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Booklet Outline: The Cross Announces
Good News to God’s People The cross of Jesus Christ is the means God designed by which His people can come to Him. It is the means through which men’s sins can be forgiven, and through which those who are in Jesus Christ can partake of God’s love, nature, character, and life. In the closing chapter of Galatians, Paul says:
Our Christianity is based on the central message of the cross of Jesus Christ and all that it says, for and about us, and about the world. We can know all about Jesus--about His miracles, His descent from heaven as the Son of God, and the Father’s exaltation of Him as Lord and Christ--and still miss the central and most important teaching of Christianity: the meaning and personal application of the cross of Jesus Christ. Matthew 16 gives an account of Jesus with Peter and the other disciples. In response to a question by Jesus, Peter acknowledges Him to be the Christ, the Messiah of God, and the Son of God. Jesus commends Peter, saying it is only through God's revelation that he has this knowledge. When Jesus goes on to describe His imminent death on the cross, Peter does not comprehend the necessity and meaning of the cross, and he tries to talk Jesus out of such an action. Jesus recognizes the source of Peter's lack of understanding and rebukes the devil. Note that Jesus on the one hand has recognized and affirmed a testimony of Peter as being a revelation from God, but now He rebukes this same Peter as bringing forth a desire from satan. Jesus knows that satan wants to keep people--even people who know Him as the Christ, and the Son of God--from understanding the necessity and work of Jesus on the cross. Having identified Peter's fleshly concern for Jesus' well-being, Jesus relates to His disciples the necessity of all of His followers to experience their own death and resurrection. We all need to let our old ways and our personal desires die with Jesus, so that we can become a new creation--IN HIM. We all need to bring to death the behavior, habits, attitudes, desires, etc., which we have received from our ancestry, from our flesh, or from others. These things must be brought to death so we can receive our life, outlook, desires, etc., from God. (see John 1:12-14, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5) Matthew says in his Gospel:
The cross of Jesus--known about by many, accepted and understood by few. A blessing for some--a stumbling block for many. The reason is simple: it shows God's plan for the world, it shows God's judgments concerning the world's needs, and it shows the fall of satan's kingdom. Back to TOP 1. THE CROSS ANNOUNCES GOOD NEWS TO GOD'S PEOPLE: "You can be reconciled to God and you can receive the life and character of God. You can be healed! You can be changed!" You can be healed from the world's hurts, pains, and sicknesses; the lusts, attitudes, and desires you have taken into yourself from the world, can be put to death, and you can be filled with a life that knows and loves the will of God.
Back to TOP 2. THE CROSS ANNOUNCES GOD'S JUDGMENT TO THE WORLD: "You need to be changed. You need a new source of life--you need God’s life." The cross announces God's judgment on all of the world's ways--on all of men's self-righteous acts--on all of man's self-improvement programs--on all of man's attempts to find God through his own understanding or religious programs. NONE OF THESE WAYS WILL CUT IT. There is only one way to be changed--through the cross of Jesus Christ. The people of the world need God's forgiveness; they need God's life; they need to be changed completely, from the inside out. ONLY JESUS CHRIST THROUGH THE GOD-DEVISED MEANS OF THE CROSS CAN ACCOMPLISH THIS.
The teaching of the cross will offend the natural man, for he is in bondage to satan, and satan will blind His heart to knowing the greatness of the life and presence of God. The natural man is not seeking God to change His life. He might realize he needs forgiveness--but not a changed life. He might desire God's blessing or love--but not a changed life. The message of the cross says, "You need a new life--God's life," and this will offend the carnal or natural man. That does not mean, however, that we should stop preaching the message of the cross. We should not water down our message to become less offensive. The teaching of the cross will offend--but I'd rather offend many and save some than to offend few and save none. Paul knew that his Gospel would offend those who preached both Jesus and circumcision. He knew he would offend those who wanted to believe in the cross while hanging on to their religious rituals as a means of obtaining God’s favor. (He is not condemning the use of rituals, but rather he is condemning reliance upon them to improve one’s standing with God.) He also knew that by preaching this message of the cross he would be persecuted, for he left no room for the operation of man's flesh.
Back to TOP 3. THE CROSS OF JESUS SHOWS THE DEMISE OF SATAN'S KINGDOM. In his natural state, man is in bondage to sin. He is content living a life separated from God, relying on his own strength and knowledge to cope with the affairs of life. In his natural state, man does not understand or desire the will and nature of God. In his natural state, man is in bondage to the satanic power--the principalities and demonic strongholds--that rule the kingdom of darkness. BUT GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST--THROUGH THE CROSS OF JESUS CHRIST--HAS DEFEATED THE POWERS OF DARKNESS. We can be translated out of the rule of satan and his evil kingdom, into the rule and reign of Jesus Christ.
Jesus won the victory over satan and his forces of evil--at His Cross. Back to TOP 4. THE CROSS SHOWS GOD'S ANGER TOWARD SIN AND WICKEDNESS. Jesus knew God loved righteousness and hated evil. Yet, out of love for us, Jesus willingly took our sin upon Himself. God therefore punished Jesus, executing upon Him His wrath and vengeance toward sin. God does not take sin lightly. He does not--indeed cannot--say to the sinner, "Oh, that's OK, I’ll just forget about it; only please don’t do it again." God's nature hates sin; He must vent His natural anger and wrath toward it. The cross is the place, and Jesus is the person, for God to vent His Holy anger and wrath toward sin.
The cross proves conclusively that God, in His natural anger and wrath toward sin, must deal with the sin of mankind. The cross is mankind’s only place of escaping the holy and righteous wrath of God. Back to TOP 5. THE CROSS IS THE MEANS THROUGH WHICH JESUS WILL DRAW PEOPLE FROM ALL THE WORLD TO HIMSELF. Through His cross, Jesus shows the world His love of mankind, His love of righteousness, and His hatred of evil. He knew that the world would not and could not appreciate God’s wrath toward sin, or His love for sinners. He knew the people of the world, in their sinful condition, could not understand, appreciate and desire the God’s nature and character. He knew that if they were free of their sin, and could experience the love and character of God, they would cherish God as He did. All people will know that Jesus is Lord--some will rejoice when this truth is revealed to all; others will shudder and quake when this truth is revealed, because they neglected to bring their sins to His cross.
Therefore we say with Paul;
Back to TOP A Prayer: Lord Jesus, live in me. Bring me into Your death--the death that I need to die to my old ways. Impart to me Your life--a life that loves the will of the Father and that hates the evil of this world and the independence of my old life. Thank you, Jesus, for providing me Your cross on which to die, and for giving me Your life in which to live. Amen.
The Cross -- Personal Application God wants ALL people to bring all their sins, their sinful desires, their hurts, their pains, their griefs, their sorrows, their self-centeredness, and their self-dependence to the cross of Jesus. a) For whom did Jesus die? (2 Corinthians 5:15a)
b) For what purpose did Jesus die? (2 Corinthians 5:15b)
c) What are some of the sins God wants us to put away? (Galatians 5:19-21) 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) 11) 12) 13) 14) 15) 16).
Attributes of Jesus (for exercises e & f) 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) 11) 12) 13) 14) 15) 16)
d) Ask God, through the Holy Spirit, to show you times you have committed sinful actions or harbored and/or welcomed sinful desires in each of the above categories. Confess each action revealed or brought back to your memory. Bring the sinful attitude or desire to Jesus, asking Him to cleanse your heart--to remove the sinful desires and to replace them with His righteousness. What two things will God do when we confess our sins in this way? (1 John 1:9)
e) The Bible says, "But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof." (Romans 13:14 KJV) Some of the attributes of Jesus are listed below. Select one or more of these or other attributes which might replace the works of the flesh cited in exercise c. For example, on line 1, which has "adultery" as a work of the flesh, you might write "holiness," or "self-control," or "purity"--one of the attributes of Jesus. Some of Jesus’ attributes to draw from in completing this exercise are: holiness, righteousness, love, mercy, gentleness, faithfulness, truthfulness, kindness, longsuffering, humility, meekness, purity, obedience to God, peacefulness, helpfulness, compassion, trust in God, wisdom. f) Now ask God to replace the old ways of your flesh with the ways of Christ. Specifically ask Him to impart to you the characteristic of Jesus for that area. As you do this, see Christ being formed in you.
g) What is the final outcome of people who willfully practice the sinful actions? (Galatians 5:21b)
h) What is the fruit of following the Spirit of God?. (Galatians 5:22,23) 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9)
Ask God to develop this fruit in you. i) Thank God for His commitment and plan to change you. Thank Him for the cross of Jesus Christ--the place where your old ways can be brought to death. Thank Him for His Holy Spirit, Who can live in you, bringing the life of Christ alive in you. Paul is confessing this process in Galatians 2:20. Write out in your own words what Paul has received and is experiencing. Back to TOP |
