1 Corinthians 2:1-5 – “And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”  NKJV

I am fully aware of the directive and declaration of Hebrews 6 that we are to move beyond discussing the “elementary principles of Christ” and move on to spiritual maturity.  It is clear that believers are to “grow in grace” and move from spiritual infancy through adolescence into maturity.  I fully agree.  However, if we omit one of if not the central message of the church, “The Cross” we err.

We cannot grow in grace until we are in grace.  The apostle Paul nor the other apostles and disciples ever forgot the central message of the gospel.  They continually returned to the preaching of the Cross.  In fact, Paul declared in Romans 10, “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?  And how shall they hear without a preacher?  And how shall they preach unless they are sent…” (10:14-15). Paul reminded us in 1 Corinthians 1:18 that the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are saved it is the power of God.

I love seeing things I have not seen in Scripture.  I love when I am meditating on the Word of God or in prayer to have the Holy Spirit pull back the veil and allow me to see that which is beyond what I have seen.  I love it when I move beyond the “milk” into the “meat” of God’s word.  I love it when I am in a time of praise and worship and the heavens come down and glory fills the place.  I love it when I sense the divine presence of God so powerfully that I feel I could hold it in my hands.  Yet, if the angels in heaven are overwhelmed with joy when one sinner repents how can I have less a response and desire to see people come to the foot of the Cross and receive the Lord Jesus as their personal savior?

When I talk about the Cross being the central message of the Church some will say, “All you evangelists are the same.  Salvation, salvation, salvation.  That’s all you think or know.”  That is an assumption that evangelist is my gift and if it is I can accept that so thank you but the message God has burned in my heart is not a singular message of salvation but salvation is a part of what I preach, therefore I’m not sure the distinction fully applies.  If Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life and the significant charge He gave to the disciples was to “go into all the world and preach” should it not be our message too?  If Jesus is the Door to salvation should we not be attempting to bring people to the door?  Of course, we should seek to equip and train believers for the work of ministry but it is like fishing I don’t clean fish before I catch them. 

I have been in some churches multiple times and have yet to hear them present the message of the Cross.  I have been in others and they never present anything else.  I once was lost in sin, but Jesus took me in and as Paul on the Road to Damascus, a light shined in my heart.  I knew that I knew that I knew my sins were forgiven.  I met Jesus at the foot of Calvary and thank God he drew me to Him and when I called out to Him, He came to me in Grace, forgiving my sins and washing me whiter than snow.

Never be afraid or ashamed to share your faith.  Never be ashamed of the Cross.  You may never have a great revelation that awes people but if you have been to the Cross and met Jesus there, you have experienced the most important part of your Christian walk.  I am less concerned with impressing people on earth than I am about introducing people to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

            God bless you as you go through this wonderful day in Jesus!

Genesis 3:21 – “Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.”  NKJV

This is the first recorded sacrifice in the Bible and it comes AFTER man had sinned in the Garden.  It is a type and picture of what was to come to cover sinful man.  God supplied the animal and shed its blood using the skin to make coverings for Adam and Eve to cover their nakedness.  In one short sentence we get a glimpse of what was to come through the sacrificial death of the LORD Jesus on the Cross for the nakedness (sin) of mankind.

Biblical Hermeneutics has what is called “The Law of First Mention” and affords us a powerful basis for developing a doctrine or defining a principle in God’s Word.  In this case it gives us a valuable key as to the meaning of sacrifice in the Bible and points to the Cross.  The Law of First Mention can be understood as, “the first use of a word, phrase or incident in and gives a key to the exact meaning everywhere else in the Bible.”  If we apply it to this verse we discover three basic things:

• Salvation Must Be Of The Lord.
• It Must Be by the Death of an Innocent Substitute.
• It Must Be by Blood. 

Every acceptable sacrifice must meet those conditions and cannot be man’s work but God’s.  It cannot be the “fig leaves” of man’s own righteousness but the “bloody skins” of God’s providing.  Abel’s sacrifice met the condition of Genesis 3:21 but Cain’s did not.

Noah took one of the clean animals of which God had commanded him to take seven.  Abraham was prepared to slay his son when God showed him a ram in the thicket so once again God provided the sacrifice.  It MUST be God’s gift as we see in John 3:16.  It MUST be by the death of an innocent sacrifice as was Jesus as detailed in 1 Peter 2:22-24.  It MUST be by blood as Peter declares in I Peter 1:18-20.

The Blood is indispensable for salvation!  Since God is perfectly and completely holy, sin can never be passed over without a satisfaction of Divine Justice.  Sin is, in its root, rebellion against God.  That is why Jesus had to go to the Cross, He was and is our substitute and payment for sin.  His innocent blood liberates from the legal claim of the devil and through the Blood of Jesus man is bought back and entry into the family of God made possible but only by the Blood.

Remember when the Children of Israel made the Golden Calf and worshipped it?  Moses took the image, melted it, ground it to powder, put it in water and made Israel drink.  In Deuteronomy 9 there is a more elaborate detail of what transpired.  Moses took the gold, melted it, stamped it, ground it, ground it a second time, put it in a brook and made Israel drink.  He then took some of the water out of the brook and offered it to God for the Blood Atonement of the sins of Israel.   Gold is insoluble in water as it is 19 times heavier with a specific gravity of 19.5.  In fine power form it assumes a colloidal condition and water results in a coloration.  As the particles are made finer and finer it acquires an “apparent” specific gravity permitting its suspension in water and takes on a “rose colored” appearance.  All that Moses did to the gold would have resulted in a solution that was blood-red and possess purifying qualities.  Clearly a type of Christ and His shed blood.

One more thing must be said on this matter.  Moses made an atonement and God accepted it but ONLY those who, by faith, appropriated it were saved.  The others died.  That is strongly suggested in Exodus 32:26-28.  Jesus died for every man, woman, boy and girl in the world who has lived, is living and will live but ONLY those who, by faith, appropriate it receive Salvation.

The Cross is found in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation and the Blood of Jesus is an indispensable element in the message of Salvation or The Gospel of Jesus Christ.  My question is simple but vital, “Are you washed in the Blood of the Lamb?”  If not, I urge you to turn to Him today for “now is the accepted time and today is the day of salvation.”

            God bless you as you go through this wonderful day!