The Cross: It Was…It Is…It Will Always Be, Part 1

Thank you for listening to Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef. He's the author of a brand new book that I know you're going to want to order. It's called God's Final Call.

The place to start is ltw.org. The cross has always been the symbol of Christianity, a visual reminder of the sacrifice of Jesus to bring salvation. And up next, a look at how the cross is losing its identity in a modern culture. It's part of Dr. Youssef's series this week called The Cross.

It was, it is, it always will be. This quick reminder that Leading the Way is listener supported, made possible through the prayers and the generosity of faithful people like you. Learn more when you call and speak with your ministry representative at the call center. 866-626-4356. Or you can visit ltw.org.

Right now though, listen with me as Dr. Michael Youssef begins. A survey was conducted, it's about symbolism and the power of symbols. And that survey was conducted in several countries, in Australia, in Germany, in India, in Japan, in the United Kingdom and the United States. Here's the results of those responded to the survey. The five rings of the Olympic games was identified by 92% of the respondents.

88% identified the golden arches of McDonald's and the shell of Shell Oil Company. Less than 54% identified the cross as a symbol of Christianity. Many church leaders today are saying the cross is not necessary. The cross is a cosmic child abuse. The cross should not be emphasized.

Some have went to extremes. The Reverend Dolores Williams is quoted to have said, I do not think we need a theory of atonement at all. I don't think we need folks hanging on crosses and blood dripping and weird stuff.

End of the quote. In my personal opinion, if this trend continues, we will have a generation of Christians without the cross. Which means Christians with Christianity that is Christless. Because they can't be Christ without the cross.

And how can you have a Christless Christianity that's an oxymoron? And that is why today I want to plead with all the faithful believers, young and old, not only to cling to the old rugged cross as a symbol of our redemption, but to understand the importance and the power that's in the cross. For every believer, young and old, to be able to explain to others the necessity of the cross for salvation. To lovingly but forcefully insist that there can be no Christianity without the cross. That there can be no salvation without the Christ of the cross.

That there can be no peace of mind without the Christ of the cross. For the cross is the only hope for civilization. The cross is the only power for living. The cross is the only strength for the weak. The cross is the only means to salvation. The cross is the only way to heaven. The cross is more than simple. The cross is everything. So in this short series of messages, I want to show you that the cross is and always will be. The cross was not just an afterthought on the part of God. The cross was not just a good idea at the time to redeem people. It's like some liberals are saying, you know, just God showing His love for us.

Of course that He did this. But it's more than that. The cross is not merely a Roman phenomena.

In fact, it was Persian and perfected by the Romans. But that the cross was and is and always will be the only way for anyone to be accepted by God. Now, are you ready for some truth?

Okay, listen carefully please. Because whenever sin is minimized, as many are doing today, the cross is trivialized. Today there are so many popular preachers who are minimizing sin. And therefore, the natural consequence, whether it takes a day or a year or ten years, the natural consequence is the removal of the cross. As long as they say, sin is just a silly mistake.

Or just an oversight. Or sin just an error in judgment. As long as this continued, then redemption was not necessary. In fact, our Muslim friends, the reason they reject the cross, the reason Saudi Arabia today refuse to have a church on its soil, no crosses, is because they do not believe in redemption. They believe redemption was not necessary. That man when he fell in the Garden of Eden, he was not completely and became totally depraved. But that he just kind of slipped along the way and got up and kept walking. And therefore, the cross was not necessary.

This is creeping into our culture. But as I said, the cross of Christ did not happen in a vacuum. It did not happen in a vacuum. I'm going to show you in a moment what I mean by the fact that the cross was, is, and always will be the cross. The cross was God's plan all along from the very beginning. The cross was God's answer to humanity's sin from the very beginning.

From the very beginning of creation. God instituted the animal sacrifice as a picture of the cross that was yet to come. From the very beginning of creation, God foreknew what was going to happen to his creation. God foreknew that Adam and Eve are going to rebel against him and try to go their own way. And that is why after the fall, God taught Adam and Eve the importance of shedding of innocent blood in the redemption of sin.

Why? Prefiguring of the cross. But you say, why? Because God wanted him to teach the subsequent generations that prefiguring of the cross. So they can look forward to the cross and believe and be saved in that Old Testament by looking forward to the cross.

So that they may teach their subsequent generations to expect the Messiah, the Lamb of God, who's going to die on that cross. God wanted them to know that sin is costly. That sin cannot be taken lightly. That sin is a colossal offense to a holy and righteous God.

That's what he wanted them to know from the very beginning. And that's why in the Old Testament, he instituted animal sacrifice. An innocent animal for guilty person. The sacrifice of an innocent blood shed for man's sin. But probably some of you are thinking and saying, you know, but I read somewhere in the New Testament and probably Hebrews, where it says that animal sacrifice can never take away permanently, remove sin. Then what's the answer?

Listen carefully. God instituted animal sacrifice for three reasons. Number one, so every time they offered a sacrifice, they remembered that is only temporary covering for sin. Secondly, every time they offered a sacrifice, they remembered that they worship a holy and righteous God who cannot wink at sin. And thirdly, said every time they offered that sacrifice, it was a prefiguring of the coming of Christ's cross.

Now here's a biblical fact. For God's justice to prevail, guilt must be punished. For God's justice to prevail, sin must be dealt with.

Rebellion against God's commands have to find a cure. And on that cross, God himself, the most innocent of all, paid the price for guilty sinners like you and like me. God himself paid the price so that the guilty ones would be set free from the clutches of sin and the power of sin and the consequences of sin and the wages of sin. Let's look at the word of God together. In the word of God, the Bible, the first time you see the justice of God through sacrificial animal sacrifices in Genesis chapter 3 verse 21. When Adam and Eve willfully and deliberately went against God's word and God's command, God's justice had to be applied. So what did God do? He slew an animal, innocent animal, to provide temporary covering for their sin. Now don't miss what I'm going to tell you, okay?

Because it's important. Could God have snapped his fingers and provided Eve with the most beautiful silk gown that would rival anything Chanel could give you? Right? He could have, right? Could God have snapped his finger and provided Adam with a tuxedo that would beat anything Armani could produce?

Yes. But he didn't. When God slew that lamb and used the skin for their covering, he was teaching them an object lesson of how God views sin.

Hear me right, please. The lamb that died for Adam and Eve was a symbol. It was a prefiguring of what? The Lamb of God. Who's the only one who will take away sin of everyone who will repent and believe in him permanently, not temporarily. And so I have a question for you. Did Adam and Eve understand what God was doing on their behalf? Yes. Absolutely. Did Adam and Eve comprehend the enormity of their disobedience?

Absolutely. In fact, they taught this principle of shedding innocent blood as a temporary covering of sin to the next generation. They understood it and therefore they knew they got to teach it to the next generation and the next generation should be anticipating the coming of Christ. Cain and Abel were brought up by mommy and daddy who taught them the importance of animal sacrifice as a redemption for sin, as a temporary covering for sin. But did both Cain and Abel responded the same way to their parents' teaching?

No. One did, the other didn't. And from that time on, these two men, Cain and Abel, represented all of humanity. When people all over the world hear the message of salvation, the love of God expressed on the cross of Calvary, some receive it gratefully but others reject it. Cain and Abel are a microcosm of all of humanity. Abel wanted to come to God God's way, but Cain wanted to come to God his own way.

And today, this is how all of humanity is divided. God says there's only one way to heaven and that is through the shed blood of my son Jesus Christ from Calvary. But many of our preacher today is saying, no, no, no, you can come to God any which way you want to. Sadly, these folks of the Cain variety are occupying many a poopis today and tragically they're misleading millions of people straight into hell. Cain and all of his followers today are saying, we can worship God our way. We don't like this narrow-mindedness of one way to God. We don't like this old-fashioned message that Jesus is the only way. We don't like this exclusivity of coming to God only one way. God has many ways. God is so big and fast. God is all-inclusive.

Now let me personalize this for each one of you. How do you worship God? Now remember this, I know that today in modern language and we use it without thinking and we kind of associate the word worship with singing.

Singing is part of worship, but it's not all of worship. The word comes from a Latin origin which means worth-ship. Did you get that? Worth-ship. Can you say that with me?

Worth-ship. How do you express God's worth to you? How do you do it now?

How do you do it today? How do you express the worth of God as far as you're concerned? When it's convenient? Only whenever it costs you nothing? Do you express it when you feel like it? How do you worship God?

How do you express his worth to him? Only when you get into trouble that you need something from God. Genesis 4, 4 and 5 says, the Lord looked with favor on Abel and his sacrifice. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his sacrifice. But on Cain and his offering.

Did you get that? Offering, not sacrifice. He did not look with favor. No wonder. Hebrews chapter 11 verse 4 says, by faith Abel offered a better sacrifice than Cain did. Why is it better? Why is it better? The reason it was better because it was God's way from the beginning. A shedding of innocent blood because it's a prefiguring of the cross. You see the cross was and is and always will be God's way.

Only way. In fact there's more. Did you know that every blood sacrifice rituals that has ever been practiced on the face of the earth. And I'm talking about pagans as well. Did you know that all of these can be traced their origin to God's original teaching and revelation to Adam and Eve.

They're our first parents. From where their humanity spread. Tragically all of these pagan societies sacrificed is a perversion of the true meaning of sacrifice. All of these idol worshipers kept the rituals but they lost the meaning. Instead of understanding that it is the prefiguring of the cross they used it to bribe the false gods which are no gods at all.

Now let me explain this to you historically. How this took place historically from the scripture. Adam lived to the age of nine hundred and thirty.

Nine hundred and thirty. Adam kept on teaching this principle of animal sacrifice as the prefiguring of the cross of Christ all the way to Lamech. He said who's Lamech? Lamech was Noah's father.

All the way. Nine hundred years. Noah was six hundred year old when he was teaching this principle the prefiguring of the cross of Christ to generations to come. And when Noah stepped out of the ark the first thing he did he offered the Lord the sacrifice. Noah passed this principle of understanding the prefiguring of the coming of Christ all the way to Abraham.

Abraham was fifty eight years old when Noah died. And Abraham's obedience and faith gave him the very privilege and the honor of being able to look ahead to the day of Jesus Christ two thousand years to come. In fact Jesus said that Abraham saw my day and rejoiced and they got so mad and they want to stone him.

They said you're not even fifty years old yet. They're not thinking spiritually. And Abraham's obedience and faith not only gave him the privilege to peer into the future and to see the cross of Christ. But when Isaac asked his father Abraham on the way up to Mount Moriah and he said to him father where is the sacrifice? Abraham prophesied of Jesus in Genesis twenty two eight when he said God will provide himself the bad offering.

Thousand years later right on schedule not far from Mount Moriah God provided himself the sacrifice. And so it was in the economy of God that all of those who have the faith of Abraham became true descendants of Abraham. See Isaac never forgot what God did for him in providing that ram as a ransom for his life. And so he taught it to his descendants the importance of animal sacrifice as prefiguring of the cross of Christ. Isaac never forgotten that and he taught it to his sons. His son Jacob learned this lesson when he came home after running after wealth and power and everything else. And as soon as he came back home he offered a sacrifice to the Lord at Shechem and he called it El Eloi Israel.

God is the God of Israel. And even four hundred years of slavery in Egypt after that God had to reteach his people afresh the importance of animal sacrifice as a prefiguring of the cross of Christ. And so God established the Passover atonement.

And the Passover feast was celebrated with an animal sacrifice for nearly fourteen hundred years. Until it found its complete and ultimate fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ the lamb of God. Who is the only one who permanently not temporary but permanently can remove sin. Who permanently not temporary can forgive sin for eternity. The lamb of God the only one who can truly forgive sins. Listen carefully Passover stopped with Jesus for after the real person appears the picture is not as important right?

When you see a shadow you get excited but when the person appears the shadow is not as important. And that is why Passover stopped with Jesus. I think everyone of us who are parents want to pass some inheritance some heirlooms to our children that's fine. But beloved I want to tell you on the authority of God's word that there can be no greater inheritance to give to your children than for them to understand the enormity of sin. And the awesomeness of the cross of Christ and forgiving that sin. The reason so many Christian institutions are denying the cross of Christ is all began by denying sin. Remember the formula you minimize sin you trivialize the cross. Once you minimize sin watch for it it might take few years the next thing the cross is removed.

There are some folks who really believe that we are experiencing now the great apostasy in the church that Jesus talked about it will take place prior to his return. Now if that's the case this is all the more reason that every faithful believer must cling to the old rugged cross. Every faithful believer must pass on to the next generation the importance of clinging to the old rugged cross.

Are you sharing the awesomeness of the cross with the next generation. I hope that you were encouraged and challenged through this episode of Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef. Learn ways to listen to this message again or connect further with Leading the Way at ltw.org. Now at the very beginning of this episode I mentioned that Dr. Youssef has a new book God's Final Call.

Here are some details. In God's Final Call Dr. Youssef draws on years of ministry experience and passionate study of God's words to bring to life the context of revelation revealing the striking similarities between what the early church faced and what Christians today are experiencing. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I may allow the evil to prosper for a little while but only so that the judgment will be greater. What Satan means for evil I'm going to turn it for the good. Whatever Satan tries to destroy you I will turn it around to bless you.

Whenever Satan designs to work against you I will make it work for you. Get your copy of God's Final Call by Dr. Youssef on the way to you when you give a gift of any amount to the ongoing ministry of Leading the Way today. Learn more about this special offer and the powerful content in God's Final Call at ltw.org. Get your copy of God's Final Call directly from Leading the Way. The number to call to reach a ministry representative at the call center is 866-626-4356. Or you can order yours online at ltw.org. And you can write to us.

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