LIVING IN THE SHADOW OF THE CROSS

Are You Living In The Shadow of The Cross?

Paul said that he...

1 Corinthians 2:2 NASB95

For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.

The only thing that was worth talking about, worth telling the world about, the only thing worth dying for, the only thing worth living for was Jesus and Him crucified.

Galatians 6:14 NASB95

But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Paul is trying to help us understand that there is nothing, I mean nothing more important in the history of mankind than the cross. At the cross we see the horrors of sin. At the cross we come to see how hopeless, helpless, hapless & lost we are in our sins. At the cross we realize that the only hope we have is an unimaginable gift of sacrificial love. God Himself…gave Himself…to save us…from Himself. What else is there to talk about? What else has more meaning, relevance, importance to our lives than what took place on the cross. There should be nothing more poignant, precious, profound, & priceless in our life. The cross should be a lifelong study for all Christians. How deeply have you researched, studied, & investigated the cross? How much time have you spent contemplating, meditating, and living in the shadow of the cross.

Living in the shadow of the cross means we must ingest Christ, His life, his doctrine, His salvation. we must allow the cross to mold us to shape us and conform us to the image of Christ. When we live in the shadow of the cross, we cannot stay the same. When you come face to face with the cross you cannot be neutral

The cross should break our hearts—compel us—impel us—propel us—motivate us—stir us—change us.

Why is the cross so important?

because the battle of all eternity was to be fought between God & Satan there.

the winner would take all. Humanity was at stake. Jesus fought to conquer satan, sin, death, and hell…and he did it alone on a cross, for me and for you. Heb. 2:14 “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,” It is because of what Jesus did on the cross that we can say...1 Cor. 15:55-57 ““O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

because Jesus went where no man could go; He, as man, did what no man could do:

Heb. 5:7 “In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety.” I was lost in my sin, I was dead in my trespasses & sins, i was separated from God. Jesus offered himself… 2 Cor. 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” As hard as man tries he cannot be saved by ideas, thoughts, philosophies, mysticism, or ignorance—man can only be saved by jesus Christ. Jesus went where no man could go; He, as man, did what no man could do

because salvation, forgiveness, life, hope, and heaven are all found at the cross.

life - Rom. 5:10 “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” Col. 2:13-14 “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” hope - The cross shouts to us that life is not futile…failure is not fatal…death is not final! There is hope! 1 Pet. 1:3-6 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,”

because at the cross learn about atonement, justification, substitution, adoption, reconciliation, propitiation, expiation, & imputation.

atonement because Jesus makes amends, makes things right, gives satisfaction to the one wronged which is God. Justification - Jesus paid the sin price for us, he made us just as if we had never sinned.substitution - the middle cross at Calvary did not belong to Jesus, it belonged to me! His crucifixion was vicarious, representative, substitutionary! Christ took a death that belongs to us; we take a life that belongs to Him! adoption- sons of God so we can call him abba father. reconciliation - he restored our relationship with God. propitiation - he removes the wrath, he appeases the wrath of God. expiation - he pays the price the debt I owed. imputation - another’s riches are placed in my account.

If the cross is so important...Why has the shadow of the cross diminished in our lives?

satan is busy trying to remove the cross from Christ and His Church.

Satan understands that he was defeated at the cross. The victory Satan thought he had by having Jesus crucified was actually the fatal blow that rendered him powerless Heb. 2:14. Satan is defeated and angry and he wants you to be too distracted see the cross, to meditate on the cross, to allow the cross to move you, change you and challenge you! One of the ways he has done this is through popular preaching, he has removed the violence, blood, and cruelty inherent in the cross; it has made the cross painless and sterile. Sin is unpopular to talk about yet it is the reason why Jesus had to go to the cross in the first place.

We minimize the impact the cross has in our lives.

We let the worlds view impede on us. the cross is an offense to the world. We have reduced Christ to a sweet, soft, nice baby Jesus. He is a man among men, not a glorified weakling. He took on Satan, Judaism, and the whole world — and won! He never retreated from anyone! We reduce the cross to 5-10 minutes on Sunday as we gather around the table

We bring down God to be like us.

He is holy! We no longer allow the cross move us towards holiness. We exchange holiness for cheap, false spirituality. Spirituality can be faked or bragged about; holiness cannot. we reduce scripture to nothing more than a self-help book.

We compartmentalize Christ and the cross into only certain parts of our lives.

Jesus does not reign and rule my life. We are absent from the cross. We do not let the cross penetrate every facet of our life. We have just allowed a face-lift not a heart transplant. 2 Cor. 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” John 3:1-7. born again Gal. 2:20 ““I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” we forget that the cross reminds us that we must die. we forget that we are dead men who don’t need rehabilitation but life. In other words I don’t need Jesus to improve my life and need him to give me life because I am dead in my trespasses and sin.

The world has desensitized us.

our hearts are no longer cut. the horrendousness of the cross is lost. The ugliness and tragic nature of the cross disappears. We forget that 2 Cor. 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” An innocent man was reviled, ridiculed, beaten, crucified and died. we fail to realize it was our sins that put Him there. We forget about our lostness and helplessness. We are hopelessly and helplessly lost in sin and there is nothing we can do about it. Jesus took our place. I deserve death and despair but Jesus went to the cross for you and for me

If satan and the world are doing everything they can to cause to loose sight of the cross...

What can be done to help us to live in the shadow of the cross daily?

We must kneel at the cross everyday.

Our lives can get way to chaotic and we loos e focus and sight of the cross if we don’t take time each day meditate on the cross. We have to research, study, investigate, & meditate on the cross everyday. Meditating on the cross cannot become something we do only a few minutes around the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week. It has to envelop every aspect of our lives. 1 Cor. 2:2 “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” We should be lifelong daily students of the cross! How else can it compel us—impel us—propel us—motivate us—stir us—change us!

We must be baptized.

Baptism is what connects sinners with the cross. Baptism is where we come in contact with the blood of Jesus. the heart of the gospel is the death burial and resurrection. 1 Cor. 15:3-4 “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,” At baptism sinners are baptized into the death, burial, and resurrection Rom. 6:3-6 “Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;” Col. 2:12 “having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.”

We must remember Jesus through the Lord’s Supper every first day of the week.

1 Cor. 11:23-26 “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” We remember the body of Jesus that was nailed on the cross and what all that entails. When we take the cup we remember the blood that was shed for the forgiveness of sins. The supper is the greatest memorial on earth. All those in Can participate. we focus on the word, the cross, the blood. we examine ourselves and we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. We cannot rush or minimize the the importance of the Lord’s Supper. It centers us, focuses us, challenges us, & motivates us.

We must live a crucified life.

The cross results in a crucified life. Gal. 2:20 ““I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” We must die daily just like Paul 1 Cor. 15:31 “I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.” Col. 3:1-4 “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.” 1 Cor. 10:21 “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.” We must live for Jesus everyday. We give God the first hour of everyday-give God the first day of the week-we give God the first portion of our pay-we give God the first place in our heart. We must love Him more than anything else in the world, sin He has done all of this for us. We must express our christian love in good works Eph. 2:8-10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” It cost Jesus his life. It should cost us ours. deny ourselves take up our cross and follow him.

We must preach the Gospel which centers around the cross.

we must have the same attitude that Paul had 1 Cor. 9:16 “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.” we have got to preach it, we have got to sing about it, shout it from the rooftops. The cross should be such a part of our lives that that we can’t help but speak about it. We start preaching to others when we start preaching to ourselves. Who crucified Christ, I did! Who nailed Jesus to the cross, I did! The church began, grew, and continued with preaching. Rom. 10:13-17 “for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!” However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” How will people know about the cross if we do not preach the cross? Acts 20:19-35 “serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. “And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. “But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God. “And now, behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face. “Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. “For I did not shrink from d…”