Him Crucified:
“For I determined not to know
anything among you, except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.”
-1 Corinthians 2:2
Oswald Chambers said, “The effect of
the Cross is salvation, sanctification, healing, etc., but we are not to preach
any of these, we are to preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”
Why?
Preaching salvation, sanctification,
healing, etc., do nothing to rapture the depraved soul from the gates of Hell;
on the contrary they do quite the opposite and encourage the Lost to go on in
sin. In Romans 6 we gain some insight as
to why Paul was ‘determined not to know anything’ except Jesus Christ and Him
crucified, and why Oswald said that we are not to preach the benefits of
Christ, but to preach Him crucified…
“…don’t you know
that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?”
Crucifixion means
death. Apart from Christ’s crucifixion
there would have been no perfect sacrifice on our behalf, and without that substitution,
i.e. Jesus taking our place and the punishment we all deserve, there would be
no hope for universally fallen, depraved, and sin-riddled humanity.
Paul goes on to
note, “We were therefore buried with him (Christ) through baptism into death in
order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the
Father, we too may live a new life.”
There is no new
life in Christ apart from our “baptism into death.” That baptism ‘into death’ is the denial of our
entitlements, our will, and our sense of deservedness. It is only then that we can truly follow
Christ into those baptismal waters of rejuvenation through the power of the
Holy Spirit and “live a new life,” one of hope and victory in Christ.
Paul concludes
Romans chapter six with a profound and joyful hymn of praise, “For the wages of
sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The brutality of
the Cross is transformed into an eternal hymn of praise through the economy of
God. Satan, sin, and death are defeated
and we are invited back into the fold of God exclusively through the Cross of
Christ.
This Christmas
season may you find the joy and peace of Christ, which only comes through His
crucifixion at the Cross. The Cross is
the reason He was born in that animal stall.
The visitors from the East knew this truth and not only brought Him gold
to hail Jesus as our eternal king… not only frankincense to hail Him as our
eternal High Priest… but they also brought myrrh to hail Him as our crucified
Savior.
“On coming to the house, they saw
the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then
they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense
and myrrh” (Matthew 2:11).
Consider why Jesus
came and died this Christmas season, and may the Cross of Christ forever fill
you with grace, joy, hope, thanksgiving, and praise to Him who alone is worthy.
Blessings,
-Kevin
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