The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ
has not become obsolete. The preaching of the cross of
Jesus Christ, of the death of the Son of God, The preaching
of the precious blood that flowed from Calvary has not ceased to
be effectual. There are those who still love
it. There are those who still believe it. There are those who
still trust it. Men today would persuade us that
the preaching of the cross and the blood of Jesus Christ is
out of date, but the preaching of the cross is old-fashioned.
There are those who would persuade us that Golgotha was only the
scene of a martyr's death, that the death of Jesus Christ on
Calvary was only an example. There are those who would persuade
us that the Christ of the cross and the Christ of the present
are different. They're those who would lead
us to believe that the cross actually is only a religious
relic, something to be worn about the neck as a good luck charm
or perhaps as an emblem of superstition. But this does not move me from
the cross. It only leads me to study the
cross more carefully and to preach it more sincerely and to hold
to it as the wisdom and power of God Almighty. The cross of
Jesus Christ is the wisdom of God. It may be foolishness to
men. Paul said to them who are perishing,
the preaching of the cross is foolishness, but to those who
are being saved, it's still the power of God. And the cross of
Jesus Christ, I say, is the essence of the Bible. The cross of Jesus
Christ is literally the voice of God to men in this day. Now the cross is not without
its mysteries. The cross solves many difficulties,
but the cross creates other difficulties. In the cross of Jesus Christ
there is life, but in the cross of Jesus Christ there's death. There is honor in the cross,
and yet at the same time there is shame. The cross is wisdom,
but to some it's foolishness. The cross is gain but at the
same time it's loss. The cross pardons and at the
same time it condemns. In the cross you'll find strength
and weakness, joy and sorrow, glory and shame, love and hatred,
hope and despair. In the cross there is grace and
yet there is righteousness. The cross was the humiliation
of Christ, and yet it was the exaltation of the Son of God. The cross is Satan's victory,
but it's also Satan's defeat. And the cross is the gates of
heaven, but it's also the gate of hell. I want to look tonight
at the cross. Paul said, 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. I want
to look at the cross as the divine proclaimer and interpreter of
the things of God. The cross, someone said, is the
dictionary of the entire universe. In other words, the cross, the
interpreter. I've divided this message into
four parts. First of all, the cross is the
interpreter of man. By means of the cross, God Almighty
has brought out for all to see what is really in man. Someone said, in the cross God
has spoken. Yes, but in the cross man has
spoken too. In the cross, man makes an unconscious
confession. He makes a confession of his
real feelings toward God. At Calvary, man makes an unconscious
confession of his real feelings toward the authority of God,
toward the holiness of God, toward the law of God, toward the character
of God, toward the love of God. You'll turn with me to the book
of Acts, chapter 2, verse 23. You'll see that at the cross,
the counsel of God was at work. I do not deny that. In fact,
I preach that very emphatically. Peter said in Acts 2, verse 22,
"'Ye men of Israel, hear these words.' Jesus of Nazareth, a
man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs
which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also
know, him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge
of God, you have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and
slain." It is true. The counsel of God was at work
on Golgotha's hill that day. When Jesus Christ the Lord died
on that cross, the counsel of God, the determinate counsel
of God, the purpose of God was at work. But it was man who erected
that cross. It was man who drove those nails
in the hands and feet of the Son of God. It was man who plunged
that awful tree in the ground It was man who stood there and
watched him suffer for six hours, bleed and die, and when he cried,
I first plunged vinegar into his mouth. It was man who laughed
at him and mocked him and said, You trusted God, let's see if
God will have you now. It was man who walked about the
cross shooting out their lips and crying, If you be the Christ,
come down from the cross. Man nailed Jesus Christ to the
cross at Calvary. Crucifixion was the death of
the outcast only, the Gentile outcast. Stoning was the Jewish
death. Crucifixion was the Roman death.
And they cried, Crucify Him! Pilate said, What shall I do
with Jesus which is called the Christ? And they said, Crucify
Him! and crucify him meant let him
die the worst kind of death. That's what they were saying.
The Gentile death of crucifixion means that he's not merely an
outcast from Israel, but he's an outcast from the rest of the
world as well. He's an outcast from the whole
human race. That's what crucifixion meant.
Stoning was the Gentile death Crucifixion was the Roman death,
and crucifixion was the death of death, and crucifixion was
the worst of death, and when they cried, Crucify him, they
cried, Let him die the worst kind of death. Let the outcast
be cast out from the whole human race. So at Calvary Man speaks. The cross interprets man. The cross at Calvary draws away
the mask of pretended religion and pretended morality, and the
cross of Calvary reveals man's soul full of hatred for God Almighty. I know men today will say, we
do not hate God. Then what does that cross mean?
Men say, we do not hate God. Well, what does the cross mean?
Love? Hatred? Or indifference? Love
doesn't demand the worst of death. Indifference does not demand
the worst of death. Only hatred demands the worst
of death. It's hatred that demands crucifixion. You say you have no right to
judge us. I don't judge you. The cross
judges you. The cross interprets what is
in the heart of the sinner. The cross is the public declaration
of man's refusal of God. The cross is the public declaration
of man's hatred for God. The cross is the public declaration
of man's denial of his need for a Redeemer. What think ye of
Christ, men and women? Man's answer? Let him die the
worst of deaths. What think ye of Christ, O generation
of men? Let him die the worst of deaths."
The cross interprets man. Man hates God. Man does not hate
his God, he hates the living God. Man does not hate his Lord,
he hates the living Lord. He hates the God who is revealed
in the Word. He hates the God who is revealed
in Christ. Christ said, He that hath seen
me hath seen the Father, and they said, Crucify him. Show us the Father, show us God,
and we'll be satisfied. He that hath seen me hath seen
God. Now men, what think you of God?
Crucify him. We will not have this man reign
over us. Let him die the worst of death." The issue between God and men
is not the offense of stealing a watermelon. The
issue between men and God is not the offense of one day telling
a lie. The horrible, terrible offense
between God and men is that when God revealed himself in the person
of his Son, they nailed him to a cross. And the blood of Jesus
Christ is not only on the hands of Pilate, the blood of Jesus
Christ is on the hands of every son of Adam. The blood of Jesus
Christ is on the hands of mankind. The blood of Jesus Christ is
on my hands and your hands, and God is going to hold us responsible. What think ye of Christ? Crucified. Secondly, the cross is not only
the interpreter of man, but the cross is the interpreter of God. For God so loved the world that
he gave his only begotten Son. Now the character of God can
be seen in many places. Turn to Psalms 19. Blessed is the man who can see
God in all things. Blessed is the man who can see
God in the morning sunrise. Blessed is the man who can see
God in the falling, gentle falling rain. Blessed is the man who
can see God when the snow covers the world. Blessed is the man
who can see God as he walks through a field and by a stream. Blessed
is the man who can stand on the beach of a large and great body
of water and see God. Blessed is the man who can see
a tornado or a hurricane or a storm and see the hand and power of
God." David said in Psalm 19, 1, "...the heavens declare the
glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork." Day unto
day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge.
There is no speech nor language where his voice is not heard."
Creation declares the power and the wisdom of God. The law, the
holy law, declares the righteousness of God. How holy is his law. How pure is his law. How perfect
is his law. How right is his law. The covenant
of rediction declares the purpose of God, and the incarnation of
the Lord Jesus Christ declares the love of God. God so loved,
he sent his Son into this world. The Word was made flesh and dwelt
among us. But all of this is only the beginning. It is not on creation's morning
that we see God the plainest. It is not on Sinai's mountain
as the thunder rolled and the lightning flashed and the glory
of God was revealed and the law was given. It's not even at Bethlehem's
manger as the star over the manger pointed to the virgin's child
and the wise men and shepherds worshipped him. It's not even at Bethlehem that
we get the full interpretation of God's character. It's at the
cross. It's at the cross. There we see
the power of God. There we see the wisdom of God. There we see the love of God.
There we see the holiness of God. There we see the justice
of God. At the cross, the songwriter
said, at the cross, that's where I first saw the light. That's
where the burden of my heart rolled away. It was there at
the cross by faith I received my sight. I saw God. I saw God. In the cross you see the love
of God. Turn to 1 John. 1 John 3. Here is the greatest demonstration
of love there has ever been. Greater love hath no man than
this, that he lay down his life for his friends. But greater
love than this is the one who lays down his life for his enemies. And God commended his love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 1 John 3, verse 16. Hereby perceive we the love of
God. Here's the way we see and perceive
and understand the love of God, because he laid down his life
for us. There's the love of God. Here
is the greatest demonstration of love. Here is love stronger
than shame, and oh, the shame of it all. You could take the most innocent,
moral woman in this congregation and strip all of her clothes
from her and shave her head and whip her down the main streets
of this city, and she wouldn't experience one ten-millionth
the shame that Christ experienced when he bore our sin in his body
on the cross. not one ten million. It's impossible
for us to even consider or contemplate what shame Christ knew. He who
knew no sin, he who had no sin, was made sin. Oh, the shame of
it! But his love was greater than
shame. His love was stronger than suffering. Our Lord Jesus Christ, now some
of you have suffered. I don't know much about suffering,
but some of you do. Some of you know what it means
to suffer. But our Lord Jesus Christ, you
don't know one ten millionth of the agony and distress that
he suffered in his soul even before he went to that cross.
For he said, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. And the blood came through the
pores of his skin. He, in the garden, on his face
before the Father, before he went to the cross, was going
through such agony that the blood flowed from the pores of his
skin. He made his soul an offering
for sin. But his love for you and me was
stronger than all the sufferings of Calvary. And his love was
stronger than hell. Hell couldn't defeat it. The
grave couldn't defeat it. All of the forces of hell, all
of the demons and all of the devils of the universe could
not keep him from Calvary because his love was stronger than the
forces of hell. At the cross we see the love
of God. At the cross we see the wisdom of God. Turn to 1 Corinthians
1. The wisdom of God is revealed
at Calvary. In 1 Corinthians 1, verse 23,
Paul said, we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews, a stumbling block,
unto the Greeks, sheer nonsense, but unto them which are called
both Jews and Greeks, Christ crucified is the power of God
and the wisdom of God. How can God both punish and reward
at the same time? You learn that at Calvary. How
can God Almighty be both just and justifier at the same time? You learn that at Calvary. How
can God both condemn and save the sinner at the same time?
Condemn his sins and save his soul. You learn that at Calvary. And at Calvary we see the holiness
of God, surely. Now preacher, surely God will
deal mildly with sin when it's laid on his own son. Surely God
will ease the penalty. Surely God will spare the beloved. No, God spared not his own son. I don't know anything about the
severity of righteousness when it comes to that point, do you?
I don't know anything about that. Only God, the infinite holy God,
how severe, how holy, how perfect is the righteousness of God,
who revealed sin so strictly and so strongly and so powerfully
as to spare not his only beloved son. When we look at the righteousness
of God as interpreted by the cross of Christ, we see that
God is holy. God is holy. His love hath no
weakness. His love hath no indifference
to right and wrong. His love is a righteous love.
The cross interprets God. And then thirdly, The cross is
the interpreter of the law of God. The cross tells us that
the law is holy, just, and good. The cross tells us that not one
jot or tittle shall pass from that law until it's either fulfilled
or until every transgression receives a just recompense of
reward. When you go to Calvary, what
is the message from Calvary? What is the message from the
cross? What do you hear at Calvary? Do you hear this? God will show
mercy! Well, that's the message that
comes from Calvary. But there's another message I
hope you didn't miss while you were there, and that message
comes forth just as strongly. God will punish sin. God will
punish sin. The cross announces the power
of the law, the strictness of the law, and the vengeance of
the law. And he who most honored the law
is the one that the law refuses to let go when the law got him
in its grips. And the one who honored the law
most, the Son of God, when he was made sin for me and for you,
the law compelled him to suffer infinite suffering. It's the
law that condemned the Son of God, because he was numbered
with the transgressors. It's the law that erected the
cross and nailed him to it, because the law demands death. It was
the law that afflicted him and put him to grief, because the
law says the soul that sinneth, it shall surely die. Now men
think of God's law as being too strict. Men think of God's law
as being too severe. They even hint that Jesus Christ
came down here into the world to modify God's law and give
us salvation obtained by an obedience to a whittled-down law. But God
at the cross says, No, the law remains the same. See that cross? See my son on that cross? This
answers the man or the woman who would preach and teach salvation
by works. God says the law shall be honored
and justice shall be satisfied, even when it comes to the death
of my own son. And then, my friend, last of
all, the cross is the interpreter of the gospel. What is the good news? The word
gospel means good news, glad tidings. What is the good news?
When the shepherds heard the angels announce, Glory to God
in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. Be
not afraid, we bring you good news of great joy, which shall
be to all people, unto you is born this day in the city of
David a Savior, Christ the Lord." That was good news, wasn't it? When the Virgin Mary brought
forth her firstborn son, wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and
they said, What shall be his name? And Joseph spoke up and
said, His name shall be called Jesus, for he shall save his
people from their sins. The angel of the Lord stood by
me, and the angel of the Lord said, Fear not, Joseph, to take
unto thee Mary to be thy wife. That holy thing which is conceived
in her is the Son of God, and thou shalt call his name Joshua,
Jesus, God is our Savior, for he shall save his people from
their sin." That was good news. John the Baptist, thirty years
of age, one of the most powerful preachers recognized by even
King Herod as being a servant of God, filled with the Holy
Ghost from his mother's womb, a man whom all Judea went out
to hear. When he stood that day by the
Jordan River baptizing men with the baptism of repentance, and
he saw Jesus Christ walking toward him, he cried out, This is he! Behold the Lamb of God that taketh
away the sin of the world. This is the one of whom the Father
spake. This is the one for whom I am
the forerunner. This is the one for whom we love."
It was good news. And then when our Lord Jesus
Christ, after journeying through the cities of Judea, through
Capernaum, working great miracles, came home to Nazareth, and as
his custom was, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day
and stood up to read the scriptures. And he selected a place found
in Isaiah 61, written about the Messiah. And he opened the book
and read before those thousands of Sabbath day worshipers, He hath anointed me to preach
the gospel to the poor. He hath anointed me to heal the
brokenhearted. He hath anointed me to preach
deliverance to the captives. He hath anointed me to preach
recovery of sight to the blind. He hath anointed me to preach
the acceptable year of the Lord." And he closed the book and he
lifted up his eyes and he said, this day, this grand and glorious
day, this scripture is fulfilled in your presence. That was good
news. But my friends, it wasn't until
the cross was erected on Golgotha's hill, it wasn't until the Son
of God spread his hands and received the nails, it wasn't until the
spear was thrust in his side, it wasn't till the blood was
shed and the sacrifice was complete, it wasn't till Jesus Christ cried
from that cross, It's finished! It's finished! It wasn't until
then that the good news was complete. God in Christ reconciled the
world unto himself. There at the cross, peace was
made. There at the cross, reconciliation
was sealed. There at the cross, my sins were
forgiven. There at the cross, the debt
was paid. There at the cross the ransom
was given. There at the cross my soul was
saved. That's good news. I don't know
what churches preach that do not preach the cross. For God
forbid that I should glory save in the cross. I don't know what
ministers preach who do not preach the cross. for I am determined to know nothing
among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified. It's not the babe
of Bethlehem who redeemed my soul, it's the Christ of Calvary. It's not the healer of the Judean
hillsides that saved my soul, it was the Christ of Calvary.
It's the blood that maketh atonement for the soul. God said over here
in the book of Leviticus, He said, I have given you the blood
upon the altar. It's the blood that maketh atonement
for the soul without the shedding of blood. There's no remission
for sin. Take the blood out of your hymn
books, you take salvation out of your songs. Take the blood
of Christ and the cross out of your message and you take salvation
out of your sermon. Take the blood of Jesus Christ
out of your prayers and you've got no access to God. For he opened for us a new and
living way through the veil by the sacrifice of himself. You take the blood out of your
message and out of your gospel and you've got no gospel and
you've got no hope for sinners. For he put away sin by the sacrifice
of himself. call it old-fashioned, call it
first-century doctrine, call it obsolete if you want to, but
you'll find that the song of the redeemed and glory is this. Who are these clothed in white
robes, and whence cometh they? Thou knowest These are they that
come out of great tribulation and wash their robes in the blood
of the Lamb. And they cried and they sang
the song unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins
in his own blood. Unto him be glory. There's nothing
shameful about blood. Our flag has remained in freedom
over this nation because some people were willing to shed their
blood, to shed their blood. Every time that you buy steak
or roast at the supermarket, blood had to be shed to make
it available to you. When one of your loved ones is
involved in an automobile accident and they rush him to the hospital
and take him in the operating room for surgery, the nurse will
run down to the blood bank and she'll bring up three or four
precious life-saving bottles of liquid. It's blood. And oh, as they hang that blood
up there on that instrument and put the blood needle into the
vein and that precious liquid begins to flow in, that doctor
says, he'll live, now he's getting blood. Nothing shameful about
blood. The life of the flesh is in the
blood. And brother, I'll tell you, the
spiritual life of the sinner is in the life-giving blood of
the Son of God. I am not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ, though he were crucified." Thank God for the blood. It cleanses,
it redeems, it forgives, it atones. Blood is precious. Let's sing
in closing tonight, there is a fountain filled with blood,
drawn from Emmanuel's veins, and sinners plunge beneath that
flood, lose all their guilty stain." 222. I want you to stand with me as
Ronnie comes and leads us and sing all these verses of 222,
There is a Fountain. There is a fountain filled with
blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins. And sinners flush beneath that
blood. sings, Lose all their guilty
stains, And sinners punished beneath the sun, Lose all The
dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day. And there may I, oh, my, let
he wash all my sins away. Wash all my sins away. Wash all my sins away. And there may I throw my life
away. Wash all my sins away. dying land thy precious blood
shall never lose its power till all the ransomed Church of God
be saved. The. The. And since, by faith, I saw the
stream, thy flowing would supply. Redeeming love has been my theme,
and shall be till I die. And shall be till I die. Redeeming love has been my theme
and shall be till I die. In this foolish thing, stammering
tongue, lies silent in the grave. In hymn, a nobler, sweeter song,
I'll sing thy power to save. I'll sing thy power to save. I'll sing thy power to save. In the noblest, sweetest song,
I'll sing thy power to save.