The Cross of Christ

Galatians 6:14 (NLT)

As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died.

When I spent a week in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, teaching at King Saud University, I became friends with several professors.  During one of our lunches, I was asked about my faith.  I admit that I was a little apprehensive, since visitors are warned not to make any efforts to proselytize Muslims.  However, I certainly did not want to deny my faith in Christ so I simply said that I was an active Christian and that was it.  One of the professors then shared with me that his #1 personal problem with the Christian faith is that we believe that Jesus Christ was crucified on a cross.  That thought, that imagery to my Muslim friend was unbelievable and unacceptable. 

To many believing Christians, the cross of Christ, representing one of the most horrible ways to die, makes us ill at ease.   We do not see glory and beauty in the cross. We simply do not like to think about the reality of the suffering Christ had to go through to offer salvation and justification to humankind.  Years ago I shared a physician’s description of the crucifixion of Christ and several people got very upset with me for “sensationalizing” how Christ died.  The cross of Christ is something most of us wish to avoid thinking about too much.  Yes, Christians love to see beautiful crosses displayed on top of church buildings and wear crosses around their necks, yet like to think of the cross as empty, not with the bloodied Lord hanging on it.  An empty cross means nothing, but a cross with Christ crucified means everything with respect to the atonement He made for our sins, being the perfect sacrifice required by God for the forgiveness of sins.

The cross of the Lord Jesus Christ is the main focus of Paul’s life.  He writes that he never wants to “boast” (King James Bible uses the verb “glory”) about anything else. Can you make this same claim?  Most Christians honestly would admit “no”, but here are some things to think about according to JC Ryle of Scotland (http://www.biblebb.com/files/ryle/the_cross.htm):

      Christ’s sufferings on the cross were fore-ordained

      Christ’s sufferings on the cross were necessary for man’s salvation

      Christ voluntarily suffered on the cross, He spoke about this many times

Ryle concluded: “I see nothing painful or disagreeable in the subject of Christ's cross. On the contrary, I see in it wisdom and power, peace and hope, joy and gladness, comfort and consolation. The more I keep the cross in my mind's eye, the more fullness I seem to discern in it. The longer I dwell on the cross in my thoughts, the more I am satisfied that there is more to be learned at the foot of the cross than anywhere else in the world.  Would I know the length and breadth of God the Father's love towards a sinful world? Would I know how exceedingly sinful and abominable sin is in the sight of God?  Would I know the fullness and completeness of the salvation God has provided for sinners? Would I find strong reasons for being a holy man? Would I learn how to be contented and cheerful under all the cares and anxieties of life? I will look at the cross of Christ.”

What do you think of Ryle’s words?  They complement Paul’s words beautifully in my opinion.  The cross of Christ is not to be viewed as a symbol of suffering and death, but rather a symbol of salvation, eternal life, and the love of God.  Very simply, without the cross there is no Christianity.  It takes deep faith, love, and obedience for people to be able to say what Paul said; nothing the world has to offer can compare to all the things that the cross of Christ represents.  Can you declare for yourself what Paul wrote about the cross?  Can you put the cross and what it represents above everything else in your life and above everything else in this world?  How you think about the cross and what it represents in your life defines your level of spiritual maturity. 

"The cross is a picture of violence, yet the key to peace, a picture of suffering, yet the key to healing, a picture of death, yet the key to life."—David Watson

Men have said that the cross of Christ was not a heroic thing, but I want to tell you that the cross of Jesus Christ has put more heroism in the souls of men than any other event in human history. –John G. Lake