The Way of the Cross Leads (to a Blessed) Home
Text: Colossians 1:19-23
I. Welcome
II. Introduction
Last Sunday was Mother’s Day as we began a series of lessons on marriage and the home that will continue through Father’s Day. My dad was a preacher. Although he loved to sing, he really couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket as far as musical ability went. But, like most preachers in small congregations, occasionally he would have to lead a song. When those occasions arose, one song he would always lead was a song we sang earlier – The Way of the Cross Leads Home. As Christians, we know that the cross makes heaven possible for us. For the next few minutes, I want us to apply some characteristics of the cross of Calvary to our homes and how they can bless our homes. I’ve entitled the lesson “The Way of the Cross Leads (to a Blessed) Home.” We need Christian homes and I don’t just mean that daddy and mommy have been baptized. I’m talking about homes where the kingdom of God and His righteousness are the number one priority. I’m talking about homes where our greatest desires are to please God and spend eternity in heaven. That’s what the cross is all about! So we hope you’ll open your Bibles as we study together for the next few minutes. We also hope that you’ll be like the Bereans in Acts 17:11 and search or examine the scriptures daily to make sure we’re preaching and teaching the truth.
III. Lesson
Perhaps no image evokes as many emotions as the cross. If you visit Jerusalem, you can walk what is known as the Via Dolorosa – Latin for the Way of Sorrows. It is a path of some 2,000 feet with what are known as the 14 Stations of the Cross – retracing the steps of Jesus from His trial before Pilate to His tomb. As we reflect on our Lord’s arrest, mock trials, scourging, stumbling under the weight of the cross and cruel crucifixion, there are a couple of terms that come to mind. I want to briefly address these before we get into the thrust of our lesson. The first word is suffering. Notice Mark 8:31 – And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. While we can’t even imagine how much our Lord suffered, marriage is not supposed to be about suffering. Yes, we marry for better or for worse and promise to stay together in sickness and in health. There will always be low points in a marriage due to such circumstances but marriage is not something we are to suffer through. If you are suffering in your marriage, you need to seek help. Even if your spouse refuses, you need to get help – for your own mental well-being. Thankfully, our elders have provided the resources for this help if we’ll only take advantage of them. The second term I want us to examine is shame based on Hebrews 12:2 which reads, “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Shame should not be a part of our marriage and there are two areas I want to mention. First of all, there should be no sexual shame in a marriage as long as spouses are faithful to one another. Hebrews 13:4 spells this out and we need to remember that our bodies are not our own – first, they belong to God and, then, to our spouses. Secondly, we all stick our feet in our mouths from time to time but we should never "on purpose" shame our spouses. Sometimes this is done by poking fun at your mate for laughter but, if this is something you do – and both husbands and wives can be guilty of this, nip it in the bud now. With suffering and shame eliminated from our marriages, let’s look quickly at four characteristics of the cross that we can use to build strong, Christian marriages. First of all, the way of the cross was one of sacrifice. If you’ve spent any time at all in the Old Testament, you are familiar with all the animal sacrifices but, as Hebrews 10:4 states, “it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.” Now, notice Hebrews 10:12 – But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, Also, Ephesians 5:2 – And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. And, dropping down to verse 25 of this same chapter: Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, We husbands are to love our wives with the same sacrificial love Christ had for the church – we must be willing to lay down our lives for our wives. That puts a big responsibility on husbands but Ephesians 5:2 puts a responsibility for sacrificial love on all Christians and that begins in the home. What does it mean to sacrifice in a marriage? It means giving up something of importance to you without expecting anything in return. That may mean something as insignificant as a little sleep or it might mean a career. It might mean giving up a hobby or watching TV. It might be foregoing some of the niceties of life so a spouse can stay home with the children. Just as the ultimate sacrifice given by Jesus was necessary to save us from our sins, sacrifice in marriage is doing whatever it takes to make or save a marriage. The second characteristic we see in the way of the cross is submission. This is not a word we like in our vocabulary but Jesus was our greatest example of submission. Notice His words to His disciples in John 4:34 – Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.” Even at the young age of 12, Jesus was anxious to be about His Father’s business. But, we see true submission to His Father’s will in His death on the cross. Remember how He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane? Matthew 26:39-44 – He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.” And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.
So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. When we come to marriage, men love to quote Ephesians 5:22 – Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. Yet, Christians are admonished to do what in the previous verse? Submit to one another in the fear of God. Husbands are to be the spiritual heads of the home but the only will that needs to be imposed on our spouses is God’s will for the family. In a parallel passage to Ephesians 5:22, notice Colossians 3:18-19 – Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them. There’s a lot of give and take in a marriage and a lot of mutual submission in a Christian home. Men, you can’t love your wives without submitting to some of their desires and emotions. The third characteristic we see in the way of the cross is selflessness or being unselfish. If you have your Bibles, please turn to Philippians 2:5-8 and let’s read this passage together: Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Jesus’ death on the cross was the most selfless act in the history of the world and that’s the mind or way of thinking we should have. One of the great causes of marital problems is selfishness. I’m the breadwinner – I decide how my money will be spent! I’ve worked hard all week while you’ve stayed home – I’m going to hunt, fish, play golf or whatever this weekend. I’ve stayed home all week and you’re taking me out tonight. When we get married, we must give up a lot of self to become one. Marriage, like the cross, demands selflessness. Finally, we come to the fourth characteristic found in the way of the cross: it is spiritual. While the old rugged cross was a physical nightmare, its primary purpose was spiritual – the redemption of mankind. Christ was exalted to the right-hand of God – to reign over His spiritual kingdom. Yes, there is a physical aspect of marriage wherein the husband and wife become one flesh. And, while that is an important part of marriage, the spiritual aspect is what will keep a marriage together. Two Christians intent on going to heaven will help one another in this joint endeavor. Maybe the most important consideration of this spiritual aspect is the fact that marriage is ordained of God and He hates divorce. Marriage is for life and it’s our responsibility as Christians to make it work. The physical may fade but the spiritual should grow and flourish. And, that is most evident in how we prepare our children for eternity.
IV. Conclusion/Invitation
This morning, we have tried to draw some parallels from the way of the cross to a blessed home. If a marriage is to be what God wants it to be, it will involve sacrifice, submission, selflessness and will be spiritual. Because of sin, too many homes are filled with suffering and shame. We need our homes to be God-centered homes. Like the song says, the way of the cross does lead home – to a heavenly home for eternity. But, folks, we cannot live like the world in our homes and expect to reach heaven. If we will adopt the characteristics of the way of the cross, our marriages will become stronger and our homes will be blessed. The way of the cross for Christ was death followed by the resurrection. We can be baptized into the death of Christ and then be raised to walk in newness of life as a Christian. If you’ve never made Jesus king of your life, today would be a good day to do that. Or, if you have not allowed Him to reign over you, it’s not too late to do so. Are you failing spiritually to be who God wants you to be as a spouse or a parent or a child? It’s the Lord’s invitation from Calvary as we stand and sing.
