There’s a parable told about a country church that had an ivy plant growing up by the porch doorway. Over the doorway was a text carved in stone, “We preach Christ crucified.” Over the years the plant grew steadily and a branch gradually spread over the doorway. The first word of the text covered by the leaves of the plant was “crucified” which reduced the text to say: “We preach Christ.” We might think that’s unfortunate but the essential part of the faith is still there. As time went on the branch spread further and covered over the word “Christ.” But, no one seemed to notice, and the message of the church to the world outside was reduced to "We preach..." In other words...it looked as if the church had no message. When we cease to preach Christ crucified...the church literally has no message!
Recently, an American atheist group filed suit to prevent the “miracle cross” from being displayed at the 9/11 memorial in New York City. They indicated that just the sight of it made their members physically sick and that it was a violation of the American Constitution. Those kinds of attacks against the cross are not nearly as disturbing as the ones made by people who profess to embrace the cross.
In an effort to be as welcoming as possible some churches have removed all iconography of the cross from their facilities in order to not offend unbelievers that might possibly join them. We could argue the point of whether this is effective or not, but sadly it makes the church appear as if it has no message...not unlike the parable of the country church.
Instead of being ashamed of the cross it should be the rallying point for all believers and the clear message we proclaim as the means of sinners being reconciled to God!
Explain the background of Galatians and the final verses beginning at 6:11-18.
- The offense of the Christian cross was frequently described by a Greek word (mania), which means “madness.” It was common for people to consider Christians mad for believing that God would actually be nailed to a cross!
- The ancient historian, Plinius Secundus, called the preaching of the cross “a perverse and extravagant superstition” and said that Christians suffered from amentia (which is a mental disorder).
- The orator Caecilius (a contemporary of Marcus Aurelius) said that Christians suffered from “sick delusions” and a “senseless and crazy superstition” and adds, “Not least among the monstrosities of their faith is the fact that they worship one who has been crucified.”
- Martin Hengel, in his book, “Crucifixion” states, “A crucified messiah, son of God, or God must have seemed a contradiction in terms to anyone, Jew, Greek, Roman or barbarian, asked to believe such a claim, and it will certainly have been thought offensive and foolish.”
And yet, the cross that many thought “offensive and foolish” was the very thing in which Paul boasted!
Timothy George writes, “Paul...chose something utterly despicable, contemptible, and valueless as the basis of his own boasting—the cross of Christ. For two thousand years the cross has been so variously and beautifully represented in Christian iconography and symbolism that it is almost impossible for us to appreciate the sense of horror and shock that must have greeted the apostolic proclamation of a crucified Redeemer.” He continues, “...Actually the Latin word crux [i.e., cross] was regarded as an expression so crude no polite Roman would utter it in public...But what the world regards as too shameful to whisper in polite company, a detestable object used for the brutal execution of the dregs of society, Paul declared to be the proper basis for exultation. In this and in this alone he would make his boast, in life and death, for all time and eternity.” (Timothy George, The New American Commentary, Galatians, pg. 436)
And, it should be the basis of our exultation as believers, as well!
Notice the three crucifixions that are delineated in 6:14:
1. The Crucified Christ...that’s salvation!
(“...the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ...”)
cf. 2 Corinthians 5:19, 21; 1 Corinthians 1:18
It was February, 1941, Auschwitz, Poland. Maximilian Kolbe was put in the infamous death camp for helping Jews escape Nazi terrorism. After some men made a successful escape, ten prisoners were rounded up randomly and herded into a cell where they would die of starvation and exposure as a lesson against future escape attempts. Names were called. A Polish Jew, Franciszek Gajowniczek (pronounced: Frandishek Gasovnachek), was called. He cried, "Wait, I have a wife and children!" Maximilian Kolbe, a Franciscan priest, stepped forward and said, "I will take his place."
Kolbe was marched into the death cell with nine others and never made it out alive. This story was chronicled on a news special several years ago. Gasovnachek, by this time 82, was shown telling this story while tears streamed down his cheeks. A mobile camera followed him around his little white house to a marble monument carefully tended with flowers. The inscription read:
IN MEMORY OF MAXIMILIAN KOLBE
HE DIED IN MY PLACE.
A priest far greater than Maximilian Kolbe died for you and for me...His name was Jesus. And, His death did what no other death could ever do...it paid our sin debt in full that we might be be forgiven.
2. The Crucified World...that’s liberation!
(“...the world has been crucified to me...”)
The world has been crucified to the saint! It no longer holds any power over us except what we give it.
By the “world” we don’t mean the physical world per se, but the world system that is alienated and opposed to God. The world system has lost its power and should increasingly lose its allure to believers.
Charles Swindoll writes, “The world system is committed to at least four major objectives, which I can summarize in four words: fortune, fame, power, pleasure. First and foremost: Fortune...The world system is driven by money; it feeds on materialism. Second: Fame. That is another word for popularity. Fame is the longing to be known, to be somebody in someone else's eyes. Third: Power. This is having influence, maintaining control over individuals or groups or companies or whatever. It is the desire to manipulate and maneuver others to do something for one's own benefit. Fourth: Pleasure. At its basic level, pleasure has to do with fulfilling one's sensual desires. It's the same mindset that's behind the slogan: ‘If it feels good, do it.’” (Charles Swindoll, Living Above the Level of Mediocrity, p.219.)
cf. Romans 6:5-11
We’ve been set free from all bondage that once held us in its grasp! That’s true freedom/liberty!
3. The Crucified Christian...that’s separation/distinction!
(“...I [have been crucified] to the world.”)
God still calls His people to “be holy as He is holy.” The truth about separation has been misused and turned into legalism in the past, but the pendulum in recent years has swung to the other extreme and now what too often prevails is licentiousness.
cf. Romans 12:2
Charles Spurgeon wrote, “The course of rebellion against God may be very gradual, but it increases in rapidity as you progress in it; and if you begin to run down the hill, the ever-increasing impetus will send you down faster and faster to destruction. You Christians ought to watch against the beginning of worldly conformity. I do believe that the growth of worldliness is like strife, which is as the letting out of water. Once you begin, there is no knowing where you will stop. I sometimes get this question put to me, concerning certain worldly amusements, "May I do so-and-so?" I am very sorry whenever anyone asks me that question, because it shows that there is something wrong, or it would not be raised at all. If a person's conscience lets him say, "Well, I can go to A," he will very soon go on to B, C, D, E, and through all the letters of the alphabet. . .When Satan cannot catch us with a big sin, he will try a little one. It does not matter to him as long as he catches his fish, what bait he uses. Beware of the beginning of evil, for many, who bade fair to go right, have turned aside and perished amongst the dark mountains in the wide field of sin.”
cf. 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 (6:17 comes from Isaiah 52:11; cf. Revelation 18:1-5)
Because we are dead to the world we should live a life of distinction in the world. Our lives should be characterized by Christlike qualities that make us clearly identifiable to the world!
Closing:
I read a fictional story about two friends who went to a law school together. One became a lawyer and eventually a judge, but the other squandered his life, broke the law and wound up in court. Who do you think was sitting in the judge’s seat? It was his old friend with whom he had gone to law school. One question filled the courtroom: what kind of sentence would he pass? To everyone's surprise, the judge demanded the full penalty of the law. No sooner had he passed the sentence than the judge stepped down from the bench, took off his robes, walked over to the table where his old friend stood and putting his arms round him, gently said, "Let it be recorded today, not only have I passed sentence upon him, but I will stand chargeable with all his debts." In that moment the judge became his redeemer! That’s an analogy for what Christ has done for us on Calvary.
Don’t run away from the cross...stay as close to it as possible.
There’s an old hymn written by Fanny Crosby that expresses well the sentiment for all of us about the cross and proclaims the message everyone needs to hear whose sins are yet to be forgiven. (P. 319)
