It Is Finished- Part 9

“It is Finished” The Cross

I Corinthians 1:17-18, “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void. For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

Galatians 6:12-15, “Those who desire to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. For those who are circumcised do not even keep the Law themselves, but they desire to have you circumcised so that they may boast in your flesh. But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.”

The world of Paul was quite different from what most of us experience today. These Jewish believers struggled with what to do with the Law. They had been taught it all their lives. There relationship with God was based on it. The Apostle Paul was constantly confronted with the rules and regulations of the Law. Paul understood that our righteousness or our right standing with God was solely based on the cross of Jesus Christ.

Jesus faced this with His disciples. They had sat under His teaching for three years. He brought Peter, James, and John up the mountain and they saw Him transfigured before their eyes as He took on His glory before the cross. They had experience the reality of His deity and His Father’s approval. (Matthew 17). The Father only gave one command at this moment, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; listen to Him!” All they were asked to do was listen to Him. Trust every word that He speaks. Have faith in what He says and step out on what He says. But as we move into Chapter 18 of Matthew we see that these same men were comparing themselves to each other. They were seeing who had done the most, given the most, obeyed the most as to where their ranking would be among the disciples in our Lord’s kingdom. 

It was a works-based righteousness. It was based on being good enough to be at His right hand or left. Listen to Matthew 18:1-5, “At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, ‘Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, ‘Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me.’” The truth of the gospel is found is this scripture…unless you are converted and become like children.

Over the past two weeks we have taken a fresh look at the cross of our Lord Jesus. Our focus was not on the cross itself but on the covenant with the Father that Jesus had made and how we find ourselves in that covenant because of His shed blood and our faith in that finished work. Our righteousness, our right standing with God is not based on what we have done or not done, but it is based on our faith in the cross of our Lord Jesus. Does this mean that we can live anyway we want to and it does not matter? Don’t be deceived. The letters of the Apostle Paul also tell us that the moral Law of God still stands and those who practice immorality will not inherit the kingdom. Jesus taught us that we must become like little children, full of faith and trust in what God says. Children do not care who is in the lead but they watch out for each other and care for each other. They believe what is spoken from those in authority. If our authority is the Lord Jesus, should we not be like a child and believe what He says?

We stand at the cross and all that it means for us. We kneel before it and acknowledge it’s work in our lives. Galatians 2:20-21 captures it well when the Apostle Paul wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”

Are you still working to become good enough for God. Have you finally come to a point where you will let go and die to self will and let the cross have it’s power over your life. It is time to walk with Him in humble obedience like a little child believing what He said is truth from God.

Let’s worship and pray. Father, I thank You and Worship You for Your goodness to us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. I pray for those who have followed these devotions the past two weeks. I ask for their freedom from the bondages of sin. I ask that the power of death would release them in Jesus’ name and that their eyes would be open to a new world where the Holy Spirit leads and Jesus reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords. Fill us fresh with love and grace and the power of the Holy Spirit to be witnesses of Your kingdom. We ask in the precious name of Jesus. Amen.

Dr. Alan Wiggins

Associate Pastor

www.nbcornerstone.com