The Glory of Grace
Galatians 6:14
Broadway Assembly - March 17, 2002
I. Introduction
A. Without a doubt – Paul one of the most predominant and premier preachers of the NT Era
1. Wrote majority of the epistles
2. Founded more churches than any other apostle
3. Traveled countless miles in missionary journeys into uncharted territory
4. suffered more setbacks and hardship than any other apostle
5. Entrusted with the mystery of the Gospel to the Gentiles
Ephesians 3
1: For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,
2: If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
3: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
4: Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
5: Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
6: That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
B. His message was unparalleled – His ministry unprecedented
1. A man who made his mark on this world for the Kingdom of God like no other of His era or the generations to follow
C. Seemed to have an underlying theme – a thread that would run through his:
1. Writings
2. Preaching
3. Confrontation with Jews and with Political rulers
4. That being the theme of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ
D. Though other apostles no doubt preached it
1. Though it appeared in the epistles of many of the other NT writers
2. Yet Paul had a certain eloquence and held a certain esteem when it came to the preaching of the cross
E. No doubt it was this theme that compelled his hand as he sat to write this epistle to the church at Galatia as we have read within our text
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.
II. It is a theme that has long since been forgotten
A. One that has failed to rise to prominence within the church world as we know it
1. It may appear outside of our churches
2. We may ink it on our stationery
3. Yet I do not believe it has gripped us as it did this apostle of nearly 2 millenniums ago
4. Neither has it had the impact on the lives of believers as it did back in the infancy of the New Testament church
B. For that reason that I feel compelled to remind you this morning that it is the preaching of the cross that must thread its way through the heart of every believer
1. Knitting us together in a Godly and righteous unity that is unparalleled and unbreakable
2. It is not denomination neither is it mere doctrine that forms the foundation of our unity
a. It must be and can only be the blood stained banner of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ
C. As a trophy lifted high and suspended between heaven and earth
1. The sinless Son of God issued the words that have become the rallying cry to all who have knelt at the foot of the cross
2. The Cry of: “It is Finished”
a. The Adversary from Sin – he is annihilated
b. The Bondage from Sin – it is Broken
c. The Curse of Sin was Cured
d. The Damnation of Sin Destroyed
e. The Price of Sin was Paid
f. The Penalty of Sin was Compensated in Full
g. The Power of Sin was Shattered
h. The Horror of Sin was Healed
i. The Effects of Sin was Repaired
j. That which was taken was Restored in Full
D. That is why there is no other theme worth preaching
1. No other message worth promoting
2. No other word worth declaring
3. It is not in the power of self esteem or positive thinking
4. It lies only in the power of what the blessed Son of God did at the cross so many years ago
5. He did it for you and He did it for me
III. The Passion of the Cross “But God forbid…”
A. In the earliest days of the Church, the cross was not only perceived by society as an instrument of torture and death, but as a symbol of utter shame.
1. * The offense of the Christian cross was frequently described by the Greek word “mania”
which means “madness”. It was common for people to consider Christians mad for
believing that God would actually be nailed to a cross!
2. The ancient historian, Plinius Secundus called the preaching of the cross “a perverse and
extravagant superstition” and said that Christian suffered from amentia (which is a
mental disorder).
3. The orator Caecilius (a contemporary of Marcus Aurelius) said that Christians suffered
from “sick delusions” and a “senseless and crazy superstition” and adds, “Not least among
the monstrosities of their faith is the fact that they worship one who has been crucified.”
B. Yet it in the face of this so called delusion
1. It was this passion that drove Paul to Preach on when everyone else thought he had gone mad
2. No doubt for the single reason that the passion of God Himself had become the passion of the heart of Paul
2Pt:3:9: The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
C. The heartbeat of God is the salvation of the soul of man
1. Therefore He was willing to extend Himself to the farthest dimension to reach a lost and corrupted world
D. Something happened to Paul on that day he traveled the hot dusty road to Damascus and came face to face with the One Who had been crucified
1. Something pierced his soul and changed his life
2. Somehow created within him a passion that would not die
a. Through Time
b. Through Tribulation
c. Through Turmoil
d. Through Trial
e. The Passion continued on
3. As long as there were souls to be won – the passion continued
E. Somebody here needs to have there soul pierced afresh and anew with the passion of the cross
1. You will never feel the Passion of the cross until you fully know the Person of the Cross
2. Why Paul told the Philippians 3
10: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
IV. The Perversion of the Cross “…that I should glory”
A. Much has been done in the name of ministry and in the name of Christianity that has brought perversion to the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ
1. The perversion has come when ministry has been built around the glory of flesh and of self
B. God forbid when I am the one that is glorified
1. God forbid when it is my accomplishments or accolades that stand out in my ministry
2. When talent gift or ability take the forefront of all that I do
C. We live in a day when power of the Gospel has been diluted by those who seek after:
1. Prosperity
2. Personality
3. Prestige
D. In Paul’s day
Philippians 3
17: Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.
18: (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
19: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)
1. Had come in the name of Christ and in the name of ministry
a. What set them apart was their desire to cater to the things of this world
b. Worldly in mindset
c. Worldly in mannerisms
d. Worldly in ministry
2. Preached a Gospel free from conviction and full of convenience
3. One that brought no desire to crucify and flesh and the affections and the lusts thereof
a. As Paul said must take place in the life of every believer who desires to walk after the Spirit
Galatians 5
24: And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
4. “Whose god is their belly” meaning they were dictated by the appetites of this world – yet still named the name of Christ
E. I tell you with love in my heart – There is a movement that is sweeping this nation under the name of Christianity and under the name of Pentecostalism that is preaching no need for a separated lifestyle
1. To the point they will call a legalist anyone who does live a lifestyle that is distinct from this world in its:
a. Appetites
b. Apparel
c. Affections
d. Attitudes and
e. Actions
F. The very message of the cross to the believer is that of a crucified lifestyle
1. One where the flesh has been nailed to the cross and put to death in order for the Spirit to live through you
2. It is for that reason that Paul said in Galatians 2:20
20: I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth 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.
G. There will be those preachers who will parade across your television screens and preach a Gospel
1. But it will not be the pure Gospel
2. The pure Gospel will so change a man that he will lay aside the things of this world and take on the things of the Kingdom of Heaven
3. Look back at what Paul said in Colossians 3
20: For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
V. The Perfection of the Cross
A. Perfection not only in the realm of its essence but in the realm of eternity
B. I use the term perfection in regard to its completeness
Hebrews 9
12: Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
C. Refers back to the Annual Day of Atonement in the High Priest would enter first into the Holy of Holies with the blood of a bullock for his own sins
1. Then with the blood of a goat for the Sins of the People
D. But as the sinless Son of God hung suspended between Heaven and Earth
1. His undefiled perfect blood dropped from the wounds in His hands – His side – His feet
a. Mingling with that Galilean dust
2. It was that blood that was sufficient to once and for all atone for the sins of an entire universe
E. There is nothing that can add to or take away from the blood of Jesus Christ
1. It is perfect
2. It is complete
3. It is pure and holy
F. You who have lost your sight – you have lost your way
1. You are wandering aimlessly through life without direction
2. It is time that you come back to the Glory of Grace
VI. Conclusion
A. It is said that about 200 years ago, the tomb of the great conqueror
Charlemagne was opened. The sight the workmen saw was startling.
There was his body in a sitting position, clothed in the most
elaborate of kingly garments, with a scepter in his bony hand.
On his knee lay the Holy Scriptures, with a cold, lifeless finger
pointing to Mark 8:36: "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall
gain the whole world, and loose his own soul?"
B. We live in a society that has built itself around the power of the
Human Spirit
1. This same attitude has secularized the Church
2. We live only for the present – only for the fulfillment of the flesh
