The Cross: Where Liberty Begins, Part 2

Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Tuesday, June 28th. What does it mean to be truly free? Let's return to the study of Galatians to discover the source of real liberty found in the cross of Christ. If you'll turn to Galatians chapter 6, verse 14, why did Paul say, God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ? So what I'd like to do is to give you seven reasons he said that because all these that related to Paul also relates to us.

And the first one is this. Paul realized that it was at the cross that he had been acquitted of all of his sins. And you'll recall that he had been one who had imprisoned Christians. He had been one who had been willing to kill them, to do anything necessary in order to protect the law of Moses with which he had grown up, with which he had been educated.

Having grown up under the law and attempting to keep it all the days of his life, he said in this book, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, and the word here, justified, means to be acquitted. He's not acquitted of his sins by keeping the law, but by his faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in him, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law, for by no works of the law shall any flesh be justified. So when Paul looked at the cross, he realized that it was only in the death of Jesus Christ that his sins were acquitted. That is, he would no longer have to stand before Almighty God and give an account for his sin because at the cross, Jesus Christ took care of all of it. Your only hope of standing before Almighty God and God the Father saying, not guilty, enter in, is wrapped up in the cross and nothing else. And the reason that he said that was because he knew that it was in the cross that God the Father had accepted him into the family of God.

If you'll notice, for example, let's slip over to Colossians for just a moment. And if you'll notice in chapter one, verse 20, and I'm going to these other epistles that he wrote here, he says, And having made peace through the blood of his cross by him, to reconcile, bring back into oneness with him all things unto himself. By him, I say, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven, that is, by the blood of his cross.

That is, how is it that you and I have been made acceptable in the eyes of God? His blood was shed, that made it possible for God to reach out to sinful people like you and me and to bring us back, acquitting us of our sins and washing us and making us as white as snow. When Paul looked at the cross, he knew that his justification before God rested in the cross, that his acceptance by God as a sinful man trying to live by his own self-righteous works, inadequate as they were, he knew that only in the cross of Jesus Christ was he accepted.

Thirdly, it was in the cross of Jesus Christ, he found his assurance of eternal redemption. Look, if you will, back over in Romans chapter eight for just a moment. And of all the verses that Paul gave, here are the ones that best describe that. He says in verse 35, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword, as it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long.

We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor light, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

And how was that provided? Through the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. He says nothing shall be able to separate us.

Why? Because it is God who reached down into your sinful life and forgave you of your sin. It is by his blood that you saved, by his blood that you cleansed, by his blood that you're kept. What does that do? When I survey the wondrous cross and understand its true, powerful meaning in my life, then truly I pull contempt on all of my pride, all of my works, all of my self-righteousness, and know that my only hope of eternal redemption is found in the cross.

The next reason is this. Paul saw that in the cross that was his access, listen, he says in Romans chapter 5, look there for just a moment, a wonderful verse of scripture, beginning in verse 1. He says, therefore, being justified, acquitted of all of my sin by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom, and you see, it is the justification and the acquittal of the cross that makes this possible, by whom also we have access, that means the gates have been opened, the doors have been opened, the channels have been opened. We have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. We live and all that we do is under the canopy upon the foundation of God's unmerited favor, undeserved love toward you and me.

Where did we get all of that? We got it at the cross. Apart from the shedding of his blood, cleansing our life, we have no access in the presence of holiness and righteousness. Holiness and righteousness and sin are not compatible concepts. Something had to happen to sinful me in order to make it possible for me to stand in the presence of God and to have access to him and our access, he says, to him is through his son. He says, we have one mediator between God and man and that is the person of Jesus Christ. And when he went to the cross, the cross opened the door of access to the whole, the whole eternity of the grace of God. So Paul says, the reason I boast only in the cross is this, that cross, it opens the door to every single thing almighty God owns. And he says by Jesus Christ, I became a joint heir with him and a joint heir with him makes me one who has his name on the title deed of everything Jesus Christ owns. When Paul saw the cross, that's why he could say, I look at my past and I count everything but loss. What?

For what? For the knowledge of Jesus Christ. He knew that his access was made possible through the cross of Jesus Christ, all right? Number, the fifth thing is this, that is when Paul looked at the cross, he knew there he had victory over his adversary. Look, if you will, in Colossians chapter one for a moment. I want you to notice this verse and or rather chapter two in Colossians. And if you'll look in beginning in verse fourteen and you'll recall in the first part of this chapter he's talking about that all the fullness dwells in the Lord Jesus Christ and buried with him in baptism and so forth. Then he says concerning him blotting out the handwriting of ordinances or the law that was against us. That is, all of us were condemned by the law. But when Jesus Christ came, something happened to the cross, blotting out the handwriting of ordinances against us, which was contrary to us and took it out of the way, nailing it to what? His cross. And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them open, a triumphing over them in it.

Now, here's what he's saying. He's saying at the cross of Jesus Christ, he nailed all the law upon the cross. That is, when he died, he took with him all the penalty of it.

Therefore, you and I do not have to live up to the law. Not only that did he spoil all of that, but at the same time, he wrenched from Satan all of his power to destroy the children of God. Satan may damage us and damage our witness, but he cannot, he cannot destroy the children of God.

Listen, he says he spoiled principalities and powers and made a show of them openly, triumphing over them. That is, at the cross, he took upon himself the penalty of all men, which made it possible for all men to be saved. That defeated Satan and then, of course, out of the grave he came and that was the final blow to Satan. So when Paul looked at the cross, he saw that his hope for overcoming Satan was at the cross. Now, the sixth reason is that Paul abandoned all hope. He abandoned all of his hope in the world. When he saw the true meaning of the cross, he said, I glory in nothing.

I put my stock in nothing. I boast in nothing. My hopes, my dreams, my ambitions, my desires, they're all wrapped up in the supernatural, everlasting power of the cross of Jesus Christ, which he said, by that cross, I've nailed every alluring temptation of the world.

I've nailed it there. And what Paul was saying is, he says, my hope is in the cross because I've evaluated the whole system and, friend, there isn't anything in this world worth putting your hope in. And I'm going to tell you something, that hasn't changed, amen? What can you put your hope in today that can live beyond this life?

Not one thing. And if you're living by the world's standards, I want to tell you, you're going to be disappointed, they're going to disappoint you, you're going to disappoint them. If you're courting the world's favor and you're living right up to the edge of commitment you're not quite willing to get there because you're not willing to stop this or stop that or stop the other. And I don't know what that is in your life, whatever God may have signaled for you. I want to tell you something, that is a foolish way to live your life because you see, you live on the edge of contentment, joy, peace and happiness but you won't step over there where it is. Because you see, you're courting the world's favor and I want to ask you something, so what if you have the world's favor?

What do you have? It's like having status. Status is a big bag of wind. It means nothing. Now listen, God doesn't want us acting foolish but neither does he want us living our lives always looking back to see what somebody else thinks.

What difference does it make what the world thinks? It won't make any difference if you're dead to it. Oh God, I can't put that there, let me tell you something. Do you think God would ever take anything away from you that was good for you? Never. You think he'd ever take anything away from you that he didn't replace with something better?

Always. It is the devil who tells you, you can't do without dust and salt. You say, now didn't you preach all six of these chapters we ought to be legalistic?

Right. I'm not talking about legalistic, I'm talking about when God puts his finger in your life and says, if you want to be committed to me, that thing's got to be nailed to the cross. Anything you hold on to that ought to be on the cross is only going to lead you over here into trouble somewhere. Because you see, anything that's not of God that's leading you around, you're going to get in trouble.

The safest thing you can do, brother, is put it on the cross and forget it to the glory of God. The last thing he said, last reason, listen, he said the seventh reason that he boasted on in the cross, he gloried and praised God to the cross, because it is in the cross that the abundant life that Jesus Christ provided became a living reality to Paul. Back to Galatians chapter two, verse 20, we should all know it by heart. He says, I am crucified, that is, I have been in the past once and for all.

I have been in the past perfect, passive and negative. I have been in the past crucified with Christ with the ongoing effects of that still working in my life. Yet not I, but Christ lives within me.

And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Paul says I'm crucified. He didn't say I'm going to be. He didn't say I crucified myself. He didn't say I got to get up on the cross.

He said when he died, we died. I am crucified with Christ. What Paul was saying is this, that for all practical purposes, I have died to my old way.

I am now living a brand new life. I am a new created being in Christ Jesus. And there is within me the spirit of the living God that has given me power over sin. And as long as I'm willing to remain by faith in Christ crucified, sin may try, but it'll not be victorious. Paul's daily victory was found on the cross.

And I want to tell you, my friend, that's the only place under God's heaven you are going to find it. You can read your Bible till you turn purple. You can give and you have nothing else to give, but until you and I are willing to live dead by faith in what the Word of God teaches, we're not going to be victorious. And that is an act of faith. He said I am crucified with Christ. When he was crucified, when Christ died, he put every one of us, every single person who would believe in him, likewise was nailed down the mind of God. It is only when I want to get off the cross and have my way, do my own thing, when I want to indulge in things that keep me from being what God wants me to be. But he says the reality of it is that we've been crucified. That means that you and I, from God's point of view, have been dwelling within us. The power of the Spirit of God, we have the victory. But a victory is only mine for all practical purposes as long as I'm willing to remain dead.

The old sinful principle that is within me and I'm willing to live by faith in Jesus Christ. Paul said not only is my future hope wrapped up in the cross, he says my present daily moment by moment victory is to be found there. Now listen, has God been saying something to you and you've been running from it?

Has he been trailing you and you feel a little uncomfortable but you keep running? You see, let me tell you what God's people will do. And I'm sure, I look back in my life and I'm sure I've done this. That is, we will work ten times harder laboring for God, doing something for God, struggling for God in order to avoid crucifixion. Because you see, it is easier to labor and work for God 16 hours a day, seven days a week, all of your life. It's easier to do that than it is to live a crucified life simply resting by faith in Jesus Christ.

Now I say it's easier, it appears to be that way because we don't want to die. That's the last thing under God's heaven we want to do is to die to my ambitions, die to my desires, die to my hopes, die to my dreams and let the crucifixion experience be a reality in my life and I want to tell you something. When you die to all of it, God gives you back so much more than you'd die to. It's the devil's lie who tells you, can't give that up, can't surrender that, can't yield that.

What are you going to do when you die to all of that? And God is saying, just let me show you what I'm willing to do. Now I don't know where the cross is in your life. There's nothing wrong with hanging around your neck, nothing wrong with putting it on the steep of the church, nothing wrong with putting it on a plaque, nothing wrong with putting one of those little crosses in your pocketbook. I'll tell you, it won't bring you good luck. The cross isn't good luck. It'll bring you life, brother, and victory and hope and peace and contentment and forgiveness and cleansing. It'll bring you everything you need.

It won't bring you luck. Had you rather have luck or divine blessing. God alters the human life that bows before the cross of Jesus Christ and is willing to drop all of its pride, all of its hope, all of its dreams in self and willing for Almighty God in humility and contrition before Him to say, Lord, not my will but mine be done. I'm willing to be crucified in all of that. Life may flow from me. Can you say with Paul, God forbid that I should put my hope or glory in anything except the work of the Lord Jesus Christ upon that cross. Can you say, by whom I've crucified this world to myself and I unto the world and now the only thing that matters is that Christ did His life in and through me to the glory of God the Father. Thank you for listening to part two of The Cross Where Liberty Begins. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or In Touch Ministries, stop by InTouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.