Laurie: Don’t Downplay The Cross Of Christ

Before I was a Christian, I always had an interest in Jesus Christ. I was fascinated by him. There was a portrait of Jesus that hung in my grandparents’ house, and as I boy, I would sit and look at it and wonder about him.

I learned pretty much everything I knew about Jesus from movies. However, the part I didn’t like about his story was that he was crucified. I knew that he rose from the dead, but I wanted to edit out the crucifixion part of the story. It made no sense to me at the time.

It wasn’t until I became a Christian that I realized it was all about that part of the story. It was all about the cross. Jesus was born in the manger in Bethlehem to ultimately die on a cross outside Jerusalem.

The Incarnation was for the Atonement. The birth of Jesus was for the death and resurrection of Jesus. His death on the cross was not an afterthought on the part of God the Father. In fact, it was God’s purpose and plan from the very beginning. The Bible calls him “the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made” (Revelation 13:8 NLT).

This means that before there was a solar system, before there was a planet called Earth, a garden called Eden, and a man and woman named Adam and Eve, a decision was made in the councils of eternity. Before sin entered the human race, God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit made a decision that the Son would come to this earth on a rescue mission.

God would become a man, walk among us and live a perfect life. And then ultimately he would die the perfect death. In the first book of the Bible, the book of Genesis, God gave Satan fair warning: There is coming one who will crush your head, but you will bruise his heel (see Genesis 3:15).

That is why the cross is so important to Christians, and that is why Satan hates the message of the cross. It spells his doom and defeat. He doesn’t want us to think about it. And he doesn’t want us to talk about it, because there’s power in the message of the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The apostle Paul wrote, “The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18 NKJV). The word “power” that Paul used here originates from the Greek word dunamis, which indicates an explosive power.

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The message of the cross is arresting. It’s controversial. It’s offensive. And it’s the truth. Yet sometimes in the church, it’s neglected. We don’t talk about the cross as much as we ought to.

Sometimes in our attempt to cross over, to be relevant, we don’t bring the cross over. But as representatives of Jesus Christ, if we don’t have the message of the death of Jesus in our preaching and teaching, then we’re missing the key element. That is the essence of every Gospel presentation.

Years ago I was having lunch with Billy Graham, and I asked him this: “If an older Billy could speak to a younger Billy, what advice would you give yourself?”

He said, “I would preach more on the cross and the blood of Christ, because that’s where the power is.”

When God told Moses to go to Pharaoh in Egypt and demand the release of the Israelites, Pharaoh dug in and flat-out refused, even choosing God off in the process. He said, “And who is the Lord? Why should I listen to him and let Israel go? I don’t know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go” (Exodus 5:2 NLT).

Never choose God off in a fight, because you’re going to lose. Pharaoh discovered that the hard way. God gave him opportunity after opportunity to cooperate. But he resisted, and his heart grew harder and harder.

Moses warned Pharoah that God would treat him the way he treated the Israelites. God had said to Moses, “Then you will tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son. I commanded you, “Let my son go, so he can worship me.” But since you have refused, I will now kill your firstborn son!'” (Exodus 4:22–23 NLT).

God was very clear. And Pharoah had no one to blame but himself. The Bible warns, “Don’t be misled – you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant” (Galatians 6:7 NLT).

The judgments came, and finally Pharaoh relented and allowed the Israelites to leave Egypt.

Then God gave Moses detailed instructions for something called the Passover, which they would observe annually from that day forward. The Passover, of course, is important to the Jewish people, because it calls to remembrance what God did for them. He passed over them in his judgment of Egypt, because they observed his instructions.

But the Passover is important to Christians as well, because Jesus celebrated Passover with his disciples, knowing that it pointed to him. Everything in the Old Testament points to what is fulfilled in the New Testament. Christ is concealed in the Old Testament, and he is revealed in the New Testament.

Again, Paul wrote, “Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7 NLT). That is why John the Baptist pointed to Jesus and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29 NLT).

Jesus was the fulfillment of the Passover lamb. For the Israelites, the Passover was a new beginning in the middle of the year. And in the same way, it doesn’t matter whether it’s June, October, or March when you ask Jesus Christ to come into your life and ask for his forgiveness. You can have a fresh start as well.

Jesus said, “Behold, I make all things new” (Revelation 21:5 NKJV).

I don’t know what the narrative of your life is today, but I can tell you this: God can change your story. Today can be a fresh start for you.

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Originally posted at WND

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