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(Created page with "<p>"Then he said to them all: 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me'" Luke 9:23.</p> <p>The Cross is the focus of God's e...")
 
 
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<p>"Then he said to them all: 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me'" Luke 9:23.</p>
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<p>"...what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul" Deuteronomy 10:12.</p>
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<p>The Cross is the focus of God's entire plan of redemption. It is not just the way of salvation. It is also a way of life. But before we can take up our cross and follow the Lord, we first need to understand what we are taking up.</p>
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<p>To walk with God means to walk in His ways - to walk as God would walk. The ways of God are beyond the ways of man (Isaiah 55:8; Romans 11:33). But God has given us His Holy Spirit to reveal His ways to us (1 Corinthians 2:9-10). God wants to teach us not just His acts, but His ways (Psalm 103:7).</p>
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<p>There are in fact three aspects to the Cross:<br /> The heart of the Cross<br /> The work of the Cross<br /> The way of the Cross</p>
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<p>"Many peoples will come and say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths...'" Isaiah 2:3 (see also Psalm 25:4).</p>
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<p>Each of the Persons of the Godhead are actively involved in the work of redemption, and the three aspects of the Cross reflect their involvement.</p>
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<p><strong>Two Ways of Living</strong><br /> "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it" Matthew 7:13-14.</p>
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<p>"For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in [Jesus], and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross" Colossians 1:19-20.</p>
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<p><strong>The Broad Way</strong><br /> "Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse, who leave the straight paths to walk in dark ways, who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil, whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways" Proverbs 2:12-15 (see also Prov 3:31; Prov 14:12; Isaiah 59:8).</p>
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<p><strong>The Heart of the Cross</strong><br /> "All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast - all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world " Rev 13:8 (see also 2 Timothy 1:9-10).</p>
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<p>From the time of the original temptation, mankind has chosen a way separate from God. This is a broad way because, in all its different forms of philosophy and religion, it is the one that much of mankind chooses. It is an easy route, because it caters to self-interest in all its many forms.</p>
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<p>The Cross was not something God thought up at the last moment. From the moment of Adam's fall, the plan of the Cross was put in motion. The "heart of the Cross", the sacrificial love which resulted in the sending of Jesus to die, has always been in the heart of the Father. His love is absolute. The Cross was simply its greatest expression.</p>
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<p>"Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon" Isaiah 55:7 (see also Isa 53:6; Luke 1:78-79).</p>
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<p>"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall have eternal life" John 3:16.</p>
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<p><strong>The Narrow Way</strong><br /> "He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he" Deuteronomy 32:4 (see also Psalm 18:30; Psa 77:13; Psa 145:17).</p>
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<p><strong>The Work of the Cross</strong><br /> "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed" 1 Peter 2:24 (see also Galatians 4:4-5).</p>
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<p>Jesus called the other way a narrow way because it is the way the Lord walks. In order for us to walk in the ways of the Lord, He must be the total focus of our lives (Hebrews 12:2). By focusing on Jesus, we avoid the distractions of the world which will cause us to wander off the path of God's righteousness.</p>
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<p>Two thousand years ago, the heart of the Cross was enacted upon the Cross of Calvary. This was the historic sacrifice of Jesus upon the Cross which we look back to (1 Corinthians 15:3). This work of the Cross has two important parts:</p>
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<p>"Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name" Psalm 86:11.</p>
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<p><strong>Christ died for you</strong><br /> When Jesus died, He took the judgement which you should have received. Christ was your substitute. Because He died for you, you have eternal life.</p>
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<p><strong>Running in God's Paths</strong><br /> "I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free" Psalm 119:32.</p>
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<p>"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" Romans 5:8 (see also Colossians 1:13-14; Titus 3:4-7).</p>
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<p>Christian growth is pictured as a race (1 Corinthians 9:24). The prize is the full likeness of Christ. In Luke 15:11-32, Jesus told a parable about two sons. This parable shows the two snares that can disqualify a Christian from the race.</p>
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<p><strong>Christ died as you</strong><br /> Not only did Jesus die for you, He died as you. When Christ died on the Cross, God saw you dying on the Cross in Christ. Your old Adamic nature was crucified in Christ. Christ was your <strong>representative.</strong> Because He died as you, you are now a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).</p>
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<p><strong>The Snare of Sin</strong><br /> The younger son left his father, fell into sin, but later returned to his father. This is a picture of a person repenting and turning back to the Lord.</p>
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<p>"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" Galatians 2:20 (see also Gal 6:14).</p>
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<p>"...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us" Hebrews 12:1.</p>
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<p>The work of the Cross was a finished work. The Cross of Christ dealt with both the judgement of sin and the power of sin. This was the work of the Son on your behalf.</p>
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<p><strong>The Snare of the Law</strong><br /> The older brother never left his father, but he was never with his father. He was always trying to get his father's approval by working in the fields like one of the servants. This is a picture of many Christians who have fallen into the trap of the Law.</p>
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<p>"For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin - because anyone who has died has been freed from sin" Romans 6:6-7.</p>
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<p>"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery" Gal.5:1.</p>
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<p>Many Christians understand the first part of the work of the Cross (the receiving of eternal life), but don't understand the second part (living as a new creation). Many believe they are now supposed to "die out to themselves" and "crucify the old man." But the Bible tells us that you have already been crucified with Christ. This was the work of the Cross for you. You do not have to try to struggle to "die" to sin. You are already dead to sin in Christ (Galatians 5:24).</p>
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<p>A few verses later, Paul asked the Galatian Christians</p>
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<p>"The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus" Romans 6:10-11 (read also Rom 6:3-14).</p>
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<p>"You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?" Galatians 5:7.</p>
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<p>Just as Jesus died to sin once for all time, so you are now to count yourself dead to sin once for all time! And just as Jesus is now alive to God, so you too are alive to God in Christ!</p>
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<p>Both these snares will stop a Christian from "running the race" that God has planned for his life. If Satan cannot ensnare a Christian in deliberate sin, he will try to ensnare him in the law. A person who has fallen into law needs to repent just as much as a person who has fallen into sin. Only when our feet have been loosed from everything that hinders are we truly free to run in the path of God's commands.</p>
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<p><strong>The Way of the Cross</strong><br /> "And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple" Luke 14:27 (see also Matthew 10:38).</p>
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<p>"You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn" Psalm 18:36 (see also Psa 23:3; Isaiah 26:7; Hebrews 12:13).</p>
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<p>When Jesus told us to take up our cross and follow Him, He did not mean for us to crucify ourselves. We cannot kill off the old nature. That was the work of the Cross. It is the new creation that takes up its cross and lays down its life for others. It means:</p>
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<p><strong>Standing at the Crossroads</strong><br /> "This is what the Lord says: 'Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls...'" Jeremiah 6:16.</p>
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<p><strong>Having the Heart of the Cross</strong><br /> We are called to have the heart of the Cross like the Father. God has designed for this heart of sacrificial love to motivate the new creation life (John 15:12-13).</p>
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<p>Time and again, Israel wandered off the ancient paths of God by following after other gods (Jeremiah 18:15). But when Jesus came into the world, He said:</p>
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<p><strong>Bearing the Shame of the Cross</strong><br /> When we take up our cross we are bearing the shame of the Cross like the Son (Hebrews 12:2; Romans 15:3; 1 Peter 2:19-23). Note that Jesus told us to take up our cross, not to actually crucify ourselves. Before a prisoner was crucified, they were required to carry their own cross to the execution site. This involved great shame (read 1 Cor.4:9-13). When we take up our cross, we bear the shame of the Lord for the sake of others.</p>
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<p>"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" Matthew 11:29.</p>
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<p><strong>Denying Ourselves</strong><br /> We deny our own interests and comfort by the Holy Spirit (John 12:24; 1 Corinthians 15:31; 2 Corinthians 4:7-12; 2 Cor 5:15; Rev 12:11). We do not do this because we are trying to complete our own salvation. We do this because of love for God (Romans 12:1) and love for others (2 Corinthians 5:14)</p>
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<p>The people of Israel had been told to "ask where the good way is." Jesus declared Himself to be the answer to that question. Jesus told them that He was the Way they had been asking for.</p>
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<p>"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me'" John 14:6 (read John 14:4-5).</p>
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<p><strong>The Footsteps of Jesus</strong><br /> "My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside" Job 23:11.</p>
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<p>God has simplified the Christian life so that even a child can believe and obey. God's ways are beyond our comprehension, but we don't need to try to fathom them with our mind. We learn the ways of God by following Jesus, the Way. As we follow Him, the path we take leads us in one clear direction - the full likeness of the Lord Jesus Himself.</p>
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<p>"The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day" Proverbs 4:18.</p>
  
 
[[Study Working with God 17|Walking the Way of the Cross]]
 
[[Study Working with God 17|Walking the Way of the Cross]]
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[[Study Working with God Index|Back to Index]]

Latest revision as of 00:43, 14 February 2011

"...what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul" Deuteronomy 10:12.

To walk with God means to walk in His ways - to walk as God would walk. The ways of God are beyond the ways of man (Isaiah 55:8; Romans 11:33). But God has given us His Holy Spirit to reveal His ways to us (1 Corinthians 2:9-10). God wants to teach us not just His acts, but His ways (Psalm 103:7).

"Many peoples will come and say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths...'" Isaiah 2:3 (see also Psalm 25:4).

Two Ways of Living
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it" Matthew 7:13-14.

The Broad Way
"Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse, who leave the straight paths to walk in dark ways, who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil, whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways" Proverbs 2:12-15 (see also Prov 3:31; Prov 14:12; Isaiah 59:8).

From the time of the original temptation, mankind has chosen a way separate from God. This is a broad way because, in all its different forms of philosophy and religion, it is the one that much of mankind chooses. It is an easy route, because it caters to self-interest in all its many forms.

"Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon" Isaiah 55:7 (see also Isa 53:6; Luke 1:78-79).

The Narrow Way
"He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he" Deuteronomy 32:4 (see also Psalm 18:30; Psa 77:13; Psa 145:17).

Jesus called the other way a narrow way because it is the way the Lord walks. In order for us to walk in the ways of the Lord, He must be the total focus of our lives (Hebrews 12:2). By focusing on Jesus, we avoid the distractions of the world which will cause us to wander off the path of God's righteousness.

"Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name" Psalm 86:11.

Running in God's Paths
"I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free" Psalm 119:32.

Christian growth is pictured as a race (1 Corinthians 9:24). The prize is the full likeness of Christ. In Luke 15:11-32, Jesus told a parable about two sons. This parable shows the two snares that can disqualify a Christian from the race.

The Snare of Sin
The younger son left his father, fell into sin, but later returned to his father. This is a picture of a person repenting and turning back to the Lord.

"...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us" Hebrews 12:1.

The Snare of the Law
The older brother never left his father, but he was never with his father. He was always trying to get his father's approval by working in the fields like one of the servants. This is a picture of many Christians who have fallen into the trap of the Law.

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery" Gal.5:1.

A few verses later, Paul asked the Galatian Christians

"You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?" Galatians 5:7.

Both these snares will stop a Christian from "running the race" that God has planned for his life. If Satan cannot ensnare a Christian in deliberate sin, he will try to ensnare him in the law. A person who has fallen into law needs to repent just as much as a person who has fallen into sin. Only when our feet have been loosed from everything that hinders are we truly free to run in the path of God's commands.

"You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn" Psalm 18:36 (see also Psa 23:3; Isaiah 26:7; Hebrews 12:13).

Standing at the Crossroads
"This is what the Lord says: 'Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls...'" Jeremiah 6:16.

Time and again, Israel wandered off the ancient paths of God by following after other gods (Jeremiah 18:15). But when Jesus came into the world, He said:

"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" Matthew 11:29.

The people of Israel had been told to "ask where the good way is." Jesus declared Himself to be the answer to that question. Jesus told them that He was the Way they had been asking for.

"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me'" John 14:6 (read John 14:4-5).

The Footsteps of Jesus
"My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside" Job 23:11.

God has simplified the Christian life so that even a child can believe and obey. God's ways are beyond our comprehension, but we don't need to try to fathom them with our mind. We learn the ways of God by following Jesus, the Way. As we follow Him, the path we take leads us in one clear direction - the full likeness of the Lord Jesus Himself.

"The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day" Proverbs 4:18.

Walking the Way of the Cross

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