The Great News of the Cross

THE GREAT NEWS OF THE CROSS April 10, 2022 THE GREAT NEWS OF THE CROSS • The Cross Was Used As A Deadly Instrument To Carry Out The Sentence Of Death For Slaves & Criminals Sentenced To Die. • The Cross Was The Most Shameful Means Of Capital Punishment Known THE GREAT NEWS OF THE CROSS •It Was A Curse Did Die On The Cross (Gal 3:13) •Yet -- This Was The Way The Lord Chose To Die For Us • The Early Church Symbol For Christianity Would Become A Cross THE GREAT NEWS OF THE CROSS Death On A Cross Was Both Horrible And Shameful • It Was A Gruesome And Ghastly Death • READ: Mark 15:1-39 •This Is What Jesus Endured For Us As He Went To The Cross THE GREAT NEWS OF THE CROSS Condemned Prisoners Would Carry The 100 lb. Crossbeam Of Their Own Cross On Their Shoulders. • For Jesus, The Cross Was Too Heavy -- The Wounds Were Too Deep • Simon the Cyrene Was Ordered By A Roman Soldier To Take Up The Cross Of Jesus And Carry It For Him THE GREAT NEWS OF THE CROSS • In Excruciating Pain, Suffering And Agony Jesus Was Crucified And Nailed To A Cross THE GREAT NEWS OF THE CROSS The Cross Was Predicted And Prophesied  Jesus Spoke Of The Cross Before His Death As A Symbol Of The Necessity Of Full Commitment (Even Unto Death) For Those Who Would Be His Disciples. THE GREAT NEWS OF THE CROSS •Mat 10:38 (NIV) and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. •John 3:14 (NIV) — 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, THE GREAT NEWS OF THE CROSS Much of What Happened To Jesus Was Prophesied Earlier: • Betrayal by Judas • Gambling for His clothing • His legs unbroken • His side pierced • False accusations • He was Guiltless yet included with Sinners • He would be Crucified, Mocked, Forsaken • He would be Buried in a rich man’s tomb. • In his life Christ fulfilled 332 distinct prophecies in the Old Testament THE GREAT NEWS OF THE CROSS The Cross Is God’s Remedy And Answer For Sin •The Grim Picture Of Christ On The Cross Has A Strong Message For Us THE GREAT NEWS OF THE CROSS •Sin Is No Laughing Matter To Be Trivialized And Played With •No! It Is Dark, Gross, Corrupt And Deadly •It Is Not Victimless Or Without Consequences • It Is Our Sin That Put Christ On The Cross THE GREAT NEWS OF THE CROSS • 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 (NIV) (18) For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (19) For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate." (20) Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? (21) For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. (22) Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, (23) but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, (24) but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. (25) For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. THE GREAT NEWS OF THE CROSS The Message Of The Cross Is What Divides All Of Humanity Into Two Camps:  The Believers And The Unbelievers  The Saved And The Condemned THE GREAT NEWS OF THE CROSS • “Humans think that they can reason their way to God, but God says “No!” All who come to me for salvation, must come by way of the cross! No matter how smart you think you are, God says you are a fool without Christ and His cross.” Daniel Aiken. THE GREAT NEWS OF THE CROSS God Is Faithful But No One Is Righteous •Romans 3:10-12 (NIV) (10) As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; (11) there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. (12) All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." •Romans 3:23 (NIV) (23) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, THE GREAT NEWS OF THE CROSS Sin Brings On A Fatal Condition •Romans 6:23 (NIV) (23) For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. THE GREAT NEWS OF THE CROSS The Cross Makes Possible The Gift Of God -- Eternal Life •2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV) (21) God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. •Jesus Christ Knew No Sin, He Lived A Sinless And Perfect Life •He Was The One And Only Spotless Lamb – Without A Blemish—a Worthy Sacrifice For Our Sin THE GREAT NEWS OF THE CROSS We Are Made New In Him • 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) (17) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! THE GREAT NEWS OF THE CROSS The Cross Represents The Very Power Of God  The Power Of His Forgiveness  The Power Of His Deliverance  The Power Of His Love  The Power Of His Unyielding Sacrifice On Our Behalf – THE GREAT NEWS OF THE CROSS The Cross For The Believer Is An Emblem Of Beauty Like No Other  The Cross Of Christ Was A Horrific Means Of Death –  But For Believers It Is A Lifeline And Means Of Life • His Willingness To Die On The Cross Is The Instrument Of God’s Greatest Victory THE GREAT NEWS OF THE CROSS • 1 Corinthians 15:1–8 (NIV) — 1 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. • Christ Died On The Cross For Our Sins – He Rose for Our Life! THE GREAT NEWS OF THE CROSS Jesus Christ Has Given Us A New Focus For Life Is Our Great Champion And So We Look To Him •Hebrews 12:2 (NIV) — 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. He THE GREAT NEWS OF THE CROSS 1 Peter 3:18 (NIV) (18) For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,  He Died In Order To Bring Us To God  To Give Us An Audience And Access To A Holy God •In Christ We Can Come To God’s Love, Grace And Mercy • At The Very Moment He Died The Veil Of The Temple Was Torn In Two THE GREAT NEWS OF THE CROSS The Cross Is God’s Wisdom On Display – Where Our Darkest Hour Became His Brightest Hour •1 Corinthians 1:18 (NIV) (18) For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. The Cross Reveals The Devastation Of Sin Also Reveals God’s Remedy For Sin. It THE GREAT NEWS OF THE CROSS Jesus Christ Is Unique • Unique In Personality • Unique In Influence • Unique In Life • Unique In Death • The Cross Was Jesus Trading Places With Us • He Tasted (Experienced) Death For Each Of Us – (Heb 2:9) THE GREAT NEWS OF THE CROSS The Cross Is All About Christ’s Love For Us • 1 John 4:10 (NIV) — 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. • The Cross Made All The Difference THE GREAT NEWS OF THE CROSS The Cross Bring Our Deliverance •It Is What Jesus Has Done For Us: 1.Pardons Sin 2.Purpose For Life 3.Peace With God 4.Power To Live For Him Eternally THE GREAT NEWS OF THE CROSS The Cross Says Deliverance: •Sin No Longer Has Dominion Over The Believer •Delivered From The Curse, Compulsion, Coercion Of Sin •Delivered From The Emptiness Of A Selfish Life THE GREAT NEWS OF THE CROSS Galatians 2:20 (NIV) (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. (He Did This On The Cross Of Calvary) •The Cross Delivers Us From The World And Its Snares.  It Brings A Separation Between The Christian And World. THE GREAT NEWS OF THE CROSS Jesus' Death Means: Forgiveness Of Our Sins • (Mat 26:28 NIV) This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. • (Eph 1:7 NIV) In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace • Christ Blood Means Our Forgiveness •It Is A Canceling Of The Debt • It Is A Paying Of The Penalty THE GREAT NEWS OF THE CROSS The Cross Is The Symbol Of : 1. Jesus’ Love 2. God’s Power To Save 3. The Believer’s Unreserved Commitment To Discipleship •We Carry The Cross Of Christ Because Christ Carried Our Cross And Died In Our Place THE GREAT NEWS OF THE CROSS The Cross Says Come! •He Willingly Gave Himself Up For Who? For The “Whosoever’s” Of The World •‘Whosoever’ = [Greek—Pas] “Any , Every, All , The Whole” •John 3:15 (KJV) (15) That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. THE GREAT NEWS OF THE CROSS • How Can We Triumph And Glory In The Cross? It's Because God Can Take An Instrument Of Terror And A Time Of Tragedy And Turn It Into The Greatest Glory of Our Lives!