Sermon #1103 When I Survey the Cross Christians love to sing praises to God. What a blessing that in the New Testament age God s people do not have to offer animal sacrifices. Instead, the once-for-all-time sinless sacrifice of the Son of God provides full forgiveness for all penitent believers who submit to the gospel. In addition, while we are speaking about sacrifices, how gratifying it is that the Holy Spirit teaches in Hebrews 13:15, Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. What a privilege to live under the new covenant of Jesus Christ! David the giant slayer leaves us a treasure of psalms that bare his soul while unveiling prophecies about the Messiah and His kingdom. Jesus quotes frequently from the Psalms and some of the apostles critical arguments in defense of the gospel are based on the Psalms. The apostle Paul places great value on the role of singing in Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. In God s wisdom, He ordained singing to be an instrument of instruction. In light of that truth, consider a classic hymn that so ably teaching and admonishing the gospel message -- Isaac Watts gem of 1707. When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died; My richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride. Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, save in the death of Christ, my God; All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to his blood. See, from his head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down. Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown. His dying crimson, like a robe, Spreads o'er His body on the tree; Then I am dead to all the globe, And all the globe is dead to me. Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were an offering far too small; Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all. It s amazing that so much could be said with so few words. If a picture is worth a thousand words a word picture like the cross is so much more. We reflect today on this message so poetically expressed. When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died. We must always see the cross as the crux of Christianity. The cross is the core. The cross marks the end of the Old Covenant and the beginning of the new. The cross ushers in the potential for complete forgiveness. The cross turns the world upside-down and inside-out. The flesh is repulsed by the cross. It always has been. The apostle Paul explains why in 1 Corinthians 1:18, For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. The cross is foolishness to the natural mind because kings do not die for criminals, creators do not sacrifice for their creation, power is not exhibited in submission and suffering, innocent men do not volunteer to suffer in the place of evil men, and punishing a good man does not 1
When I Survey the Cross by Brett Hickey, sermon #1103 2 of 5 on earth release the wicked man of guilt. But these facts all demonstrate that the gospel came from God and not man. Would we really expect God s thinking to mold to our thinking? For as the prophet Isaiah relays in Isaiah 55:8-9, For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. The Spirit breaks down the human resistance to the crucifixion into two categories in 1 Corinthians 1:22-23, Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, The Jews were hunting for miraculous demonstrations of Jesus Messiah-ship and Deity. The Jews looked for a Moses-on-Pharaoh Style route of their enemies; they sought an Elijah on Mount Carmel, a David against Goliath, a Joshua and the walls of Jericho type of deliverance from Rome. The Greeks sought philosophical evidence; they craved a program, a series of events, reasonable by human standards, justifiable by human wisdom. Torturous death on a Roman cross not only fit neither of those paradigms, but repulsed them. Even those closest to Jesus resisted the cross. Immediately after Peter s triumphant confession of Jesus identity as Messiah and the Son of God, he rejects the cross. Matthew 16:21-23, From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You! But He turned and said to Peter, Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men. " Once again we re confronted with the contrast between the God s wisdom and man s. After the crucifixion, Peter and the twelve saw clearly. When the Christian surveys the cross, Paul says, in 1 Corinthians 1:24, he truly sees the power of God and the wisdom of God. And so, the Christian never tires of the cross. Those who know it best seem hungering and thirsting to tell it like the rest. Jesus said in John 12:32, And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself." When we survey the cross, according to Hebrews 12:1-2, we are empowered against sin and steeled to suffer hardship: (L)et us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Isaac Watts writes, When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died; My richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride. Paul says the cross does just that in 1 Corinthians 1:29, that no flesh should glory in His presence and in verse 18, "He who glories, let him glory in the LORD." The cross surely is THE antidote for pride. Who can come to the cross -- who can witness in the eye of his mind, the beating, the ridicule, the hammers blows, the thorns that puncture Jesus brow, the gasping for breath -- who can take it all in and boast? As you open your heart to connect the words of this song with the gospel message, it will bring you to your knees. In his second verse, Watts views our possessions through the prism of the cross: Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, save in the death of Christ, my God; All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to his blood. What do you know that matters when lain alongside Jesus humiliating death? What 2
When I Survey the Cross by Brett Hickey, sermon #1103 3 of 5 do you own that is meaningful when set alongside the cross? What have you done of any merit when compared to what Jesus withstood on a hill called Golgotha? All the vain things that charm me most Oh, we are charmed by so many vain things! Our lives are overrun by secular activities; lesser things crowd out the bigger. We are consumed with work; we are obsessed with the big promotion. We re gonna impress the boss. But what about the real boss? We run after knowledge, information, and education. We ve gotta know. We ve gotta know more. Our spiritual life gets the squeeze. We need another degree. We want to be the best in our field. Jesus is set aside. We ve gotta have fun. We ve gotta explore. We have to travel. We must hunt. We gotta fish. We need boat time. We need season tickets. We must keep redecorating. We must play. We re charmed by entertainment. Can t miss our program; can t miss that movie. No time for the Lord. No time for our brother. No time for worship. No time to pray. No time to meditate on God s word. Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, save in the death of Christ, my God; All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to his blood. I must lay it down -- lay it all down at the foot of the cross. See, from his head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down. Can you see the image Watts puts forward? From head to toe, we should see Jesus body exudes love when we see His blood. At the cross, Jesus suffers most to see so many reject his offer of love even with blasphemous words. Never did a man got so far in expressing his love. Sorrow in his salty, steaming tears, flowing down from his soft, caring eyes, left a clean trail against the Jerusalem dust collecting on his cheeks during the soldiers mockery, the brutal beating and burdensome walk down the Via Dolorosa. Yes, Sorrow and love flow mingled down. The dusty flesh cleansed by tears turns crimson as blood trickled down his thorn wounds. He gasps for breath as He pushes against the nail through his feet. His body pushes its limits through extreme exhaustion. Perspiration compounds dehydration as He lifts himself up and sinks back down. His pores expend every ounce of moisture it can expel to cool His body. Sweat cleanses, but blood is thicker. Crimson and cleansed. Crimson and cleansed. Then Watts rhetorical questions, Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown? His thorn crown outshines all crowns of gold. The lowly thorn never found a loftier resting place. King of kings, Lord of Lords, but Jesus receives only a crown of thorns. So unworthy am I! The payment is too great. It cost Jesus too much. It cost the Father too much. And yet, the debt is paid. Ponder the verse Watts wrote that is often omitted in our song books: His dying crimson, like a robe, Spreads o'er His body on the tree; Then I am dead to all the globe, And all the globe is dead to me. There s blood everywhere. Blood blankets Jesus body. The cross is restained red. Watts presents the appropriate response: Then I am dead to all the globe, And all the globe is dead to me. The Spirit puts it this way in Galatians 6:14, God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Because Jesus was nailed to the tree, I must drive a nail through the world and through the flesh. How can man survey this scene and not make Jesus His first love? The part of this song that breaks my heart that knocks me to my knees. Were the whole realm of nature mine that were a present far too small. It IS natural to respond in kind to generosity. Here we are recipients of this unfathomable gift and we want to reciprocate. We want to give back as a show of our love. But what do we give to God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills? What do we give to God 3
When I Survey the Cross by Brett Hickey, sermon #1103 4 of 5 who owns it all, created it all? What will you give God to show that your love? We can t give him anything man-made. Anything man-made would look course and inferior. To the Great Potter anything we make looks like shards, like junk. What CAN we give Jesus? Were the whole realm of nature mine and I offered him all the beautiful pasture, woods, rivers, lakes and oceans that would not be sufficient payment. He would look at my offering and say, Is that all? We have nothing to give -- nothing of value. What can you give Jesus? But yet, He says there is something you can give and Watts lays it out eloquently: Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all. We have nothing really to give our Lord, yet He will accept the gift of ourselves. He wants a life of service to Him and how can we deny Him. How can we refuse to give Him everything we have and everything we are? Jesus command in Matthew 22:37-38 expresses the most reasonable request of all time, You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. How can we say no? How can you picture in your mind what Jesus did for you on Calvary and casually stick your nose in the air and say, This is my life. That s my money. This is my house. This is my car. This is my time. How can we tell the one who says, My yoke is easy; my burden is light that the Christian life is too hard that we would have to give up too much? How can we tell the crucified Christ that we cannot give up the pleasures of sin for Him? How can we live in adultery or fornication under the shadow of the cross? How can we live as slaves to alcohol and drugs when He died to give us freedom from sin? How can we neglect How can we say Jesus asks too much? How can we say we don t have time to observe His sacred memorial with our brothers and sisters on the Lord s Day? How can we say that we have more pressing business? Has Jesus not done enough to merit a sliver of our time in pure, unadulterated worship just as He prescribes in the New Testament? This song, When I survey the Cross, shames us when we re selfish and stingy. This song can help us give more generously because it puts the blessings of salvation, the blessings of grace in perspective. When we gather with the saints to worship, we are not bound to give a certain amount or a certain percentage as were the Jews under the old law, yet God expects us to give as we have been prospered. The Holy Spirit lays down incentive-laden principles regarding giving in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7, He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. We punish ourselves when we re stingy. More than that, God has a special place in His heart for the cheerful giver. But the greatest motivation for generously giving to promote the Kingdom, the church, is the reasonable gratitude suggested by the words Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small. What kind of a man can see the love of Jesus extended to him personally and continually walk on by unwilling to surrender his heart, his life, his soul to the Master? Have you surveyed the cross and realized your life must change? Have you been touched by Jesus kindness? Genuine love does more than incite feelings of warmth and sentimentality. Jesus says, If you love me, keep my commandments. In Mark 16:15-16, Jesus tells the apostles, "Go into all the world and preach the 4
When I Survey the Cross by Brett Hickey, sermon #1103 5 of 5 gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. That s the gospel in a nutshell. Believe Jesus came as the Messiah to fulfil the Old Testament prophecies, to live a sinless life, to die a humiliating death, and to rise from the grave to foreshadow the resurrection of the faithful. He who believes and is baptized shall be saved. Belief ignites the inward transformation of repentance. Baptism formally frees man from sin. We read in 1 Peter 3:20-21, in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. There is also an antitype which now saves us--baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ We pray you will respond to the love of Christ today with the answer of a good conscience in baptism. Please contact us so we can help you obey the Lord. Before our song and wrap up, we want to encourage you to begin a life-changing Bible study by mail at no cost to you. I ll be back in a moment for a final word. Please send us any comments or questions you may have about today s message or any related question about the church of the Bible. Tune in every Lord s Day and join us for worship at one of the congregations listed shortly. Call or write for a transcript, CD, or DVD of #1103, When I Survey the Cross. As the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 16:16, the churches of Christ salute you. Until next week, goodbye and God bless! Are you searching for the truth of God's word and have a sincere desire to learn about the Bible? Do you want to know what the Bible says about salvation and about Christ and His church? If you are looking for Bible Founded discussion on these topics and many others, then please accept this invitation to explore "Let the Bible Speak" and then contact us for additional studies. We are members of the church of Christ as found in the New Testament. We are not members of a denomination or earthly religious organization. We are a brotherhood of believers, joined by a common bond, Jesus Christ. We try to live and worship following the patterns found in the New Testament. (For manuscripts of other sermons visit: www.letthebiblespeak.com) COPYRIGHT Let The Bible Speak. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. IMPORTANT COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Express permission is granted to distribute any video, audio, or transcript of any broadcast message as long as the material is: unedited and attribution is given to Let The Bible Speak; a hyperlink to LetTheBibleSpeak.com is included for electronic distribution; a text reference is included to www.letthebiblespeak.com for printed distribution; and the original author receives attribution. An irrevocable, world-wide, royalty free license for distribution is granted as long as such distribution has the intent of: supporting the truth as presented; giving glory and honor to God; and spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. 5