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Back to the Cross - Dr. Stephen W. Christian

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Dr. Stephen W. Christian, Senior Pastor and Bishop, shares the message, “Back to the Cross” on Sunday, August 1, 2010.

Prelude
Jesus in the Book of Zechariah

Zec 3:8 NLT – Listen to me, O Jeshua the high priest, and all you other priests. You are symbols of the good things to come. Soon I am going to bring my servant, the Branch.
Zec 3:9 NLT – Now look at the jewel I have set before Jeshua, a single stone with seven facets. I will engrave an inscription on it, says the LORD Almighty, and I will remove the sins of this land in a single day.
Zec 3:10 NLT – And on that day, says the LORD Almighty, each of you will invite your neighbor into your home to share your peace and prosperity.”

In the book of Zechariah, Jesus is predicted as the coming Branch. During the time of Christ life on Earth, He was come as the Son is Israel and the Savior of Israel. The children of Israel did not recognize Him for for He really was.

In Zechariah 6, the Branch is also shown as the king and priest who would rule on the throne.
Zec 6:12 NLT – Tell him that the LORD Almighty says: Here is the man called the Branch. He will branch out where he is and build the Temple of the LORD.
Zec 6:13 NLT – He will build the LORD’s Temple, and he will receive royal honor and will rule as king from his throne. He will also serve as priest from his throne, and there will be perfect harmony between the two.

In Zechariah 12, shows how Jesus would be pierced
Zec 12:10 NLT – “Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on all the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died.
Zec 12:11 NLT – The sorrow and mourning in Jerusalem on that day will be like the grievous mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the valley of Megiddo.

Today’s Message
Back to the Cross
We get out of balance when we find ourselves too far from the cross. Without Christ we are wretched and undone. It takes conversion that came for the Christ’s work on the cross that makes us after his likeness and his image.

We must understand that we are all impacted by sin and none of us is any better than the other. All of us are wretched. The church is the place for the wretched because we too are wretched.

Paul identifies with the state in the early part of his life
1 Corinthians 15:9 “For I am the least of all the apostles, and I am not worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted the church of God.”

The church has been infected by the a spirit of pride that states that “we are the best of this and that..”

Paul progresses this thought in the later part of his life in Ephesians 3:8 “Just think! Though I did nothing to deserve it, and though I am the least deserving Christian there is, I was chosen for this special joy of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ. “

As Paul grew in the Lord, he got a better perspective of himself. First he declared that he was the least of the apostles, then the least of the saints. His “view of himself changes as the gets closer to the lord.

As Paul gets closer to God and the closer to death, Paul sees himself more for what he really is:
1 Timothy 1:15 “This is a true saying, and everyone should believe it: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—and I was the worst of them all. “

We don’t deserve things in this life as servants of Jesus. If He chooses to bless us, it’s not because He owes us, it’s because He choose to do so.

We don’t get closer to God and think we are better, we realize how much grace God has been given unto us. And that’s what we want to share with other people. We become more gracious because of how gracious God has been to us.

Meekness is power under control and we are gracious to others because God has been gracious to us. Love covers a multitude of faults.

Salvation:

• it is apart from works

See Romans 3:10-20
Rom 3:9 NLT – Well then, are we Jews better than others? No, not at all, for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin.
Rom 3:10 NLT – As the Scriptures say, “No one is good— not even one.
Rom 3:11 NLT – No one has real understanding; no one is seeking God.
Rom 3:12 NLT – All have turned away from God; all have gone wrong. No one does good, not even one.”
Rom 3:13 NLT – “Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their speech is filled with lies.” “The poison of a deadly snake drips from their lips.”
Rom 3:14 NLT – “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
Rom 3:15 NLT – “They are quick to commit murder.
Rom 3:16 NLT – Wherever they go, destruction and misery follow them.
Rom 3:17 NLT – They do not know what true peace is.”
Rom 3:18 NLT – “They have no fear of God to restrain them.”
Rom 3:19 NLT – Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses and to bring the entire world into judgment before God.
Rom 3:20 NLT – For no one can ever be made right in God’s sight by doing what his law commands. For the more we know God’s law, the clearer it becomes that we aren’t obeying it.

The difference between Christianity and other religions is Divine Accomplishment vs. Human Achievement. With Divine Accomplishment, God does all the work we either accept it by grace or not at all. With Human Achievement, we do all of the work.

One of my favorite scriptures is Ephesians 2:9 This salvation is a part from our good works or good deeds. We cannot get proud about the fact that we are saved. We should be thankful and humble about our salvation. We either accept salvation by grace or not at all.

Eph 2:8 NLT – God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.
Eph 2:9 NLT – Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
Eph 2:10 NLT – For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

2 Timothy 1:9 reinforces this point that we are not good, God is good and the God in us is good.

2 Tim 1:9 “It is God who saved us and chose us to live a holy life. He did this not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan long before the world began—to show his love and kindness to us through Christ Jesus. “

Titus 3:5 “He saved us, not because of the good things we did, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins and gave us a new life through the Holy Spirit.”

We have seen that salvation is apart from works

• It must be accepted by faith

Romans 3:22 “We are made right in God’s sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done. “

• It is available to all

...And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done…

• it is attained by justification

Romans 3:24 “Yet now God in his gracious kindness declares us not guilty. He has done this through Christ Jesus, who has freed us by taking away our sins.”

• it is awarded freely

Christ freed us from our sins

• it is acquired through redemption

Redemption — we have been purchased by Christ. He bought us from the slave market of sin. We don’t have to commit sin. We don’t owe sin any debt. We don’t HAVE to sin. We WANT to and CHOOSE to sin. We sin because we WANT to.

• is it accomplished by propitiation

Propitiation — Jesus Christ satisfied God by paying our sin debt in full. Because our sin debt is paid in full.

Romans 4:25 “For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God’s anger against us. We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us. God was being entirely fair and just when he did not punish those who sinned in former times.”

Grace is giving us something that we don’t deserve and expects nothing in return. We live the life of Christ so we can have peace. Jesus paid for the salvation, but if we choose to sin, we pay for the consequences.

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Photo by David Trattning

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