I Will Glory in The Cross

“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.”

Jerry Bridges said, “If we want proof of God’s love for us, then we must look first at the Cross where God offered up His Son as a sacrifice for our sins. Calvary is the one objective, absolute, irrefutable proof of God’s love for us.”

Oswald Chambers stated, “All of heaven is interested in the cross of Christ, hell afraid of it, while men are the only ones to ignore its meaning.”

Billy Graham said, “God undertook the most dramatic rescue operation in cosmic history. He determined to save the human race from self-destruction, and He sent His Son Jesus Christ to salvage and redeem them. The work of man’s redemption was accomplished at the cross.”

Matthew Henry said, “Come, and see the victories of the cross. Christ’s wounds are your healings, His agonies your repose, His conflicts your conquests, His groans your songs, His pains your ease, His shame your glory, His death your life, His sufferings your salvation.”

But perhaps Charles Wesley sums it up best by saying:

Alas! And did my Savior bleed?

And did my Sovereign die?

Would he devote that sacred head

For such a worm as I?

Was it for crimes that I had done

He groaned upon the tree?

Amazing pity! Grace unknown!

And love beyond degree!

But drops of grief can ne’er repay

The debt of love I owe!

Here Lord I give myself away,

Tis all that I can do

At the Cross at the Cross

Where I first saw the light

Where the burdens of my heart rolled away

It was there by faith

I received my sight

And now I am happy all the day!

That may well have been the theme song for the Apostle Paul, when you read Galatians 6:14 and he says, “but God forbid that I should glory, save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Now, if you do a little research, you will find the word “glory” mentioned over 400 times in the New Testament alone.  Throughout the Bible, we can see God’s Glory in Creation.

You see, years ago, God stepped from behind the curtain of nowhere, and stood upon the platform of nothing and spoke the world into existence.

And the Psalmist said in Ps. 19:1, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.”

• We see the Glory of God in Creation. 
• We see the Glory of God in Christ.
• We can see the Glory of God in the Church;
• And we see the Glory of God in the Cross.

Where Paul said, “God forbid that I should glory in anything except the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Now you think about Paul – there’s a lot of things he could have boasted about, there’s a lot of things that happened that could have caused him to pat himself on the back.

Paul is probably the greatest Christian that ever lived:

He was a powerful preacher;

He was a prolific author – having written over half the New Testament;

He had the right pedigree – circumcised the 8^th day, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews.

I mean, Paul was a religious thoroughbred – and had he have stayed a Pharisee, he would have no doubt been the High Priest among them.

If anybody could pat themselves on the back, it was the Apostle Paul.  But Paul tells us here:

• I Glory;
• I Brag;
• I Boast;
• In this one thing and this one thing only:

THE CROSS OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST! Paul’s PRIDE and PRAISE were limited to the Cross!

In our day, when we think of a Cross, or when we are discussing the Cross with people, they typically think of a Jeweler – and the Cross as a piece of Jewelry we wear around our necks or on a lapel.

But, in Paul’s day, when you thought of the Cross, you typically thought of a Jailer!  For in Paul’s day, the Cross was a cruel place, a place of harsh punishment and death.  The Cross was the cruelest form of death known to man.

I am afraid today that our Churches are cursed with a Cross-less Christianity.

• We’ve got preachers that tell people that man has low self-esteem and he needs a good dose of positive thinking.

• We’ve got preachers today who say that man’s problem is his environment, and we should ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity.

• We have people singing in our churches that say as long as they feel good about what they are doing, everything is OK.

But I’ll tell you what the Bible says man’s problem is – and that is SIN!  And what man needs is a good dose of the Cross of Jesus Christ.

Paul said, “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Let me show you three things this morning about the Cross:

WE ARE TO GLORY IN THE PERSON OF THE CROSS.

Paul said, “But God forbid, that I should glory, save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Now let me say right upfront – It wasn’t the Cross that made Jesus Christ so special – it was Jesus that made the Cross so special!

There is a story told of an old Christian scientist that used to travel the world lecturing, by the name of Harry Rhymer.  At one such speaking engagement, after Professor Rhymer finished his lecture, he opened the floor for questions.

One student, that happened to be Jewish, asked this question, “Professor Rhymer, what is it that Jesus Christ did that no one else has done?”

Professor Rhymer said, “Son, you are Jewish, am I correct?’  The student said “Yes.”  He then said, “Well I will assume then that you are aware of Jewish history, and you know that 30,000 young Jewish men were Crucified by the Romans during their reign?”  The Jewish student said, “Yes, I am aware that 30,000 were put to death by the Romans.”

Professor Rhymer then said, “I am going to name one of them, then I want you to name one of them.  I name Jesus Christ.  Now, it is your turn.”

The Jewish student then said, “Well, I can’t think of another name.”  Professor Rhymer then said, “Exactly, because no one else went to that Cross to bear the sins of man and no one else rose again on the third day with victory over death, hell and the grave,”

I thank God this morning that you and I can Glory in the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ!

• You see, Jesus turned our Cross of Guilt into a Cross of Glory!

• He turned our Cross from a Beam of Execution to a Balm of Salvation!

It is Jesus of the Cross that we are to Glory in.  Paul doesn’t say “the Cross of THE Lord Jesus Christ.”  He said “the Cross of OUR Lord Jesus Christ.”

And there is a difference there my friend.  Until you make it personal – until you make Jesus Christ yours, you will never know the Glory of the Cross!

Paul said, “I glory in our Lord Jesus Christ.”  That word LORD is interpreted MASTER.  Paul is saying here that Jesus Christ is the Master of his life – HE is in control.

He then says “LORD JESUS.”  JESUS in the New Testament has the same meaning as Joshua of the Old Testament.  JOSHUA means “Jehovah is our Savior.”

Jesus is our Savior – He is our Mediator – He is the one standing between God and man making intercession for us!

Then Paul says He is “Our Lord Jesus Christ.”  This tells us that He is our Messiah – He is our Prophet, Priest and King.

Now, had the Lord Jesus Christ not gone to Calvary’s Cross, you and I would never have known what it means to be free from the penalty of sin.

The only way to Heaven is through the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ!”  And Jesus isn’t “A WAY,” He is “THE WAY.”  There is none other name given in Heaven among men whereby they MUST be saved.  

Not only are we TO GLORY IN THE PERSON OF THE CROSS;

WE ARE TO GLORY IN THE PURPOSE OF THE CROSS.

I want you to understand this morning that God had a very clear, very specific purpose in sending His son to die on Calvary’s Cross.

1. God wanted us to see His Love on the Cross.

People are reading newspapers, reading the internet and watching the news on Television and they see all the crime, all the hate, all the violence around the world and they say “Where is this God of Love?”

Well, I can tell you they are looking for God in the wrong places.  They are not going to find God on MSNBC, or CNN or Fox News. They are not going to find God in Newsweek Magazine of in the Wall Street Journal.

If you want to truly find the Love of God, you simply need to look to the Cross of Calvary!

I John 1:4 says, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation of our sins.”

Romans 5:8 says, “But God commended His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

It was at the Cross that man did his worst to God – but it was at the Cross that God did His best for man!  The Love of God is seen in the Cross.

• God wanted to Fulfill the Law on the Cross.

If you study the Old Testament, it becomes clear that sin carried a penalty with it.  The sin of Mankind required a sacrifice.

The Prophet Ezekiel says, “The soul who sins shall surely die.”

The Bible tells us “For all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God.”

Now we’ve got a problem, because “the soul that sins shall surely die” – and we all know that we are sinners.  The Bible also says that “The wages of sin is death.”

Thank God this morning that when Jesus Christ became my substitute on Calvary’s Cross, not only did He wash away my sins – He satisfied the Law of God.

• You and I owe a debt that we could not pay. 
• He paid a debt that He did not owe!

He took my place and He took your place on Calvary’s Cross in order to fulfill the Law of God.  If is because of His death on the Cross that you and I have life – and have life more abundantly!

Because He took my Cross upon Him – I can now take His righteousness upon me!

No wonder Paul said, “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Not only are we to Glory in the Person Who Died on the Cross, or in the Purpose declared by the Cross, but:

WE ARE TO GLORY IN THE POWER OF THE CROSS.

Before Jesus died on the Cross, the Cross was the symbol of weakness, shame and defeat.  But, since Jesus died on the Cross – it has become the symbol of Power, of Glory and of Victory!

• How does that apply to me?
• How does that help me?
• How does that help you?

I would suggest to you, that every single day of our lives, we face three enemies:

• We face Society (that’s the world).
• We face Self (that’s our flesh).
• And we Satan (that’s the Devil).

1. Through the Power of the Cross, we can have Victory over the World.

Verse 14 continues on to says, “by whom the world is crucified unto me.”

I submit to you that we are not only saved by the Cross, but we are sanctified by the Cross – “set apart” by the Cross. We have come out from the world and the world is now dead to us.

God did not just save us to live Happily in Heaven, He saved us to love Holy on this Earth!

• Through the Power of the Cross, we can have Victory over the Flesh.

Now the Flesh is that old man, the old nature that still lives inside of you.  And though you have become a new creation in Christ Jesus, you still have to fight that old nature that’s still inside of you.

A reporter is talking to a man that has been a member of AA for 13 years.  The reporter as the man, how long have you been attending AA meetings?  The man replied “13 years.”  The reporter then said, “Shouldn’t you be able to stop attending the meetings after 13 years of Sobriety?”  The man replied, “Just because I quit drinking 13 years ago doesn’t mean I don’t have the urge every single day – that battle never ends.”

Galatians 5:24 says, “And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.”

• Finally, through the Power of the Cross, we can have Victory over the Devil.

Ever since Calvary, the Devil has been a defeated foe!  He is sailing a sinking ship!  But there is nothing more dangerous than a wounded enemy!

Through the Cross of Jesus Christ, we have Victory over the World, the Flesh and the Devil.  What amazes me though is the number of Christians living defeated lives.

• They constantly have their feelings hurt;
• They are never happy with anyone or anything;
• They can only see the bad in things and never see the good;
• Many times their homes are a complete wreck.

And church. I’m telling you – you don’t have to live that way.

Conclusion:  So, how can we live the Victorious Christian life?  I am glad this morning that the Bible doesn’t diagnose a problem with giving us a remedy.  Look at the very last portion of that verse, it says, “And I unto the world.”

The way to have victory in your life is to go daily to the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and die a death to self!

Die to yourself so that He can live in you.  The more of you that you can get out of the way, the more of Him you will have.

The Bible says in Isaiah 53:6, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

Colossians 2:14, “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross”

No wonder Paul comes to the end of this letter to the Church in Galatia and says, “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”