GLORYING IN THE CROSS
Gal. 6:14-15
Morning Meditation 2/5/17
Verse 14-15 says, “But 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. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.”
On this Easter morning my heart is filled with praise for the Lord. The cross has come to symbolize the Christian’s victory. The victory is in Christ and the way into Christ is the cross. We could say it is the door to the new life because no one enters the new life without coming by means of the cross. Paul glories in the cross because everything he is in the new life and all he hopes to have in the future life is because of the cross.
Let’s notice some truths that suggest themselves to us as we look at the two verses of our text. The first is,
THE CROSS IS REASON FOR FORGIVENESS
Paul says in Ephesians 1:7, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” If you will notice, Paul includes himself in this statement by using the plural personal pronoun “we.” It is “we have redemption through his blood” and “we have the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” When the blood is mentioned, our thoughts go immediately to the cross. There is where the blood was shed. There is where forgiveness is obtained. Paul glories in the cross because the cross is the reason for his forgiveness. Do we appreciate the cross? What does the cross mean to us? When we talk about the forgiveness of sins, credit should always be given to the cross.
It is always the subject of evangelistic preaching. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:1-2, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” Paul is going over the initial approach that he took when he came to Corinth as a pioneer missionary. He reminds them that he “came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom” which means that he did not try to impress them as a public speaker. He did not use the “power of speech” to win them. He says, “For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” This is what the preaching of the cross is. When Paul came to Corinth, he came preaching the only message that would save. It was the message of the cross. Paul glories in the cross because faith in it is what makes converts to Christ.
Paul glories in the cross because it is the reason for forgiveness, and not only that, it is,
THE THEME OF PRAISE
When Paul says, “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ . . .” he is saying that there is only one kind of song that I sing. It must have the cross in it. There is only one kind of praise testimony that I give, it is the testimony of the cross. This is the theme of our praise.
God actually pulls back the curtain and gives us a glimpse of a worship service that will go on in heaven. This is found in Revelation 5:9-10 which says, “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” This answers the question of shall there be singing in heaven? Yes. But the songs will be the means of praise for the cross. Do you see the cross in the verses here? The words “for thou wast slain” bring this out. Where was the Lamb of which he speaks here slain? He was slain a the cross. The words “by thy blood” take us to the place, i.e., the cross. The words “out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation” show that the cross is the theme of praise for saved people no mater what nationality or social standing.
I just looked in two different books I have on illustrations. Both books are written to help the preacher illustrate the truths in his sermons. One book is gigantic the other smaller. There are literally thousands of illustrations in these books. I looked in the subject index at the beginning of the books and there was nothing listed under the subject of praise. Neither of the books had the subject of praise with a list of illustrations that illustrated praise. The big book has a theme list in the back that lists illustrations that illustrate things other than the subjects they are listed under in the front index. I found the word praise and it listed 25 illustrations on praise including two epigrams. Not one of the illustrations was praising the Lord for the cross. Not one of them. One of the epigrams said the following: “A sign in from of an Atlanta restaurant featuring fried chicken: ‘If the Colonel Had Our Chicken Recipe He’Be a General.’” —Atlanta Journal
It is not my intention to become a book critic. I have used some illustrations found in books like this to an advantage. But my point is that I was surprised as I looked for an illustration on praise to God for the cross in a place where you would normally expect to find it, I did not find a single one. I am not saying that you could not dig several illustrations out of these books on praise. But they are not listed in the indexes. Does that mean there is no demand for them? I have discovered one thing about books. The human authors write on subjects that will sell! That means they find out what people are interested in and write on it. Could the absence of illustrations on praise in one of the best sermon illustration books on the market tell us anything? I really think so. Paul says the cross is the reason for forgiveness, the theme of praise and,
THE KNIFE THAT CIRCUMCISES
Paul says “ . . . by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” The words “is crucified” translate “stauroo” and is the word used to describe the cross. It is a perfect passive indicative verb. The perfect tense means that Paul is saying that it is Christ crucified that killed him to the world. The perfect tense means this happened in the past with the result that he remains dead to it, and also the world to him. The saved man should not have to die over and over again to the world. We need to make our minds up about whose side we are on. Amen! Circumcision and uncircumcision is mentioned in the next verse and I believe it illustrates the work of the cross. Circumcision was a Jewish rite and a sign of the covenant that God made with Israel. Every male child was supposed to be circumcised on the eighth day after birth as a sign of faith in the Abrahamic covenant. Jesus was circumcised the eighth day according to this rule (Luke 2:27). Circumcision is the cutting away of the foreskin of a male child and throwing it away. It ceases to be a part of his body. It is a cutting off. The believer in Christ is also circumcised to the world and the world unto him. Have you discovered that the cross has cut you off from the world? If you want to be accepted by the world, you will have to keep your mouth shut about the cross. If the world is accepted by me, they will have to clean up their act and adopt an article of faith I can accept. They will also have to change their songs completely. I’m not just talking about adding songs praise to the Lord to what they have.. They will have to throw away (the knife of circumcision) just about all of what they now sing. I’m not exaggerating. You say, “They will never do that.” I agree. Therefore I am dead to them and they are dead to me. This is what Paul is saying. The cross is the knife that cut me off from the world. Amen. The cross is the reason for forgiveness, the theme of praise, the knife of circumcision and,
THE PLACE OF EQUALITY
There are so many things that divide people today. You can’t even tell an ethnic joke without offending someone. Everyone is on edge. The little man in the social strata is upset with the man who is high in the same. The rich blame the poor for being poor and the poor accuse the rich of obtaining their wealth through illegitimate means. The uneducated are angry with the educated and accuse them of looking down on them and the educated blame the uneducated of being lazy and refusing to better themselves. People are really divided today. It will not change unless you can change God’s mind. These things describe the way the world will be at the coming of the Lord. This is just the way it is. Before you can change the things that I have just mentioned, you will have to change the person. The cross is where this takes place. Paul says, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.” Paul says being a new creature (creation) unites us to every other person who is a new creature.
When we come to the cross we are all on level ground. The poor man and the rich meet together at the cross. The educated and the uneducated meet together at the cross. The races all meet together at the cross. There is no difference. The man who sees himself better than another as he stands before the cross insults the cross. This is the place where all stand as bankrupt before God. No one has one thing to offer to God as a price of forgiveness or redemption. And let me tell you something else, it is not going to get better. Now that you have been saved, you will not be able to improve the flesh. I have been saved since 1939. I was born in 1930. I was a nine year old boy when I was saved. I deserve heaven no more today after 44 years of ministry than I did to begin with. In my church there are people from most races. We worship together. We stand before the cross on level ground. We are what we are because of the cross. I’m sorry, someone is going to have to hold my mules! I praise the Lord for my brethren of all ethnic backgrounds. It is a thrill to me that we are all merit less, and stand in the shadow of the cross praising God and Christ alone for our salvation.
The cross is the place of complete equality. Amen and amen. The song says, “The cross it standeth fast, Hallelujah, hallelujah! Defying every blast, Hallelujah, hallelujah! The winds of hell have blown, The world its hate hath shown, Yet it is not over-thrown, Hallelujah for the cross! ‘Twas there the debt was paid, Hallelujah, hallelujah! Our sins on Jesus laid, Hallelujah, hallelujah! So round the cross we sing, Of Christ our offering, Of Christ our living King, Hallelujah for the cross!”
May we all say, “But 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” And may God bless you.
In Christ
Bro. White
