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Do Not Love the World
“But may it not be for me to boast if it is not in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”—Galatians 6:14
The cross of Christ is not a simple stop on the road of life, but it is the very road to life. Jesus did not stop at telling the Christian simply to take up their cross, but he commanded that they follow. Too many people think that the “taking up” is the most important thing. They might struggle to lift the burden, but once it is squarely upon their shoulders, they say, “enough of that,” and promptly drop the burden on the dirt. This is not the way that Christ has set before us. Yes, we must heft the cross that the Lord calls us to bear, but we must carry that cross, following Jesus. It will not be a pleasant load, for sure. There will be times when the splinters and the knots of the wood will dig deeply into your exposed back. You will be made to carry it across rough fields, potholes, dense brush, and the like. But even in the most difficult, painful, and unpleasant times, it will be a sweet load to bear, for it is the load of your savior.
Before I became a Christian, I gloried in the world. In fact, I went out of my way to draw attention to myself. I would do wilder and wilder stunts and gimmicks as if to say “look at me!” Some of these things were quite silly and foolish, but many were downright shameful. Not only was there no good within me, but I paraded and gloried in that which was detestable. The problem that arose when I became a believer was not one of grieving over my past wicked ways, but of putting those ways behind me, and not looking back.
This is the way of all believers. It is not good enough to simply confess that you have sinned and then go on living like a pagan; repentance means to turn around. Sadly, in my own life, there have been many when I have stumbled under the weight of trial and temptation. My heart has followed the example of Lot’s wife, looking back and longing for what I cannot have.
A pastor friend of mine once argued that the reason that Christians hold onto their sins so long is that human nature makes us hold on to things until they are too painful to grasp. We are like children reaching for the stove. At first we might receive a simple, “no” or a hand slap. But as we persist in trying to reach for the stove, the discipline becomes much more severe. This is not because our parents take joy in disciplining us, but it is because they want to prevent us from being burned severely. Sometimes the Holy Spirit’s fire of sanctification may seem too much to bear, but the sting of spiritual discipline will mature us where the fire of sin will consume.
So often, we find we are greatly tempted to look back fondly at the life God has saved us from. When that happens, let us remember well that the life God saved us from may seem sweet to the memory, but was only filled with bitterness once it passed the tongue. Let us be a people who live for their Lord; who keep eyes focused on the finish-line of heaven; and who never look back at our forsaken sins.
Shouts and Whispers
“But may it not be for me to boast if it is not in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”—Galatians 6:14
“I know of nothing so wonderful in the whole world today [than the cross]. That is why I do not preach topical sermons, I have something to tell you that is worth listening to!”
-D.M. Lloyd-Jones
I am going to gripe just a bit to get it out of my system—accept my apologies in advance. The question that I have is this. How many preachers can claim, with Dr. Lloyd-Jones, that they have something to say that is worth listening to? And if they do, why are so many of them being silent about it? When there is a report of an incoming tornado, the radios buzz with noise. When a major event happens in our community, not only is the grapevine buzzing, but it is announced in the streets with excitement. But what greater thing is there to announce or to hear than the news of the cross?
Why is this? Do we as Christians not have an urgent message to proclaim? Do we consider ministry something that is only done by trained professionals? Does the message of the cross of Christ weary us? Is it too inconvenient to take the time to share the Gospel with someone you have met? If this is the case, I say shame on you. We ought to leap with joy at the opportunity to share the good news of Jesus Christ!
I do not mean to disparage my brothers in ministry or in the church. I love them and I love you dearly. And there are many who are going out of their way to serve God both locally and elsewhere. It is not these that I gripe about, but it is those who wish to see the fruit of God’s blessing without being willing to plant in the spring. Yes, this is one of my soap-boxes. My wife tries to hide them from me, but I usually find them without difficulty. Some may think that I am a bit off my rocker, wanting the Gospel preached to every person in the city which I live and in the world which God has set me in. But, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the life-blood of the church. Without it, she dies. My prayer is that each of us would take the standard of the cross and raise it high in our lives. May it be seen from Jackson to Matherville, from Mississippi to Maryland, and from America to every corner of the earth! Yet, as far as it may reach, it needs to start with our own lives as Christians. We have a message to tell, and it is a wonderful one. The question that we must ask ourselves is whether or not we believe it is wonderful enough to step out and share.
The Cross: Lifeline or Lodestone
“But may it not be for me to boast if it is not in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”—Galatians 6:14
“The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is either an offence to us or else it is a thing above everything else in which we glory… These are the only two positions—offence, or glory.” D.M. Lloyd-Jones
Sadly, the cross in our society has become more of an ornament than it is a symbol of our Lord’s passion and our redemption. People have taken that old rugged cross, sanded out all of the burs and splinters, added some decorative beveling to the corners, stained it, and coated it with eight careful coats of polyurethane. The resultant cross is something beautiful to behold with the eye but has lost all traces of the savior who had hung there. The resultant cross is something that can be casually dangled from the neck for good luck but does little to remind us just what our salvation cost.
While many Christians do not wear a cross for this reason, which is ultimately idolatry, I prefer to wear, a cross. Yet, when I wear a cross around my neck, I see it as a brand of ownership, always reminding me to whom I belong. According to Levitical Law, when a slave is freed, if he chooses to remain a slave in the service of his master, his master is to take him into a doorpost and drive an awl through his ear (presumably to add a stud or ring) as a sign of that permanent ownership (Deuteronomy 15). While I do not suggest that all Christians to enlist their pastors to start driving awls through their ears, the principle is the same. I see the cross as a sign of ownership. My slavery to Christ cannot and will not be rescinded.
The bottom line is, though, that there is no middle ground when it comes to your understanding of the cross. You either glory in it–as it is and for what it is–or you hate it and all that it stands for. When you hate it, you are prone to cover it up and smooth it over, making it more acceptable to your sensibilities. The problem is that God is not concerned about our sensibilities. We must conform our lives to the image of God, not attempt to conform God to our image.
Before I came to seminary, I served as an interim pastor of two small Methodist churches in the country. One of those churches, in their sanctuary, had what I considered to be the most elegant cross that I have ever seen. It was made from rough-cut fence-post lumber and lashed together. The cross was rough, full of splinters, the beams were not symmetrical or completely straight, and it looked as if it had weathered a thousand storms. To me, it was a thing of beauty. Why? Because it was a constant reminder of the cost my savior paid for my soul. The cross will be either our lifeline or our lodestone in this sea of the world; there is no “neutral buoyancy” anywhere within it.
The Wondrous Cross
“But may it not be for me to boast if it is not in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”—Galatians 6:14
“The Cross is the strength of the minister. I, for one, would not be without it for the world. I should feel like a soldier without weapons, like an artist without his pencil, like a pilot without his compass, like a laborer without his tools. Let others, if they will, preach the law and morality. Let others hold forth the terrors of hell and the joys of heaven. Let others drench their congregations with teachings about the sacraments and the church. Give me the cross of Christ. This is the only lever which has ever turned the world upside down hitherto and made men forsake their sins. And if this will not do it, nothing will. A man may begin preaching with a perfect knowledge of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew; but he will do little or no good among his hearers unless he knows something of the cross. Never was there a minister who did much for the conversion of souls who did not dwell much on Christ crucified. Luther, Rutherford, Whitefield, M’Cheyne were all most eminent preachers of the cross. This is the preaching that the Holy Ghost delights to bless. He loves to honor those who honor the cross.” -J.C. Ryle
After preaching at the homeless shelter regularly for about three or four months I began to become frustrated. I was constantly facing the same kind of issues and failures in the lives of the men. I felt as if we had dealt with this or that issue in a previous sermon and now we should be able to move on. To be fair, there is a lot of turnover at the shelter, so we dealt with many new people all of the time, but the real problem was not in the men, the real problem was with me. My pride was telling me many things, but ultimately my pride was telling me that my preaching was about what I was interested in and not about what these men needed. When pride finds its way into preaching, the cross is the first thing that gets left out.
If the cross is not at the center of my life and my message, it means that I have forgotten how truly wonderful a gift and message the cross is. As Paul, we ought to revel in the cross. We are not to minimize it, spiritualize it, turn it into a decoration, or to apologize for it. The cross is our hope! As ugly and wretched as that cross was, it is the center for the most magnificent and wondrous gift that could ever be given, and was given for me. Without the cross, it is only judgment and condemnation that lies in my path.
As I struggled with this idea and with my pride, I ran into a quote from Charles Spurgeon. Spurgeon described the Bible as a roadmap of the area around London. He challenged someone to show him a road that did not lead, even if the path were circuitous, into the heart of London. The man could find none. “The Bible, too,” Spurgeon said, “is like that map. Every verse in scripture either points to or is a direct result of the work of Jesus Christ. And if in your preaching you do not point clearly toward Christ, directing your congregation to follow the map, then you have wasted everyone’s time.” Christ is not only to be at the heart of our preaching, he is what motivates preaching, drives our preaching home in the hearts of our congregation, and he is the very reason that our congregation is drawn to worship in the first place.
And for the cross of Christ to be the center of a preacher’s message, the cross must be the center of his life. And while this message is essential for the preacher to learn, it is also a message that is essential for the life of every Christian. The cross is our only source of hope; it is the bridge through which sinful man can be brought into relationship with a holy God; it is the roadmap through which eternal life may be found; and it is the standard for the church today—a church in the wilderness, looking to it to be spared death. The cross of Christ means salvation and if it is not the center of the life of the Christian, then whatever is will likely lead him astray.
We sing of the “Wondrous Cross” of Christ in worship, but do we take the time to ponder the wonder of the cross and what happened on that day, nearly 2000 years ago. Do we simply see the cross at a point in history or do we glory in it as the apostle did? My fear is that we don’t. As we ponder the cross of Christ, let us remember that God did not have to do what he did for us, yet he chose to send his son to die on the cross that those who would call on the name of Jesus would be saved from eternal damnation. We do not deserve what he did on that frightful day, but let us proclaim God’s glory that he did.
When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of Glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
-Isaac Watts
Reverence, the Image of God, and Politics
“revere all, love the brotherhood, fear God, revere the king.”
(1 Peter 2:17)
Reverence is a term that we hardly ever apply to life anymore, especially not toward others and even more especially not toward the king (or president and governors…). Reverence denotes placing a high value on someone’s head. For example, if someone shows you a priceless book, perhaps an original manuscript of Milton’s Paradise Lost that contains Milton’s own handwriting and notes, you would treat it with far more deference than you would a paperback science fiction novel. The reason that you treat it with reverence is because of the inherent value of the item.
Yet what Peter is telling us first in this verse is that other humans ought to be treated with reverence. Why? Because they are created by God and your attitude toward them is part of the way you witness Jesus Christ to them. It may be that it is your reverence toward your neighbor that guides him to salvation.
This has a great deal of ramifications in our lives today. First, it means that we must take other’s needs very seriously, even when they may seem silly or insignificant to us. For example, we might think it silly to wear gloves while handling a book. Yet, if that book is ancient, the oils on our hands can damage the manuscript. We might not understand the ways and reasons that our neighbor does what he or she does, but we need to treat those ways with dignity and respect.
This is very much the idea the Paul is getting at in 1 Corinthians where he is talking about food ways and stumbling blocks. If what you are doing would cause your brother to stumble, cease doing it. You cease not for your own sake, but for the sake of the other person’s faith. This is what it means to revere a person.
And if you take seriously the idea of revering a person simply on the basis of their being a human being, which God has made in His image, that puts abortion in a different perspective. No longer can you justify abortion on the basis of a mother’s “rights to her body,” but you must deny abortion out of reverence toward that little child. It puts euthanasia in a different light as well. It puts the care of the homeless, the disabled, the homebound, the elderly in nursing homes, and the nameless people you pass on the bus, at the grocery store, etc…, all of these people, in a different light. Each of these not only should be treated with dignity because they bear the image of God, but you who understand these things, now have an obligation to respect and to preserve their dignity. Indeed, you may even be given the opportunity to show someone that they do have dignity for the first time in their life. You may have the opportunity to restore that person’s sense of dignity after they have had it stripped violently from them. The Imago Dei brings a dignity to humans that has nothing to do with what they have produced or accomplished—it has nothing to do with their wealth or their bloodline—it has everything to do with whose image they bear.
Peter frames this verse with a second call to reverence. Not only must we show reverence toward all people, but we must show reverence toward our political leaders. It is easy to revere those politicians that we support, but what about those with whom we disagree? We tend to be quick to criticize and make personal attacks against those running for or within public office, but is that right? Was Peter only referring to those benevolent political leaders? The Caesar of Peter’s day was Nero. Nero went out of his way to execute Christians through horrible means. Nero would later take Peter’s life as well. This is hardly what I would call a beneficial leader. In fact, thinking of some of the worst leaders we have had, most pale in comparison to Nero.
Encapsulated within the bookends of reverence is a love for the brethren and a fear of God. This is the heart of the Christian life. But Peter reminds us that the flesh of the Christian life, that which the world can see and by which the world evaluates us and the God which we serve, is the reverence by which we deal with the world. This is the means by which we publicly live out our faith in the face of a watching world. Does not James say the same thing about pure and undefiled religion (James 1:27)?
Gethsemane
Oh how sober a garden that must have been. Here Jesus has come just prior to his arrest at the hands of the children of the Serpent; he has been betrayed by one of his twelve; he will soon be denied by Peter, the leader of the twelve; and abandoned, at least for a while, by all of the rest (John and the women make their way to the cross). Jesus is intentional. They have come into this garden so that he can retreat from the world and pray, seeking strength and an internally unified approach to the passion that was to come. Peter, James, and John, he has taken to the side to pray on his behalf as he seeks the Lord’s face.
There are many things that we can learn from this passage; a few are worth noting:
1) For the Christian, when preparing to face great trial, prayer must be our primary retreat. Here, even Jesus, the very Lord of Creation is seeking his father’s face. Oh, how we make a mess of this principle. Prayer so often is our last resort, when for the Christian it must be our first. Look here, dear Christian, if the Lord of the heavens needs to pray for strength before trials, then how much more do we, the frail and sinful, need that same prayer.
2) Jesus shows us the value of intercessory prayer. Here Jesus has taken three of his trusted apostles to the side. Jesus continues on to pray for a spell and leaves the three of them to wait. What, dear Christian, do you think that they were meant to be doing while Jesus prayed? If they were meant to be chatting about the day’s events in Jerusalem or swapping jokes, then why was Jesus so upset when they chose to take a catnap? No, these three were meant to be praying for Jesus that he would have strength to lift his prayers and burdens before his father. Brethren, do you want to know who your faithful friends are? It is those brothers and sisters who agonize with you in prayer before the father’s throne.
3) Times and trial and tribulation can cause us to have great internal struggles of faith, but disunity of spirit and body will cause us to stumble. Our Lord had two natures, a human one and a divine one. His petitions before the Lord were partly out of a desire to approach the coming suffering with the assurance of a unified witness. His human nature would not fail him, but would be faithful to the divine will. It is times when we are filled with indecision that we fail in our appointed task. As terribly important as Jesus’ next days were, not merely to his mighty work, but to the very future of mankind, Jesus was aligning his human and divine natures together for this task.
Yet what strikes me about this passage is how sad a place the garden must have been that night. There was a time that the Garden would have been a place for celebration and joy amongst the olive trees, but that night was quite different. Oh, the weight, not only of the task ahead, but of disappointment in his faithful apostles for their lack of faith even after all they had seen.
It must have taken Jesus back to another garden, Eden, recalling the disappointment that must have been felt at the time of the fall of our first parents. That garden as well was turned from a place of joy into a place of sadness. How often we do this with the gardens of blessing in our own lives. We take the gifts of God for granted and we bring sin into those gifts. We bring sin into our homes, or jobs, and our families. And we bring sin into our churches. Psalm 128 paints a picture of the blessing of work, family, and Church fellowship that God gives to those who fear him; we bring sin into all of these areas.
That same psalm describes our children as olive shoots. I want to be careful about how the analogy it draws, so as not to spiritualize the connection of olive shoots and the mature garden of Gethsemane, but it is worth noting the garden imagery. As with any garden, olive shoots need care and they need a strong fence to support them as they mature. If they do not have that fence to support and mold them, the shoots will creep across the ground and quickly become diseased, rotten, and die.
The sadness of Gethsemane came as a result of our sin. Adam and Eve sinned and fell, and Jesus, in this next garden, is preparing for the task of making right that which we made so wrong. As he leaves his time of prayer, he does so with a renewed determination. Notice that Jesus does not hide from the people coming to arrest him; he does not seek out just a few more minutes of prayer. He lays his prayer before his father three times and then, with renewed determination sets forward and presents himself to the children of darkness. It is as if he is saying, “let’s do it…” and entering into the belly of the beast—offering his life before them. And this he does on that lonely cross.
Loved ones, this was a path we could not walk; yet, Christ walked it so that we might not have to. This is the promise of the Gospel—we who deserve death are offered life and he who is the Lord of Life went to his death on our behalf. What wonder that this should raise in our heart, what amazement it should birth in our souls, yet how often we go through this time of the year thinking only of our own desires and wants. For you who are already trusting in Christ, let this Passion Week renew your adoration of and commitment to the Lord of your life; for those who are suffering in your own futile struggle against sin and guilt, know that Christ offers life—come to him and live!
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