Avoidance of the Cross

Galatians 6:12 Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.

There is no one in this world more important than you.  That’s not meant to be sarcastic or pandering; that’s the truth.  No one, not one person, is in God’s good graces more than you are.  You enjoy a very high and dignified position in this world.  Every day, God is for you, never against you.  He has lavished his love on you, making you a child of God.  The riches of God and the most priceless piece of real estate—the new heavens and new earth—are already in your name.  They are your possession right now.  The holy angels serve you 24/7.  What dignity you have!  All because of the cross of Christ.

At the very same time, God has arranged that your high and dignified position is not readily apparent on earth.  He has determined that your life is to be characterized by the lowliness that characterized Christ’s life.  This is a foreign concept to the world.  Normally, to the world, the important, dignified people are the ones who look important and dignified.  Unless he is on Undercover Boss, a CEO presents himself in a way that is consistent with his position:  he takes care in selecting clothing that reflects his importance, he walks with confidence, he speaks with authority.  In fact, the reason he reached that important position is because he looked and acted the part beforehand, working his way up the ladder.  But it’s different for the dignified position you hold as God’s child.  That dignity is hidden for now. 

This lowliness is called the cross.  In this world, Christians do not often appear dignified and victorious and successful, but they are—just like Christ!  In this world, they often do appear weak and lowly—just like Christ.  The cross of Christ and the cross of Christians are inseparably connected.  Clinging to the cross of Christ always gives you the high position of God’s child and heir.  Clinging to the cross of Christ always results in apparent weakness and lowliness.  The two go together.

The two go together.  But in this verse from Galatians we have an example of people trying to have one without the other.  They were trying to avoid the lowliness of the cross while keeping the high, dignified position.  There was a group of Jews in Galatia—whom we usually call Judaizers—who were telling new Christians that they had to be circumcised to be a real Christian.  Circumcision was a command from God for Old Testament believers, but these Judaizers believed that circumcision remained necessary in the New Testament era.  But this isn’t the only reason they demanded that the Gentiles be circumcised.  There were plenty of non-Christian Jews around, who didn’t want to hear that circumcision didn’t matter like it used to.  They gave Christians a hard time.  So the Judaizers preached circumcision to appease the other Jews and keep them off their back.  They tweaked the message of Christ so that it wouldn’t be offensive and so that they wouldn’t have to deal with angry opponents.

Paul recognized their selfish motivation.  “The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.”  They were avoiding the cross, the cross of the Christian.  But, you see, it came at the expense of the cross of Christ.  By requiring circumcision, they minimized angry reactions, but they also took away the truth of the gospel.  They made forgiveness and salvation dependent on something people have to do rather than on the cross of Christ.  They lost the concept of grace, they took away the power of the cross.  Just so they could avoid angry opponents and uncomfortable situations.  This was easier, but by avoiding the cross (persecution), they were voiding the cross of Christ.  The two are inseparably connected. 

Wherever the cross of Christ is, there the cross of the Christian is also.  In other words, wherever God’s Word is believed and confessed in its truth and purity and wherever Christians lead godly lives according to it, there the cross will also appear in the form of opposition or apparent weakness and lowliness.  A teenager who wants to make godly decisions in life will face peer pressure and maybe even teasing.  A church that confesses all of Christ’s teachings will notice that many people refuse to come because they are offended by one of those teachings.  A Christian clinging to the cross of Christ will experience Satan’s attacks.  Our life takes on a lowly form.  It’s the truth of the cross. 

Avoiding the cross is often easier.  And that’s what the sinful nature in us wants.  Less suffering, less lowliness, more outward dignity and respect.  The sinful nature wants to cheat a little here and there on godly living, because that’s easier than fighting constant temptation.  The sinful nature wants to tweak some of the things Christ said so that it’s less offensive and more acceptable to others, because that’s easier than hearing angry or condescending opposition.  The sinful nature shows its true colors when it asks, “What works for me so that I look good?” rather than asking the godly, “What does Christ want for me?”

What Christ wants for you is the cross.  This is why in Lent we embrace the lowliness of repentance.  We confess the self-centeredness of the sinful nature in each of us and cry out, “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner!”  Not because we enjoy lowliness.  Not because we want to look weak.  But because when we embrace our cross, we are also clinging to the cross of Christ.  Remember, the two go together.  We are never alone when we carry our crosses.  Christ is always there with his gracious, saving, dignity-giving cross.

There, in the apparent weakness of his cross, God has come to you to give you the most important position in the world.  He came in lowliness and weakness, he suffered even death on a cross, he came to rescue those who can’t rescue themselves.  He carried his cross and he carried our sins that we place before him tonight and then he died the death of the weak and helpless so that you, who are weak and helpless before him, are now the important and the dignified.  Not because of circumcision or uncircumcision.  Not because of outward success or personal victories.  Not because anything changed outwardly.  All because of the cross.  The weak are the strong.  All because of the cross.

That means there is no one in this world more important than you.  No one, not one person, is in God’s good graces more than you are.  You enjoy a high and dignified position in this world.  How do you know?  God comes down from heaven to meet you.  He meets you here by forgiving your sins in the spoken word of his gospel.  Christ comes down to meet you here—his real body and blood.  He gives you the result of his cross.  “Here, this is for you,” he says to you who are carrying your own cross, who live in apparent weakness and lowliness.  But it’s only apparent.  The Son of God has given himself for you.  That’s how important you are!  That’s the triumph of the cross.  As you continue to carry your cross, Christ continues to point you to his, telling you that there is no one in this world more important to him than you.  The cross proves it.