Untitled Sermon

I talk with people all the time who are taken aback at the narrowness of the message of the cross. I myself was once one of them.

In Matthew 7:13–14, Jesus couldn’t have been clearer,

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

Then in John 14:6, Christ says,

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Years ago, before I gave my life to Christ, I went to the house of some new Christian friends. They introduced me to a man named Dana.

I said to him, “Dana, there are a lot of pathways to God. I have my pathway, someone else has their pathway, and you Christians have your pathway.”

He said, “Bayless, that’s not true. There is only one way to God and that is through His Son, Jesus Christ.”

I was offended by what he said. After all, how could he speak so authoritatively about it? He spoke as if all those who choose not to embrace Christ and His cross are wrong.

I now know, however, that Dana was right.

Jesus is it—period.

I believe God will bring all true seekers to Himself, but the pathway they must use is Jesus Christ—putting their faith in His sacrifice alone and not looking to their good works or any other thing to make them right with God.

You could say there are many paths to Jesus, but He is the only way to the Father. My path to Jesus was one of drugs, Eastern religions, and brokenness.

But I ended up at the foot of a bloodstained cross and risen Savior!

I came to discover that the cross stands opposite greed, pride, and the desire for success and earthly honor. It compels us to consider eternity. One cannot embrace the risen Savior and all that His cross means and still live a selfish, egocentric life.

Obedience to the Father’s will, humility, servanthood: the cross is the epicenter from which all these things radiate. Embracing the cross of Christ is not just about being rescued from our sins and all their terrible consequences. It is about being conformed to His image.

I have also learned so much about the power of the cross—that while there will always be opponents to the cross, they will never be able to stop its forward march!

Whether the cross’ opponents are intellectual, political, or even viciously physical—as we see in some parts of the world today—history proves the more Christ’s Church is afflicted, the more she grows.

Most importantly, however, the cross of Christ is your victory standard over sin, shame, hopelessness, fear, and even death.

The cross of Christ is a wide-open door into grace, mercy, love, and eternal joy. It’s God’s invitation for you to step out of darkness and into His marvelous light!

I pray you will have confidence to share these truths with those around you, knowing that though the message of the cross is narrow, it is also open to all without distinction. Paul tells us in Romans 10:12:

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.

Let us also pray fervently for those who take offense at the cross, who consider its message to be foolishness—for such were some of us. God reached us and He can still reach them as well.

I am deeply grateful for your generous support to help bring the good news of our living Jesus to more people all over our broken and dying world!