Victory Because of the Cross (Jesus Christ)

KEY PASSAGE: Romans 8:31-39 (NASB)

Welcome

Thank you for being here with us to celebrate our risen Christ. We are reminded of His resurrection once a year on Easter, but of course, every Sunday when the church gathers, it remembers that Christ rose on the first day of the week, which is why we meet when we do. We welcome you to our Sunday morning worship service. Happy Resurrection Sunday! First-time visitors, please stand so we can see you and recognize you, and let us welcome our online viewers. We are glad to have you with us today.

Tithe and Offering

As we give to God our tithe and offering today, I want all of us to remember the finished work of Jesus on the Cross. Let me talk to you for a moment about the grace of giving. It seems strange that we Christians need encouragement to give when, in fact, God has given so much to us. Our church should be accustomed to grace-giving. Let me share with you two encouragements that relate to grace giving.

First, your giving to God will glorify God. I don’t have the time to explain this, but one of the beauties of the church giving is that no individual gets the glory that belongs to God.

Second, your giving will meet the needs of the church. You and I are saved because God believed in grace-giving. And as we give to God this morning, may we remember that God gave us the best gift in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. Our ushers will come around and pass around the offering plates. Please follow the directions on the screen on how to give.

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

LORD, we come amazed at one thing this morning: the Resurrection of Jesus. We want to do nothing more than worship you with clean hands and pure hearts. It is what You have made us do when You died on the Cross, yet we find many ways to mess it up. We can be the weakest at what makes us strong; we are the poorest at what makes us rich. So, please help us worship You with all we have and are. And may the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O LORD, our Rock, and our Redeemer. Amen.

Announcement

Please look up on the screen as we make our announcement. The next New Member Class is Sunday, April 14th, at 1:00 p.m. The Leaders’ Meeting is Saturday, April 20th, at 12:00 p.m. MEN’S BREAKFAST is Saturday, April 27th, at 10:00 a.m. Our church’s weekly Bible Study is at 7:00 p.m. every Wednesday.

Declaration of Faith in God

Let us stand and say the Declaration of Faith in God together.

SERMON INTRODUCTION

This morning, it is time to examine the Word of God. Evidently, on a day like today, we step aside from our study of the Names of the Holy Spirit to dwell upon the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ … Easter … is an international event. All around the world, no matter where you go, you will run into the celebration of Easter.

Throughout Scripture, God commemorates special times for special celebrations to recognize His intervention in history and deliver His people. There is no more significant intervention in history to deliver people than the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Resurrection is God’s receipt (to put this another way, God’s down payment), and He accepted Christ’s death as full payment for the world’s sins.

So, if there is any festivity worth recognizing, celebrating, and shouting about, it is essential to set aside time to focus on our salvation accomplished by the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. So, Resurrection Sunday should be a big deal—it should be a big deal all the time. The Resurrection of Jesus is the most significant event in the history of the Church until Jesus returns.

SERMON EXPOSITION

Since today is Resurrection Sunday, I want to talk to you about the “Victory Because of the Cross.” One of the most significant verses related to the cross and its provisions for you and me is found in Romans chapter 8, verse 32: We begin our reading: “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” So now you see the story in the verse. “He who did not spare His own Son but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” He goes on to say in verse 37, “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.” “He did not spare Him. He gave Him over,” a reference to the cross.

Jesus Christ triumphed over and disarmed all the powers of evil arrayed against Him when He died on the Cross. The scope of Jesus Christ’s victory is over temptation, sin, Satan, evil spirits, all powers, the world, and death. And the manner of Jesus Christ’s victory is by God’s written word, His death on the cross, God’s authority, and God’s spoken Word. We Christians do not simply fight for victory; we fight from victory, the victory won at the cross (Colossians 2:15). “Be of good cheer,” said Jesus, “I have overcome (John 16:33).” And one who does not seek the Cross of Jesus isn’t seeking the glory of Christ.

According to our passage, Paul says the good news is that nothing will be able to separate us from God's love, which is expressed in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Why should this reference to the cross excite you today? Because it comes with so much more. “Will he not with Him,” because you embrace the Son, “freely give you all things?”

Sermon Illustration

Let me tell you a story. One day, a wealthy man died; this wealthy man was rich, and he passed away. In his will, he said he wanted to auction all of his wealthy goods off to the highest bidder (buyer). The auction was scheduled, and everyone in town knew of this man’s wealth; they knew they could get expensive, valuable, rare commodities if they would come and be part of the auction.

Hundreds and hundreds of people gathered at the auction to gain some of the exceptional wealth this gentleman had left behind and willed to this auction process. The auctioneer hit the gavel on the table and said the auction is now called to order. He said, “First item, a picture; it is the picture of the wealthy man’s son.” Not a particularly glorious-looking picture, it was surrounded by all the other things in the auction that were viewed as much more valuable, precious, and expensive. But the first item was simply a picture of the wealthy man’s son. Stay with me, church.

The auctioneer says, “Who will make the first bid for the picture of the wealthy man’s son?” No one bid for the picture; there was no buyer. They were waiting for the good, expensive, valuable stuff. This was just a picture of a father reminiscing about his son, and it has no value to us. Let’s get this one over with and get to the valuable and, you know, expensive stuff. Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty.

The auctioneer asked again: “Is there a bid on the picture of the wealthy man’s son?” There was no buyer, and there was silence in the room. . And then, (watch this) an old gentleman came from the back of the room.

The old gentleman walked to the front and said, “I will take the picture,” but I only have a dollar for the picture. The auctioneer said, “Is there anyone else who wants to bid on the picture of the wealthy man’s son?” Again, there was no response and complete silence in the room. Nobody said anything. The auctioneer hit the gavel on the table and said, ‘SOLD’ … then he hit the gavel the second time again on the table and said, ladies and gentlemen, “The auction is over!”

Everyone was shocked and said, “You got to be kidding me.” There are hundreds of millions of dollars worth of valuable items here in this room. You have a guy who paid a dollar (I mean a dollar) for a picture of a wealthy man’s son that has very little or no value attached to it. What do you mean by the auction is over? We haven’t even started with the auction yet. That is when the auctioneer had the lawyer of this wealthy man step up to the podium and read the father’s will.

The will of the Father said, ‘You are to auction all my treasures.’ Please stay with me, church: The first thing you ought to auction is the picture of my son. Whoever gets the picture of my son gets everything else because I only want to give what I have to those who appreciate my son. I have tied the value of everything else, not to itself. I have tied the value of everything else to him.’ “He that had the son hath everything else. He that hath not the son does not get to participate.”

Explanation

Romans 8, verse 32: “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also freely give us all things with Him?” All the things God wants to give you are connected to His Son, Jesus Christ. All the things God wants to give you, watch this: —for free—Will He not freely give you all things with Him? I gain all God wants to give, and He says it is free! That means no charge, but He gives it to you with the Son. Will He not, with Him, freely give us all things? The things everybody wants don’t come without this picture; it comes in connection with the Resurrected Jesus, the Son of God.

We live in a day where everybody wants to be blessed, but they don’t necessarily want to be blessed with Jesus, the Son of God. They want all the good stuff God can give but don’t want the picture of the Son front and center. They don’t want that to be first. But they want all the good stuff, all the valuables, and things that appear to have value.

They want cars, houses, bracelets, necklaces, clothes, bling-bling, and bank accounts. And I want to be blessed, and you want to be blessed; I want to be able, and you want to be able… but according to the passage, “all things that God has for you only come with Jesus.”

“He who did not spare His own Son.” In other words, He did not hold Jesus back … He is talking about the Cross; He did not keep Jesus back like He spared Isaac in the Old Testament when He told Abraham to sacrifice him. What God did for Abraham, He didn’t do for His own Blood! For His own Son, Jesus.

The way you get all things is not to go after all things. The way you get all things is to get the Son. And the Son we are talking about is the Son God did not spare! Paul is talking about the Cross, the Cross of Christ, which becomes the entryway to everything God has determined for your life.

Whatever the all-things are, you already have! That is why Ephesians chapter 1, verse 3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath already blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places…” Please notice that he puts an ‘ed’ on the word bless because everything God is ever going to do for you is already on deposit. There is nothing new God can do for you than what He has already done. The problem is, what God has already done is with the Son on the cross!

When God paid the price, all things for your life were built into the payment. The all things that God has purposed for you and planned for you are free… and will be given to you. You don’t have to buy, earn, or work for it.

Now, there is a free word in the Bible that is used throughout the New Testament, and it is the word “grace.” What is grace? Grace is simply all that God is free to do for you because of what Christ has done on the cross of Calvary. Grace is what God does without any help from you, without your permission. Grace is simply all that God can do for you because of what Christ has done.

Ephesians 2:8 and 9 says, “By grace are you saved through faith, that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not according to works, so that no man should boast.” Free. Then he comes to verse 10, saying, “We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which he has created beforehand that we should walk in them.” So, he has the word “works” in verse 10. But the work in verse 10 is a response to the grace in verses 8 and 9. In other words, you are not working to get grace. You are working because you have grace. To put this another way, grace is my appreciation for a free gift. Grace is my appreciation for the resurrection of Jesus.

Everybody wants Resurrection Sunday, but nobody wants Friday. God did not highly exalt Jesus till after Calvary. Jesus wasn’t highly exalted before Calvary; He went through stuff! But here is the promise, here is the promise. Again verse 37, “But in all these things …”.… And how many of these things?… … “In all these things, we overwhelmingly conquer.”

That means Super Conquer! You know you are being conformed to the image of Christ when the things designed to pull you down and keep you down don’t hold you down anymore! Rising from the dead is overwhelming conquer! That is conquering death to the max! Then stepping on the cloud and rising to heaven; that is overwhelmingly conquer!

Many folks today are trying and working hard to earn what Jesus wants to give. You cannot earn grace. “Grace” and “earning” are contradictory terms. The cross of Christ is so pregnant, so rich, so full. It involves your salvation in terms of forgiveness of sin and your provision, all that God is free to do for you. That is why there is so much in the New Testament about returning to the law, this thing of earning favor by rule-keeping, not because there aren't rules. It is just that the rules are kept because the relationship is strong.

Many believers today want to live in victory yet repeatedly live defeated lives. The problem that we face in our contemporary Christian culture is that we have forgotten the purpose, preeminence, and power of the cross. We view the Cross as an icon reflecting something that happened thousands of years ago but has little relevance to us today other than at communion or Easter to produce feelings of guilt or appreciation.

Here is the key to the Cross you need to know. The key to the Cross is not the vertical and horizontal sticks but who was on them. The Cross's mystery and idiosyncrasy are in the Person who died on it. The Cross is only the Cross because of who died there. Far too many Christians today view the Cross as a historical event that will take them to heaven rather than as a current event, applying everything they need to bring heaven to be displayed on earth.

So this Cross, yes, it gets us to heaven, and I hope everyone here today is saved. However, the Cross (watch this) allows God to dispense to you in history. You see, the Cross is not only for the sweet by and by. The Cross is also appropriate for the bad stuff here and now. Yes, there are problems, troubles, and struggles in this world. There are things that we have to overcome. That is why Paul says we are overwhelmingly conquerors because there are things that you have to overcome. But whatever Jesus has decreed for you, you don't have to earn it. He wants to give it away. If you tried to earn it, you are insulting Jesus because you are saying He is insufficient.

Even when you get to heaven, even when this life is over, and you stand before God, you will stand before Him with a new body, a glorified body that will be flawless. You think it means something when somebody says you look nice; that is nothing compared to protecting your look in glory.

Illustration

You see, in football, the football determines everything. First downs are measured by where the ball is placed. Touchdowns are measured by whether the ball crosses the plain. “Out-of-bounds” is tied to your control of the ball and its relationship to the feet of the person holding it. Fumbles are determined by who grabs the ball. And then, field goals are measured by whether the ball goes through the Up Rights.

Men fight over the football, rejoice over it, and strive to possess it. In other words, there is no game if a football is missing on the field. Without the football, everything else that goes on in a stadium or on a field is a waste of time. In football, the football is the main thing. In Christianity, the Cross is the foremost thing for our Christian faith. No Cross, there is no Christian faith. Christianity without the Cross is not Christianity.

Call to Action (Conclusion)

Good Friday was a bad day because that was the day that Jesus Christ was crucified. That was the day that Jesus gave His life, but as bad as that day was for Jesus on the Cross, it was a critical moment for you and me. On that day, sin was paid for in full, and we received victory because of Christ’s finished work on the Cross. Guess what? Satan was defeated, and God’s wrath was satisfied.

Oh, a lot goes into that day, and one of the ongoing benefits of the death of Christ is the victory that has been transferred to all who had placed faith alone in Christ Jesus for the gift of eternal life and for His intervention in our day-to-day well-being on our way to eternity. Never let religion get in the way of your relationship with Jesus Christ. Instead, take the Cross off from around your neck and carry it. You have been crucified with Christ, and as a result, you are a new creation. You live a victorious life because you are a new creation in Christ Jesus.

So, let’s give Jesus all the praise due to His name for the victory He accomplished for us on the Cross and shout “Amen” for Jesus when He rose on Sunday morning.

Altar Call

And, if you are here today on this beautiful Easter Sunday and don’t have a relationship with Jesus, I will encourage you to make that decision right now. Don’t leave here today and miss the opportunity to come to Christ and know Him as your Lord and Savior. The choice of coming to Jesus is in your hands. If you want to recommit your life to Christ and get close to God, you can do that today.

Benediction

Shall we stand? Bow with me in prayer.

It is so wonderful to consider the realities of the day Christ rose and even more incredible to consider the realities of all that has happened since He rose and happens every day as sinners are given salvation who believe in the risen Christ. If you confess Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. And with that salvation comes justification, peace, grace, hope, and love. And it is all in this that we live. This is where we have our being. How wondrous is this gift? Open every heart to embrace the risen Christ as the only hope of being righteous before God, the only hope of peace with God, the only way to receive forgiveness eternally and to live in anticipation of heaven, the only way to experience divine love. All this in Christ—what a gift. May we embrace Him fully, confess Him as Lord, and know the fullness of this gift of salvation. Bring that gift to folks even today, we pray, in Christ’s name. Amen.

Well, God bless you, and may the peace of God be with you. We look forward to seeing you all on Wednesday for Bible Study.