CHAPTER 4
TWO CROSSES
Never in my Christian life have I witnessed any effort made to clearly explain, teach or preach one of THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTS AND TRUTHS of the New Testament. That fact is the following.
FOR EVERY MAN IN THIS WORLD, WHO IS TO BE SAVED AND PERFECTED –MADE A SON/DAUGHTER OF GOD– THEN LIVE ETERNALLY IN HIS PRESENCE AND SERVE HIM FOR EVER, GOD ESTABLISHED TWO CROSSES:
1) ONE (PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL) CROSS FOR HIS SON, JESUS CHRIST, THROUGH WHOSE DEATH, BLOOD AND RESURRECTION EVERY MAN IN THE WORLD COULD BE REDEEMED TO GOD, HIS PRICE PAID IN FULL, HIS SINS AND TRESPASSES FORGIVEN, HIS SPIRIT REVIVED TO GOD’S LIFE AND HIS WAY BACK TO GOD OPEN AGAIN. (1TIM. 4:10) THROUGH THIS CROSS, GOD WOULD RECEIVE PEOPLES THAT WOULD BE WILLING TO BELIEVE, REPENT AND BE BAPTIZED AND THUS BECOME HIS POSSESSION. THESE BELIEVERS WOULD ALL BE GIVEN THE POWER TO BECOME HIS SONS AND DAUGHTERS IN HEAVEN. (JN. 1:12) ON HIS CROSS JESUS, THE SON OF MAN, DENIED HIS OWN WILL CONCERNING HIS CUP AND FULFILLED THE WILL OF HIS FATHER. (MT. 26:39, MORE LATER)
2) ONE (SPIRITUAL) CROSS FOR EACH REDEEMED AND BAPTIZED BELIEVER TO CONVERT HIM FROM A SOULISH BELIEVER TO A NEW SPIRITUAL BELIEVER, FROM AN OLD NATURAL MAN, TO A NEW SPIRITUAL MAN, FROM AN EARTHLY BELIEVER TO A HEAVENLY SON/DAUGHTER OF GOD THAT WILL PLEASE GOD AND WILL BE DWELLING WITH HIM IN THE NEW HEAVEN.
THIS IS THE TRUE PURPOSE OF GOD FOR MAN. (ROM. 8:29) ON THE CROSS OF CHRIST, WE DID NOT DO ANY WORK OF FAITH. ON OUR CROSS WE MUST OVERCOME OURSELVES, DENY OUR WILL AND FULFILL THE WILL OF OUR FATHER BY THE WORKS OF OUR FAITH AND WILL. (MT. 16:24,25). ON OUR CROSS WE BECOME TRUE OVERCOMERS.
The physical Cross of Jesus Christ is so well known that we do not need to devote time to this basic fact of the Bible. The cross for each believer is almost UNKNOWN, misunderstood and not considered with any sufficient importance that it has for every one of us, for our Eternal life or condemnation! Let us, therefore, devote the necessary time and space to our own cross and let us open our heart and spirit to the Spirit of the Lord to show His Light and Truth.
The basic Word of God revealing OUR PERSONAL CROSS is in Mt. 16:24 where the Lord speaks to His disciples very clearly:
“IF ANY ONE (BELIEVER) WILL COME AFTER ME, LET HIM DENY HIMSELF AND TAKE UP HIS CROSS AND FOLLOW ME.”
It is immediately apparent from this Word of God that without denying our SELF, which is the STRONGHOLD OF SIN IN OUR REDEEMED SOUL, and taking up our cross, we cannot follow the Lord where He went or where He is going. After His Resurrection, the Lord ascended to Heaven. It means that we will not be able to follow Him to Heaven, if we do not deny ourselves and take up our cross daily. (Lk. 9:23) Furthermore, in the very next verses (Mt. 16:25,26), the Lord tied our cross to either losing our life (old soul) or finding our life (new soul)! It corresponds to walking on the broad way which leads to destruction (loss of life) or on the narrow way, which leads to Life Eternal… and, again, this road we must find. (Mt. 7:13,14) So then, denying our SELF and taking up our cross IS walking on the narrow way. This explains the extreme importance of our cross.
IF OUR CROSS WERE NOT NECESSARY OR IMPORTANT,
THE LORD WOULD HAVE NEVER MENTIONED IT IN
HIS WORD AND TIED TO IT THE LOSING OR GAINING
OF OUR SOUL – OUR OWN LIFE!
The Cross is always associated with suffering, pain, destruction of something that is to die. Denying of self is the same; it produces suffering, pain and destruction of the old natural life of our soul, which is our “flesh”, and is to die on our cross. WHAT HAS NOT DIED CANNOT BE RESURRECTED into something new, completely different and hitherto non-existent… a brand new creature. (2Cor. 5:17// Gal. 6:15)
We must die to (be separated from) our unrighteous and wrong thoughts, prejudices, wrong beliefs and convictions; die to our stubbornness and high-mindedness which are most apparent in our old unrenewed mind; die to all spirits of darkness and evil that dwell in our soul, guide it, influence it, and may even govern it WHILE THAT SOUL IS REDEEMED! There is no way that such a natural, uncrucified soul would be acceptable to God and that He would be pleased to have it in His Presence. It took only one sin of foolishness and one of disobedience for Adam to be banished from God’s Presence. (Gen. 3:24a// Pr. 24:9)
NO PAGAN should ever hope that he can bypass the Cross of the Saviour and be somehow accepted by God to Heaven and into His Presence because he was a “good man”. Equally, NO BELIEVER should ever hope that he can bypass his own cross and be accepted by God into His Presence because he was a “good Christian”! THE OLD IN EVERY BELIEVER MUST DIE WHETHER IT IS EVIL OR “GOOD”.
Let me, at this point, reassure believers about a very important spiritual fact and truth which is the following: (1) walking on the broad way which leads to destruction, (Mt. 7:13) (2) evading their cross, (Lk. 9:23) (3) failing to deny their self during their earthly life, (Mk. 8:34b) (4) even being thrown into outer darkness after their physical death where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, (Mt. 8:12) etc., ALL THE ABOVE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE THE LOSS OF THEIR SALVATION AT THAT TIME! But it MAY result in the loss of their Salvation later on during the 1,000 years of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. We will return to this issue later on.
The soulish, carnal Christians do not see this fact; they do not see the need for two crosses though it is clearly declared by the mouth of Our Lord and clearly recorded in the Scripture. They do not see that in addition to our faith, we must have our self-will subdued to the Will of Our Father. They do not see that our will must bow to His Will and good pleasure without murmurings and disputings and speculations. They do not see that God is working in us toward this, His Purpose. (Phil. 2:13,14) They do not see that without doing the Will of Our Father, they shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven no matter how “good Christians” they were, what good deeds or how many of them they had done or how spectacular ministries they had built and performed. (Mt. 7:21-23// Lk. 13:24-30)
They do not see that whenever they are trying with their best intentions to “do good, evil is present with them” since it is a law of the natural creation. (Rom. 7:21) They do not see that this natural creation itself must be destroyed with the evil rooted in it, so that that law is also destroyed with it. They do not see that nothing is crucified by sermons, teaching, preaching, studying, not even by praying (unless the prayer leads to their confession and a true repentance), but only by taking up their cross by their own will and by the power of the Spirit of God. They simply do not see that…
THE CROSS ALONE DESTROYS ALL THAT IS ABHORRENT AND UNACCEPTABLE TO GOD. ALL OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH, ALL OUR FAITH, WISDOM, WORKS FOR THE LORD AND EFFORTS WILL NEVER DO IT.
THE CROSS ALONE OPENS THE DOOR TO ALL THAT IS NEW AND PLEASING AND DESIRABLE FOR GOD. WITHOUT THE CROSS OF JESUS CHRIST AND WITHOUT OUR OWN CROSS, THE FINAL PURPOSE OF GOD IN HIS SALVATION OF MAN CANNOT BE ACHIEVED! WITHOUT OUR CROSS WE CANNOT BE CHANGED INTO THE IMAGE OF HIS SON! (Rom. 8:29)
Another truth is that none of us desires to take up our cross or deny our self. Nobody will “talk us into it” or “preach us into it” or “teach us into it” or “persuade us into it” or even “force us into it”! So, how shall we take up our cross? By gradually learning obedience by the things which we will have to suffer… here a little obedience and there a little obedience; the same as with learning, line upon line… line upon line… precept upon precept… precept upon precept, living experience upon living experience. (Is. 28:10) The Son of God Himself had to learn obedience by the things which He suffered. (Heb. 5:8) How much more must we learn? We should not even dream about being changed into His Image just by attending “church services”, singing and giving offerings (more later on).
Whenever one great power is totally replaced by another great power, it is never accomplished without “side effects” which are commonly called a “battle” or “war”. We will also face situations (battles) in our salvation process (war) whereby one great power is replaced in us by another one as we are being changed into His Image, where we will be equally able to say “… nevertheless, Father, not my will, but Thine be done”. (Lk. 22:42b) This is the ultimate denial of our self, of our will. Without learning this obedience “line upon line, precept upon precept” for some years, we will never be able to say to Our Father: “NEVERTHELESS…”
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To be continued next week in chapter 4 – part 2
brother Hanola
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