Preaching the Cross, Part 3: Living A Cross-Centered Life

Having covered in the last post the need to know the cross, I turn to the fact that you must live the cross-centered life before you can preach the cross.

The cross is imperative. Since the cross is necessary for man’s redemption from sin, it is necessary for our everyday life as we are continually molded into the image of Christ. This comes full circle to my ongoing point of knowing the cross, living the cross and preaching the cross. Christians are called to live crucified to Christ and the only way to do so is by living a cross-centered life. No cross, no life.

Jerry Bridges says it best:
“The gospel is not only the most important message in all of history; it is the only essential message in all of history. Yet we allow thousands of professing Christians to live their entire lives without clearly understanding it and experiencing the joy of living by it.”

Let us never dare preach that which we do not do! These professing Christians live without clearly understanding the gospel because they do not see what they hear. In other words, they need to be seeing the gospel lived out and put into practice by other Christians. If you proclaim the message of the cross, live out the message of the cross! I challenge you to live the crucified life.

You may be asking, "How do I live a cross-centered life?" Well, I'll answer that right now. C.J. Mahaney's book, "The Cross-Centered Life," offers practical ways of focusing on the cross. I will mention these points, then give my brief explanation:

• Memorize the Gospel.

Can you explain the gospel in a nutshell? Can you do it with simplicity? I was sharing the gospel with a coworker the other day and even though I was trying to keep it simple, he mentioned that I was explaining it like I just graduated with a degree while he was in 8th grade. That was a shock, but nevertheless, he heard the gospel. In that scenario, I was caught off guard by him asking about the gospel. So, be ready to give an account and the way to do this is by always living a cross-centered life.

• Pray the Gospel.

"God is good, God is great..." This is a great prayer for children, but often times we, as adults, find ourselves limiting our prayer life to simple, repetitive prayers. That makes you stop and think about your prayer life, right? Try this: the next time you pray, be aware of how you pray. Next time, pray the gospel and in doing so, praise the Lord for the cross and His sacrifice. Get past your redundant prayer life. I am not asking you to pray flamboyant prayers that only God can understand. Rather, I am simply asking you to pray the gospel!

• Sing the Gospel.

Oh boy, I love this one! We need to be singing the gospel because it most glorifies God! Have you noticed how Christian music, like our prayer lives, can get a little redundant and shallow? For the past year, I have been getting into the music of Sovereign Grace, Sojourn, the Gettys, and Red Mountain Church. Please check them out! If we are going to sing anything that other people will hear, let them hear the gospel proclaimed! This is not only for other people, but we, as Christians, need to be singing the gospel to ourselves because music makes an impact on us.

• Review how the Gospel has changed you.

The best way to review how the gospel has changed you is by telling other people. Now, do not waste time by sitting in front of a mirror, rehearsing the gospel to yourself. Rather, make sure you know the gospel and go tell! It is not that hard, yet for some odd reason, we have brainwashed ourselves into thinking that we need to leave our "comfort zones" and face our "top 5 fears in witnessing" in order to share the simplicity of the gospel. I mean, really? Don't get me wrong, for I struggle with both of those too. Let's stop thinking and talking about our "comfort zones" and our "top 5 fears in witnessing" and actually do SOMETHING!

• Study the Gospel.

In this point, Mahaney says, "Never be content with your current grasp of the gospel." That's exactly right! Don't just know the ABC's of the gospel, but instead, know the A-Z's of the gospel. Know what you believe and live that out. Don't just know the cross, study the cross! We are designed to continually learn and grow in our knowledge and because of that, we do not have any excuse for not knowing the full gospel.

• Never move on from the Gospel.

Do I need to explain this? Please...never move on from the gospel. Never move on from that which has called you out of darkness and into marvelous light. If you are living the cross-centered life, you will never move on. Above all, make this your top priority because it is extremely easy to be side-tracked with the busyness of life. Never move on.

In the end, may Christ find you faithful in being passionate for the wonderful message of the glorious cross! May Christ find you faithful in preaching the cross because you are living the cross-centered life!

C.J. Mahaney:
“Too many of us have stopped concentrating on the wonders of Jesus crucified.”

Preaching the Cross, Part 2: Before You Preach the Cross

"Before you preach the cross, you must know the cross." What do I mean?

To answer this question from my previous post, I offer this:

When I say, "Before you preach the cross, you must know the cross," I mean that you must come to the cross of Christ before you can preach the cross. Any person who has grown up in the church or has ever attended can preach about the cross, but no one can preach of the cross until they have bowed the knee to the crucified, buried and risen Savior.

Be reminded that this is not a "stop and go" way of coming to the cross. Rather, this is a "come to the cross, cling to the Savior and let the gospel marinate" way of coming to the cross. Furthermore, being able to preach the cross of Christ is not about having knowledge about the cross, but rather, it is about being changed by the gospel then allowing the Holy Spirit to preach the life-changing power of the gospel through you.

Have you been to the cross?

Next: Preaching the Cross, Part 3: Living A Cross-Centered Life

Preaching the Cross: Before You Preach the Cross

Before you preach the cross, you must know the cross.

What do I mean?

Preaching the Cross, Part 1

Once again, I apologize for my absence from blogging. It's been rather busy in life right now..newly married (check my wife's blog for pictures), working more and so on. I've also been reading and thinking a good bit as well.

First of all, I have been reading "Preaching the Cross" by Mark Dever, J. Ligon Duncan, R. Albert Mohler Jr., C.J. Mahaney, John MacArthur, John Piper, and R.C. Sproul. The message of this book seeks to encourage us to preach the cross and the message of the gospel every time we open the Word of God. The writers challenge readers to pursue gospel-saturated, preaching-centered ministries. I'll post more on specifically what I am learning through reading this book soon.

Secondly, this book has opened my eyes further to the fact that there is a lack of clearly presented and proclaimed gospel while in the pulpit. Be reminded that a simple altar call at the end of the service is NOT a presentation of the gospel of Christ. Why should a lost person respond to an altar call in which they talk to someone further about what it means to follow Christ when they do not even understand why they are responding to an altar call in the first place? Preach the cross!

Every time the Word of God is opened, the FULL gospel must be presented. A clear gospel presentation does not include water: so do not water down the gospel! Preach the cross!

Friends, it is imperative that we explain and present the gospel in a clear manner. We must not merely "share" the gospel but we must detail the gospel even in the pulpit. I hope this serves as a reminder to preach the gospel in all areas of life and ministry. Let's be a body of believers that are known for preaching the cross. Now, go and preach the cross!

There will be more to come...