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The Message of the Cross and the Enemies Thereof
"For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even
weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is
destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their
shame, who mind earthly things." -Philippians 3:18-19
If any one will do so much as to even skim briefly over the epistles of
Paul, they would unavoidably come to a recurring theme time and again.
This theme is considered to be utter foolishness to the world, along
with those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the
power of God; for God's strength is made perfect in weakness in the
over-abounding sufficiency of His tremendous grace.
This underlying theme is the message of the cross. It is the greatest
message of shame and humiliation toward men that the world has ever
known, and yet, at the same time, it is the greatest message of honor
and exaltation toward God that the world has ever known. It is a savor
of death to those who are perishing, because they can't possibly
understand it as it confounds the wise, glories in shame, humbles the
proud, puts the first in last, and brings life out of death. It's a
message that says you have to die in order to live. To us who are the
elect of God, however, and are called according to His purpose, it is a
savor of glorious life and liberty in the resurrection power of God by
the Spirit whom the world cannot receive because it does not know Him,
because as we deny ourselves and put the flesh to death, the Spirit
takes of the things of Christ and gives them to us so that we may walk
as He walked and live as He lived; in the abundance of life in the realm
of the Kingdom of God, yet in the abundance of sufferings and death in
the natural world all at the same time.
The message of the cross is the greatest message and underlying theme of
the whole New Testament. That is why Paul repeatedly wrote of it, over
and over, in all his epistles. Notice how Paul boasts in his weaknesses,
glories only in his shame, speaks of terrible sufferings as the mark of
his Apostleship, and repeatedly points to his sacrifice and self-denial
as the way to win Christ. He even says that he has been crucified with
Christ and no longer lives, but Christ lives in Him by the power of His
resurrection. It is through the cross that Paul exalted the glory of God
in everything he did, and it is the shame, humiliation, sufferings, and
persecutions of the cross that made him the great Apostle that he was to
God's glory.
The message of the cross did not originate with Paul, however. It
originated with Jesus Christ. He said that if any man will come after
Him, he must deny himself and take up his cross, even daily. Jesus said
that if you try to save your life or if you love your life in this
world, you will lose it eternally, but if you lose your life and hate it
in this world for His sake, then you will keep it unto life eternal. He
said that if you don't forsake everything you have, and love Him more
than you love everything else, including your own family, then you
cannot be His disciple (follower). The Lord said we will be blessed when
we are persecuted and spoken of as evil for His sake, but that we will
be cursed if we seek the things of this world and are spoken well of by
the world. Jesus said that no servant is greater than his Master, and
that the world would hate His followers.
Do you obey and relate to this message? If not, and if you think this
message is one of foolishness, then I have the authority of the Word of
God to boldly state that you are perishing (1 Cor 1:18). If the contempt
of the cross of Christ is too much for you to bear, then don't even
think about being a follower of Jesus. What man attempts to build a
building without sitting down first and calculating the cost in order to
see if he has what is required to finish it? In the same way, we must
count the cost before committing ourselves to the Lord Jesus, and if we
are not willing to forsake all that we have, then we cannot be His
follower. Why would anybody not be willing to forsake all they have, die
daily as they take up their cross, and hate their own life for His sake?
The reward far outweighs the cost, for the sufferings of this present
time are not worthy of being compared to the glory that shall be
revealed in us. After all, what would it profit a man to gain the whole
world and lose his very own soul? So why would a man not be willing to
forsake all that is in the world in order to gain the incorruptible
crown of unfading glory in the glorious Kingdom of the Lord Jesus
Christ?
As you can see, this message is a hard one, yet it is unsurpassed by
anything this world has to offer in its' concluding glory and reward. In
light of the "hardness" of this message, though, we can clearly come to
the obvious conclusion that such a message of self-crucifixion would
have many enemies. It would be much easier to twist the scriptures out
of context, cut and paste only the scriptures we like out of the Bible
while completely ignoring or explaining away the rest, and to create
false doctrines that ease the burden of the cross's message, than to
accept and follow such a hard message. But be warned that such people
who do this commit the grave sin that the Apostle Peter warned of in the
16th verse of the third chapter of his second epistle: these unstable
souls wrest the scriptures to their own destruction.
In the opening text, the Apostle Paul states that many, in fact, do walk
as enemies of the cross. Notice that he does not specifically state that
they are the enemies of Jesus Christ, but that they are enemies of the
cross. In being the enemies of the cross, they are the enemies of Christ
as well, but what does this entail?
Enemies of the cross may claim the name of Jesus in all they do. They
may "come in (His) name...". They may appear to be the Lord's most
enlightened ministers. They may appear to be the greatest preachers the
world has ever seen or known. They may even operate in deceptive
counterfeit signs and wonders and many impressive miracles, but we know
that if Satan can be transformed into an angel of light, it is no
surprising thing for his servants to be transformed into ministers of
righteousness. The Word of God says that the spirit of anti-Christ will
come with many counterfeit signs and wonders, and that this spirit was
already at work in the world at the writing of John's first epistle
nearly two thousand years ago.
This spirit of anti-Christ often imitates the true Spirit of Christ. It
counterfeits all that the Lord does. It is no wonder for this false
spirit to heal and prophesy. It operates through false teachers while
most of them are unaware, imitating the Spirit of God, and it presents a
message contrary to the true Gospel's message of the cross. The spirit
of anti-Christ operates in accordance with the world, and worldly
"Christians" are drawn away by it, enticed by their own selfish desires.
This spirit is after the working of Satan and offers worldly
satisfaction, material wealth, comfortable living, ear-tickling
prophecies, and appeals to the desires of men's hearts and flesh, and
most often does it all in pretense under the name of Jesus. It offers
the exact opposite of the message of the cross and completely disregards
all sacrificial commitment to Jesus through self-denial. This spirit
appears to be good in all its' manifestations, and appeals to the
senses, but in the end its' sting is full of bitter and deadly poison.
Listen up now because I speak as one entrusted by God with a burden for
this truth. Many strange doctrines are going around in the church today
that are foreign to the Word of God; doctrines of selfishness,
worldliness, carnality, pride, and covetousness. The message of worldly
abundance that is floating around in the modern church is a message of
self-satisfaction and self-gratification. It draws the people of God
away from the message of the cross and makes them put their eyes on
themselves and the things of this world. It opens the people up to set
their hearts on themselves and their riches, exalting worldly success as
a standard to measure godliness and thus causes people to covet more and
more. It causes people to lift up their souls unto vanity, and to set
their minds and affections on the things of this earth. This prosperity
message is the opposite of the message of the cross, and yet from the
surface it appears to be a great revelation from God.
I tell you the truth, that this prosperity message is an enemy of the
cross because it teaches just the opposite. Rather than denying
ourselves, taking up our crosses, crucifying ourselves to the world and
to all of our carnal desires including the lust of the flesh, the lust
of the eyes, and the pride of life, this modern message tells us to
ignore all of that and live it up in pleasure, seeking the abundance of
this world to satisfy our carnal desires. Accumulated worldly riches
make it possible to fulfill the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes,
and the pride of life in abundance, while they don't encourage us to
make self-denying sacrifices for our Lord according to the cross's
message. Worldly riches pull our hearts away from God with an
ever-increasing strength and cause us to seek pleasure instead of
sacrificial acts of obedience to the cross. This is why Jesus said that
it is hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God, in fact, the only
reason he can is because all things are possible with God!
The prosperity message is one that says "gain is godliness". It says
that the more godly you are, the more gain you're going to get, whether
it be material goods, worldly status and popularity, health and
healings, and all other such temporal things. Paul, however, warned us
in the sixth chapter of his first epistle to Timothy, that those who
teach such things are proud, they know nothing, they have corrupt minds,
and they are destitute of the truth: And what is the identifying mark of
such people? They suppose, "...gain is godliness...". The Apostle then
charges us, saying, "...from such withdraw thyself".
I speak now with all boldness by the authority of the Word of God, with
a heavy burden on my heart, in saying that this message of worldly
prosperity and abundance that has infiltrated the Church of Jesus Christ
is being propagated by the spirit of anti-Christ, the same spirit that
has been at work in the world for over two thousand years seeking to
deceive the people of God. This message is the exact opposite of the
message of the cross, and those who preach this message are working
against the true Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. All such people,
knowingly or not, are enemies of the cross. Those who propagate this
message are leading many away from the truth of the cross and are
working against God, despite their so-called success, fame, and
prosperity. This message encourages friendship with the world, but the
Word says that whoever chooses to be a friend of the world is the enemy
of God, and all those who refuse the shame and death of the cross are
the enemies of the true Gospel because they are working against it.
The enemies of the cross seek their own selfish desires above the will
of God. They are driven by indulgence, and ever so subtly. They may be
slick as snakes and sly as foxes, but they can be known by their fruits.
Let us briefly examine the fruits of these enemies of the cross
according to the words of the inspired Apostle.
In the opening scripture, the Apostle states that their god is their
belly. Take note! Their god is their carnal appetites and sensual
desires. They will be obedient to what feels good rather than crucifying
themselves to sacrificially serve God in all things. They may seek
comfort or gratification above the will of God, and they try to use the
Lord to get what they want to live happily. Their god is their own
bellies, their own selves, and they use God as a means to obtain their
desires, rather than allowing God to use them as a means to fulfill His
desires. They often deceive themselves into thinking they are saved when
they aren't, and they claim the holy name of Jesus to get a free ticket
to Heaven in order to selfishly escape the damnation of Hell, and yet
live selfishly on this earth pursuing their own agendas as if His grace
isn't good enough for their wholehearted devotion and obedience. These
enemies of the cross encourage the people to fatten themselves with the
things of this world to live in pleasure on the earth. James, however,
replies to such people: "Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and
been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter"
(Jam. 5:5). Take heed and examine yourself thoroughly in light of such a
terrible warning, because even though you may think you are, I read
nowhere in the text where your name is stated as being exempt.
The next fruit of identification that the Apostle gives is that these
enemies of the cross "glory in their shame". In other words, they are
prideful of the very things they should be ashamed of. An obvious
example is the boasting of modern "prosperity preachers". They boast of
their material goods as if gain was godliness, and the very riches they
exalt and boast of are the very things that steal their hearts away from
the message of the cross. They, along with a great many American
Christians, should be ashamed of selfishly accumulating this world's
goods while over a billion people suffer severe hunger and malnutrition
across this world, but instead of feeling convicted over their selfishly
blind eyes to the needs of the world, they boast of how "blessed" they
are. They are completely oblivious to the afflictions of the body of
Christ, which the Lord loves as His very own self. In withholding funds
from these brethren to ease their suffering, such people are withholding
from Christ Himself (Mat 25:40). Then they turn around and boast about
it! Their glory truly is in their shame. These enemies of the cross call
evil "good" and good "evil" in their shameful glorying, but Isaiah the
prophet said, "Woe unto them" (Isa 5:20)!
Do you remember the cry of the lukewarm church which Jesus apparently
addressed as the most sinful of them all? The church at Laodicea's cry
was, "I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing".
However, the Lord called them, "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and
blind, and naked". It appears that their riches and goods drew them away
from the message of the cross with all its' sacrificial zeal to die to
selves that they might live to God. It wasn't that they didn't believe
in Christ or that they lacked faith, instead, they refused to obey the
message of true discipleship; that "foolish" message of shame and
sacrifice dealing with self-crucifixion to all the things of this world
and the resulting zeal of the crazy, sacrificial love of reckless
abandon and total dependency that follows. They were lukewarm and would
be spit out of His mouth if they didn't repent. Only to those who
repented and overcame did He offer the chance to sit with Him on His
throne in His Kingdom. The lifestyles of those at the church of Laodicea
were apparently contrary to the message of the cross. With this in mind,
let me state that the American Church today, with the exception of a
faithful remnant, is filthy and wretched with the terrible stench of
lukewarm stagnation.
For those of us who dismiss the message of the cross as foolishness, I'm
afraid that Jesus will dismiss us as fools for not giving up everything
we have to purchase the pearl of great price (see Mat 13:45-46). We are
to buy of Him that, "gold tried in the fire", lest we be found
spiritually poor on the Day of Judgment with nothing to offer God except
dead works and the filthy rags of our own righteousness, destitute of
the riches of Christ because we weren't willing to pay the price He
demanded. In light of this, let us re-examine our own walks with God
right now, and next time we hear a "brother in Christ" boasting of their
material goods, let us either stand up and rebuke them in the boldness
of the Holy Ghost or run for our lives!
The third and final identifying fruit the Apostle Paul gives regarding
these enemies of the cross is that they, "mind earthly things". Their
minds are not on things above where Christ sits at the right hand of
God, nor are their minds on the things of the invisible Kingdom of God,
or on the world to come, but their minds are on the temporal and
physical things of this world. Though they may even sound spiritual in
speech and quote Bible verses, their minds are still on carnal things.
They often think about the "here and now" rather than the age to come.
They desire physical blessings above the fruit of holiness so they can
receive immediate satisfaction. These carnally minded professing
Christians want tangible and physical things they can see and feel, and
they go to the scriptures with a carnal mind that seeks to back up their
selfish desires, reading their pre-conceived ideas into the scriptures
when the scriptures say no such things. They want the best of both
worlds and completely ignore obedience to the many "hard" sayings of
Jesus.
Lastly, but definitely not of least significance, the Apostle states the
end of all such enemies of the cross; those who, despite what they
profess or believe, lack the true fruits that the message of the cross
entails: fruits of death to self and abundant life in God; of
self-denial resulting in Christ-consciousness; of humility and shame
resulting in glory and honor; of death to self resulting in being
resurrected in the newness of life by the power of Christ. Those who
work against the message of the cross, propagating a message of
self-satisfaction and self-seeking happiness, will one day find out on
the terrible day of wrath that their "end is destruction".
Jesus said that many will come in that day and say to Him things like
"Lord, Lord, have we not done many wonderful works in Your name?", and
He will respond to them, "I never knew you. Depart from Me, ye that work
iniquity". Let me state once more that even though you think you are, I
don't see your name listed in that scripture as being exempt. Jesus also
said that not every one who says to Him, "Lord, Lord" will enter the
Kingdom of Heaven, but only the ones who do the will of His Father.
Those who are teaching contrary to the message of the cross and
promoting self-centeredness, seeking their own will rather than God's,
are doing the opposite of the will of God. They are working against Him,
empowered by a spirit that imitates the true Spirit of Christ, even
being deceived themselves.
I call on you now to examine yourself, and see if you are in the true
faith. Have you been deceived by a message contrary to the message of
the cross? Do you pick up your cross daily to follow Jesus, or do you
cast it aside and seek your own agenda first and foremost? Do you serve
God or do you serve yourself? Have you died to self and been buried with
Christ by baptism unto death that you may live only to God, or do you
try to get away with as much sin and compromise as you possibly can
while still making it to Heaven? If so, you probably won't. Let me ask
you one last great and final question: Do you obey the message of the
cross? Your life; your eternal life; depends on it. Take this message to
heart and don't harden your heart against the conviction of the Holy
Ghost. He may convict you but He does it because He loves you and wants
you to repent and get right. Jesus said that He rebukes and chastens
those whom He loves, so please examine yourself in all honesty and let
the searcher of men's hearts search you now and purge out the old leaven
that so defiles. Then pick up your cross and bear its' shame!!!
Written this 19th day of January, 2006. May the grace of the Lord Jesus
be with you.
Sincerely in Christ, Josef Urban
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