Sin is repulsive. It was sin that made it necessary for God to go to extreme measures to redeem mankind. God sent His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to condemn sin in the flesh (Romans 8:3) The conquering of sin, however, required more than the manifestation of God’s Son in the flesh. Jesus had to be willing to die in our place. Thank God He was willing to do this. On a cross just outside of the city of Jerusalem, in a place called Golgotha, Jesus was wounded for our transgressions (Isaiah 53:4-6). On that cross, He paid the price for sin for all of us. Surely, we should glory in the cross (Galatians 6:14).
However, not everyone is willing to glory in the cross. There are some enemies of Christ and the cross (Philippians 3:18). Who are these enemies? Let’s listen to Paul.
1. Those who serve the lust of the flesh. In Philippians 3:19, Paul said that these people had their God in their bellies. In other words, they lived for self-indulgence and sensual gratifications. So, those who serve themselves instead of Christ would surely be enemies of the cross. They make the sacrifice on Calvary vain in their lives by their disobedience. They encourage others to place a higher value on their own wants than they do on serving Christ. Anyone who encourages others to sin, whether it be verbal or demonstrative encouragement, are enemies of the cross.
2. Those who conduct themselves shamefully. Some things are simply shameful to the child of God. We know as Christians what sin is – a transgression of God’s law. It is missing the mark. Anything that runs contrary to God’s will, being in opposition to His law, is sin, and we, as Christians, ought to stay away from such things. Those ungodly things that once delighted us should now cause shame in our hearts (Romans 6:20. 21). Enemies of the cross, however, have no shame (Philippians 3:19). They boast about their sins. Remember, Jesus died on the cross to remove sin; therefore, to glory in sin is to treat the cross and the sacrifice made on it profanely.
3. Those who mind earthly things. Paul concludes his description of these people by saying they mind earthy things (Philippians 3:19). The heavenly calling has no attraction to them. They only think of and are interested in the baser things of this world. This again runs contrary to the purpose of the cross. Jesus died so that we might live forever in heaven. To emphasize the earthly is to suggest that the purpose of the cross was foolish.
We know the world is filled with enemies of the cross; what a shame it is, however, to find some in the church. Let’s all make sure that we never fall into this category.
“My Grace Is Sufficient for You”
“Amazing grace how sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me! I was lost, but now I’m found, Was blind, but now I see.”
These might be the most popular words sung in the religious world today. We must never lose sight of the fact that we are saved by God’s grace. This does not mean that we are saved completely apart from our own efforts. What we do certainly plays a role in our salvation (Philippians 2:12). However, we still must know that were it not for God’s grace, all of our efforts to obtain salvation would fall short. It is from this standpoint that the Bible affirms that we are saved by grace.
Jesus once told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for thee.” Paul did not have to be a superhuman to be saved. He did not have to be rich or popular, nor did he have to live completely without sin to be saved. What he had to have was a healthy portion of God’s amazing grace. The grace of God is sufficient. And when we consider the provisions that have been made for us by God’s grace, we can readily see why this is so.
A sacrifice for our sins
The immediate question that comes to mind is, “Was a sacrifice really needed?” The answer is a resounding “yes,” because we have all sinned (Romans 3:9, 23), and because the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). We needed a sacrifice, i.e., someone to die in our stead. The animal sacrifices of the Old Testament were insufficient (Hebrews 10:1-4). Mankind sinned; therefore, the sacrifice had to be a man. Someone says, “there were plenty of human beings from which to choose. God did not have to provide a sacrifice.” It must once again be pointed out, that just any sacrifice would not do. It had to be a sinless man.
If a sinful man died, it would simply be one man paying the price for his own sins. We needed a sacrifice without spot or blemish. But since all had sinned, God was faced with a situation. He could either leave man in a sinful and condemned state, or He could provide for us a sufficient sacrifice. Thank God, by his amazing grace, He chose the latter, i.e., He sent His Son to be the sacrifice so desperately needed (John 3:16; Philippians 2:5-7; Hebrews 10:5-13).
The blood that would cleanse our sin
Merely taking on flesh wasn’t enough if Jesus was to save us from our sins. His blood had to be shed. There is a poster that can be seen in some doctors’ offices that says, “There is no substitute for blood.” We all know that this is a physiological truism, but we should realize that it is a spiritual truth as well. It is an immutable principle that without blood there is no remission of sins (Hebrews 9:22). It is the blood of Christ that justifies, sanctifies, and redeems us (1 Peter 1:18, 19; Romans 5:9, 10). The power of the precious blood of Christ is accentuated even more when we consider the fact that it flowed backward from Calvary, cleansing the Old Testament saints as well as the new (Hebrews 9:14, 15; Romans 3:25, 26). Every person from Adam to Moses to each one of us, who will be in heaven after a while, will be there because of the grace of God that provided the blood of Christ.
Instructions on how to live
It is not only by the grace of God that we have fellowship with Him, but it is by His grace that we maintain that fellowship. Fellowship with God is maintained only by living right (1 John 1:4-7). How do we know how to live right before God? Listen to Paul (Titus 2:11ff; Philippians 2:12, 13). Whatever we do in our labor for God, we owe it to God’s grace (1 Corinthians 15:9, 10).
These facts should remove any ideas of boasting on our part. We are Christians because God has taught us how to be Christians. We are members of God’s family because, by His grace, He has adopted us. Surely, we owe all of our blessings in Christ to God’s grace. The grace of God is truly sufficient.