The Cross of Christ
John 19:16-22
Perhaps the most familiar of all Christian symbols is the cross. Can you look in almost any direction without seeing a cross? They are on the top of steeples, hanging on the walls, and worn on gold chains around necks, often by those who have little if any concept of its meaning. Most of the world has little awareness that historically the cross was a Roman invention of torture and execution upon which the Son of God was affixed between heaven and earth. The importance of the cross of Jesus Christ cannot be overestimated. Martin Luther once said it this way: "The Cross alone is our theology." The Cross of Christ is the most important structure ever erected
I. THE CROSS OF CHRIST IS A CROSS OF DIVISION
A. It divides between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant
1. The cross is the dividing line between the old and new covenants.
2. The Old Covenant was established between God and the people of Israel after God freed them from slavery in Egypt. God spoke through Moses establishing the Law, containing 613 laws, covering every aspect of human behavior; including worship, dietary, social, and hygiene rules. It established a sacrificial system to address the people's sins but was never able to remove sin.
3. Hebrews 10:11 “And every priest stands daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.”
4. The Old Covenant was never able to bring man to aright standing with God. It revealed man’s inability to meet the standards and righteousness of the Holy Sovereign of the universe and the inability of securing salvation by works.
5. Galatians 3:24 tells us that “the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”
6. It was on the cross with the shedding of the blood of the sinless Son of God that the great time-divide between the two covenants met.
7. Hebrews 10:11-14 And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man (the spotless Lamb of God), after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God... For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
8. Colossians 2:14 tells us that Christ wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, nailing it to the cross.
9. Matthew 26:27 – 28 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the NEW COVENANT, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”
10. When Jesus announced a new covenant in his own blood, He was announcing something dramatically new! Here is now a new covenant establishing a relationship with God, made possible only by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ — a relationship based on faith and grace rather than on works of the law.
B. The cross divides between the saved and the lost
1. Luke 23:33 “And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.”
2. Luke 23:39-43 “...one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou come into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise.”
3. Three crosses stood before the crowd. Christ affixed in the middle. One railed on Christ. The other sought mercy and grace. One was saved, the other lost. The cross divides.
4. 1 Corinthians 1:18, 22- 24 “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”
5. ’twill divide, then, the world,
O my friend, it is true-
The great cross of Jesus;
On which side are you? – copied
II. THE CROSS OF CHRIST IS A CROSS OF DECISION
A. Because the Cross of Christ divides you cannot be neutral in relation to the cross. You must be on one of two sides either on the cross of rejection or the cross of repentance and reception.
B. Two sinners condemned to death hung on crosses with the sinless Son of God affixed between them. One profanely called to Christ, saying, "‘If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” The other acknowledged his sinfulness and sought mercy. The one sought deliverance while rejecting the deliverer. He sought an earthly escape from his situation. The other turned to Christ in faith. It was at that moment of decision one was saved, the other lost.
C. How often do we hear people, with sickness or other difficulties and affliction, calling upon God? They are earnest in prayer. They ask God to save them, but it is only to save them from “temporal” death or problems. Like the thief, they want deliverance without the deliverer. And like the thief on the cross they will die in their sin.
D. The repentant thief, on the other hand, recognized who he was. He repented of his sinfulness. He feared God. He knew that he was in a place of condemnation (Luke 23:40). He knew that he was a guilty sinner, a condemned criminal and that he was getting exactly what he deserved for a life of lawlessness (Luke 23:41). He called for the mercy of God. There was nothing that he could do. All the thief had was Jesus Christ and that was enough. The Lord Jesus Christ was all that he needed! Salvation is found in Christ and in Him alone. (Ephesians 2:8-9) The Lord recognized and acknowledged his faith and promised him that before the day was over he would be more alive than he ever was: "Verily (truly) I say unto thee, today shall you be with Me in paradise."
E. The thief had nails through both hands, so that he could not work; and a nail through each foot, so that he could not run errands for the Lord; he could not lift a hand or a foot toward his salvation, and yet Christ offered him the gift of God; and he took it. Christ threw him a passport and took him into Paradise. – D. L. Moody, from "Day by Day with D.L Moody,"
III. THE CROSS OF CHRIST IS A CROSS OF IDENTIFICATION AND DEDICATION
A. The question often arises how it is, with so much church-going, Bible-reading, and prayer, that the Christian fails to live the life of complete victory over sin and lacks the love and joy of the Lord. One of the most important answers, undoubtedly, is that he does not know what it is to die to himself and to the world. – Andrew Murray, The Secret of the Cross Luke 9:22-24 “The Son of man must suffer many things and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day. And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
B. Galatians 2:20 " I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
C. Romans 12:1 “I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
D. We live in an era of “easy believism.” This belief is prevalent in many of our churches. People are taught that if you say you believe in Jesus, everything else will be all right. You do not have to change anything, for God loves you just the way you are.”
E. Billy Graham said in interview in 2013, “Satan has cleverly misled people by whispering that they can believe in Jesus Christ without being changed, but this is the Devil’s lie. To those who say you can have Christ without giving anything up, Satan is deceiving you.” – Greg Strand
F. Saving faith is a transforming faith (2 Corinthians 5:17). It is a faith that changes us because we have acknowledged and surrendered to the Lordship of Christ.
G. But so many believers fail to realize that if we are to live victoriously, due to our old nature, which wars against us, we must crucify self, daily, with its selfish appetites, desires, beliefs, and opinions.
H. The crucified life is a life wholly given over to the Lord in absolute humility and obedience: a sacrifice pleasing to the Lord. The crucified life is a life absolutely committed to following after Christ Jesus. To be more like Him. To think like Him. To act like Him. To love like Him. – A.W. Tozer, The Crucified Life
I. It is, for this reason, Paul states in 1 Corinthians 2:2, “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”
J. Galatians 6:14 “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.”
Conclusion: As you consider the cross of Christ, a cross of division, a cross of decision, a cross of identification and dedication – on which side are you? Have you taken up the cross of repentance and reception? Do you see Christ as your sin-bearer and giver of eternal life? You cannot be neutral. Come to the cross.
