It’s noon on Wednesday and there’s already been a stabbing
at Franklin Regional High School, word
that my friend, Mike, is in a Cleveland ICU now with cancer all through his
body, three friends with serious business crises all involving family, a burial
of a dear confidante, and news of several more challenges. All this in half of one day! How is it possible that the cross speaks to
any and all of this? What possible point
of commonality exists here?
In last week’s message I repeatedly mentioned that the cross
is the place where God deals with us.
It’s the place where you and I find the answer to all of life’s
problems. And I’m sure that it prompted
the question, “How can that be? How does
the cross help me with ___?”
This week I hope to elaborate a bit as we turn from the greatness of the cross to the glory of the cross. In Acts 27 Paul makes an amazing statement
that sheds light on the answer. He’s on
his way to Rome to stand before Caesar and make an appeal for himself and the
Gospel. Luke tells us that, as he sails
with a number of other prisoners a northeaster strikes and his ship is in grave
danger. And, if you read the full
account, you find that it’s not just a momentary danger, but a danger that
lasts for days.
In the midst of it Paul stands on deck and shouts to the
crewmen and his fellow prisoners, “Last night an angel of the God whose I am
and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Don’t be afraid…you must stand
trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail
with you!’”
Now it’s not the outcome of the angel’s message that
interests me; it’s the description Paul uses for him. Paul says, “Last night an angel of the God
whose I am…stood beside me. It’s
those six words: “of the God whose I am”
that have a direct bearing on the contention that every problem you have is
only properly addressed at the cross. You
see, Paul knows that regardless of the circumstances in which he finds himself,
his identity is fixed in Christ. He
says, “I belong to God.”
Remember the words of the first question of the Heidelberg
Catechism? The Question is this: “What is your only comfort, in life and in
death? Answer: “That I belong – body and soul, in life and
in death – not to myself but to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.” Where did the framers of the Heidelberg
Catechism get that? They got it from the
Apostle Paul. Where did he get
that? He got it at the cross, and I can
prove it from the rest of the answer: “Who at the cost of his own blood has
fully paid for all my sins and has completely freed me from the dominion of the
devil; that he protects me so well that without the will of my Father in heaven
not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, that everything must fit his purpose
for my salvation. Therefore, by his Holy
Spirit, he also assures me of eternal life, and makes me wholeheartedly willing
and ready from now on to live for him.”
You see what Paul is saying on the deck of that ship is
this: “My identity is fixed; I belong to
Him, and therefore, this problem is His problem.” Where does he get such certainty? How does he know his identity is fixed? The same place he gets it “re-fixed” – at the
cross.
As we said last week, the cross is not a one-stop shop for
the believer. It is the place where we must
have our true identity affirmed time and time again; and our identity is at the
root of every solution to every problem we face. It was for Paul. It is for us.
And the reason that our true identity is at the root of every solution
to any problem is because of the true identity of Jesus on the cross. That’s what we’ll examine this week because
the cross is where is His true identity best seen, and most deeply understood. In fact, it’s His identity that makes the
cross not only great, but glorious!
In preparation for Sunday’s message, “The Glory of the
Cross” you may wish to consider the following:
- Read Galatians 6:14-16; Romans 5:6-10; and Luke 19:36-40.
- What does Paul mean when he says, “by the cross the world has been crucified to me”?
- What does “glory” mean?
- What does it mean to “glory” in the cross?
- How does the cry of the crowd in Luke 19:38 speak to the glory of the cross?
- How is the cross the Acid Test of the human heart?
- Do you agree that one’s preaching of the cross should offend the natural human heart?
- How does the cross save us from God?
- How does the cross continue to save us from ourselves?
- How is the cross a cosmic event?
See you on Palm Sunday!
