It's Still The Cross
Lew's new book, It's Still The Cross, is now on our Amazon eStore. You may order today by clicking here.
"There are some tremendous lessons for us to learn concerning the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. We hear thoughts and comments, we pick up a little bit here and there, but sadly, we miss out on the only source of glory, the Cross of Jesus Christ. In my many years of study concerning this subject, I have searched to find materials or books that focus on the Cross. Many give reference to the Cross, but few are devoted to its message only.
The Cross is more than an ornament we wear around our neck, more than something we put on the steeple of the church, more than something to build into the logo of our church. It is the center of all we believe. Everything we believe has its roots in the Cross, God's eternal plan for His people. It is the central message of the Scriptures.
In Galatians 6:1-18, Paul writes of the Cross and its place in his life. There is no room for doubt here. Paul was consumed by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on that Cross. Listen carefully to his declaration:
"God forbid that I should boast except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world" (Gal 6:14).
He is not talking about the wood or the physical cross. He's talking about what the events of the Cross mean and what the Cross produces in our lives. He gives us two things-if we really believed this our problems would be over. He says the Cross was not only for the crucifixion of Christ, but that at the Cross the world was crucified to me! Listen again and hear what Paul says: "The world has been crucified to me." Now that's good news! Consider what this meant to Paul, then put yourself in his place. He had been persecuting the people of "The Way." His passion as a religious zealot was to make havoc of the new sect called the "People of The Way." But then he had an encounter with the Christ of the Cross, and he could never be the same.
What does the word crucified mean? It means to be put to death publicly in one of the most despicable ways. To be hung on a Cross was a fate for the worst of criminals. It meant shame, humility, pain and public infamy. Death-that's the end of it! But Redemption is the result of the Cross of Christ, life forever more! It gives meaning to Christ's suffering and death.
The Cross is more than a fire escape from hell. It's more than something we come to symbolically kneel at, do our religious service to, or confess our sins before, and then get up and go on our merry way to continue doing our own thing again. The Cross is an ongoing process in the life of every believer. The Cross is a force by which the world is being constantly crucified to me. That means the world is losing its attraction to me, and I am losing my desire for its place in my life. Dead twice! We are dead to the world's attractions, and they are dead to us.
Many of us could say the struggles going on in our minds are there because of what our minds are focused on. Let's not play games. Let's not put on some kind of a façade and attempt to give an impression that we're too holy, and therefore we don't face these challenges. Everyone reading this will have areas of his or her life where the world is an attraction.
Young people often face an attraction to the music of their generation that is not honoring to the Lord. The attraction of the world's culture often overshadows the wonder and thrill of God's presence in their lives. Our victory is not in making and enforcing rules; it is in looking back to Calvary and accepting the provision of Christ's death and resurrection.
Many men and women today face the attraction of successful businesses, and making money, until they can think of nothing else. They are obsessed with the spirit of the age. For others, sports may have become their obsession. But we need to face reality. Anything that robs us of our wholehearted devotion to God needs to face the test of the Cross. Remember-through the Cross the world is crucified to me, and I am crucified to the world. There is a place of balance and victory."