Three Works Of The Cross
THREE WORKS OF THE CROSS
Gal. 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Introduction: It is clear all over the world that the most prominent symbol of the Christian faith is the cross. The cross is displayed on church steeples, on necklaces, on graves and tombstones, to name just a few. We are so inundated with the symbol of the cross until in many places it is almost entirely secularized. The showing of the cross is far less offensive than the meaning of the cross. Although the meaning and work of the cross are the most powerful messages on earth, many are oblivious of that message. Sadly, many Christians are oblivious of the meaning of the cross. Today I want to launch into a brief message about the meaning of the cross. There are many things I can say about the cross but I want to narrow it down to just three main parts. Our text, Galatians 2:20, mentions three works of the cross – the Substitutionary work of the cross, the Identifying work of the cross and the Sanctifying work of the cross.
I. THE SUBSTITUTIONARY WORK OF THE CROSS
He takes our place!
“And gave Himself for me”
a. God’s Problem: How to forgive sin and punish sin at the same time.
His righteousness demands judgment, yet His mercy wants to pardon. Martin Luther said this was a problem, “worthy of God.”
Rom. 3:25,26 Whom God set forth to be a propitiation, through faith, in his blood, to show his righteousness because of the passing over of the sins done aforetime, in the forbearance of God; 26. for the showing, I say, of his righteousness at this present season: that he might himself be just, and the justifier of him that hath faith in Jesus.
Rom. 2:25,26 (SIM) God offered Christ . When Christ died, this became the way that sins are taken away--if we believe. This showed God's justice, too. God passed over sins which had been committed before this time. 26. God was tolerant, but now, at this present time, to show His justice, He makes a person right who trusts in Jesus, and He is still fair.
b. The Vicarious, Substitutionary work of Christ on the cross solved the problem.
Isa. 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Isa. 53:10,11 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
Matt. 20:28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Psalm 85:10 Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
II. THE IDENTIFYING WORK OF THE CROSS
We share His place!
“I am crucified with Christ”
Romans 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death.
6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him,
Eph. 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Col. 2:20 Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,
3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
3:3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
Illustration: Credit card debt
Christ cancels our debt by taking our place. Henceforth, whenever we accumulate debt (sin) it is charged to His account. He is eternally stuck with the bill! We are no longer debtors to the flesh!
Application: “I reckon so!” Balance your checkbook!
Rom. 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Reckon is logizomai in the Greek. It is an accounting term which means to consider, calculate or reconcile.
God reconciled or balanced the ledger sheet in heaven by making Christ a sin-offering. And he imputed that reconciliation to our account by giving us Christ’s righteousness.
God has balanced the books in heaven. We simply have to keep ours balanced down here!
You cannot improve your condition if you do not know your position.
III. THE SANCTIFYING WORK OF THE CROSS
We become like Him!
“And the life which I now live”
When we gain an understanding of the substitutionary work and the identifying work of the cross, then we can go on to the sanctifying work of the cross.
Sanctification is simply the gradual development of Christ likeness. It is simply living out in everyday life what you profess Spiritually.
Gal. 5:22-25 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23. Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
How can we progressively live more sanctified lives? By applying the cross to our daily lives. Jesus said we are to take up our cross daily.
Matt. 10:37-38 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
38. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
16:24,25 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
25. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
Taking up one’s cross does not mean experiencing hard times, sickness or disappointment. All humanity has to deal with difficulties. A.W. Tozer describes what it means to take up the Cross
...cross is a symbol of death. It stands for the abrupt, violent death of a human being. The man in Roman times who took up his cross and started down the road had already said good-by to his friends. He was not coming back. He was going out to have it ended. The cross made no compromise, modified nothing, spared nothing; it slew all of the man, completely and for good. It did not try to keep on good terms with its victim. It struck cruel and hard, and when it had finished its work, the man was no more.
Application: When the sanctifying work of the cross takes place in the life of a believer, it means goodbye to the old life.
Goodbye in other languages
· Apache Indian – yada lanh
· Croatian – do videnja
· Dutch – hoi
· French – allez ciao
· Hawaiian – aloha
· Japanese – jaa mata
· Russian – poka
· Zulu – sala kahle
· Spanish – hasta la vista
· English - goodbye
Substitution, Identification and Sanctification – Privilege, Place and Practice