The Cross

Introduction: The greatest event in human history is the death of our Saviour upon that old rugged cross. I didn’t say the cross of Christ because the cross was the sinner’s cross and Christ had none. In our text, the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. There is no real knowledge apart from the cross. At the cross man comes to the knowledge of self and God. The cross immediately confronts him with human sin and divine love. The songwriter says, "It was at the cross, where I first saw the light." At the cross there is not casting out, as the tree of Eden. This tree is not to test our faith but to receive it. It does not cast us out of Eden, but opens the way for our return. The wonders of the cross forshadowed the types and the figures of the past. Was it not the wood that enabled Noah to escape the flood of Divine wrath? Or the rod of Moses which changed water into blood, swallowed up the false serpents of Pharoah’s magicians, divided the sea at one stroke and restored it to its normal course. Abraham foreshadowed the cross when he bound his son and placed him on a pile of wood. By the cross death was slain and Adam restored to life. The hymnologist, John Stains writes; "The cross of Jesus, cross of sorrow, where the blood of Christ was shed. Perfect man on thee did suffer, Perfect God on thee has bled! Here the King of all the ages, Throned in light ere world could be, Robed in mortal flesh is dying, Crucified by sin for me. On the cross, God was punish for man’s sin. Man commited the sin and inflicted the punishment. At the cross we man at his worst and God at His best. It is where light meets darkness and revealed Satan’s vices and God’s victory. Come with me, to Calvary and consider the following:

First, The Cause of the Cross.

A. The position of sinner. (Without Christ)

B. The punishment of sin. (Death)

C. The providence of God.(Purpose)

Secondly, The Characters of the Cross.

A. Convicts

B. Critics

C. Compassionate

D. Choice

E. Chance

F. Coerce

G. Crucifiers

H. Crucified

Third, The Christ of the Cross.

A. One sacrifice

B. One sinless

C. One Saviour

D. One slain

E. One sovereign

Fourth, The Callousness of the Cross.

A. They stripped Him.

B. They scourged Him.

C. They spit upon Him.

D. They scorned Him.

Fifth, The Changes of the Cross.

A. The convict became a convert (Thief)

B. The critic became callous. (The other thief)

C. The compassionate became convinced. (The women)

D. Those there by choice became confounded. (Gamblers)

E. Those there by chance became comformers. (Passover crowd)

F. The coerce became a comrade (Simon)

G. The Crucifiers became the captivated. (Centurion)

H. The Crucified became the Conquerors. (Christ)

Sixth, The Conquest of the Cross.

A. Sin destroyed.

B. Satan defeated.

C. Sinners delivered.

D. Salvation declared.

Seventh, The Comfort of the Cross.

A. Conciliation

B. Cancellation

C. Consummation

Conclusion: The only thing that will save this world is the cross of Jesus. It is not enough to know religion. It is not enough to know Christianity. It is not enough to be Baptist, Catholic etc. It is not enough to know the gifts. Nothing will be enough until we know the cross and Him crucified.

May God Richly Bless You with all spirittual blessings.

Pastor Rodney L. Johnson Sr.,