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The crux of the matter

7/9/2018

 
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In our current sermon series we are considering several questions about Jesus. One of the recent questions dealt with is: Did Jesus die for our sins? Paul gave this answer, “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3).

When it comes to God’s plan of salvation, the atoning death of Jesus Christ on the cross is the crux of the matter. You’ve heard that phrase before. It refers to the basic, central, or critical point. What you may not know is that crux is the Latin word for cross. It appears in such Latin phrases as Ave Crux Spes Unica - Hail to the cross, our only hope.

When it comes to the Gospel, the cross of Christ really is the heart of the matter! That is why Satan hates it so much. This is the antipathy that motivates the removal of crosses from the public arena. From government buildings and lands, to public schools and universities, the cross is being systematically eradicated from our society.  

The war cry of those doing the removing is “separation of Church and State.” This often misunderstood and misapplied phrase appears nowhere in the Constitution of the United States. But that does not stop liberals from using it in their mission to rid our culture of all things Christian.

The real agenda behind the removal of crosses is spiritual, not political. The instigator is the devil himself. Satan knows exactly what the cross means. He understands that it truly is the crux of the matter. He gets the theological implications and ramifications of Christ’s death on Calvary. Satan doesn’t want people to see, be reminded of, or even think about the cross lest they look in faith and be saved. So he inspires the godless to campaign for their removal.  

Satan despises the cross because it was the place of his utter defeat; his Waterloo. Do you remember the ancient prophecy? “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15). That prophecy was fulfilled at the cross when Jesus cried, “It is finished.”

While the enemies of Christ hate the cross, we the redeemed love it because it reveals both the wisdom of God’s plan of salvation, and the power of God to save. The cross announces to a lost world — JESUS SAVES!  

Never be ashamed of the cross of Christ. Embrace it and the Savior who died there for all.


“I will glory in the cross, in the cross
Lest His suffering all be in vain
I will weep no more for the cross that He bore
But I will glory in the cross”


Pastor Todd Weston

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    Pastor Todd

    Lead Pastor
    River of Life
    Assembly of God

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