The preaching of the cross

The preaching of the cross
by Warren Wiersbe

It was said of Charles Spurgeon that no matter what text he chose, he moved as quickly as possible across country to the cross of Jesus Christ. This is a good example for us to follow. Spurgeon said to his ministerial students: "More and more am I jealous lest any views upon prophecy, church government, politics, or even systematic theology, should withdraw one of us from glorying in the cross of Christ. Salvation is a theme for which I would enlist every holy tongue."

"Get them in sight of Calvary," said A.J. Gossip in his lectures on preaching. "Pause there...hushed and reverent; enable them to look, to see it, make it real to them, not just an old tale that has lost its wonder and its stab, but a tremendous awful fact."

"Its wonder and its stab"

Calvary is not only the place of atonement; it is also the place of amazement. Are we so familiar with the cross that we no longer pause to wonder and to worship? Are we able to explain Calvary so completely that no mysteries remain?

The wonder of the cross is itself a worthy theme for ministry. In fact, the cross is the theme of heaven's worship (Revelation 5)! The preacher who handles this topic academically, whose heart is not moved by what the Savior did, is not likely to move anybody else.

"There is something infinitely profounder than pathos in the death of Jesus," wrote Oswald Chambers. "There is a mystery we cannot begin to touch."

But there is also the "stab" of the Calvary message. If you have not read A.W. Tozer's essay, "The Old Cross and the New," take time to do so. You will find it in his book, Man: The Dwelling Place of God (Christian Publ.), as well as in The Best of A.W. Tozer (Baker).

A comfortable church does not want a cross that stabs and kills, and yet that is exactly what the cross does to those who understand and apply its message. We want Christ to die for us, but we do not want to die with Christ. We linger in Romans 5 and neglect Romans 6 and 7. We rejoice at the message of substitution, but we rebel at the truth of identification.

A crossless gospel is a powerless gospel (Romans 1:16); and a crossless Christian is a powerless Christian. Paul gloried in the cross (Galatians 6:14), while believers today rejoice because they have escaped the cross!

The whole Bible

The death of the Son of God is a theme that runs like a crimson cord throughout the whole Bible. Whether in type, psalm, or prophecy, the suffering Savior is found from Genesis 3:15 to the end of Revelation. (See The Master Theme of the Bible by J. Sidow Baxter, published by Tyndale.)

The theme of "sacrifice" ties all of Scripture together and emphasizes that "salvation is of the Lord." Key Old Testament texts would be: Genesis 3:15, 22; Exodus 12; Leviticus 16; Numbers 22; Psalms 22 and 69; and Isaiah 53. When you turn to the New Testament, the references to the cross are many; and don't forget the many "Lamb" passages in the book of Revelation.

Make it practical

In Scripture, the death of Jesus Christ is not simply an event in history that has great theological meaning. Paul said, "I am crucified with Christ" (Galatians 2:20). The cross part was a part of his everyday experience and had a bearing on all that he did.

The New Testament epistles make it clear that the message of the cross is practical. You cannot come to the cross by faith and live just as you please ever after.

It is significant that crucifixion is one death we cannot perform ourselves. Men may shoot themselves, poison themselves, or drown themselves, but they cannot crucify themselves. All they can do is yield, which is what Romans 6 and Romans 12:1-2 are all about.

A message for the world

If you preach the cross, you must preach world missions – for he died not for our sins only, but "for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:2). Dr. Charles Koller called the cross "the plus sign on the skyline," and indeed it was.

The cross reconciles sinners to God and people to one another. The message of the church is one of reconciliation, not condemnation; and the good news of the gospel is for the whole world. "For God so loved the world..." is the clear message of Calvary.

"The preaching of the cross" is much more than preaching about the cross. It means bringing the cross to bear upon every doctrine of the Word, every admonition, every promise. It means seeing God's truth through the cross and the empty tomb.

Some Christian missionaries once visited Mahatma Gandhi, and he asked them to sing him one of their hymns. "Which one?" they asked. He replied, "Sing for me the one that best expresses what you are preaching."

It took them a moment to decide, and together they sang "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross." They made the right choice.

Copyright © 1991 by Warren W. Wiersbe.