Our Moment At The Cross

INTRODUCTION

There was a custom in Rome, when a man was condemned for a crime, if he were put in prison, they would nail a certificate of debt to the prison door.On that certificate of debt would be written the crime that this man was guilty of, the number of years that he would stay in prison—days, months, or whatever. And, when he had fulfilled his duty to the law, his certificate of debt was marked paid in full. It was taken, given to the judge, who would have it notarized; and, he would carry it with him. And, if anybody were to accuse him of that crime again, he could pull out the certificate of debt, and say, “Yes, I may have been guilty, but I have paid in full. You’re not going to bring me into double jeopardy; I’ve already paid for that crime.” (-Adrian Rogers)

If a man was guilty of a capital offense and condemned to die, they would write that offense on a placard and nail it to his cross above his head. Remember that Pilate did this to Jesus. Above His head, nailed to His cross was a sign that stated “Jesus Christ, the King of the Jews”

Because there was no crime, the sign is important because it declared the real identity of Jesus. In all the things the Jews at the time refused to believe, God makes the identity of His Son as clear as possible.

If it were us, and there was a sign placed at our cell or at our cross, there would be plenty to write and plenty for everyone to see. All God would have to do is post the 10 Commandments over our head and we would be accurately described.

What is interesting is that people could come to the cross and easily say, “look what we did to Him.” However, God changes the narrative and the entire point of the cross...

*In picturing the crucified Christ, the narrative cannot be, “look what we did to Him”. In the salvation given through the cross, the narrative must be, “look what He did for us.”

This is incredibly important for us because how you see the cross matters.

There were those who scoffed at the cross. In , we get a picture of what they said...

* CSB In the same way the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him and said, 42 “He saved others, but he cannot save himself! He is the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.

Matthew 27:41–42 CSB

41 In the same way the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him and said, 42 “He saved others, but he cannot save himself! He is the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.

English Standard Version Chapter 27

42 “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.

The thing is, this was the beginning of mocking for Jesus. Today, people still mock Jesus and mock the cross.

Much of this mockery comes often because the cross is a call to people comfortable in their sin… to change. And for those who do not want to change, the cross is an offense.

I remember watching the closing arguments of a debate between a Christian and an atheist on the topic of morality. His final summation, when his presentation came to a close was simply that he was glad he didn’t have a god to fear, that he could live the life he wanted and that life was best on his terms.

*It is easy for those who have no response to the call of Christ to choose themselves as their own god.

Don’t our commercials of vacations, luxury and conveniences lend themselves to cater to those whose lives are fully focused on themselves?

What do you think would happen if the world fully cared about the world? Wouldn’t the things we spend our money on be different? We can’t blame those selling this. They are just catering to our desires. They know what we spend our money on, so they make it. They sell it. It is on us.

*It would be a great step in humanity if the world completely cared about the world, but we don’t. The cross is the visual reminder that only God does.

When these people look at the cross, they can mock it, but ultimately, their mocking says more about themselves than it ever did the cross.

Then there are those who look at the cross and see their own shame.

More than they see the work of the cross, they still see Jesus on it.

There is a need for conviction and repentance. This is not what I am talking about. It is healthy when we see our sin and what God has done and we embrace the grace of Christ.

People who see themselves as not good enough, not pretty enough or strong enough…

The response has to be for who? Not good enough for who?... not pretty enough for who?… not strong enough for who?

They wonder how God could forgive them because they don’t feel like they are enough, but understand...

*People who tell God they are not enough are merely judging themselves rather than allowing themselves to be judged by God.

And I say this with a bit of empathy. I remember being that teenager wondering how God could love me. I remember when we were poor. Some wonder in these seasons if God loves, and if He does, why are these things happening to me?

*In everything we face in life, we must know that our circumstances were never meant to be a barometer of God’s love.

If Jesus can go to the cross because of the love of God, we can suffer and be loved by God. Jesus said we would suffer, but it doesn’t mean you are not loved.

Just because someone left you doesn’t mean God has. Just because someone else can’t see your worth, it doesn’t mean God can’t see your worth. Just because you can’t see the value of your own life doesn’t mean God sees you like you see yourself.

*The cross is the physical reminder that it was worth it to God to die for you. He receives the glory; you receive love.

The problem with not feeling like you are good enough for grace is that symbolically, for that to actually be true in your life, Jesus would have had to stay on the cross. His redemption would have had to be incomplete. You see, in the resurrection, you were given new life, a new identity, a new hope.

CSB And you were dead in your trespasses and sins 2 in which you previously lived according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient. 3 We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, 5 made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!

Ephesians 2:1–5 CSB

1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins 2 in which you previously lived according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient. 3 We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, 5 made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!

Scripture does not say “For God so loved the world… except you...”.

We are alive WITH CHRIST. If this is you, learn what God would have you do with your former shame.

*You must learn, you must let God teach you, that the only way to get rid of your past is to make a future out of it. God will waste nothing. -Phillips Brooks

Phillips Brooks

And then finally, there are those who look at the cross and see God’s love

When these people have their moment at the cross, they see its full message, that despite our sin, our shame, our idolatry, God wrecks all of our plans and our hopeless destiny with His love.

They see their sin accurately and the grace of God as completely as humanly possible.

This perspective redefines their thinking. They realize who they were always meant to be but just couldn’t understand in their sin.

*Before the cross ever sends message that love is required, it first sends the message that love is given.

And we spend the rest of our lives trying to learn what it means to live from that love.

We understand in all of this that it has nothing to do with us. We are driven to humility because the love of God declares His character.

*“If it is maintained that anything so small as the Earth must, in any event, be too unimportant to merit the love of the Creator, we reply that no Christian ever supposed we did merit it. Christ did not die for men because they were intrinsically worth dying for, but because He is intrinsically love, and therefore loves infinitely.” ― C.S. Lewis, Miracles

I no longer find my worth in my accomplishments, my looks or my strengths. I find my worth in His love. God loves us because of who He is, not because of who we are.

If you have been exposed to Jesus in any way, if you look at your life closely, you can start right now and trace your life back to your first moment at the cross.

And in this, every person who has heard has a moment at the cross. We can be the person who wants control, we can be the person who rejects God’s love or we can be the person who is changed.

*When we see the cross, what do we see? Some see the cross as God trying to control us, others see the cross as God trying to blame us, but ultimately the cross is the message that God loves us.

When we look at these moments at the cross, when you look at yours,

When you think about your moment at the cross, the question you must ask is simply:

*"Is the love of Christ enough?"

"Is the love of Christ enough?"

*We become legalists when we don't consider His love enough because we try to be enough without His love.

We become legalists when we don't consider it enough because we try to be enough without His love.

*We feel worthless when we don't see His love as enough because we don't see His love in the fact He made us, and we forsake His love when we miss the work of His hands starring back at us in the mirror.

*We abandon His love when we want to be in control, but we quickly learn that we make for lousy gods.

All the things we substitute for His love mean nothing compared to the love present at the cross.

A Welsh Minister by the name of Selwyn Hughes had this to say of the Christian condition:

God loves because of who He is, not because of who we are.

Selwyn Hughes

Posted on April 20, 2012 by

*Whenever a person says to me: “My problem is that I do not love the Lord enough”, I usually respond: “No… your problem is that you don’t know how much the Lord loves you.” - Selwyn Hughes

What was your moment at the cross? You can look at your life and see...

The answer to the original question, “Is the love of Christ enough?” is "yes", but it's up to us to live like the answer is "yes".

Phillips Brooks

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