“Keep Me Near the Cross” 1 Corinthians 2:1-2 10/08/2006 Dr. Dane Boyles

Keep Me Near the Cross Perhaps the most familiar of all Christian symbols is the cross. Crosses are everywhere. But what do they mean? Historically the cross meant death and suffering as a cruel means of execution. Is that why we embrace the cross?

Keep Me Near the Cross No not at all! The cross means much more than that. 18 … to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Cor 1:18)  It means life rather than death.  It means love rather than hatred.

Keep Me Near the Cross  It means joy rather than sorrow. 19 …God was reconciling the world to himself…, not counting men’s sins against them. (2 Cor 5:19) »An amazing accomplishment, and one that only He could do!

Keep Me Near the Cross In 1 Corinthians Paul deals with… his apostleship false teachers immorality marriage idolatry worship the resurrection

Keep Me Near the Cross But that which resolves every one of these issues is Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 1 When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. (1 Cor 2:1-2)

Keep Me Near the Cross  The Cross Provides Simplicity in a Complex World. To those who think themselves wise by human standards Paul’s message is foolishness. But Paul was a brilliant scholar.  He could have awed them with critical logic and superior wisdom.

Keep Me Near the Cross  But Paul’s goal wasn’t just intellectual assent.  To get faith, Paul preached Jesus and Him crucified.  The message of the Cross strips away everything else and get us back to brasstacks.  It forces us to see ourselves as lost and in need of a Savior.

Keep Me Near the Cross Does anyone believe that life is simpler now than it was 25 years ago?  With all of the advancements comes a price…life is more complex now than it has ever been.

Keep Me Near the Cross We must have something that grounds us and reminds us what is really important.  That’s the simplicity of Cross!  If we see life through the lens of the cross, everything is simplified.  What really matters comes into focus.

Keep Me Near the Cross It is impossible to overestimate the importance of the cross of Jesus Christ.  Christ’s words from the cross 34 …“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)

Keep Me Near the Cross  Christ’s words about the cross.  The biblical doctrines of the cross.  In every case the cross is central to Christianity. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Cor 5:21)

Keep Me Near the Cross  What could be plainer… 16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’ (Acts 22:16)

Keep Me Near the Cross The real issue is the repugnance of the cross.  First, in a general sense. It was a shameful thing to die by crucifixion.  Second, in a personal sense. The gospel is rejected is because it demands death to self.

Keep Me Near the Cross That’s why “another gospel” is preached that teaches one can be saved without participating in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. Basically, it rips the cross out of salvation. It’s an add-on instead of a death and a new beginning.

Keep Me Near the Cross 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things-and the things that are not-to nullify the things that are. (1 Cor 1:27-28)

Keep Me Near the Cross The person who obeys the gospel “exalts” the cross of Christ because he sees it not only as the instrument of death but as the instrument of salvation.  The Book of Romans shows this… 10 As it is written, there is no one righteous, not even one: (Rom 3:10)

Keep Me Near the Cross 23 For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God; (Rom 3:23) 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Rom 6:23) 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:8)

Keep Me Near the Cross 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. (Rom 6:3-4)

Keep Me Near the Cross No matter how complex our world becomes, our basic need remains the same. We need salvation. We need Jesus. We need to hear the preaching of the gospel We need to be obedient to the gospel. We need to live by faith.

Keep Me Near the Cross  The Cross Provides Direction in a Busy World. 14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Gal 6:14) What makes us happy? We live in a very busy world.

Keep Me Near the Cross The demands on our time are greater than ever before. If the world has been crucified to us, things change…we change! 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. (1 Cor 2:1-2) Cross = direction! How are we investing our time, money, and our gifts?

Keep Me Near the Cross 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. (2 Cor 5:10)

Keep Me Near the Cross  The Cross Provides Motivation in an Apathetic World. Apathy means someone just doesn’t care!  Is it possible to grow so accustomed to the message of Christ…that it some- times just doesn’t seem real?

Keep Me Near the Cross The punch line… “Haven’t we turned Him off long enough?” As Christians we must resist apathy.

Keep Me Near the Cross Conclusion The cross is of great importance to us because: it provides simplicity in a complex world, it provides direction in a busy world, and it provides motivation in an apathetic world.

Keep Me Near the Cross 16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16) Come now, commit yourself to Christ. Will you repent of your sins and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16)?

Keep Me Near the Cross Then you can say with me.. Dying, you destroyed our death; rising, you restored our life. Save us by your cross, Christ our Redeemer!

“Keep Me Near the Cross” 1 Corinthians 2:1-2 10/08/2006 Dr. Dane Boyles