THE CROSS OF CALVARY.

THE CROSS OF CALVARY.

Jesus died on the cross of Cavary to deliver us from sin.

That fact has been firmly established in our traditions and is a spiritual reality to believers.

The cross has also delivered us from self.

That is much more of a problem for believers.

This too is an established Scriptural fact, but regretfully, has become a reality in the lives of few believers.

What it takes for this truth to become an experiential reality in the lives of believers, that is what this message attempts to explain.

The cross has not only delivered us from the guilt of sinful deeds,

The cross has, more importantly, delivered us from what we were.

We were sinners, not as a result of sinful deeds, we were sinners because of our sinful nature, inherited from our forefather Adam, Rom.5:12.

Rom.6:3 tells us that God baptised, immersed us in Jesus, he made us part of him, our sinful, corrupted nature and all.

And he became part of us, he became sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him, II Cor.5:21.

God united us with Jesus, so that when he was crucified, we were crucified with him, along with our sinful nature.

All of this is confirmed to us in Gal.2:20 I was crucified with Christ ....... .

But ...... since we fully shared in Christ’s death, we also fully share in His resurrection, Rom.6 : 5.

Truly, the old has been done away with and the new has come, II Cor.5:17.

The new spiritual nature of the children of God is a present reality, even as the resurrection of Christ is a present reality.

So how does the new spiritual nature express itself in daily living? There are many aspects of this, but let us take Eph. 4: 22-24 as our example.

It says : That, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self…. and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. (NAS.)

And then follows a whole list of things not to do any longer if one is to be serious about laying aside the old self and putting on the new self.

Like : Do not lie or steal, do not be bitter or angry, or gossip, etc.

In short, not only read or hear the law, do as it tells you to do.

That would in effect be putting on the new man according to the old system of law.

Now any child of God who has ever seriously tried to do all this, knows very well that failure is the order of the day.

Those are the people who agree with Rom. 7:18 …..for the willing is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not.

And the personal admission of failure is meant to bring us back to Jesus: You know Lord, you ask me to put on the new man.

Well, I have failed, I am an utter failure at living a life of obedience, even though I am supposed to have a new, spiritual nature.

If you want me to put on the new self, then would you please do it, because I am giving up trying right now.

The putting on of the new man is a work of the Holy Spirit in us, rather than the result of effort on our part.

Do with me whatever it takes, make me what you want me to be.

This in effect is taking up our cross and following Jesus.

This is what Jesus prayed in the garden: Father, not my will, but yours.

Jesus allowed himself to be stripped of His dignity, authority, protection, friends, possessions, rights, priviledges, even of His very life.

When we give God permission to re-shape us into the image of His Son to this extend, He may put circumstances in motion to strip us of our self-confidence, our self-sufficiency, our self-righteousness, our possessions, our health, anything that we put our trust in above our trust in God.

This is what it means to share in the fellowship of His sufferings, Phil.3:10.

The first time we met the cross of Jesus we found forgiveness of our sin.

This is the second time we meet up with the cross.

Now it is our cross as well, in the sense that we will actually experience suffering in order to be delivered from self, in order that we might live unto God and not ourselves.

This is a hard message, but an absolute pre-requisite for knowing Jesus as our very life and experiencing the power of His resurrection, Phil.3:10.

That we would be willing to suffer the loss of everything in order to gain Him who is Life and peace, Phil.3:8.

The dispair that the children of God experience the day that they admit failure at living the Christian life, is ordained of God, who will now go to work to bring a glorious new day to those who are so painfully aware of their failure at living a Godly life.

The way of the cross of Jesus is a part of that journey, it cannot be avoided.

The children of God who have had this experience are the ones who know what it is to pass through the valley of the shadow of death,Ps. 23:5.

They are also the ones who will feast at God’s table in the presence of their enemies and they shall also dwell in the house of the Lord forever, the house of the Lord being the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom we live and move and have our being, Acts 17:28.

These are the redeemed of the Lord who shall return (from living after the flesh) and come with singing into Zion, and everlasting joy shall be upon their head, they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and morning shall flee away, Is. 55:11.

Only those children of God who have been there understand these verses to their greatest extend.

They possess a peace that passes understanding, even in the most difficult circumstances. They wait upon the Lord, their strength has been exchanged for His strength, they mount up with wings as of eagles, they run and do not become weary, they walk and do not faint, Is. 40:31.

Conversely, this message will have little to say to those children of God who are reasonably satisfied that God is pleased with their performance at living the Christian life the way they are living it.

These dear people have skipped Rom.7:18 and their lives are characterized by Rom.8:5a.

And because Rom.7:18 is being skipped, these folks also do not progress to Rom.7: 24 and 25a and Rom. 8:1 and 2.

Often they are so pre-occupied with overcoming the truth of Rom.7:23 that the following verses escape their attention altogether.

The cross of Calvary ....... deliverance from sin and deliverance from self, Rom.7:25a.

St. Thomas. June’08, Revised March/’11. Simon VanderKooy.