Staying at the Cross (2)
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Commitment
Commitment
14 As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died.
Paul it telling the church at galatia that the work of Jesus on the cross is to stay central in the life of a follower of Christ.
And so we have talked about the necessity of the Cross. Why they cross. why was this the only way for God to redeem mankind.
We’ve talked about what the cross accomplished of Justification, Redemption. and Propitiation for those who would respond to the work of Christ on the Cross.
We are Justified, When God looks at you and I if we have accepted the work of Jesus as our Lord and Savior then God looks at us Just as if we have not sinned.
We are Redeemed Jesus bought us back from the slave market of sin He paid the price to redeem us.
And we have Propitiation which is the turning away of the wrath of God as the just judgment of our sin by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. “Propitiation is used in the New Testament to describe the pacifying, placating, or appeasing of God's wrath”
These are all reasons that we need to live our lives with the work of Jesus on the Cross ever on our minds
So we have talked in this series about what the Cross has accomplished for us if we respond to and accept the work of Jesus on the cross.
Today I would like to talk about our response to that work, today I would like to talk about our commitment to the cross.
John 10:10 (NKJV)
10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
In this verse Jesus talks about having life, and having it more abundantly.
When he talks about life, that is salvation the free gift that is offered to all who would accept the work of Jesus on the cross to atone for yours and my sins.
And it is free
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Salvation is free to all who would call on the name of the Lord.
And there are so many christians just happy to have life and on their way to heaven, but have never seen the reality of the abundant life that Jesus talked about here.
When Jesus talked to the crowds, he called them to follow him, it was called discipleship.
and that came at a cost.
Salvation is free when we accept the work of Jesus as payment for our sins. But to actually be a disciple, a follower of Christ that comes at a cost.
The reality of the abundant life that Jesus came to give us is realized as we follow Him. and that comes at a cost.
38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
Matthew 10:24–25 (NKJV)
24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.
25 It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master.
Jesus wants us to be come like him in the way we live life.
In verse 32
Matthew 10:32–33 (NKJV)
32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.
33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.
Being his disciple means we identify with Him and in todays world that comes at a cost.
It is social acceptable to say you believe in God, but when you talk about Jesus then that is where you get in trouble.
Verse 34
34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.
35 For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’;
36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’
37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
Jesus is telling us that being associated with Him may cause some problems in your life.
He said he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of me
The problem is that so many people in the church today God to the cross for salvation, but then they leave it, they don’t take their cross.
Jesus says you don’t leave the cross you are supposed to take up the cross, and carry the cross with you.
So in essence Jesus is saying that if you are not carrying you cross then you are not following him.
so how do we know that we are carrying our cross.
have you ever heard anyone say well that is just my cross to bear...
That ‘s your problem
Your cross has to specifically to do with you identifying and standing on a truth that lets people know that you are identifying with Jesus Christ.
That is what caring that cross, not having problems.
We bear the cross when we are faced with a situation in life and we can respond one of 2 ways.
Do we make the choice that scripture calls us to make or do we choose to follow culture, the world, or our feelings.
When you are rejected by friends because they ask you to do something that goes against the teachings of scripture and you wont compromise that is the cross.
There is no cross being taken up if Christ is not a part of the issue.
and so many in the church today don’t really bare the cross they just have problems.
What was the cross for?
The cross was a part of Jesus life to deal with our sin.
The cross was there to deal with sin.
so for us to bare the cross is for us to address something in our life from God’s perspective that is sin.
Jesus bore the cross because of sin.
if there was no sin there would have been no need for the cross.
And so until you and I are willing to bare the cross, which is to identify with Jesus Christ and His position on sin, even in our own lives, or in a situation that we are dealing with.
Unless we are willing to address the sin issue then we are not baring the cross, because the cross only exists to deal with sin.
2 things we have to know about baring the cross
It hurts ....
2. we have to choose to do it
and more often than not that decision will have to be opposite of our emotions.
If satan can control your emotions he will control what you do.
and so we have to know that our feelings have no intellect....
they are real but they are dumb..
feelings change with information..
so we don’t ignore feelings, but we don’t let our feelings make the final decision.
because more often then not it is hard to choose to identify with Christ and his word on a given position, and if we are not identifying with Christ then we are not baring our cross.
and if we are not baring our cross we are not following him.
The abundant life that Jesus has for us comes as we carry our cross and to carry the cross it to identify with christ on the position of sin in this world which is the only reason that there was a cross in the first place.
27 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
Until we see the sin that the cross was ment to deal with we will not have the abundant life that is talked about in John.
but people don’t want to talk about sin, because it is not pretty, it’s ugly, but that is what the cross dealt with and it was not pretty.
The hardest thing to do when giving people counsel is to get them to see the sin, and address that.
there is always an excuse why something was done and if that didn’t happen then my sin would not have happened.
But Jesus can not help you until you deal with your part.
8 When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.”