THE GLORY OF THE CROSS

Galatians 6:14

God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of my Lord Jesus Christ. At the crucifixion, Jesus went out bearing for Himself the cross. Paul tells us: "How God made Him to be sin who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." On the cross Jesus felt that He was guilty of every sin ever committed. He felt the guilt of every lie, every murder; He was every homosexual, every abortionist, every pimp, every drug addict. He was numbered with the transgressors, that we might be numbered among those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

We think of the cross as something beautiful. We have gold crosses, chrome crosses; it makes such a nice decoration. Actually the cross is ugly. When Peter first learned about the cross, He said, “Be it far from thee Lord, this shall never be unto Thee.”

Many feel the same way now. When they sing, "On a hill far away stood an Old rugged cross;" that is what they really mean. Get that cross as far away from me as you can get it. If the cross could be thrown into the water like a fishing raft with a motor on it, or trimmed down into baseball bats, or made into bowling balls, it would be better. But the Old Rugged Cross is unacceptable.  

A sign on the wall of one church where I preached advertised the coming appearance of a noted line backer to appear before the young people. I casually inquired why? An elder told me: “Well we must have something to draw the young people.” Well discretion was the better part of valor, but I thought that is strange. Jesus said, "And I, if I be lifted up will draw all men unto Me." And then I thought that gospel song must not be true. That song that says: “Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood shall never lose its power.”

But then I remembered the secret of the power of the cross, when I thought about the rustic preacher who preached a sermon with all kinds of grammatical mistakes. Some one asked him after the sermon: “Preacher, where in the world did you go to College?” The preacher said, "I ain’t never been to College, but I been to Calvary." Have you been to Calvary for the cleansing power? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you freely trusting in His grace this hour? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?