Lord, Hold Your Cross Before Our Eyes!

3rd Sunday after Epiphany, 1/22/17
1 Corinthians 1:10-17


Lord, Hold Your Cross Before Our Eyes!
I. It unites us.
II. It alone saves us.


Without a doubt it’s the most common and recognized symbol of our Christian faith. I’m referring, of course, to the cross. The cross of Christ is central to our worship space as a reminder that the cross of Christ is the focus of our worship. Crosses adorn the walls of our homes. Millions of Christians wear them as jewelry.

Therefore we’re eager to proclaim that the cross of Jesus is vitally important to us. We know that without Jesus dying on a cross for us we’re hopelessly and eternally lost. When we’re asked to give a simple confession of our Christian faith, we’re quick to reply, “I believe that Jesus is my Savior who died on the cross for me.”

We not only say it, we mean it. We’re not just spouting the Christian party line. We’re not confessing the cross of Christ simply because that’s what Christians have been confessing for nearly 2,000 years. We mean it because we believe it. The cross of Christ is central to our faith.

But it’s hard to keep it there. Maybe not right here and right now, but if you examine groups of Christians throughout the history of Christianity, there has been an irresistible urge for Christians to divert their attention from the cross. Christians in every age of Christianity have allowed their own agendas to push the cross of Christ to the side. What’s more, our sinful pride is allied with Satan to replace the cross with me, with you.

That very thing was happening among the Christians in the congregation at Corinth. In this morning’s text, St. Paul spends 7.5 verses exposing one of the nagging problems affecting the Corinthians and half a verse pointing them to the solution—the cross of Christ. He holds that cross before their eyes. Let’s pray for the Lord to do the same for us today through his word. Lord, hold your cross before our eyes! Keep your eyes focused on his cross as your Savior builds his relationship with you through his word this morning.

Part I.

I recently read a report that stated that 43% of Americans who are church-going Christians currently belong to a denomination other than the one they were raised in as a child. And their reasons for making a change were all over the landscape. My former church became too liberal. My former church was too conservative. I didn’t like the worship style. I didn’t like the new pastor. Worship became too boring. Worship became too much like entertainment. It’s reasons like those and more that have caused nearly half of Christians in America to make a switch. As I look out over you, that statistic holds true. It might even be a little higher here.

Make no mistake, I’m certainly glad you’re here no matter which church you came from. The question is, “Why are you here? Why did you choose this church?” And I think I know the answer. In fact, some of you have told me this very thing. You’re here because we preach and teach what the Bible says. We hold to the truths of God’s word, the most important being that Jesus Christ is our Savior from sin who died for us on the cross. That’s the main thing and we strive together to keep the main thing the main thing. We try not to get distracted.

But that’s not always easy, as I mentioned when I began. When Christians are united in focusing on the cross of Jesus, Satan won’t stand idly by. He will do everything he can to pull their focus away from that cross. One of his most successful tactics is to divide that group of Christians and conquer them. It could happen here at Resurrection. That’s why you often hear me pray for our unity as we carry out God’s kingdom work. I want the Lord to keep me in harmony with you, and you with me. May our personal preferences or our personal agendas never drive us apart. Let’s always keep focused on the cross of Christ.

Sadly, that wasn’t happening in the Christian congregation in Corinth. Satan had succeeded in driving not one, but many, wedges between the people of that congregation. Listen to what those wedges were. Paul writes, “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, ‘I follow Paul’; another, ‘I follow Apollos’; another, ‘I follow Cephas’; still another, ‘I follow Christ.’ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?” Paul must have been crushed by their self-imposed factions. The members were lining themselves up behind various leaders in the congregation, present and past. They were claiming that their particular group was superior to all the others because of whom they claimed as their leader. Can you imagine how crippling this factious spirit was? Imagine gathering for worship in such a noxious environment. Imagine trying to reach out to the community in the absence of a united program for doing so. Imagine the evil thoughts that arose about their fellow Christians. How did this happen?

The members had decided that their earthly congregational leader was more important than the Savior who had brought them together as Christians. They decided that their party-affiliation was more important than the cross of Christ. It started so quietly. Whom should I follow? It ended so ugly. Our group is better than yours because our leader is better than yours.

Could such a thing happen here at Resurrection? Of course it could! But it won’t if we stay focused on the cross of Christ.

Lord, hold your cross before our eyes. It unites us.

The cross of Christ. Every time we see it we should be reminded that it was our sins that made that cross necessary. Jesus wasn’t dying for the sins of someone else; he was dying for me. My pride, my prejudices, my selfishness. He died for my sinful thoughts about others, for my sinful lust, my sinful discontent. He died for my greed and my worry. In the same way he died for those very sins for you. We’re in this sinful mess together. And Jesus pulled us out of it by his cross. He has forgiven us and washed us clean. He has made us his own people—together. We all belong to him by faith. And now we all have the blessed opportunity to serve one another as a fruit of our faith. None of us is better than another. None of us is more important or more vital to our congregation than another. The cross of Jesus has saved each one of us. Lord, hold your cross before our eyes. It unites us.

Part II.

The cross of Christ is near and dear to us who believe in Jesus as our Savior. You can accuse me of being Mr. Obvious when I tell you that isn’t the case with those who aren’t Christian. In fact, in the verse right after our text ends, Paul has this to say, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing.” To the non-Christian, the notion that the crucifixion of a Jewish man who was branded as an imposter by his own people is of any benefit to you and me today is preposterous. Their thinking goes like this: “Why would God, if there is a god, use the gruesome activity of a crucifixion to bring me any blessing, let alone heaven itself. If there is a heaven, I’ll earn my own way there, thank-you very much.”

The Christians in Corinth recognized that the cross was foolishness to those who weren’t Christians. So they tried to make the message of the cross more logical, more effective. Greek society loved philosophy and reasonable presentations. Greek people such as the Corinthians prized gifted orators who were able to persuade people to think as they did. So, there were Christian preachers who used the same oratorical methods in trying to convert others to Christianity.

The only problem? No one ever came to faith in Jesus because it sounded reasonable. The message of the cross is foolishness. But, as Paul also states, “to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.” In his Letter to the Romans, Paul stated it like this, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16).

We can’t make the message of the cross more effective or more powerful. The message of the cross is God’s gospel. The power of the almighty God is in the gospel. He uses that gospel to convert sinners to faith in him. He uses that gospel to strengthen the faith of those who believe in Jesus.

So, Lord, hold your cross before our eyes. It alone saves us.

If you were to grab a pen and a piece of paper this afternoon and make a list of what you need from your God, what items would you include? Less stress? More happiness? A spouse that understands you better? Someone to be your friend? Better health? A little more breathing room when it comes to your finances? A better employment situation? A little more peace and security in your life? I’m not sure whether or not your Savior will meet those needs. But I do know this: He has already met your greatest need and he accomplished it with his cross. That was your death that he died. Those were your sins he paid for. That was your heaven that he won for you. That cross fills you with hope and confidence now and forever. Don’t lose sight of it. You won’t when your prayer is, “Lord, hold your cross before my eyes.” Amen.