Boasting In The Cross
But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Galatians 6:14 NKJV)
The death and sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross and His precious blood saved us and provided the grace and power through which we defeat sin. Without the cross ( Meaning the death and sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and His precious blood) we would not have grace to live in the truth and overcome sin. Without the cross ( meaning the death and sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross and His precious blood), we would be subject to false doctrines that make us obey the laws of man and the flesh. The word of God is spiritual and it is only the spiritual law that matters.
When you obey the spiritual law that comes out of the mouth of the Holy Spirit you will be saved. When you obey the physical laws that man made up in false religions to appease their conscience, you will be lost.
Our glory, ability and salvation comes from the cross (meaning the death and sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and His precious blood) so we should only boast in the death of Jesus and sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and His precious blood that saved us and gives us the ability to defeat sin and death.
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The cross did not save us. Yeshua (Jesus), being crucified and raised from the dead, is our salvation. Paul himself states, in 1 Corinthians 15:14-16, “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. … For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” (ESV) We always need to view all of Paul’s sayings before trying to make a statement.
The only thing that gives the cross significance is that Yeshua died on it and three days later rose from the dead. When Paul makes the statement you quoted in Gal. 6, he is not trying to give any salvation power to the cross. He in fact says, ‘cross of our Lord Yeshua (Jesus) the messiah.’ The immediate context of his statement adds more depth to the verse you quoted.
To refer to only the cross as giving salvation is akin to ‘subtracting from the Word of God, which we are told not to do. It is when we make such small substitutions for the absolute truth that we put ourselves on a path away from God and truth.
In considering all your posts, I’m certain you don’t actually mean to say that the cross is what saves, but had in mind the full meaning. But we do need to be real careful of what we write. Your post would be quite powerful if it didn’t start off by allowing false thoughts about the cross.
Shalom,
– Yosef
Thank you for the very informative contribution. Of course every Christian knows that when Paul said that He was boasting in the cross through which He has been crucified He was talking about the death and sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. The Bible was not glorifying a physical cross. It was symbolical and the Bible is about interpretations, meanings and explanations. It is rarely literal.
He was talking about the blood of Jesus. Was Paul talking about a physical cross? Can any Christian think that the physical cross saved Him – I very much doubt it. We all know it’s the death and sacrifice of Jesus and the blood of Jesus.
I am surprised that you misunderstood the message. This is the meaning we have all known from childhood so I did not think it necessary but I guess I will have to go back to the post and spell it out clearly in case someone else misunderstands it. Thanks for the response. 🙏❤️❤️❤️
Actually, I did not misunderstand the message at all. You are of course correct in what you say in your reply, but your post leaves open a couple phenomena that are to be seen in Christianity today. One is the veneration of the cross as a symbol, even to such an extent that some see wearing the cross (protestants included), or making the sign of the cross, as having some innate power. I personally know several Christians who believe that it is Christ’s death that is the most important point. The other is the watering down of the gospel.
It is this type of misunderstanding that can arise when we fail to ‘spell it out’ as you comment. I actually disagree with your statement that ‘this is the meaning we have all known from childhood.’ There is much false doctrine being taught today, and the watering down of the gospel is epidemic! Churches and entire denominations are dropping teaching about Yeshua’s (Jesus’) death and resurrection.
So my earlier comment is simply an encouragement to avoid possible confusion. For every Christian does not know what Paul was talking about. I’m glad that those around you do know! And I continue to thank you for your posts.
Shalom,
– Yosef
I really appreciate your observation and I have amended the post to avoid confusion. You are right – it certainly leaves room for confusion. It is very unfortunate that people worship and venerable the cross and I am glad I have clarified the meaning. Thanks for the support and encouragement. Blessings 🙏❤️❤️❤️
correction – venerate the cross