, no preacher, not really.
Was it a little bit frightening, a little bit horrible? Well,
no, not really. The cross, we talk about at the
cross, at the cross, Jesus keep me near the cross, in the cross
of Christ our glory. You and I really don't realize,
and I don't think we can in these days, how the word cross would
grate on the ears of a refined person from Galatia. I don't
think we realize, and I don't believe we even can, realize
how the word cross, God forbid that I should glory save in the
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, how this word would would be
repulsive and nauseating to the ears of people in Galatia, Corinth,
Athens, and other places, for in those days the cross was the
criminal's place of execution. The cross was the hangman's tree. Now, we've been so accustomed
to associate the word cross with other sentiments that it really
doesn't convey to us a sense of disgrace at all. In fact,
I just imagine if one of our sons were crucified on a cross,
the good possibility that we might be quite proud. But these people weren't proud.
The cross was a shameful thing. In fact, it says over in Deuteronomy,
Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree. And if you crucify
somebody, don't let him hang on that cross over the Sabbath
day. It was a shameful place. It was
the hangman's tree. And the word cross doesn't convey
unto us a sense of humiliation. It doesn't convey unto us the
sense of disgrace that it did to these people. The cross, that's
the place where you crucified slaves. That's the place where
you put to death criminals. That's the end of the road, that's
the bottom of the barrel, that's the depths of disgrace for a
man to be nailed to a cross. But Paul speaks it loud and clear,
God forbid that I should glory save in the cross, in the cross,
the disgrace and the humiliation. Christ, who thought it not robbery
to be equal with God, made himself of no reputation, and submitted
to the death of the cross, even the cross. It was the worst death
a man could have died. It was the most humiliating.
It was the most disgracing death that a man could possibly die.
And notice, secondly, how he contrasts the word cross with
the glory of the person. He says, God forbid that I should
glory, save in the cross. He doesn't say in the cross of
Jesus. He says, in the cross of our Lord. It was a cross,
but it was the cross of our Lord. Worship Him. It was a cross,
but it was the cross of our Joshua, our Savior. Love Him. It was a cross, but it was the
cross of our Messiah. It was the cross of the Lord.
Joshua, Jesus, Christ. It was the cross of our Lord. It was the cross of our Joshua.
It was the cross of our Messiah. And Paul brings out the shame
of it with great clarity and great sharpness. It was a cross. God forbid that I should glory
save in the cross, in the hangman's tree, in the criminal's place
of execution, in the shameful place of death. I glory in it. And Paul brings out the glory
of Christ and his person with great plainness. Now, why do
we rejoice in the cross? I gave an illustration the other
day. I said that I heard a preacher on the radio, and he said, I
can tell the story of a dog getting killed and everybody will cry,
but I can tell the story of Christ dying on the cross and nobody
crying. That sounds real pretty, but
I don't cry when I hear about the cross of Christ. I rejoice. Aren't you glad he died on that
cross? I am. When our Lord was on his way
to the cross, the women were weeping and lamenting him, and
they were crying, and they were moaning, and they were renting
their garments, and he stopped. He said, Don't weep for me. Don't
weep for me. Weep for yourself. You weep for
your children. My friends, I don't weep over
the cure, I weep over the cause. I weep over sin, not the cross,
not the sacrifice. Don't weep over the sacrifice,
weep over the sin. Don't weep over the remedy, weep
over the disease. Don't weep over the glory, weep
over the disgrace. Why do we glory? I glory, Paul
said, in the cross. Why? Well, number one, that shameful
hangman's tree, where they nailed our Lord in humiliation and pain
and agony, where they cast Him out, and He was forsaken of all
men, yea, even of the Father. That cross was a matchless exhibition
of the attributes of a holy God. Now when we talk about the cross,
and you young people get this, We're not talking about a piece
of wood. If we could find the original cross, now it might
take a little courage to do this because everybody would think
you're crazy. If we could find the original cross on which Jesus
Christ died, I wouldn't have it in this church. I wouldn't
have it because there's no power in that piece of wood to save
anybody. You could kiss it You could wrap yourself around it,
you could cut it up in splinters and carry it in your pocket as
a good luck piece, and it'd send you to hell. That's right. If you could have stood under
the cross and the blood which dripped out of his hands had
fallen on your head, it would not have saved your soul. Now,
we're not glorying in that block of wood. That's what people have
done for years. They've taken the means of grace
and made saviors out of it. God gave Mary to give birth to
Christ, and what did they do? They didn't worship Christ, they
worshiped Mary. God gave the apostles to preach
the gospel, instead of men hearing the gospel and believing the
gospel, and worshiped the apostles, St. Peter, and made statues of
him, go around kissing his toe and kissing his ring. He even
got a fellow that's on the throne over there in Rome that claims
to be his successor. When God gave his word to tell
us the way to heaven, men worshiped the word instead of him who's
the way to heaven. And when Christ died on that
cross, it didn't make that cross a magic power to save. And when
we talk about the cross, we're not talking about that block
of wood. We don't care about that. We're talking about justification
through the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's
not the cross that saves, it's who died on that cross. It's
not the cross that redeems, it's the Christ of the cross that
redeems. The putting away of sin by His
death and the gift of eternal life for those who trust Him. Let those who will praise the
cross of the Christ. It's the Christ of the cross
that redeems. And at the cross we see two opposite
qualities. We see justice and we see mercy. We see holiness and we see love. We see God in His justice. God in His justice sent Christ
to the cross. God in His holiness sent the
substitute in our place bearing our sin. God in His righteousness
and holiness sent His Son to the cross. God spared not his
own son, because his son was numbered with the transgressors.
Justice stood between the sinner and mercy, and justice had to
be satisfied. Mercy stood outside that cold,
barren, dark, dead cemetery, and mercy said, Let me in, and
justice said, You can't come in. These dead sinners are the
property of the law of God. These dead sinners belong to
justice, they belong to righteousness, they belong to holiness, and
mercy says, I want to come in and give them life, and justice
says, you can't come in. And the Lord Jesus Christ stepped
up and took the sword of justice in his heart, and he took all
of the requirements of God's law into himself, and he satisfied
justice and moved it aside, and went in and set free the prisoners.
And at the cross of Calvary we see a display of God's holiness
and God's justice and God's righteousness, and we see a display of God's
love. At the cross we see a manifestation
of Christ's love. You know, when people try to
picture the Lord Jesus Christ in His character or attribute
of love, they talk about Him going around and and blessing
the little children. They say the Lord Jesus Christ
is love. See how he loves children? And
then they show him touching a blind man and giving him sight. And
they say, see, there's evidence that the Lord loves men. And
then they show him as he watches the widow's son being born to
the grave, and Christ says, Live! Come forth! And they say, see
how he loves, see how he feeds the multitude and raises the
dead and gives sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf? Yes,
he does love. But oh, an exhibition of his
love, a manifestation of his love is seen nowhere like it's
seen at Calvary. Having loved his own, he loved
them to the end. He loved them to death. He loved
them even to the death of the cross. There's an exhibition
of his love. Greater love hath no man than
this, that he lay down his life. And then we glory in the cross,
not only because it's a manifestation of God's attributes, it's a manifestation
of Christ's love, but we glory in the cross, we rejoice in the
cross, we thank God for the cross because their sin was put away. There's no other way to justify
the sinner without carrying out the penalty God pronounced upon
his sins. There's no other way to put away
the debt of sin unless it's all paid in full. There's no other
way to free the guilty without satisfying the law that has him
in bondage. There on the cross, Jesus Christ
our Lord, through his blood and by his atonement and with his
sacrifice, actually paid our debt. Actually paid our debt. And he
put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. It says, Once in
the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin. I'm glad, aren't you, by the
sacrifice of himself. My sins are no more. My sins
are no more. I've sinned against God in thought,
I've sinned against God in attitude, I've sinned against God in deed,
I've sinned against God in my family background, I've sinned
against God in my heritage, I've sinned against God in every way,
shape, form, and fashion, and so have you. And my sins are
so great. But did you know when Christ
died on that cross, He actually put away all my sins? That's
right, that's what the Word said. He cast them, He separated me
from my sins as far as the east is from the west, and He said,
I'll remember them no more. I glory in the cross. In the
cross I see God's holiness. In the cross I see God's love. In the cross I see my sins taken
away, put away, and I bear them no more. Be of
sin the double cure. Save me from its wrath and from
its power. Circumcision won't put away Baptism
won't put away sin. Walking down this aisle and shaking
the preacher's hand won't put away sin. Turning over a new
leaf and making a resolution to live better in the future
will not put away sin. Death won't put away sin. We
close our eyes in death and fold our hands and look serenely at
the skies, but it won't put away sin. Judgment won't put away
sin. Hell won't put away sin. All
the Jewish sacrifices and the blood that flowed from Abraham's
altar won't put away sin. The Lord's table won't put away
sin. The law won't put away sin. There's
only one place and there's only one person where sin can be put
away and who can put away sin. And that's Calvary where Jesus
Christ died on the cross. Now that's so. I stake, as L. R. Shelton used to say, my eternal
destiny on that. I put all my eggs in one basket. I've leaned whole and completely
that my only hope and only plea is that when he died, he died
for me. That's it. And then I glory in
the cross because of this. I want you to get this. The cross
of Christ is the greatest moral power in the universe. It's the
greatest moral power in the universe. The cross of Christ, justification
by the blood, redemption by the Son of God, it gets at the hearts
of men when nothing else will reach them. Now when a man who
is a drunkard is brought to Christ, our Lord delivers him from the
demons of drink. He gives him a new appetite.
That's right. Not only a new heart, but a new
stomach. That's right. When a man who
is greedy and selfish comes to Christ and falls at the cross,
he comes away from there generous and kind and charitable. That's right. When a man whose
heart is filled with malice and hatred and jealousy, when he
comes to the cross, and gets a glimpse of Christ, and Christ
comes into his heart. He comes away from there a kind,
loving, tender, forgiving person. And he comes away from there
with the love of God in his heart. That's right. Pledges won't do
that, but the cross will. The cross is the greatest moral
power in the universe. Threats won't do it either, but
Christ will. Philosophy won't do it. but Christ
will. Resolutions won't do it, but
Christ will. Organizations can't do it, but
Christ will. Even churches can't do it. You
can get a fellow to join, and he'll come for a while, but then
he'll drift away, and after a while he's the same old fellow that
he always has been. But when he goes to Calvary and
meets the Christ of the cross, he comes away from there filled
with love, and grace and humility and patience and kindness and
faith and generosity. And if he doesn't have those
things, he ain't been to the cross. That's right. It's the greatest moral power
in the universe. So that's the reason Paul said,
let these other folks try to make a show in the flesh, Let
Him constrain you to walk an aisle. Let Him constrain you
to be baptized. Let Him constrain you to follow
the ceremonies. Let Him put their rituals and
ceremonies in front of the cross. God forbid that I should glory
save in the cross! And it's the cross of our Lord.
And it's the cross of our Joshua. And it's the cross of our Messiah,
our Lord, Jesus Christ. There's a second crucifixion
here mentioned. He said, by whom the world is
crucified. The world is crucified. What does Paul mean? He means
that when Christ died on that cross, and when Paul experienced
the justification that came from that death of our Lord, and when
he experienced the sanctifying power and the fellowship of the
sufferings of Christ, that the world became a dead thing. The world became a dead thing,
ceasing to interest him or attract him. That's what he meant. First
of all, the opinions of the world are crucified to the believer.
The world says, You're a fool, Paul, to believe
that Bible is verbally inspired. You're a fool, Paul, to believe
the Genesis account of creation. You're a fool, Paul, to believe
that Jonah was swallowed by a fish. You're a fool, Paul, to believe
that Jesus Christ is the Savior. You're a fool to believe that
salvation's in the blood. You're a fool to believe there's
a literal hell and a literal heaven. Much learning hath made
you mad. You used to be a smart boy, Paul.
We had great hopes for you. You was going up in our company,
but now you're a nobody. That's all right," he said. When
Christ died on that cross, the world's opinions died, as far
as I'm concerned. I don't care what the world thinks.
The world says God's dead. The world says there's no hell.
The world says this is all. eat, drink, and be merry," Paul
said, well, your opinion and your judgment is the same to
me as the opinion of a dead man and the judgment of a dead man. Paul said, well, I've seen your
judgment, I've seen your wisdom. When the Lord of glory came to
this earth, you put your filthy hands on him and crucified him.
And you proved at the cross that you don't have good sense, and
so your opinions don't mean a thing to me. The world says there's
nothing to religion, the gospel's a pack of foolishness. Paul said
when Christ died, the opinions of this world, as
far as I'm concerned, are dead. And then the honors of this world.
Paul said it's honors. Have you been to Calvary? If
you've been to Calvary and you've experienced what happened there,
and you've entered in to some extent what took place there,
you've come away from Calvary and the honors of the world,
well, they couldn't count less. Where is the glory of the Egyptian
empire? Where is the fame and the power
of ancient Babylon? Where is the victories and conquest
of old Rome? Where is the pomp and dignity
of its Caesars and Nero? They're all buried in the dust
of the past. They're all rotting in the mummies
in the pyramids. That's where the glories of this
world are. After you've lived for a few
years, sixty-five or seventy or seventy-five, and you've received
a few honors and a few trophies given by men, You're going to
lie down and die. And then what shall it profit
a man if he gain the world and damn his soul? Huh? Then Christ said, Whose shall
these things be? Thy fool! Whose shall these things
be? The treasures of the world are
crucified. The world died. Paul said, When
Christ died, the world died. It's opinions. I don't care what
they think. He said, if I please men, I can
please God. Our Lord said, the world will
hate you. That's all right, Lord. They hated you before they ever
hated me. Is a servant greater than his master? The treasures
of this world are crucified. The world says, make money. Make
it honest if you can, but if you can't, Make money. Get all you can get. Get all
you can get. Oh, world, you're dead. I'm not enslaved by your opinions. You're dead. I'm not governed
by your philosophies. You're dead. I'm not wooed by
your smiles. You're dead. I don't fear your
threatenings. You're dead. I'm not directed
by your fame and your honors. You're dead. I'm not interested
in your cankered gold. I'm not interested in your soap-bubble
castles. I'm not interested. You're not
my master. You're dead. You're dead. You're slain at the cross. And,
oh, world, to serve men is one thing, but to fear men, that's
something else. To love men for Christ's sake
is one thing, but to ask their permission to think, that's another. To preach to sinners and seek
their conversion is one thing, but to seek their approval. I
want no part of it, Paul said. To cry out to sinners to get
right with God is one thing, but to get instructions from
this world as to what I can speak and believe, that's something
else. As far as I'm concerned, this
world and its opinions and its philosophies and its threatenings
and its honors and its fame and its smile and its wealth is dead. Have you been there? That's the
reason Christ said, if any man come after me, let him deny himself. If any man come to me and hate
not his father, mother, brother, sister, husband, wife, yea, his
own life also. He can't be my disciple, for
the disciple of Christ has stood out yonder on Golgotha's hill
and watched them nail his home to the cross, and nail his family
to the tree, and nail his job to the giblet, and nail everything
he has to the cross." And he turned and walked off, and he
said, That's right. The old Barnard
said, I ain't throwing you no curse tonight, I'm telling you
the truth. The world's crucified. The world's crucified. The world's
crucified. I know it doesn't make sense
to the nominal church member. I know the man who wants his
heaven on earth and a little hell along with it, I know he's
not interested in what I'm talking about. I know most preachers
don't know what I'm talking about, and most church members aren't
interested in it, but I'm telling you what the Lord said. I'm telling
you that when you go to Calvary, you're going to come back away
from Calvary without your family. your mama and daddy and your
husband and wife and your brother and sister and your children.
You're going to come away without your ambition. You're going to
come away without the blueprints of your life. You're going to
come away without the honors and fame of this world concerning
you. You're going to come away with
everything nailed to the cross. Or you best stay there and take
another look. You best stay there a little while longer until those
things are nailed to the cross. Paul said, the world is crucified. It's nailed to the cross. Nailed
to the cross. It's nailed to the cross. And
then thirdly, there's another cross on that hill, and that's
my cross. My cross. Now, we can see the
evidence of Paul being crucified with Christ. At one time, he
was a great rabbi. He said, I exceeded many my equals. I was born of the tribe of Benjamin.
I was a Hebrew of Hebrews. I was a man versed in Hebrew
tradition. I was a scholar. I sat at the
feet of Gamaliel. I was a man of great fame. and
great wealth and great admiration. And now he said, all men have
forsaken me. Only friend I got, Luke, only
Luke is with me. Remember what he said? Only Luke
is with me. Demas have forsaken me. I'm a
nobody. I'm despised and I'm rejected.
Paul, well, he's a nobody. And my friends, if you keep to
the cross, The world will be crucified to you, and you'll
be crucified to the world. And old friends will become open
foes. When you were with them in their
rebellion, you were a fine fellow. But since you've been to Calvary,
and since you got this fanatic faith, and since Jesus Christ
has become the the heartbeat of your life, and since your
interest is only in eternal things, you used to be a fine fellow,
but now you're a fool. Paul, much learning hath made
you man. But I'm crucified to the world.
I'm not interested in the opinions of the world. I'm not interested
in the threats of the world. I'm not interested in the enemies
of the world. For as I'm concerned to the world, I'm a dead man.
Let them say what they will. I'm crucified with Christ. Nevertheless,
I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me." And the world doesn't understand, Paul said, what I
preach and what I believe and what I stand for. As far as I'm
concerned, the world's dead to me, and I'm dead to them. I'm dead to them, and you will
be. They'll mark your name off as dead. When other men are promoted,
you won't be considered. When other people are given favors,
you won't be considered. You're like a dead man. They
tell me that in some places in the world, when young people
come to a knowledge of Christ, missionaries tell me this, when
young people come to love Christ and to trust Him, that their
parents actually buy a casket and have a funeral service and
bear that casket. And if anybody asks them, where's
John, the parents say he's dead. Well, I didn't know John was
sick. Yeah, he's dead. John's dead. We buried John.
John may be alive down there worshiping God in a New Testament
church, but to those parents, he's dead. And I'll tell you
this, as far as you're concerned, the world's dead to you, but
I'm telling you something else. You're going to wake up and find
out if you really come to know Christ. You're dead to them,
too. They'll put you aside. Your old
friends will become open enemies. You'll find Christ said, I came
not to bring peace but a sword. I've come to set a man at balance
with his father and a daughter with a mother and a husband with
a wife. They'll mark your name off. You're
dead. You're dead. You're dead. You're not one of us anymore.
When the family circle gets around and talks about all the things
they talk about, you're a peculiar fellow. They don't include you. You're not one of them anymore.
You don't talk their language. You don't like the things they
like. You don't hate the things they hate, you see. And so far
as you're concerned, they've just sort of slipped your name
off the list. And that hurts some people, and
that surprises them. Christ said, Marvel not, my brethren,
if the world hates you. I promise you, in this world
you'll have tribulation, but in me, life everlasting." Now,
which do you rather lose, the tribulation or the life everlasting?
Oh, I tell you, one moment in heaven will be worth it all,
all that we've had to—and really not, we haven't had to put up
with anything. The world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. Let's sing near the cross. as
our closing hymn. If we would, Brother Ronnie,
that's 351, Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross, number 351. Let's
stand together while we sing. Jesus keep me near the cross
They're a precious fountain. free to all the healing stream,
close from Calvary's mountain. In the cross, in the cross, be
my glory ever. Till my raptured soul shall find
rest beyond the river. Near the cross a trembling soul
Love and mercy found me There the bright and morning star Shed
his beams around me. In the cross, in the cross be
my glory ever. If the