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The Cross Was Central To St. Pauls Preaching
How Much God Loves Us

By Max Solbrekken

"Then delivered he Him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led Him away. And He bearing His cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgatha: Where they crucified Him, and two other with Him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst. And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews." (John 19:16-19)

Our Lord, Jesus Christ when Roman soldiers put the crown of thorns upon his head

Matthew 27:22 (KJV)  Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?  They all say unto him, Let him be crucified.
Matthew 27:23  (KJV) But the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done?  But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.
Matthew 27:24  (KJV) When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood on this just person:  se ye to it
Matthew 27:25  (KJV) Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.
Matthew 27:26  Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
Matthew 27:29  And when they had patted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews."

Matthew 27:30  And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.
Matthew 27:31  And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.

Matthew 27:32  (KJV)  And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name:  him they compelled to bear his cross.

The face of our Lord Jesus before the crucifixion

Matthew 27:33  (KJV)  And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,
Matthew 27:34  (KJV)  They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall:  and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.

Matthew 27:35 (KJV)  And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.
Matthew 27:37  And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Matthew 27:45-46  (KJV) Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, E-li, E-li, la-ma sa-bach-tha-ni?  that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Matthew 27:47  (KJV)  Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias.
Matthew 27:48  (KJV)  And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.
Matthew 27:49  (KJV)  The rest said, Let be, let us see whether E-li-as will come to save him.
Matthew 27:50  (KJV)  Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

Matthew 27: 51   And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
Matthew 27:57  (KJV)  And the even was come, there was a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple:
Matthew 27:58  (KJV)  He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus.  Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.

Mary, the mother of Jesus after the crucifixion, claiming the body of Jesus to be buried in the tomb.

St. Paul wrote, "the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are SAVED, it is the power of God." (I Cor. 1:18)

The irony is that mankind has - by and large - rejected the Gospel of Christ because of it s simplicity, and in its place substituted an alternate gospel which is powerless because it is not based in truth and righteousness. The great apostle fully understood this.

He stated, "For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness:

"But unto them which are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." (1 Cor. 1:22-23) Again St. Paul declared, "For I determined not to know anything among you, save (except) Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." (1 Cor. 2:2)

PREACHING OF THE CROSS WAS CENTRAL
TO ST. PAUL

To the Jews who were tempted to discard the simplicity of the gospel for "law-keeping" he writes, "Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law, ye are fallen from grace."

"For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love." (Ga. 5:4-6)

His argument was that if we trust in the works of the law - like circumcision - we have then made the "work of Christ on the cross of no effect" and, "Christ shall profit you nothing." He speaks of the "offense of the cross" which he had to suffer because of embracing the truth. (Gal. 5:11; 6:12) It cost Paul everything to serve Christ.

"But God forbid that I should glory, save *(except) in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." (Gal. 6:14)

The bottom line is that rituals, ceremonies, keeping of laws and following traditions do not save souls or change lives. The Bible says, "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision but a new creature." (Gal. 6:15)

The Bible says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Cor. 5:17)

St. Paul gloried in THE CROSS OF CHRIST, because only through His substitionary, all-atoning death for the sins of the world is there redemption for fallen man! That is why the apostle declared, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek (heathen)." (Rom. 1:16)

The Bible says, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

"Where for God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Phil. 2:5-11)

In this treatise, I wish to share the teaching of God about the cross and the blood of Jesus. I will answer the question, "What does God say about the cross and what does the Cross of Christ teach us"? The Cross of Christ teaches us five things:

What does God think about our sins?

How much God loves us

The doctrine of substitution

Christ's victor over Satan

The Value of an eternal soul

#1 - The Cross Teaches Us What God Thinks of Our Sins

The Bible warns: "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." (Ezek. 18:4,20)

God had warned Adam and Eve about the sin of disobedience and the awful consequences of such an act. He stated unequivocally, "...of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." (lit. heb. - in dying thou shalt die). (Genesis 2:16-17)

God's command was definite and irrevocable - "You can enjoy this beautiful garden forever, providing you obey My commands and keep them. If you do not, you will begin to die and eventually return to the ground out of which you came."

Please note: Ever since that fateful day, every baby has been born with death in their mortal bodies.

When our first parents sinned, they threw the entire human race into turmoil and jeopardy. Human kind was cascaded into physical as well as eternal death.

In His great mercy, God came searching for Adam and Eve in order to redeem them. He asked Adam & Eve the big question - 'WHY?' Then He passed judgment upon them and the earth, because of their rebellion and sin.

"And the Lord God said unto the woman, "What is this that thou hast done?" And the woman said, "The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat." And the Lord God said unto the serpent, "Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

"And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto the woman He said, I will gratly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be thy husband, and he shall rule over thee."

"And unto Adam He said, "Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow thou shalt eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, til thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." (Genesis 3:13-19)

GOD PRONOUNCED A CURE UPON THE SERPENT. It would lose its ability to walk and would have to crawl and eat dust. Scientists now believe that at one time serpents walked upright. He would put enmity between the human race and serpents. In a USA survey it states that 98% of Americans hate snakes more than any other animal.

That enmity was a type of pre-picture of the battle pitting Satan and his minions against God and His children.

Then God dropped a bombshell. He revealed a great truth hidden from before the foundations of the world. He would send a redeemer!

This was the first mention of the Coming Messiah! His own Son would be incarnated (become a man) in order to suffer, bleed and die to save us. He would redeem the human race through the sacrificial death of His Son, on the Cross. As a type of that ultimate sacrifice, God killed an innocent animal shedding its blood, to atone for Adam and Eve's sins. And from the skins, He made clothes to cover them;

GOD PRONOUNCED A CURSE UPON THE WOMAN

And unto the woman He said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception: in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband and he shall rule over thee."

During my world travels, I have observed how men treat their wives. In most pagan cultures, wives are like a piece of property. They are inferior to men and cannot even eat with their husbands or sons. And females are often aborted before birth, due to their little value! Ungodly, chauvinistic, over sexed men often marry four wives or more. (I once met a Muslim man in Kenya who had 65 wives.) Often such a man is able to accuse his wife - rightly or wrongly and have her put to death on false charges. Or divorce her on the spot!

It is not uncommon for mothers to choke their young daughters to death, because of the unjust Hindu caste system which would bankrupt a poor family with several daughters.

Only Jesus Christ gives women liberty through the glorious gospel which was purchased by His shed blood. Only the gospel sets women free.

Among all the world's religions, only Christianity treats women with respect and honor, as a special creation of God, through the New Birth!

"For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male or female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." (Gal. 3:26-28)

GOD PRONOUNCED A CURSE UPON THE GROUND

"And unto Adam He said, "Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;" (Genesis 3:17-18)

Because of Adam's sin, there would be a curse upon the ground. Man would not enjoy the fruit of his work. Thorns and thistles would come forth to plague him as he tilled the earth to eke out a living. "In sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life."

THEN GOD PRONOUNCED A CURSE UPON MAN

"In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, til thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." (Gen. 3: 17-19)

Man, who was created for immortality would die and return to the dust. God drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden and kept its gates guarded with a flaming cherubim, lest man would enter the Garden and eat the fruit of the TREE OF LIFE and live forever in their sins. Thus, He salvaged the human race from being lost forever with the same fate as Satan, the liar.

CAIN & ABEL - THEY BOTH KNEW THE RULES

After these traumatic experiences, Cain & Abel were born to them. One day the two sons came with an offering unto the Lord. They both knew the rules. There is no doubt that Almighty God had communicated to their parents what was required of them.

SINCE THE 'FALL', every man had to bring a sacrifice to atone for his sins. And the sacrifice had to be like the original one which God himself killed, to atone for the sins of Adam and Eve.

The truth is that 'sin' is so terrible that a life had to be taken and innocent blood shed in order for it to be forgiven. The blood had to be innocent - not contaminated by man's sinful nature - so God used a lamb from the flocks to provide the sacrifice, until "the fullness of time" when he would sacrifice His own Son - as the Pascal lamb - To die as the Lamb of God for the sins of the world.

That is why God accepted the sacrifice of Abel - the firstling of his flocks - and rejected the offering of Cain - the fruit of the ground. Cain is a type of the pagan religions as well as modernists who seek to please God with their own kind of offering, rather than following God's prescribed ways. This is a classic example of 'SALVATION THROUGH GOOD WORKS' rather than by grace through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on Golgatha's Hill.

Ever since the fall, God has demanded a blood sacrifice in order to forgive the sins of fallen man. All the patriarchs built alters and sacrificed unto the Lord. Then came the sacrificial system.

God instituted the 'sacrificial system' under Moses - the great Jewish prophet and law giver - so that He coul dhae fellowship with His people and forgive them for their continual sinning. This continued for 2,000 years until Jesus came to pay the supreme price and redeem us all from the curse of the law and the power of the 'wicked one'!

The Bibe says, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeh on a tree:" (Galations 3:13)

It is estimated that each year on 'THE GREAT DAY OF ATONEMENT' during the reign of Solomon, that 500,000 lambs were sacrificed. History confirms that the blood flowed in a stream, across the Kidron Valley for days, after that event. When Jesus hung on Golgatha's Hill dying upon 'The Cursed Tree', an estimated 250,000 lambs died on the alters of the temple in Jerusalem. And every lamb, goat, bullock or red heifer that was slain under Jewish Law pointed to Jesus of Nazareth, God's own Lamb.

The law stated, "Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission for sin", (Hebrews 9:22) and "It is the blood that maketh atonement for sin." (Lev. 17:11) And St. John declares, "If we walk in the light as He is in the light we have fellowship one with the other and the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son cleanseth us from all sins." (I John 1:7)

The Bible says, "And from Jesus Christ...that loved us and washed us from our sins in His won blood." (Rev. 1:5)

My precious friend, the cross of Christ delivers a powerful message to this world. The cross teaches us what God thinks about our sin. He hates our sins. They are a stench in His nostrils and an abomination in His sight.

From God's word we learn the awful truth about sin, and its eternal consequences.

God had to send His Son to die the awful death of the cross - meeting the demands of Divine Justice - in order to redeem us and purchase our freedom from the chains of satanic bondage and hell forever.

The Bible says, "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23)

#2 - The Cross Teaches us how much God loves us

Martin Luther called John 3:16, "a miniature Bible". It is the central verse of the New Testament.

Jesus said, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

St. John, overwhelmed by God's great love, exclaimed, "We love Him because He first loved us." (I John 4:19)

What an enormous subject that brings up. We love Him because...There are so many reasons why we love God and St. John's explanation is a good place to start. WE LOVE HIM BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US! Then, we must ask ourselves: "Why does He love us? How does He show His love to us?"

God's love is magnanimous, beneficent and all encompassing. It is an ocean divine reaching out in every directoon of His great universe, touching things that touch people - saving, healing, sustaining, providing and ever loving everyone unconditionally. Hallelujah!

The hymn writer, anointed by God, wrote:

"Oh love of God, so rich and pure
So measureless and strong
It shall forevermore endure
The saints and angels song.

Could we with ink the ocean fill
And were the sky of parchment made
And every stalk on earth a quill
And every man a scribe by trade

To write to love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry
And could the scroll contain the whole
Would stretch from sky to sky!"

The premier reason for us to love God, is that He first reached down to us. The Bible says, "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly." (Romans 5:6)

St. Paul writes, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor that ye through His poverty might become rich." (2 Cor. 8:9)

About 20 years ago while studying the dictionary, I came across the word 'apodictic' taken from the Greek 'apodeiktikos' which mean "EVIDENT BEYOND CONTRADICTIONS". It also conveys the meaning: "incontestable because demonstrated and demonstrable; necessarily true or logically certain and proving fully."

Immediately, I knew that that words belongs only to God, for who else can guarantee anything to be "evident beyond contradictions?

Certainly, man in his unregenerate state is unbelievable inconsistent, changeable and vulnerable to moral corruptions.

The Bible says, "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: Who can know it?" (Jer. 17:9)

The power of God is apodictic - 'evident beyond contradictions'. The wisdom of God, the peace of God, the joy and mercy of God is apodictic.

Who can deny that the Love of God is apodictic - evident beyond contradictions? Even the hardest sinner and cruelest skeptic and unbeliever cannot contradict God's love, mercy, grace and compassion - CALVARY PROVES GOD'S LOVE.

Who else, but our Heavenly Father, would send His own Son to die upon a rugged cross - as a common criminal between two thieves - to rescue the world that had gone mad through unbelief, rebellion, fear and evil?

The Bible says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved." (John 3:16-17)

St.Paul tells it like it really is! "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things." (Romans 8:32)

The world was hopelessly lost in sin, degradation and death through Adam's transgression. Then, Almighty God acted out of love, compassion and mercy to save us. He sent His one and only Son down to this earth to be incarnated (God became flesh) so that He could shed His pure and perfect blood as a ransom or penalty for our sinfulness.

This is without doubt one of the greatest scriptures in teh entire Bible because it speaks of our Saviour. Who died willingly and gladly for our sins so that we could be saved.

The Bible says, "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher (perfecter) of our faith; Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.' (Heb. 12:3)

GOD SPARED NOT HIS OWN SON

God gave His best when He offered up His own Son as a ransom price for a world which needed to be redeemed from the curse of the