The Beginning

 British preacher and writer T. Austin-Sparks said, "For Christ, the cross was an end. For us, it's the beginning." John Bevere says, "We've preached resurrection promises without preaching the impact and decision of the cross. There is no discipleship without the cross." All this is true, yet you can attend a very great number of fellowships in the west and never hear anything of substance concerning the cross of Christ and the believers call to it. How can that be?

The cross and the subsequent resurrection of Christ was the focal point of Christ's coming. Everything about the Christian faith is centered on these events. Yet, what Bevere says is frighteningly true. We proclaim to eager listeners all the blessings of the resurrection life while at the same time omitting the cross that is the only route to experiencing them. We know the cross was necessary for Christ to complete His ministry. Necessary for Him.....not for us.

This is the greatest reason why so much of the witness and ministry of the church lacks real Holy Spirit power. Preachers are calling people to a faith that includes no cross. Simply believe on Jesus and all will be well. He paid the price, we reap the benefits. We call them to an abundant life in Christ, but we leave out the cross that leads us into it. The apostle Paul said, "I preach Christ, and Him crucified," and "I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me." In the modern Gospel of the west, there is no cross, no death to self and self-interest. Just an invitation to add Him to your life and enjoy all the improvements He'll bring. We come as we are, and we remain as we are. Yet, Jesus doesn't bid us to come so He can make some improvements in our lives. He calls us, as someone said, "to come and die." He is not about making our lives better. He is all about totally transforming us. There is only one place where that can happen; at the cross.

Sparks says that for us, the cross is the beginning. That puts me in mind of the old hymns lyric. "At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light, and the burden of my sin rolled away." That was the beginning of an endless life of wonder and abundance. It begins and remains at the cross. Has it begun, really begun, for you?

Blessings,
Pastor O