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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. Gal6:14 For the born again Christian, the cross is an experienced reality, through the blood of the cross and repentance, the Christian received new life. The cross was the instrument to bring about the grace of God and the gift of the Holy Spirit. There is no salvation without the grace of the cross. But do we leave the cross behind after we experience new birth and move on to the resurrection? Was the cross only for our new birth? What further need do we have for the cross? As new born Christians, our sin nature was circumcised but the flesh remains. To deal with the flesh we must use the power of the cross to crucify the flesh that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Now the way we crucify the flesh is not by flagellation but by faith. By faith we confess, "I am established in righteousness". By faith we confess, "I crucify the flesh with its passions and desires." By faith we confess, "My body is dead because of sin but the spirit is alive because of righteousness." By faith we receive the blessings of God, crucify the flesh, and walk in the Spirit. "If I walk in the Spirit, I will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh." By exercising our faith and applying the cross, we overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil. So the Lord said, "if I find even fifty righteousness within the city, then I will save all the place for their sakes... And he said, "I will not destroy it for ten." Gen18:26,32 We know from Matthew chapter thirteen that the cares and riches of the world and the lust of other things choke the word and it bears no fruit. So once we receive the word (are born again) we need to apply our faith through the cross to bear fruit, some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred fold. Abraham in pleading for Sodom for the sake of Lot barters with God using the righteous as his bartering stick. If there are fifty, twenty, even ten righteous God will not destroy the city. Though Sodom is wicked, God says he will spare it for the sake of the righteous. In America with much sin and wickedness, God has spared us for the sake of the righteous. The importance of being righteous has profound implications. It is for the sake of the righteous that God has held back his judgment. When the Rapture occurs, God will remove the righteous from the earth. Then the tribulation will begin. As long as there are righteous people on the earth God will withhold judgment. In order to be found worthy to escape the tribulation, apply the cross to your life so you won't have to face the wrath of his judgment. It is not enough to prophesy in his name, cast out devils, and heal in his name. We must be found righteous. Not only that but by working out our salvation we give the sinner opportunity to repent and enter into the kingdom of God. We do not leave the cross behind when we are born again. We embrace the cross to establish ourselves in righteousness and bring favor to God's people. May I never boast of anything save the cross of the Lord.. Amen |