"But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." (Gal 6:14 ESV)
On this day, November 7th, 1918, the great evangelist Billy Graham was born. Throughout his lifetime, it is estimated that Mr. Graham preached to more than 200 million people in over 185 countries. One his favorite verses was Galatians 6:14. Nothing else was more important to Graham than to boast in and preach the cross of Jesus Christ.
But what exactly does this phrase mean? The idea of “boasting in the cross,” is so familiar to Christian ears that we sometimes forget that “the cross” was a bloody instrument of torture designed to prolong suffering. Perhaps a loose modern equivalent would be the knives terrorist fighters use to behead their victims. People would consider you insane for wearing a necklace of a miniature decapitating knife. So why does Paul declare that he boasts in the cross? It cannot be because the apostle was masochistic and reveled in physical punishment. No, Paul’s boast was not in the AGONIES produced by the cross, but rather in the sum total of what was ACCOMPLISHED on the cross by Jesus Christ.
Christ’s shed blood on the cross paid the debt of our sins. Christ’s body was broken on the cross so that we would not have to be broken before God. The cross restores those who believe in Christ to a right relationship with God. The cross is the means by which millions upon millions of souls can be snatched from the fires of hell and ushered into the kingdom of heaven. The cross is the very reason why we can be born again to a living hope. We are no longer dead in our trespasses and sins but alive in Christ because of the cross. And because the cross crucifies the world to us and us to the world, it means that the believer’s life is ultimately as unattractive as a corpse to the world and vice versa. There is nothing the world ultimately desires about us and there is nothing we ultimately desire about the world.
The Gospel is not primarily a minimum amount of information that you need to get forgiveness and escape hell. That’s part of it, but it’s so much more than that. The Gospel is the power of God that causes us to be born again to a living hope. It gives us new desires and affections and transforms us from our wicked selves into the very image of the perfect, glorious, Son of God! We no longer walk in sin, but in the good works that God has prepared for us and we LOVE it. The true Gospel is not just informational, but transformational.
Believer, have you experienced this? When you look at what this world has to offer you, the things others chase after in this world, do you find yourself attracted to them? Are you tempted to sin by choosing comfort over Christ’s mission, hoarding over giving, dishonesty instead of integrity to get ahead at work, relationships with friends over bringing up the truth? Or are those fleshly practices as attractive to you as a corpse?
Billy Graham once said, “I have often said that the first thing I am going to do when I get to heaven is to ask, ‘Why me, Lord? Why did you choose a farm boy from North Carolina to preach to so many people, to have such a wonderful team of associates, and to have a part in what you were doing in the latter half of the 20th century — and beyond?”
I think the answer to this is apparent. God chose a farm boy to show that the surpassing power of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ belongs to God and not us. God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. (2 Cor 4:7, 1 Cor 1:27-29)
Brothers and sisters, we give thanks to God for men like Billy Graham. But more importantly, we give eternal and ultimate thanksgiving to God for the infinitely valuable and incomparably glorious work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
Article by: Samuel Chua
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