Galatians 6:11-18 NLT
11 Notice what large letters I use as I write these closing words in my own handwriting. 12 Those who are trying to force you to be circumcised are doing it for just one reason. They don’t want to be persecuted for teaching that the cross of Christ alone can save. 13 And even those who advocate circumcision don’t really keep the whole law. They only want you to be circumcised so they can brag about it and claim you as their disciples.
14 As for me, God forbid that I should boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world died long ago, and the world’s interest in me is also long dead. 15 It doesn’t make any difference now whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we really have been changed into new and different people. 16 May God’s mercy and peace be upon all those who live by this principle. They are the new people of God.
17 From now on, don’t let anyone trouble me with these things. For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus.
18 My dear brothers and sisters, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
Verse: 14 ‘As for me, God forbid that I should boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world died long ago, and the world’s interest in me is also long dead.’
We live in a ‘church world’ of extremes. Only this week in the paper, Terry Waite, who was the Archbishop’s envoy to Lebanon. He shot to fame by being held captive for five years. He spoke out about the modern trends in the Church of England. He was disgusted that a vicar did not wear his robes and then when it came time for him to preach removed his jacket and actually moved around while preaching. We have church services and especially worship which have taken on more the guise of a show, with lights and smoke and other special effects.
Out of the church scene there is the debate on television about PC of the presenters, should they wear a cross? BA staff member at home because of wearing a cross. I have to say is to so many no more than a piece of jewelry with no significant meaning at all. (The one in question was not even a crucifix just a plain cross.)
Modern presentations, feeling about the correctness of a piece of jewelry. If we are not careful, we will lose sight of the cross itself. If the cross of Jesus Christ with all it’s symbolic meaning, is lost to the Christian Church, whether under a smoke screen of presentation or through the political correctness of our world today, then we have lost a central part of our message. We might as well shut up shop!
The words of verse 14 in the AV are powerful. ‘But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,...’ Yet the cross stands for shame. It is not a good luck charm it is a symbol of death and stands for the abrupt and violent end of human life. For the Christian believer it does of course stand for the death to the old life, and through Christ’s death and resurrection, it also stands for the new life which we have through and in Jesus Christ. The man who in the time of Jesus took up his cross, he had already said his good-byes to his loved ones and friends, he stepped out on a road of no-returns.
The cross did not compromise - it did not simply modify or change someone - it spared nothing. It killed the person! It is somewhat difficult to understand when the NT speaks of dying to sin. God takes a person whose life has been wrecked by sin, lets them die to the old life (liquidates them) and then raises them up to a totally new life. In coming to Christ, we do not simply lift our lives to a higher level, we leave our old life at the cross.
The cross can be a mystery, can be simply a piece of jewelry but most important of all it is a symbolic meeting place for the sinner with Jesus. It really is the place of death and new life!
The cross at work in the life of a man or woman is a real revolution, that is why Paul wrote, (verse14) ‘May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, ...’ If you come to the cross (remember not a piece of wood but to the Christ of the Cross), then you will experience real revolution. The world of the sinner turned upside down, the eyes blinded by sin become eyes of faith, personal ‘will’ becomes the subject to the will of the Lord and the desire to be totally in charge of you life changes. Paul several time described himself as a bond-slave of Jesus Christ. One preacher speaking in a large prison is reputed to have said to the inmates, “I have good news for you today. God does not want to reform you, He wants you to die!”
The Cross is the only place of forgiveness.
By saying that I have no doubt broken some law or could be accused of lacking tolerance to other faiths. But, if I am going to be faithful to what God’s Word says, I find no other explanation. I do believe in the justice and holiness of God and I believe He will do a better job than me or some Doctor of Theology at unraveling the mess that this world has put many in.
Sin is hardly the most popular word in our world today, many find it offensive and many more perhaps see it at the cutting edge of the arguments against the message of the gospel. What do I mean, take sin out of the equation and there is no reason for God to send His Son... Exit the gospel and the power of the cross is not just unnecessary, it is vaporized... gone. The failing of man to live to God’s standard is described all through the Bible. (Isaiah 53:6 NLT) ‘All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. ...’ When Sinatra sang, “I did it my way,” he summed up sin! My way! The result? (Isaiah 64:6 NLT) ‘We are all infected and impure with sin. When we proudly display our righteous deeds, we find they are but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall. And our sins, like the wind, sweep us away.’ All that could be done in the Old Testament was simply to cover their sins in a temporary fashion, through the sacrifices. — Then Jesus came.
We still fall short of God’s standards and holiness, therefore God made a way to bring us right back into relationship with himself. The cross represents all that He did for us in sending Jesus, coming to the foot of the cross seeking His forgiveness is the ONLY way that we can enjoy new life. (Ephesians 1:7) ‘In him (at the cross) we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.’
The Cross is the place of Victory.
In a song sung by the American singer “Carmen” (as best I can remember it) he presents a fictional but credible account of a dialogue between Satan and one of his demons. It tells of the shock and horror as on the third day Jesus comes back to life. Victory over sin, Satan and death!
In that majestic passage in 1 Corinthians, Paul writes of the victory that we enjoy through Jesus. (15:54-57) ‘..."Death has been swallowed up in victory." 55 "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’
We know and understand [as best as any believer can while here on earth] the wonder of the salvation which we enjoy. Sins forgiven, eternal life, being in the presence of the Lord. We can and do enjoy the reality of this new life now but faith becomes alive and we live by faith and see the future with eyes of faith.
But there is more! The meaning of victory commences now as we enjoy victory over sin. (1 John 5:4) ‘for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.’
Love for God and love for others (5:2) do not exist alone in a believer; they must be accompanied by obedience. (from The Life Application Commentary) Jesus never spoke of adding a burden to the life of his followers, he told them to love one another and walk in the standards God had laid down for them but it was not to be like the burdens the Pharisees imposed upon the people. God, however, wants Christians’ conduct to demonstrate their inward devotion to him. (from The Life Application Commentary)
In Bunyon’s Pilgrim’s Progress, Pilgrim climbs the hill to the cross with a heavy burden of sin. There at the cross he receives forgiveness and guess what? The load falls off, never to be seen again! — It is at the cross that we enter a new life with Christ. Never limit the actions of the cross, the scope and effectiveness of Christ’s sacrifice is amazing and the effect should be felt and seen NOW! The almost unexplainable is that Jesus took my sins to the cross and death, and we also! (Galatians 2:20) ‘I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.’ The old ‘self-life’ should have ‘died the death’, (Romans 6:11 NLT) ‘So you should consider yourselves dead to sin and able to live for the glory of God through Christ Jesus.’
We have assurance of sin’s forgiven but should we still be in bondage to temptation with a constant battle raging? No, Paul wrote, (Colossians 3:5 NLT) ‘So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. ...’ So the cross is more than the place of salvation, it is also the place of personal victory. I believe the phrase started in the States, “The devil made me do it.” Flip Wilson Comedian and television actor, starred in The Flip Wilson Show (1933 - 1998) or a 1974 film of that title??? That is simply a weak excuse for an uncontrolled life!
The Practical.
How to get the victory? Ask the Lord to show your need, repent (turn away), bring what he has shown you to the cross, put it to death! Confession: (James 5:16) ‘Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.’ - It’s scriptural but has to be used carefully!
Been to the Cross?
