We all know what boasting is. The
great boxer, Muhammad Ali, used to boast excessively
about being the greatest. We can hear his phrases:
“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee –his hands
can’t hit what his eyes can’t see,” or “I’m so fast
that last night I turned off the light switch in my
hotel room and got into bed before the room was
dark.” One time on an airplane, the flight attendant
was asking Ali to buckle up but he snapped at her,
“Superman don’t need no seat belt.” She leaned in
and said, “Superman don’t need no plane either . . .
now buckle up.” And Ali did!
For most people, boasting is
considered childish. However, the Scriptures tell us
there is one way we should be boasting. In
Galatians, we’re told not to boast UNLESS . . .
we’re boasting about the cross. “May I never boast
except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ”
(Galatians 6:14). The cross meant death. It meant
punishment. The cross I deserved because I’m am a
sinner was given to another for him to bear. Because
someone else took my place, I now boast of what was
done on that cross.
Along the way we have wracked up a
sufficient amount of debt. Our choices have created
a large due bill in our relationship with God. The
cross provides the reminder that God is willing to
stamp our due bill paid in full. When Christ cried
out from the cross, "It is finished" (John 19:30),
he uttered the word (tetelestai), which means, “paid
in full.” This word has been found on many an
ancient bill of sales! It has also become a popular
tattoo nowadays for many young Christians. In Greek
it means, bring to close, to complete. It also means
“will continue to be finished.” It was used in
business when one party would pay another party and
the transaction was completed. Both parties would
speak this word to one another. Both sides agreeing
that the matter was now closed, “paid in full.”
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Right now, some of you are thinking:
“It can’t be that easy. You’re being naïve. There’s
a lot more to this.” That’s one of the reasons the
cross is so offensive. People don’t want to admit
they’re a sinner. To be cleansed from ALL our sin
just requires us to connect ourselves to Jesus. Then
our Sin is made white as snow. Washed white, in
other words.
The American flags on the moon have
all turned white now. That’s right, the flag that
Neil Armstrong left when he first stepped on the
moon is bleached completely white by the UV
radiation of unfiltered sunlight on the lunar
surface. The longer the exposure of the sun . . .
the more bleached out the flags become until they’re
pure white. My sins have all been made white as snow
too—from exposure to the Son.
We can’t boast of anything. Nothing
we have done is worthy of boasting. I can’t boast of
being a minister; elders can’t boast of being
elders; you can’t boast of your own humility; you
can’t boast of your own piety; you can’t boast of
your own service, or charity or even martyrdom,
nothing! The only thing we boast of is the cross.
What Jesus did on the cross for us is all we need
now.
Starting in March, we begin a series
of sermons looking at several of the signposts God
gave in the Old Testament pointing to what he would
do on the cross. For thousands of years, the Hebrew
people missed these signs. But now that we’re on the
other side of the cross, we can clearly see what God
was up to. Each signpost is unique and shows us
something different in understanding and
appreciating the work that Jesus did on the cross.
Come with us as we journey each Signpost to the
Cross.
Ron Otto, preaching
minister at Lincoln Christian Church
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