I Corinthians 1:18-25

The Cross in Which We Glory

Many of you may know that we are in currently in the midst of Confirmation Classes here at our church. This is when we take youth from ages 12 and up through a time of learning about their faith and hopefully, at the end of that process, they will choose to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and serve him through this church.

During one of our weeks, we talk about some of the symbols of our faith. We have many symbols that try to communicate the mystery and the majesty of our faith. But as Christians, there is one image that is at the heart of all we do here, and that is the Cross. And today, as we prepare to come to the Lord’s Table, I want us to spend a few moments reflecting upon “The Cross in which we glory”.

When the Apostle Paul began his mission of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ across the known world, they called him “a fool”, because: His only weapon against the power of the Roman Empire; his only tool against the great knowledge of Hellenistic thought; the only symbol of hope offered for the persecution of those who dared to call themselves Christian; his only means of evangelizing a world that had put Jesus to death was the very thing upon which it appeared evil had won … the Cross!

The Romans laughed at him. The great scholars of his day considered him to be a lunatic. The common people called him a fool. But Paul relished in the idea that he could be called “a fool for Christ”.

“The Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom,” Paul said, “but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.” Indeed, “the message about the cross is foolishness to those who perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the very power of God!” Therefore, Paul says, “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.”

In order to bring the world of his day to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, this is what the Apostle Paul preached … the message of the Cross ... how God so loved this world, that He gave his only Son, Jesus Christ, to die so that we might have life.

You know, there was a time when the nation that we live in was considered to be a Christian nation. From the top levels of our government; to prayer in our schools; to the way our communities scheduled their weekly activities … our lives centered around a belief in God and a respect for Christian values. But that world doesn’t exist anymore. Christianity is fast becoming a minority perspective in this country. We in the church need to wake up to the fact that we are now in “a situation of mission”, much like the days of the Apostle Paul and the Early Christian Church. And I believe that if we are going to reach those who are outside the Kingdom of God with the saving knowledge of Jesus, like Paul, we’re going to have to focus on one message … on one weapon for the battle, and that is “the message of the Cross.” To the world around us, it may seem a little foolish, but “to those of us who are being saved, we know it to be the very power of God.”

What is the message of the Cross? This is something I think every one of us as Christians ought to know and be prepared to share with another. So, I want to invite you to write down four words that I believe contain the essential message of the Cross. Hopefully you can use these four words, next time you have the opportunity to be a witness to someone. They all begin with the letter “H” to help you remember them.

First of all, when we look to the Cross, the Cross reminds us of is the horror of our sins. The most horrible event in human history took place on the Cross. One of the worst horror scenes ever viewed, was the nailing of the Son of God to that old, rugged cross. The inhumane brutality of it is enough to weaken any of our stomachs. It seems that more and more people are into watching these horror movies these days. Every time I go to Blockbuster, I see the shelves full of them. But those same people find it difficult to watch Mel Gibson’s movie, “The Passion”, which depicts the crucifixion of Jesus. And I think the reason why, is that all the blood and guts they see on those horror movies, they know is not real. But the crucifixion of Jesus happened to a real person, and the horror of it is difficult to watch.

And what also makes it so horrendous, is the fact that Jesus was innocent! He didn’t deserve to die in such a way. Even Pontius Pilate found no reason that he should be put to death. Yet, he was nailed to that cross, because of our sins.

In our recent sermon series, we took a look at the various understandings of the Atonement … how we make sense of Jesus’ suffering and death. But the bottom line is that we as human beings did this to the Son of God. And so, to look at the Cross is to be reminded of the horror of our sins. The Cross reminds us of just how far humanity is willing to go in its sin … and it’s not a pretty sight. The Cross of Jesus Christ puts a mirror in front of us and it exposes the horror of our sinful nature … the fact that there is something broken within us.

Yet, the love of God is so great, that “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Therefore, the Cross is also a reminder of the heart of God’s love. People, if you want a picture of what the heart of God looks like, all you have to do is look at the Cross.

In Stroudsburg, PA there is a tomb to an unknown soldier who died fighting the Civil War. It is said that when Abraham Lincoln heard about this man, he had these words inscribed on the tombstone: “Abraham Lincoln’s Substitute. He died that I might live.” Well, when I look at the Cross, what I see is “Ricky Willis’ substitute.” And this is what you are meant to see as well, because Jesus died in our place, that we might have the forgiveness of our sins and the promise of eternal life.

As human beings, there is no way that we can fully comprehend the heart of God … but when we look at the Cross, we get a pretty good idea. And let us be clear, God does not love us “because” Jesus died for us. Rather, Jesus died for us because “God first loved us”. So, when we look at the Cross, we’re looking at the heart of God … the supreme expression of God’s love for us..

Thirdly, the Cross is the herald of God’s power. The Cross “heralds” …it “proclaims” the good news of God’s power in this world.

In Confirmation Class, the question always comes up, “Why do some churches have crosses with Jesus still hanging on the cross, but ours are always empty?” This is a difference in emphasis between Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches. Both are important. One emphasizes the suffering heart of God, which should move us toward repentance. The Empty Cross “heralds” the good news that there is a power beyond all the powers we know in this world! A power that overcomes even death!

My favorite passage in the Bible comes from Romans 8, where Paul makes the declaration: “If God is for us, then who can be against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will He not also give us all things with him?” “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

This is the message that is “heralded” by the Empty Cross … that “there is nothing, not even death,” that can stop God from fulfilling His will in this world. What the world raised up as a symbol of defeat, God turned into a symbol of victory! And God continues to demonstrate this power over and over again, even today. Turning broken dreams into new directions. Redeeming the evil of this world to fulfill his purposes. As Joseph said to his brothers who had sold him into slavery, “You meant this for evil, but God used it for good.” Such is the power of the God we worship.

So, the Cross is the herald of God’s power, therefore, the Cross is also the hope for our lives.

You know, for Paul, the real fools of this world were those who placed their hopes in the deceptions and empty promises of this world. In his letter to Timothy he says, “Instruct those who are rich in this world that they should not set their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God, who richly supplies all of our needs in Christ Jesus.”

And I have discovered this to be true. Because when I sit beside those who are facing their final days of life, I never hear regrets about spending more time at the office or wishing they could have accumulated more. What people want to know when they come to the end of their lives is: “Is the message of the Cross true?” Because, ultimately this is our hope!

The Cross enables us to look into the face of death and to know with confidence “that there is nothing that can separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus.” “So where is your sting, O death? Where is your victory?” The Cross enables us to face uncertain days and to hold on in the midst of the storms of life with “a peace that passes all understanding”, because we know that God is going to have the final word and that his goodness is going to triumph. The message of the Cross is one of hope, unlike anything this world has to offer.

So the cross in which we glory, is our symbol of witness to the Horror of our sins; the Heart of God’s love; It is the Herald of God’s power; and it is the Hope for our lives. So today, as we come to the Lord’s Table, let us look to the Cross of Jesus. Let us confess the horror of our sins. Let us receive God’s heart of grace. And let us claim God’s power in our lives, so that we can rise with the hope of God to share with the world around us.