The Cross of Christ

By Roy Loney

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     "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world" (Gal. 6:14).

     Nineteen hundred years ago a crucifixion took place just outside Jerusalem. It was not just an ordinary event, for since that time the religious world has never been the same. Crucifixions were common in those days, but this one changed the course of human history. Malefactors by the hundreds had been executed in this excruciatingly painful and shameful way, but this death was the most shameful of all, for the One crucified was "holy, harmless and undefiled." His entire life was spent in deeds of kindness, love and mercy. He did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. Yet his enemies arrested him, slandered him, spit upon him, scourged and finally nailed him to the cross, after his judge had declared, "I find no guilt in him at all." All of this was extraordinary even then when justice was so often perverted and human passions prevailed over the nobler instincts of humanity. The darkened mid-day sky, the trembling earth and other unusual events connected with this tragic death, gave indisputable proof to the fear-shaken Roman centurion that this man was truly the Son of God.

     Before Christ's death, one of his bitterest enemies decreed that this "one man should die for the nation" but ages before the Father had decreed that he should die for the whole world. The most beautiful passage in Holy Writ declares, "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life." The death of Christ was truly a revelation from God to teach man vital and imperishable truths, lest man be lost forever. It was imperative that this revelation be made in such a manner that man could never forget, so the cross was decreed and the suffering endured that ignorant and doomed man might know his condition and ultimate fate. I wish to present for your consideration the most important facts revealed in the crucifixion of Christ.

1. The Sinfulness of Man
     Christ died because man had sinned. His was a substitutionary death. He died for us. "For when we were yet without strength, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die, but God commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Man in sin is a creature doomed to death, for "the soul that sinneth it shall die" and "the wages of sin is death." That terrible sentence applied
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to every son of Adam's race, for "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." The only possibility of escape from impending doom was through the substitutionary death of another. No mere man could have paid my debt to God, for all men owed the same debt. Only the sinless and holy Son of God could pay that debt. "For the love of Christ constraineth us, because we judge that if one died for all, then were all dead." Christ did not die for the good, pure, or righteous. He died for sinners, thus died for all. That includes you.

     The blood stained cross of Calvary is the finger of God pointing to every soul as He declares, "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." The cross will be meaningless to those who do not see in it the shame and condemnation of their own sins. We must remember not just the fact, but the purpose of Christ's death. He died for our sins according to the scriptures. As long as the cross is in the consciousness of men it preaches the sad story of man's fall. All the self-righteousness and deceptive egotism of the human heart can never set aside the shocking truth that "all have sinned." The mute cross speaks in thundering tones, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." Tell me not of your goodness, your honesty, your purity. The cross tells another story, the story of a soul lost and ruined by sin. Do you wish to know the nature and degree of your sins? Then take one long horrified look at the body of Christ, writhing in shuddering agony on the cross. That suffering was for our sins. He died for you!

2. The Cleansing Power
     Zechariah predicted there would be "a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness." That fountain was filled with the blood that flowed from Immanuel's veins, "and sinners plunged beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stains." "If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sins." It matters not how many years you have spent in sin, nor how deeply your soul is stained with its defilement, when that blood is properly applied, God promises, "Their sins and iniquities I will remember no more." The drunkard, thief, adulterer, liar, fornicator--all can be cleansed and made whiter than snow. He who bore the cross is now able to save to the uttermost them who come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." "For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified." He "appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." That sacrifice is the world's only hope of redemption.

3. The Value of a Soul
     In the long ago, God said, "I will make a man more precious than the golden wedge of Ophir" (Isa. 13:12). The best measure of value is the price paid. When Jesus paid for your redemption, he gave the greatest price of all the transactions in human history--his life. God, in estimating the value of your soul gave the life of his only begotten Son. That is your worth in His sight. "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold...but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." Thus was fulfilled the promise 'Ye shall be redeemed without money" (Isa. 52:3). Why without money? Because all of the silver and gold in the world cannot equal the value of one precious soul. No wonder Jesus asked "For what is a man profited if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul, or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Yet Christ willingly and gladly laid down his life for his enemies to prove that man's soul was precious in the sight of God. Man in the foolishness of ignorance sold himself for naught, bartered away his hope of heaven for the valueless tinsel of sin, and it required the most precious gift from heaven to redeem him from his folly.

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4. Need of Personal Consecration
     "The love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead. And that he died for all, that they which live should not live henceforth unto themselves but unto him which died for them, and rose again." Christ's giving for you was without reserve and without limit, therefore our debt to him is immeasurably great, and because of that price "you are not your own, for you are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." This is man's hardest lesson to learn, for sin makes him selfish, and a selfish heart knows little of God's love. Only a heart entirely consecrated to the service of Christ has learned the meaning of the cross.

     John says, "We love him because he first loved us," and the depth, length and breadth of God's love is only revealed in the cross. If that cross cannot break down the stubbornness of your selfish heart you are doomed. Only a life wholly consecrated is acceptable to God and that consecration is not in words of extravagant praise, but in service, sacrifice and devotion. "I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service." There is no greater sin than that of ingratitude, and a life lived for one's own pleasure is as barren as the desert sands. If Christ could leave the courts of heaven and become a homeless, penniless wanderer upon earth, then make the supreme sacrifice to save you from hell, surely he has a right to receive from you some service in return. You are to live, not for self, but for him "who died and rose again." If you live for self, you reject the cross, and when you do the blood of that cross is upon your hands. Christ, for "the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame," and there can be no joy set before you unless your heart is crucified with Christ.

     A crucified heart! How very few know the glory, the happiness, and the satisfaction of a heart entirely lost in the service of Christ. The world is filled with lives that are mere "lumps of clay" for they live only for the flesh, doing which they shall reap corruption. A life that is "hid with Christ in God" experiences "the peace of God which passeth all understanding."

                       O love that wilt not let me go,
                             I rest my weary soul in thee;
                       I give thee back the life I owe,
                              That in thine ocean's deeper flow
                        Mine may richer, fuller be!

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