The Cross of Jesus Christ - Five Perspectives

On this Good Friday, 2010, as we somberly remember and meditate on the death of Jesus Christ, let's stand in the shadow of the Cross and consider the matter from these five perspectives:

• SATAN - In spite of the fact that he had been kicked out of heaven, Satan - the great deceiver - believed his own lie that he had orchestrated Christ's death and that he had done a masterful job! The truth is, Jesus willingly laid down His life for His own. (John 10:14-18) He defeated Satan and death because He died for the sins of man. For each one who places his faith in the finished work of Jesus on the Cross, Satan has no retort or recourse. And he knows it full well, for whether he acts like it or not, he knows the Word of God!
• JESUS - Among other things, the Cross for Jesus was pain, suffering and total humiliation. It was the means by which He sacrificed His life for ours in order to bring us to God. It was the hight point of Christ's unqualified obedience to His heavenly Father. It is the purpose for which Jesus came into the world. "It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." (1 Timothy 1:15) That is why the writer of Hebrews says "For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God!" (12:2)
• GOD - The Cross of Christ is the act - the place, the event, the sacrifice - by which God became favorable, or propitious, toward us who have so greatly sinned against Him. It is the means by which God was propitiated/His anger satisfied, appeased. We now "wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come." 1 Thessalonians 1:10 When God raised Jesus, it proved He was satisfied with His payment for our sin. "Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand. Romans 5:1-2a
• SIN - Crucifixion was not invented by the Romans. They merely perfected it as a form of capital punishment and torture designed to produce a very slow death with maximum pain and suffering. The Cross has paid the debt of sin. The death of Christ has removed the stain of sin. It cancels sin altogether for the one who trusts Jesus who became sin for us. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."
• BELIEVERS - The Cross of Jesus Christ is at once the symbol of our shame because of our sin, the measure of our guilt and the utter sinfulness of it; and the comforting asurrance that our guilt has been dealt with once and for all!! The Cross is our deliverance, our confidence that we are accepted by God. It is the demonstration of John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."

"For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed." 1 Peter 2:21-24

Engaging With the Word of God

As I study God's Word, I realize if we allow ourselves, it is easy to read the Bible as a fascinating storybook - which it is; but it's not meant only for our entertainment. By the same token, we can have this same attitude toward our study of Scripture. This attitude seems to be quite prevalent in the church today. We disregard the fact that our reading and study of the Holy Bible is mainly for our enlightenment. However, we must first enlist our Teacher, God the Holy Spirit, to enliven the Word to our heart. Then we are to become engaged with the Scriptures until our desire is to enact them in our daily living. Finally, we must entreat the Holy Spirit to enable us to achieve these goals.

"For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light." Colossians 1:9-12

That is the difference. That is how we, as CHRISTians, are victorious in life, how we overcome sin, how we can rejoice in our circumstances - no matter what they are. Praise God for His Holy Spirit!! This is how we are transformed into the image of Jesus Christ. This is how we grow closer to God our heavenly Father.

"Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust." 2 Peter 1:2-4

Bible study is costly. It takes time, energy, determination. Inductive Bible study requres real diligence, a sincere heartfelt desire to do it and focused commitment in the face of every obstacle we encounter along the way. And there will be obstacles! Some we know are simply the work of satan to distract our attention and shipwreck our faith. Others will actually be things that are not bad, and maybe even necessary, however the timing is just not the best. Still others will be of our own doing when we fail to apply self discipline and spend time doing something that is easier but of no lasting value. Oh, but when we put in the time to study, the rewards are not only life changing but eternal as well!!

"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Dealing With Sexual Sin

Last week I presented a three part workshop titled "Dealing With Sexual Sin" at the Ohio Christian Education Association (OCEA) 2010 Christian Ministries Conference held at The Chapel in Akron, Ohio, March 18 - 20.

The apostle Paul tells the church at Corinth, "For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. But I am afraid , lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ." (2 Cor 11:2-3) To the church at Ephesus he said, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her; that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she should be holy and blameless." (Eph 5:25-27)

This means the Father's servants (pastors, leaders, teachers) are charged with the responsibility to watch over and nurture the Church, the Bride of Christ, to keep her pure. The word for pure in the Greek means chaste, pure, free from defilements or impurities. In a more restricted sense, it refers not only to chastity, but also to virginity. So the goal is that the Church might be presented as a chaste virgin when the trumpet sounds and the Groom comes to claim her.

The Church for too long has ignored or mishandled the subject of sex and sexual immorality that the world is having more influence on the Church than the Church is having on the world.

Not surprisingly, this topic struck a nerve and some raw emotions emerged during the sessions. Some people were educated, some were disturbed, others offered hope and encouragement to fellow class members. Praise God for the victory of several who received the truth of Scripture and were set free from the bondage of sexual sin!!

As my class and I study the book of Isaiah, we have seen clearly the close relationship between idolatry and sexual sin. As I studied for the workshops, this truth was reinforced again and again throughout the Bible in both Old and New Testaments. Because sexual matters are not appropriately addressed by pastors and teachers in the local church and many church members are not true students of the Word, there are many who make their own determination of sexual sin. Consequently, it is difficult for them when they hear the truth and the initial response is to make every attempt to justify immoral behavior rather than confess, repent and be cleansed and set free.

There's a lot of work to be done to get the Bride of Christ ready and make sure her gown is without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. And since we don't know when the wedding is actually going to take place, there's no time to waste. We'd better be about our Father's business right now.

A New Adventure

Hello,

I'm starting a new adventure today by beginning this blog. I'll be writing about a variety of things that are important to me as a believer in Jesus Christ. I'm sure I won't write every day; too many things going on, like now. I'm leaving shortly to head to Akron, Ohio for the OCEA Conference. I'll be presenting a three part workshop titled "Dealing With Sexual Sin."

I'm currently leading an inductive Bible study class on the book of Isaiah. We just finished Chapter 1 on Tuesday! What a book. We are seeing so much about God and ourselves, so you can count on hearing a lot about Isaiah in the months to come.

Thank you for taking the time to visit this blog. I'll not have more until after the conference.

May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you and give you His peace.

Margaret