Greetings Flag Branch members and friends and thanks for taking the time to join me, Pastor Jordan, for some Fine Points from Sunday’s service and message “Conclusion Of Critique Of The Cross”.
For the last few weeks, I have felt led to address the growing tide of lies, falsehoods and deceptions that have begun to permeate every media and social outlet where millions of people are receiving information on just about every topic and subject including the origin of life and the place or role of religion in contemporary society.
I was and still am deeply concerned about the impact it is having on those who profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It appeared to me that there is and was a need to refocus on the cross of Christ. By losing sight of the meaning of the cross, followers have forgotten or missed altogether the impact the cross should have on our lives and decision making.
In this concluding sermon, I attempt to describe God’s redemptive narrative of mankind and the meaning of the cross in it. Beginning with the premise that mankind exists for the purpose of God begetting sons and daughters, the cross sets up the eternal choice for all people to decide to choose good or choose evil.
This choice is necessitated by God’s children being like Him. As a consequence of the fall, God is heard saying that “man has become like Us knowing good and evil”. We can only know good and evil through pain and suffering. Evil brings about pain and suffering.
Pain and suffering is not something that can be talked about, visualized or described to understand what it really is. For example, I can show pictures of a decayed tooth, describe the pain and talk about what it feels like. But nothing I can do or say can make someone understand and realize the pain and suffering of a toothache like experiencing one for oneself.
The experience of pain and suffering brings it to life, makes it real and not some imaginary thing or concept. It becomes something to be avoided and something we can relate to when we see it in others. God wants and needs His children to know the pain and suffering that results from evil.
On the cross, He joined us and pain and suffering became a shared experience. The death on the cross epitomizes all the pain and suffering evil brings. Because they realize now the cost and results of evil, God’s offspring will make the choice to refuse and resist evil and choose good. There are some other things going on at the cross as well involving forgiveness, but the main purpose is making every person choose between good and evil.
Everyone who hopes to be a child of God sees the sacrifice God made, the pain and suffering He was willing to endure to sanctify His children and will have no part of evil, but will reject it because they see it for what it is. It is the source of pain and suffering and it is why God’s children chose to obey and follow Him for not to do so is evil and sin.
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Pastor Jordan
