Glory in the Cross

The symbol of Judaism is the star of David.  The symbol of Isalm is the crescent.  The symbol of Communism is the sickle and hammer.  The symbol of Christianity is the Cross.  But it is not only the symbol of Christianity; it is the secret of Christianity. We cannot live the Christian life without understanding the power of the Cross in our daily lives. 

In Galatians 6:11-17, Paul describes what it means to glory in the Cross.  All throughout the epistle of Galatians, Paul defended the Gospel (the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ) as the only means for salvation.  He contended with those who wanted to add religious works, such as circumcision, to salvation. These false teachers were minimizing the importance of the Cross of Christ.  In reality, Paul was lifting up and magnifying the Cross, which was the theme of His life and the cornerstone of His preaching, one that brought him much persecution. 

Although he had plenty to boast about, Paul refused to boast in himself at all, but only in the Cross of Jesus.  He was the greatest preacher, the greatest missionary, and wrote more of the Bible than anyone else who had ever lived.  He was the greatest theologian of his day.  If anyone had something to brag about, it was Paul.  Yet, he realized that it was the cross of Christ that had made him the man that he was.

As we learn to glory in the cross, we become less susceptible to the sin of pride.  Religion, with its human achievement, appeals to the flesh of man. The message of the Cross is that man is a sinner and that he cannot save himself.  That doesn't do anything for man's egotistical flesh. Religion compels men to glory in their religious activity, yet  Paul explained that we are saved by grace, not by works "lest any man should boast." (Eph. 2:9)

The Jewish Pharisees were always boasting about what they had done.  The Pharisee who prayed in the Temple in Luke 18 bragged about all he had done. However, when one glories in the Cross of Christ, it works to bring about humility in us, rather than devilish pride. 

Scripture warns us that "pride goeth before destruction" and that "God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble."  (Prov. 6:18; 1 Peter 5:5) As we glory in the Cross, we are reminded that if there is anything good in us, it is because of the transforming power of the Cross.

Glorying in the cross helps us overcome the evil system of this present world as well.  In Galatians 6:14, Paul said "But God forbid that I should glory save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world was crucified unto me, and I unto the world."  The message of the cross is that you are to turn your back on the world and its sinful lifestyle.  If you turn to Christ, you have to turn from the world and sin.  We use to sing, "I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back.  The world behind me, the cross before me...."   That is the message of the Cross. 

To be crucified to the world means to be dead to the world. You can tempt a dead corpse with sin, yet he will not give into it.   Paul was saying that he was dead to all those worldly allurements.  That is what happens when we accept the message of the Cross and glory in it - we die to our old life of sin.  It is hard to praise Jesus for what He did on the Cross while engaging in a sinful act of disobedience.

It is the power of the Cross, not religion, that helps us overcome the world.  I have heard it said, "Religion can put new clothes on a man, but salvation will put a new man in His clothes."  That is the power of the Cross. 

Glorying in the Cross will help us be unashamed of Jesus.  Paul said in Galatians 6:17 that he bore in his body the marks of the Cross.  He had been beaten numerous times for preaching the message of the Cross.  These marks identified him as belonging to Christ, just as a slave had a mark engraved into their skin to identify them with their Master.

We should live each day glorying in the Cross and suffering the reproach that comes from doing so.  Many Christians stop taking a stand at the first hint of ridicule.  May God help us to not to be ashamed of Jesus today and everyday! Let's glory in the Cross of Christ and not in ourselves.  Let's confess our sin of pride and realize anything good about us is due to the work of Christ on the Cross.  Let's make a conscious decision to turn from the world and sin to Christ in total allegiance.