[I Corinthians 15:1-5]
The riches of the cross is greater than all the world's wealth because our lives are just for a moment; great wealth can vanish overnight; homes can be broken into; identities can be stolen; but right standing with God lasts when all the material possessions are smoldering piles of ashes.
Pure and simple, man is broken, and on his best day--his best day--he's damaged goods just scraping and scrambling to just make through each day. You may not agree, but you can look at these mean Chicago streets and see that man is inherently evil, loves to be evil, and can't do anything worthy of God's favor on his own. Ephesians chapter 2 let's us know that we were from birth the "children of wrath" in God's eyes because of sin. It's man's nature to do evil--don't think so? Okay, commit to doing something that should be very simple to do--don't tell a single lie for 30 days, or don't think a lustful thought for one week. If you're honest, you will realize that that you can't. In fact, we've done these things already possibly tens of thousands of times. Ever cursed?--that's sin (Eph 4:29). Ever had sex outside of marriage or while single?--that's sin (Deut 5:18, Matt 5:28). Ever hated anyone?--that's sin I John 3:15, Deut 5:17). Ever planned in your heart to do evil?--that's sin (Prov 1:10-19). Ever gotten drunk? high? had homosexual thoughts, tendencies?--these are sin (I Cor 6:9-11, Gal 5:19-21).
Why is this so important? You might say, "Well, nobody's perfect." Or, "I'm basically good." No, this is important because no matter how good we think we are, or how great other people may say we are, we fail to match the infinitely high standard of God's holiness, and because He is holy, and perfectly so, He will never allow sin into His presence--ever. He loves us, but He will not compromise His holiness for us because He is completely free of this thing called sin which He hates, and is dedicated to ridding from His presence forever.
I remember a few years ago when I had returned home to my wife after playing basketball. I was smelly, sweaty, and just plain filthy, and though my wife and I are deeply in love, she absolutely would not touch me, wouldn't kiss me, wouldn't even allow me to be in the same room with her until I got clean. After I got clean all the full privileges of marriage were mine again. This is similar to how it is with God. You have to get clean, and while He loves you He will not soil Himself with the filth of sin!
The bad news is that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, that the penalty of sin is death, and that hell is the destiny of every man, woman, child ever born (apart from Christ). Sin is why we experience pain, disease, why we suffer, and fight. The bad news is that we can't change ourselves even if we wanted to, and don't even have the power to want to.
"But God" knows you don't have the power to be holy as He is which is the requirement to be in His presence. You must be holy. Now this is not meant to make anyone feel less than human, or to take away anyone's dignity, but I have been given firm, sober, loving instruction by Elder and Evangelist Kendricks to speak the truth, man's only hope is in that old, rugged cross of Jesus Christ. Now, of course we place no faith in an actual wooden talisman, but it's what happened on that cross is what we hang all hope on. No human could die the death necessary to gain our freedom from sin, death, and Satan, and no power on earth could make us strong enough to keep the God's Law.
The cross is His chosen instrument to win our peace, the brutal, bloody death Jesus suffered encapsulated all of the uninhibited wrath of God meant for unrepentant man for all eternity. The cross is worn around the necks of some of the most famous, wealthy singers, rappers, entertainers, and I would go as far as to say that none of them truly understand the horror of it, that at the time of Christ, the sight of the cross inspired stark terror to the viewer of it; the threat of the punishment of the cross made people of that time walk about in fear, and under the cruelly efficient Roman Empire, many people died before they even reached the cross. Roman punishment made men weep, made them lose all heart, courage, dignity. The humiliation of the cross and its agony are legendary.
The Father knew what this particular death would entail, He knew that this kind of execution could not be borne by anyone but Jesus Christ, He knew that all of the sin of all people that would be born, had been born and would suffer for in hell would be placed upon His dear Son, and not for one, single, solitary, one-one hundredth of a second did Christ even think about not going through the most painful hours one could ever experience because two things were on His mind: total obedience to the Father and you and me. He saw you and me as he took the blows from His own creations, He was thinking about us when He endured the disrespect, the scorn, the cursing, the slander, the beatings, the spit in His face, the weight of the cross as He carried it, the splinters in His bloody, shredded back, all the way to the iron nails driven into His body hammered by a mallet of hate, envy, rebellion, and sin. At any time He could have gotten off of that cross and said to the Father, "I will not endure this! I am God and I am owed honor and worship, and praise!" but He stayed there, hanging broken and dripping red, stripped of His clothing, and of personal rights due Him because He knew there was no other way to pay our debt of sin. In fact, He petitioned the Father in Gethsemene that if there was any other way, that the Father allow it to be done-- but there wasn't--and in obedience, He did the Father's will to the letter.
Now, considering all that Christ went through, we must understand that rejection of Christ has eternal ramifications. Just as Heaven is the perfect place of peace and joy, and comfort, hell is equally perfect but in chaos, despair, and indescribable pain and both experiences are forever. To reject now says that Christ is nothing to you, His sacrifice was insignificant and not worthy or your attention.
Jesus came to save us and He asks for nothing in return--it's a free gift! John 3:14-21 says it better than I ever could:
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world through Him might be saved.
He who believes in Him is not condemned;
but he who does not believe is condemned already,
because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world,
and men loved darkness rather than light,
because their deeds were evil.
For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light,
lest his deeds should be exposed.
But he who does the truth comes to the light,
that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.
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