And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called [the place] of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha... Jn. 19:17
And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest [it] in three days, Save thyself, and come down from the cross.Mark ,30
The cross is a symbol that represents Christianity.For the true Christian it is far more than just a symbol, however, it is a principle by which his life is lived.Indeed, the cross is a way of life for him. Jesus took up His cross and carried it in the way.At the very end of His life He was placed upon this cross and caused to die on it.He not only died on the cross, but He walked the way of the cross.There is a trite saying circulating about in our day about “walking the walk, and talking the talk.”Christ’s walk was not merely a demonstration of moral consistency lived out to the very end.For sure it was that, but it was much more.His consistency was derived from a mind set on obedience to God, an obedience governed and characterized by a continuous death to self.Had Christ not followed the way of the cross, He could never have attained the ability to, finally die upon it.Isn’t it true that we die the way we live?If we have lived a selfish, cowardly existence, is it wrong to expect that we would also meet our death in the same manner?
It has become apparent in our contemporary world that many who profess to know the Saviour are shallow, insincere and not genuine in their profession. Therefore, it is all the more incumbent upon those who truly desire His kingdom to “make their calling and election sure”by an honest examination of their lives.If evangelism were compared to fishing, it could be safely said that many of the churches promote the violation of “Game and Fish Department” regulations.Every fisherman knows that it is illegal to use a net to catch fish, at least in America.But that is exactly what contemporary churches advocate and actually practice.“Get them all in by whatever means necessary including gimmicks and carnal motivation, and then worry about whether they are true candidates for heaven.”Jesus said He would make His disciples fishers of men, but not crooked ones.He taught them to be wise in hooking the real “fish”, and certainly didn’t advocate imparting false assurance to those who might help His church increase the size of its membership and its coffers.
But getting back to the cross as a way of life, the pretenders and the authentic believers in the churches are, as the Lord said, often mixed together, and hard to distinguished from one another.This is, graphically illustrated by the recent fall of the founder and leader of a very large church here in Colorado Springs, who rose to a position of great prominence amongst nearly all the Evangelical churches in our nation.The three years (or more) of His blatant hypocrisy before his sheep clearly call into question the authenticity of his professed faith.His talents and charisma were no substitute, in the end for a genuine spirituality under-girded by the cross of Christ.He was certainly “talking a talk,” and, at least to all outward appearance, “walking the walk.”But was that walk the “way of the cross?”Was it a continual self-mortification and dying to the ever-present tendencies of the fallen flesh that his spirit inhabits?Without being judgmental, it can be safely asserted, that whatever this man’s identity before God may be, and whatever the nature of his struggle may have been, he certainly wasn’t operating in the realm of the Holy Spirit during that period.I must again, acknowledge my own fall into sexual sin a number of years ago, and the terrible consequences I reaped and yet am reaping as a result of it.Because of these consequences and the operation of the Spirit of God upon me to bring deep conviction and an accompanying contrition and repentance, I have great assurance, presently, of my salvation, that I am safe within the way of the cross.I sincerely hope that a like experience is being enjoyed by Mr. Haggard.His open shame, as mine, should serve as a reminder to all who name the name of Christ, that they must depart from iniquity if they are to remain in the way that they profess to walk in.
And what is this way, but “the way of the cross?”It is a simple way, that we, as modern people try to complicate with our modern psychological and sociological excuses, our “issues.”Whatever these issues may be, holiness is still the Biblical command to all who say they are followers of Jesus.And holiness, thatdistinct life that is truly and wholly separated unto the One who purchased it with His own blood can only be achieved by crucified living.He that would save his life will lose it, and, conversely, the one who loses His life, daily for Christ’s sake shall find it.Matt. This is the principle, the significant factor that separates the men from the boys, so to speak in religion.We can fool each other, the world and even ourselves for a time.But, as Mr. Lincoln so astutely noted, the fooling can’t go on forever.Are you going the way the cross, or the way of artificial, humanly propelled, counterfeit religious experience?Search your heart, my friend!There is nothing more crucial to your welfare than this.
And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.Matt. 10:38
But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.Gal. 6:14
Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.
For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.Heb. 13:12-14
I’m sure that all professing Christians would agree that the cross is the foundation of Christianity.And yet, modern Christianity has been able to portray and promulgate and promote a gospel that is, by and large theologically correct, and at the same time lacking the offence of the cross.We, and I use the term very loosely, have perfected a doctrinal system that includes, by and large all of the fundamental concepts that are true to the Bible and yet devoid of the potency of the cross as a living principle in the life of the disciple.One could go to nearly any large or small so-called Evangelical church today and review a copy of its doctrinal statement to find all of the orthodox essentials, such as justification by faith alone, the Deity of Jesus Christ, his atonement for sin, his virgin birth, eternal judgment etc., etc. Absent, however would be a clear example and testimony of the power of the blood of Christ in the lives of its leaders as well as its members as a whole.In the place of a truly consistent, holy witness amongst the members of this average Christian church one would find numerous substitutes for the cross as a living principle both in the teaching as well as in the living of its body.Loose living, blatant disobedience to the express commandments of Scripture, justification for sin and worldliness, as well as an appeal to the community that lacks any clear conviction of sin and the need of whole-hearted repentance would be the hallmark of this typical conservative Evangelical congregation. Yet an assurance of salvation is promised essentially on the basis of intellectual assent to historic doctrinal creeds, rather than the inner witness of the Spirit of God based upon a genuine change in the soul of the believer. 2Pet. 1:3-11
There is a trite, but accurate little phrase that says attending a so-called “Christian” church doesn’t make one a true Christian any more that sleeping in a garage makes one an automobile.However, the fundamental human need for safety has been exploited by the shepherds of many of our contemporary churches in a desire to fill the pews of their sanctuaries.In place of clear and potent preaching on the need for deep and sincere repentance from sin is a message of Biblical faith mixed with self-love, self-fulfillment and a multitude of programs rooted in these.Taking up the cross and all of its implications of self-denial and death to self are under-emphasized, if they are set forth at all, to the point of meaninglessness in the practical experience of the believer.Personal problems and conflicts are, normally addressed through professional counseling ministries within the churches or ones closely connected to them.The cross has merely a symbolic role as a theological statement with no real practical implication nor application in the lives of the members of such churches.The fact that Jesus died on a cross is undisputed.The requirement that He and his apostles made that His followers follow the way of the cross into His everlasting kingdom is virtually lost to history or to foreign countries where suffering for the Christian is a daily fact.
The question arises, “Can people be genuinely converted to Christ, be taught in godliness and discipled in true holiness by men who do not possess the cross in their own lives?Is the outer form, or semblance of Christianity sufficient to instruct people in the way to eternal life?”Of the teachers and their teachings, Jesus said, “by their fruits ye shall know them.”Do false prophets make true converts?Is holiness of living merely an option for the Christian, or is it a necessity in certifying who and what he really is?What does the New Testament say?Read it for yourself!Study it entirely and see if what you see in your own life, and the lives of your fellow church attendees matches with the kind of experience described therein.
For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.1Tim. 4:10
What is this mystery of godliness that Paul speaks so passionately to Timothy about, that he has suffered so much for?Does today’s average Christian believer suffer as promised in these words:
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.2Tim. 2:13
The simple answer to all of these questions is that we have a world-friendly gospel that has infected our churches and our individual lives.Being a Christian has become a very comfortable, often prosperous proposition.“Jesus cares whether you make your Lexus payments on time or not, doesn’t He?”The idolatry of worldly success, accumulation of possessions, social acceptance and respectability, obsession with recreation and sports, and the self-life in general are all entirely in opposition to a sincere profession of faith in the living God.Take a look at yourself and your spiritual surroundings, dear friend!Where are you headed and who is going with you?Are you in the holy company of souls being made perfect, or are you in some sham form of religion that makes a mockery of God and the suffering that His Son endured on the cross for your sake? Don't tell me about your "Praise Team" and the goose bumps you feel as you raise your hands and sway your hips in Sunday worship. How do you live during the week? Are you carrying the cross He gave you, or are you playing along as the phoney. If you find yourself in the latter category, get out of it now!Get down on your knees and find a true place of repentance in your heart.Fellowship with others of like mind, even if it’s just your own family.This apostate church is being cinched tighter daily by the world and soon there will be no escape from its grasp.Cry out to the living God!He will save you and make you become like His Son, not a son of this wicked world.Now is the time to acknowledge your need before Him and to break away from a system that is rapidly becoming counterfeit and anti-christ at its core.The cross is the way of the disciple.Don’t be fooled by any substitute!
And he said to [them] all, If any [man] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?Luke 9:23-25
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean [thing]; and I will receive you,And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.2Cor. 6:17,18
Name: W. Michael Clark ChristiansUnite ID: wmichael Member Since: 2006-04-04 Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States Denomination: Attend a Mennonite church About Me: I am a broken vessel, hopefully able to contain His grace and glory, and to faithfully deliver the message entrusted to me. 2Cor. 4:7
Name: W. Michael Clark
