The Cross
...now browsing by category
Monday, April 6th, 2020
There has been and always will be a difference in the work and motives of God and the work and motives of Satan. God works for good; Satan (the enemy) works for evil.
Take Jesus’ death for example. Satan saw it as an opportunity for evil, to get rid of his sworn enemy. But God saw it as an opportunity for good, to have a sacrifice in the place of sinners to bring about the salvation of those sinners. I like the way John Piper put it much better than I just did:
The heart of the Bible is not an explanation of where evil comes from, but a demonstration of how God enters into it and turns it for the very opposite-everlasting righteousness and joy. (p.118)
Ironically, Jesus had to endure evil and suffering in order to overcome evil and suffering. It still amazes me that He was willing to go through all that evil and suffering in order to declaw them. It’s like what Paul asked at the end of I Corinthians 15: “O death, where is your sting? O death, where is your victory?” (verses 54-55) Declawed for good. No Energizer bunny here.
Posted in Death, Doctrine, Easter, Lent, The Cross, Truth | 5 Responses »
Friday, April 3rd, 2020
Talking about the death and crucifixion of Jesus is not a popular subject, not even among those who claim to follow Jesus. The idea of a crucifixion is seen as absurd. There are those who find the idea of a sacrifice absolutely repugnant. Whether we are talking about an animal sacrifice (I can hear PETA right now) in the OT, or Jesus on the cross, it is a subject we would just as soon avoid. Believe it or not, some see the crucifixion of Jesus as cosmic or divine child abuse. Seriously?
But for those who follow Christ, the cross is essential to the Gospel. Without it, there is no gospel. It is empty. We often ask the question why when it comes to our life’s circumstances being not what we would like them to be. (Current situation included). That question often goes unanswered. However…think this one through: when speaking about the death of Jesus, while we may ask, “Why?” the question does not go unanswered. One can hardly find a better Scripture passage than the one from Isaiah 52:13-53:12 in answer to that question. Charles Spurgeon once wrote:
“This is one of the chapters that lie at the very heart of Scriptures. It is the very Holy of Holies of Divine Writ. Let us, therefore, put off our shoes from our feet, for the place whereon we stand is specially holy ground.”
My sermon Sunday is part of a two-week series I’ve entitled More Than a Man. My focus this week-as you can imagine-is on the crucifixion of Jesus. Sadly, like many across this country and around the world, we will not be able to meet together as a church body. Least in one building. But we will be meeting all around our town and in other parts of the country. If you would like to join us at 10:00 EST please request to become part of the church’s FaceBook commuity. It is private so you must ask to join and then be approved. Keeps the trolls away. And those dorks who post they made so much money by working at home. Can you say, “Scam?” Anyway, I digress. 🙂
These are interesting times we live in. We are hoping to make the most of it. Please join us online or at least in prayer. Thanks.
Posted in Church, Doctrine, Easter, Jesus, Lent, Preaching, Sermon Series/Topic, The Cross, Truth | 6 Responses »
Thursday, April 2nd, 2020
A distinction has often been made (and rightly so) between happiness and joy. Happiness has been described as something you have because of your circumstances; joy is something you have in spite of your circumstances. In other words, one is dependent on good things happening that make you feel good; one is not dependent on good things happening.
The striking words in Hebrews 12:2 ring loudly. Speaking of Jesus, the writer says, “Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross…” (Emphasis mine). What kind of joy could be so strong that Jesus would go to a cross and endure it? I am grateful for John Piper’s thoughts on this. He says “the joy set before Jesus had many levels”:
- The joy of reunion with His Father. Ps.16:11
- The joy of triumph over sin. Heb.1:3
- The joy of divine rights restored. Heb.12:2
- The joy of being surrounded with praise by all the people for whom He died. Lk. 15:7
Think about this for a moment. If the hope of joy enabled Jesus to endure the cross, just think about what that same joy holds for us. To suffer, to endure = to experience the same joy as Him. Sometimes that is all that makes sense in this world gone mad.
Thoughts on joy by John Piper from The Passion of the Christ.
Posted in Christian living, Doctrine, Easter, Jesus, Lent, The Cross, Truth | 2 Responses »
Wednesday, April 1st, 2020
I have said in the past, “I was saved by grace; I am being saved by grace; and in the end I will be saved by grace.” Paul put it this way: “This grace by which I stand.” (Rom.5:2)
You see, the whole idea of salvation relates to the past, the present, and the future. Using what I said earlier, I could say, “I have been saved; I am being saved; I will be saved.”
Take the death of Jesus. His death saved; His death saves; His death will save. He paid for all sins of the past. He paid for all sins today so I can know I am saved and secure in His grace. He paid for me to know my future home is waiting, kept in heaven for me.
I’m rejoicing this Easter season that even though there is a quarantine (2020) that will keep us from meeting publicly as a body, nothing can damper the promise of forgiveness of sin-past, present, and future. His shed blood is a stamp guaranteeing eternity for me. And it can be for you as well.
Posted in Death, Doctrine, Easter, Grace, Lent, The Cross, Truth | 6 Responses »
Monday, March 30th, 2020
“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God…For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumblingblock to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” (I Cor.1:18, 22-24)
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16)
“For I deliver to you as of first importance what I also received: that Jesus died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scripture.” (I Cor.15:3-4)
There should be no question what we should be teaching and preaching. Not politics. Not “feel good.” Not spirituality. Not health/wealth. Not NAR garbage (gold dust falling from heaven? Grave sucking? You have go to me kidding me!). Not hype. Not Miracle Spring Water (seriously?). JESUS. THE GOSPEL. THE CROSS.
“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Gal.6:14)
Posted in Doctrine, Easter, Jesus, Lent, Preaching, The Cross, Truth | 6 Responses »
Friday, March 20th, 2020
A stone or a cross.
That’s one of the ways I see this time of the year.
By stone I mean the Law. The Law’s purpose, according to Galatians 3:24, is to be a tutor, a schoolmaster, a guardian to lead us to Jesus. It was in effect until Jesus came and then we moved from there to justification by faith. The Law was a stone around our neck. There was no freedom. No escape. All the Law really offered was demands and condemnation.
On the other side of the coin is the cross. Whereas the Law brought demands and condemnation, the cross brought love and freedom. The cross was far superior in every way to the Law. Instead of outside works being associated with righteousness, we are now declared righteous by the blood of Christ.
You could say a stone was used in judgment of someone when thrown; the cross was used to take away that judgment and placed on Someone else. I’ll take the cross.
Posted in Doctrine, Easter, Jesus, Legalism, Salvation, The Cross, Truth | 3 Responses »
Thursday, March 19th, 2020
Have you ever noticed how some verses get a bad rap? Hear me out please. By bad rap I don’t mean kicked-to-the-curb-bad. Instead, I’m referring to the fact that some verses are so close to another that stands out, that one verse is almost glossed over, even forgotten.
For example, Romans 8:29. Ask people to quote verse 28 and they’re on it! Ask them to quote verse 29 and they most likely will stutter and stammer. Look closely though. Verse 29 gives good traction and clarity to verse 28. All that happens is designed to conform us to the image of God’s Son.
Another one is in John 3. Tell me what John 3:16 says. That one is easy to spout off. Some will know verse 17 if pressed. Okay, how about verse 15? We scramble for our Bibles to look it up. Let me save you some time. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” BAM!
Powerful verse! It finds its root in Numbers 21:5-9 where the Israelite people found life by looking at the serpent lifted up by Moses. Life is found in the “lifted up” Christ. That is a definite picture of Jesus being lifted up on a cross. There we find life. And it certainly isn’t a verse we can forget or leave out!!
Look up and live!
Posted in Bible, Doctrine, Easter, Opinion, The Cross, Truth | 4 Responses »
Wednesday, March 18th, 2020
Winter time brings the “excitement” of riding my bike on an indoor trainer. (Please note sarcasm; no joy in that statement). Hours upon hours of riding in one place, bored out of my gourd, as they say. The only redeeming quality besides the fact that at least I’m getting some exercise, is I’m also getting to catch up on movies. This past winter I watched the Back to the Future trilogy (again); Titanic; all 5 Transformers movies (I forgot I had Bumblebee); and the director’s cuts of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Watching them all brought back a lot of nostalgia and the reason why they are my favorites.
In the LOTR trilogy, one of Gollum’s favorite expressions was to call the ring, “My Precious.” (Sort of like the meme I saw the other day with him saying that and holding a roll of toilet paper). But I digress. 🙂 The ring was evil and had so taken over his life that he was no longer Smeagol. It had changed him; ruined him. In the Hobbit, Bilbo had found the ring and Gollum was so controlled by it he knew no peace and went to great lengths to get it back. Thus the trilogy; the need to destroy the ring; and Gollum’s demise after finally taking it from Frodo.
“My precious.” Such was my thought as I read I Peter 1:18-19
Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” (emphasis mine).
It wasn’t silver or gold that drew Peter’s attention, but the precious blood of Christ. That word “precious” conveys infinite value. Just as the ring was of infinite value to Gollum, so is the blood of Christ to every follower who has been washed in it.
Posted in Doctrine, Easter, Jesus, Lent, The Cross, Truth | 8 Responses »
Tuesday, March 17th, 2020
One of the highlights for me about this time of the year is the once-for-all sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. (Sorry for all of you who thought it might be the chocolate. Hmmm. 🙂 ). It is ridiculous to think that Jesus would be crucified over and over and over and over again. You get the picture. Sort of like the blood of bulls and goats which was sacrificed year after year. When the priest raised the knife to slay the animal (bull, goat, sheep, pigeon, dove) he knew 1) this was for him also; and 2) he was going to be doing this again. Every Day of Atonement the lamb slain was for his sins and the sins of the people. Notice…every. Not just one and done.
No! Not when it comes to Jesus’ sacrifice. Hebrews 10:12 tells us, “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God.” Once. For. All. Whereas the sacrifices had to be offered over and over, year after year, this- the ultimate sacrifice- was once for all.
Praise God a sacrifice for sin has been paid. Praise God it was offered once and that was it. And praise God it was for me…and you.
Posted in Doctrine, Easter, Jesus, Lent, The Cross, Truth | 7 Responses »
Tuesday, March 10th, 2020
Easter often brings talk of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, as well it should! In all of that, what is often lost in the discussion is His birth and its uniqueness. We leave that for Christmas.
But we really shouldn’t do that.
There is a cult belief that Jesus is just one of God’s children. Another is Jesus was not fully God and fully man from birth to death. The former is a belief of the JW’s and Mormons. The JW’s even go so far as to say Jesus was a created being, Michael the Archangel. They use the term “only begotten” to defend that. (John 1:14) *But only begotten is a mistranslation of that word. According to Greek scholars, that doesn’t come from the term meaning “beget” but instead has the idea of “the only beloved one.” Therefore, it has the idea of uniqueness, of being loved like no other. John is emphasizing the exclusive character of the relationship between the Father and Son in the Godhead. It does not refer to origin but unique prominence.*
Jesus was no mere man. At birth. Or death. He was unique in every way. He was one of a kind.
{Note: the more “intellectual” Greek thoughts (denoted by *) were taken from One Perfect Life by John MacArthur- (p.55). I am using the book for my morning Quiet Time. It is a different approach to reading through the Gospels and the life of Jesus.}
Posted in Doctrine, Easter, Jesus, Lent, The Cross | 8 Responses »
Recent Comments