A Cross Poem by DA Carson

On that wretched day the soldiers mocked him,
Raucous laughter in a barracks room,
"Hail the king!" they sneered, while spitting on him,
Brutal beatings on this day of gloom.
Though his crown was thorn, he was born a king-
Holy brilliance bathed in bleeding loss-
All the soldiers blind to this stunning theme:
Jesus reigning from a cursed cross.

Awful weakness mars the battered God-man,
Far too broken now to hoist the beam.
Soldiers strip him bare and pound the nails in,
Watch him hanging on the cruel tree.
God's own temple's down! He has been destroyed!
Death's remains are laid in rock and sod.
But the temple rises in God's wise ploy:
Our great temple is the Son of God.

"Here's the one who says he cares for others,
One who says he came to save the lost.
How can we believe that he saves others
When he can't get off that bloody cross?
Let him save himself! Let him come down now!" -
Savage jeering at the King's disgrace.
But by hanging there is precisely how
Christ saves others as the King of grace.

Draped in darkness, utterly rejected,
Crying, "Why have you forsaken me?"
Jesus bears God's wrath alone, dejected-
Weeps the bitt'rest tears instead of me.
All the mockers cry, "He has lost his trust!
He's defeated by hypocrisy!"
But with faith's resolve, Jesus knows he must
Do God's will and swallow death for me. 

(From Carson’s book, Scandalous, pp. 36-37)

The Dawn of the Darkest Day

I hope you take some time to meditate on the cross over these next few days. Jesus took the blame and bore the wrath!

Blessings Secured by Christ

In his new book, Church Planter, Darrin Patrick takes some time to meditate on the gospel. Here is a particularly helpful list to meditate on from chapter 9 (idea: spend the next month meditating on one of these every day):

Through His cross-work, Christ has provided:

• Reconciliation to God (2 Cor 5:19).
• Forgiveness of sins (Col. 2:13).
• Propitiation (Rom. 3:25).
• Ability to live for God (2 Cor. 5:15).
• Eternal life (John 3:16).
• Justification (Rom 4:25).
• Inheritance in heaven (Eph. 1:11).
• Righteousness (Phil 3:9-10).
• Healing (1 Peter 2:24).
• Bodlily resurrection (1 Cor. 15:22).
• Intercession for the weak (Heb 7:25).
• Peace (Isa 53:5).
• Freedom (Gal 5:1).
• Unity among believers (Eph 2:11-22).
• An example (1 Peter 2:21).
• Redemption (Rom 3:24).
• Advocacy (1 John 2:1).
• Deliverance from fear of death (Heb 2:14-15).
• Hope (Rom 5:1-11).
• Wisdom (1 Cor 1:30).
• Regeneration (1 Peter 1:3).
• Access to God's presence (Heb 10:19).
• All things (Rom 8:32).

In short, Christ's death has given us God (1 Peter 3:18).

Gospel at the Grocery Store

This is good stuff to remind yourself of the gospel today. I remember reading this in Counsel from the Cross. Well worth reading.

It Is Finished!

On the cross, the Savior declared that His redemptive work was completed (John 19:30). It's just one word in Greek: tetelestai. This one word is full of meaning and significance.

This is not the moan of a defeated man resigning to his fate. This is not a sigh of relief because the physical suffering is over. No, this is the triumphant recognition that He has now fully accomplished the work He came to do. This is the cry of triumph.

Spurgeon said of this cry, “it would need all the other words that ever were spoken, or ever can be spoken, to explain this one word. It is altogether immeasurable. It is high; I cannot attain to it. It is deep; I cannot fathom it.”

Jesus perfectly accomplished His work.
Jesus left nothing undone or incomplete.
Jesus left nothing unfinished or deficient.
Jesus left nothing unaccomplished or lacking.
His work was totally sufficient.

Meditate on an implication from this cry of victory:
Since Jesus paid it all, nothing needs to be added to His finished work.

All our hope has to be in His Work, not our works.

Derek Tidball wrote, “This single word rings out from the crucified Christ like a trumpet blast. It is finished, It is accomplished. The work his Father had sent him to do has been completed. The Father’s will had been obeyed to the last detail. The Father’s love had been revealed in its ultimate form. The Father’s grace had been released in the most convincing manner. The Father’s forgiveness had been purchased with the costliest payment. The Father’s glory had been displayed in the least expected way. The Father’s enemies had been definitively defeated" (Message of the Cross, p. 174).

Taking Criticism as a Justified Sinner

Giving and receiving criticism is a lost reality today. Most people simply try to avoid anything negative, and thus remain shallow and surface all their lives. There is just no way to go deep without drilling beneath the surface.

Alfred Poirier has written a fantastic article called The Cross and Criticism. This is as close to a "must-read" article as possible.

Poirier helps us realize why we get defensive when criticised. We defend that which we deem of great value (our name and reputation). We justify our self and parade our good deeds for all to see. We sacrifice those closest to us for the sake of our own glory.

What we need is to believe what God says about us at the Cross. In Christ's Cross, I agree with God's judgment of me. God has judged me more intensely than anyone else ever could. Those who criticize us don't even know a fraction of the depth of our sin.

Also, in Christ's Cross, I agree with God's justification of me. The Cross declares God's verdict of acceptance of me through faith in Christ. I have nothing in myself to boast about, so I will gladly boast in the Cross of Jesus Christ.

God intends criticism to serve us in our growth in godliness. Therefore, we should respond humbly and graciously.

Spend some time with this article.

The Cross and Christian Ministry

DA Carson's The Cross and Christian Ministry is must reading for all Christian leaders. This book is basically an exposition of the first 4 chapters of 1 Corinthians. Carson shows how the Cross of Jesus Christ must be the content and method of our preaching and ministry. The Cross stands as the test and standard of all vital Christian ministry.

In every generation, the gospel is in danger of being dismissed from the central place it must enjoy. Carson calls us back to the centrality of Christ and Him crucified.

One of the many things I have found helpful about this book is in the way it presses home some of the foundational characteristics of a Cross-centered leader. Here are a few examples:

• A Cross-centered leader focuses on the content rather than the form of preaching.
• A Cross-centered leader ties every subject to the Cross.
• A Cross-centered leader follows the crucified Messiah in to suffering.
• A Cross-centered leader primarily seeks to please Christ not people.
• A Cross-centered leader is empowered by the Spirit.
• A Cross-centered leader does not insist on his own "rights."
• A Cross-centered leader is humble.

Content and Methods for Preaching

“The cross not only establishes what we are to preach, but how we are to preach."

-DA Carson, The Cross and Christian Minsitry, p. 9.

One of the Best New Books I've Read: Counsel from the Cross

Counsel from the Cross: Connecting Broken People to the Love of Christ is one of the best new books I've read. This is a good and helpful book that should find a place on your reading list very soon. Elyse Fitzpatrick and Dennis Johnson team up to expose the power of the Cross in helping ourselves and others grow in grace.

They write, "When we lose the centrality of the cross, Christianity morphs into a religion of self-improvement and becomes about us, about our accomplishments, and about getting our act together."

In this book you will find solid Biblical exposition, helpful illustrations, gripping case studies, nitty gritty application, and rich gospel content. If the gospel of Jesus Christ has become stale and boring, you need this book. The authors remind us again and again how Christ's life, death, resurrection, and ascension relate to everything in our lives.

Get and read this book. You won't be disappointed.

Blood Bought Zeal

Titus 2:14 gives us 2 reasons Christ gave Himself for us:

1. to redeem us from all lawlessness
2. to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

When we think about the death of Christ, we normally think about #1: the forgiveness of our sins. However, what effect would it have on us if we really believed that Christ gave Himself for my purification, my identification with His people, and my zeal for good works?

Christ died that I might be radical in doing good works. What am I zealous for? Is my life characterized by zeal for good works?

"I Thirst"

Why did Jesus declare His thirst from the Cross (John 19:28)? I made 3 observations in my sermon Sunday:

1. This statement reveals something of the depth of the suffering of Jesus. He was really human and really was thirsty. The One who changed the water into wine could have called all the water in the world to quench His parched throat. Every river and stream and fountain on the face of this earth would have leaped at the opportunity to moisten the lips of its Creator. But, He was physically thirsty so that we can have our soul’s thirst quenched forever.

2. John tells us that Jesus said this in order to fulfill Scripture (John 19:28). While suffering on the Cross, Jesus was conscious of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah (Psalm 69:21). It wasn’t that He just happened to fulfill the Scriptures. No, He intentionally fulfilled the Scriptures.

3. He had something else He wanted to say. He was about to say something that He wanted others to hear. So, He asks for a drink in order to moisten His throat. Then He said, "It is finished!"

Jesus' Finished Work

I had the privilage of preaching on "It is finished" Sunday morning (John 19:30). Jesus' cry of victory from the Cross is full of meaning and significance for our lives.

This is not the moan of a defeated man resigning to his fate. This is not a sigh of relief because the physical suffering is over.

No, this is the triumphant recognition that He has now fully accomplished the work He came to do. This is the cry of triumph.

Spurgeon said of this cry, “it would need all the other words that ever were spoken, or ever can be spoken, to explain this one word. It is altogether immeasurable. It is high; I cannot attain to it. It is deep; I cannot fathom it.”

Jesus perfectly accomplished His work.
Jesus left nothing undone or incomplete.
Jesus left nothing unfinished or deficient.
Jesus left nothing unaccomplished or lacking.
His work was totally sufficient.

Here is the one implication I made from this cry:
Since Jesus paid it all, nothing needs to be added to His finished work.

All my hope is in His Work, not my works.

Derek Tidball wrote, “This single word rings out from the crucified Christ like a trumpet blast. It is finished, It is accomplished. The work his Father had sent him to do has been completed. The Father’s will had been obeyed to the last detail. The Father’s love had been revealed in its ultimate form. The Father’s grace had been released in the most convincing manner. The Father’s forgiveness had been purchased with the costliest payment. The Father’s glory had been displayed in the least expected way. The Father’s enemies had been definitively defeated" (Message of the Cross, p. 174).

Killing Selfishness by Seeing the Cross

Extremely challenged by this quote:

"No one who has been to the cross and seen God's immeasurable and unmerited love displayed there can go back to a life of selfishness."

-John Stott, 1 John commentary, p. 166.

Let Us Love One Another

1 John 4:7-12 is extremely helpful for those of us who struggle to love others like we should. John basically gives us the theological foundation for loving one another.

Here are the 3 points I meditated on in our Wed evening Bible Study:

1. We are to love one another because we know the One who is love (v. 7-8).
-God is love and He imparts Himself to us when we are born of Him.
-To not love is to fail to manifest the nature of the One who we claim to be our Father.

2. We are to love one another because God has loved us in Christ (v. 9-11).
-The Cross reveals God's love.
-The Cross propitiates God's wrath.
-The Cross fuels our love for one another.

3. We are to love one another because God is seen in our love for one another (v. 12).
-God’s love is revealed when we love one another.

Sinclair Ferguson on the Cross as the demonstration of God's love:
“When we think of Christ dying on the cross we are shown the lengths to which God’s love goes in order to win us back to himself. We would almost think that God loved us more than he loves his Son! We cannot measure such love by any other standard. He is saying to us: I love you this much. The cross is the heart of the gospel. It makes the gospel good news: Christ died for us. He has stood in our place before God’s judgment seat. He has borne our sins. God has done something on the cross we could never do for ourselves. But God does something to us as well as for us through the cross. He persuades us that he loves us.”

Yours! Mine!

Lord, the condemnation was Yours,
that the justification might be mine!

The agony was Yours, that
the victory might be mine!

The pain was Yours,
and the ease mine!

The stripes were Yours, and the
healing balm issuing from them mine!

The vinegar and gall were Yours,
that the honey and sweet might be mine!

The curse was Yours, that
the blessing might be mine!

The crown of thorns was Yours,
that the crown of glory might be mine!

The death was Yours,
the life purchased by it mine!

You paid the price, that
I might enjoy the inheritance!

-John Flavel

Don't Waste This Easter

Every year, Easter comes and goes. Most of the time, we just rush past it. Don't do that this year. Slow down. Think of what we miss out on when we rush past the Cross and Resurrection. The person and work of Jesus Christ should be our constant focus every day of the year. However, there is something unique about this season. The weeks leading up to Easter are an opportunity to re-focus ourselves on the great realities of the gospel.
We've got a few weeks. How will you spend them?

Here are a few suggestions for making the most of this season:
1. Read slowly through the passion narratives in the gospels (here is a summary of Jesus' final week).
2. Pick one or two Cross-focused songs/hymns that you can sing daily.
3. Read or re-read a book about the Cross of Jesus Christ (my suggestions).
4. Plan to take full advantage of any special Palm Sunday, Good Friday, or Easter gatherings your church is planning.

Have any suggestions of your own?

Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross...Forever

I've been using Nancy Guthrie's new book, Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross, to help me preach the gospel to heart.

The title of this book has me singing the old hymn by Fanny Crosby that I haven't sung in a long time.

However, I'm troubled by some of the words of this popular old hymn.

I like this line:
In the cross, in the cross,
Be my glory ever;

Yes, we will glory in the Cross forever!

I don't like this line:
Till my raptured soul shall find
Rest beyond the river.

What? Does that not contradict the other line?
What does "till" mean? Let the cross be my glory "until" I don't need the Cross anymore?
The implication of "till" is that there will come a point when the Cross is no longer my glory.
So, does "ever" in the first line mean "while I'm still alive on this earth"?

Friends, we won't even know what it means to really glory in the Cross until we find rest beyond the river. Heaven will be the realization of Galatians 6:14. There will be only one boast reverberating through the halls of Heaven:

"Worthy are you (Lamb of God)...for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation..." -Rev. 5:9

In Heaven, there will be a deep realization that we don't belong there.
In Heaven, there will be a deep realization that all this was purchased for us by the blood of Christ.
In Heaven, there will be a deep realization that everyone else there (from all nations) is clothed in the garments given to them by Christ.
In Heaven, there will be a deep sense of gratitude for what Christ accomplished on the Cross.
In Heaven, there will be much glorying in the Cross of Jesus Christ.

I'm reminded of these quotes by Jim Elliff:
“One is taken aback by the emphasis on the cross in Revelation. Heaven does not “get over” the cross, as if there are better things to think about…Heaven is not only Christocentric, it is cruci-centric, and quite blaring about it."

“When we are prone to think of the cross in a diminutive way, forgetting its grandeur, its accomplishment, its power, then remember what the angels think of it all and what we will see and sing at a future date when things are clearer.”

So, sing this hymn; just sing it with an understanding that "till" should actually be "especially when."

Jesus, keep me near the cross,
There a precious fountain
Free to all, a healing stream
Flows from Calvary’s mountain

Near the cross, a trembling soul,
Love and mercy found me;
There the bright and morning star
Sheds its beams around me.

Near the cross! O Lamb of God,
Bring its scenes before me;
Help me walk from day to day,
With its shadows o’er me.

Near the cross I’ll watch and wait
Hoping, trusting ever,
Till I reach the golden strand,
Just beyond the river.

In the cross, in the cross,
Be my glory ever;
Till my raptured soul shall find
Rest beyond the river.

The Heart of the Cross

I really enjoyed The Heart of the Cross. It is a small little book written by both James Montgomery Boice and Philip Graham Ryken. The first section focuses on the 7 sayings of Jesus from the Cross. The second section focuses on Jesus' words after His resurrection (The Real Last Words of Christ). The final section focuses on the NT teaching about the Cross.

The chapters are short and easily read anywere you have a few minutes. I read a chapter or two between projects and other misc. times to help me preach the gospel to myself and cultivate fresh affections for the Savior.

Imponderable Wonder

Isaiah 53:10: "Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him and cause him to suffer."

Romans 8:32: "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all..."

2 Cor. 5:21: "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us..."

How Great Thou Art:
And when I think that God, his Son not sparing, sent him to die, I scarce can take it in,
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing, he bled and died to take away my sin."

The Cross Reveals the Glory of Jesus

Ponder some of the ways the Cross reveals the glory of your Savior:

-The Cross is where we see His supreme passion for the Father’s glory.

-The Cross is where we see His persevering love for sinners.

-The Cross is where we see His patient endurance.

-The Cross is where we see His total obedience.

-The Cross is where we see His hatred of sin and evil.

-The Cross is where we see His sinless perfection.

-The Cross is where we see His power over Satan and all spiritual forces.

-The Cross is where we see His overflowing joy.

-The Cross is where we see His role as mediator between God and man.

-The Cross is where we see His absolute sovereignty.

-The Cross is where we see His gracious forgiveness.

-The Cross is where we see His quiet submission.