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The
Cross...what does it mean to a believer? What does it accomplish? The
crosses we carry many times, have nothing to do with the Cross of Christ.
The passion of Jesus Christ leads us to the Cross, while triumph and
deliverance may be themes in common to the believer, the "counterfeit"
cross may gather some questions. What exactly is the " counterfeit" cross?
In our society we are constantly judging things.
We judge the arbitrary.
We judge men by their wealth. We judge women by their appearances. This is
not the kind of judgement that the cross intends to bring. The Cross of
Christ guarantees Judgement Day- the judgement of sin at the cross. There
is a payday, someday for everybody. The day is soon coming when every man
and nation will answer to Almighty God.
There is indeed a counterfeit cross, a cross designed in hell,
manufactured by the devil himself for you to carry. My advice to you is
drop this cross immediately; it will not save you, it cannot save you, it
will only destroy you.
History has had its share of counterfeit crosses. From the Crusades to
Hitler's Nazi Germany, there have been many attempts, made supposedly on
God's behalf, to annihilate and tear apart God's people. While this
pattern repeats itself in history books, it also plagues Christianity
today in many various ways. First of all, legalism is a counterfeit cross
that is invading our churches. Legalism is nothing more than keeping man
made religious rules to obtain righteousness with God! Crawling down an
aisle of a cathedral on your knees and kissing a statue in order to be
healed is legalism! You are not healed because of traditions; you are
healed because of the Cross. The Word reiterates that, "by His stripes we
are healed!"
Furthermore, you're not saved by church membership, you're not saved by
morality, and respectability or religious works do not save you. The blood
of the Cross saves you. The Bible says that, "without the shedding of
blood there is no remission of sin."
The lesson here is that it is simply a trick of the devil for Satan to
manufacture a counterfeit cross, and you get to carry it! Satan seduces
you into believing that what you do saves you, not what Jesus did at the
Cross, will ultimately be your salvation. The results of legalism are
dire. It produces nothing more than Pharisees, those who are pious,
pompous, and arrogant. Additionally, legalism tries to control other
people through manipulation, domination and intimidation; the Bible calls
this witchcraft. Does the following describe you? When you first found
Jesus were you filled with joyous enthusiasm, excited to go Church and
eager to hear the Word?
But now, are you carrying a counterfeit cross; a cross of religious rules
not supported by Scripture? Then my advice again to you is to stop it and
run to the Cross of Christ.
The second counterfeit cross of Christianity is theology over revelation!
Theology is intellectual reasoning about God; it is the study of God. You
can know about God and still not know God. You may have theology in your
life, but do you have a relationship with God? You're not really living
until you've seen the Lord. It is revelation that gets you there, not
reason!
Another counterfeit cross in our world today happens when we allow
education to take the place of character. Jesus didn't just teach people,
He required more of them. They had to follow Him, "take up your cross and
follow Me." This built character, discipline, endurance, persistence, and
patience. The fact of the matter is that it's dangerous to train people
intellectually, and not deal with their character. The Bible reminds us "
the carnal mind is the enemy of God." To educate the carnal mind without
building character is to educate an enemy of God. Hitler's Nazis were
highly educated and they threw Jewish children into gas ovens to burn
alive. They were nothing more than barbarian monsters with hearts of
stone! While they had education, they had no character.
Now we are approaching the same problem in America's schools. The Ten
Commandments have been thrown out! We are educating children without
regard to character and without regard to God! The recent results of our
education system have produced mass murder on school campuses in
Columbine, Colorado, Paducah, Kentucky, Pearl, Mississippi, and San Diego,
California, just to name a few. This will not stop until we re-introduce
character building curriculum through the Ten Commandments.
When we face turmoil in our lives, where are we going to turn to solve our
problems? We must use the Cross as our first resource as opposed to our
last resort. No counselor can cure your sin problem, and no problem is
ever solved until the sin problem is addressed. You do that at the Cross.
We are teaching our people to feel good without requiring them to be good.
We are teaching people to adjust to their sins. We must go back to the
Bible where it calls us to confess our sins and then forsake them!
The New Testament Church was amazingly successful. They had mighty
miracles, they shook the
Roman Empire to the ground, and they evangelized the world without modern
day buildings, budgets, or Bibles. They had prayer meetings where the
building shook with the power of God, "and when they had prayed the place
was shaken where they were assembled together." Now that's amazing, and
exciting! Why doesn't the church in today's
America look more like
the New Testament Church? Because we are loaded down with programs, not
power; methods without miracles. We have activity, but no anointing. It
is time we cut the fat and get back to the Cross.
We must start seeking God's approval and stop seeking out man's opinion.
The truth is that most American Christians are far more interested in
man's opinion of them than God's. Look at the men in the Bible who did not
have man's approval: Moses, Joseph, Paul, and of course, Jesus Christ! Did
someone criticize you? Did someone hurt your feelings? Who cares? Instead
react like the Apostle Paul when he was being persecuted, he said,
"Rejoice in the Lord and again I say rejoice!" "We are more than
conquerors through Christ!" You must fight the good fight, finish the race
and keep the faith!
We must treat problems as gifts from God that was given to us in order to
sharpen our wits. Our problems are God's gifts to drive us to the next
level of excellence. Remember what James had to say about our trials.
"Know this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience." (James1:3) We
must become responsible for who we are and what we become. We cannot blame
others for our misdeeds only ourselves. God's opinion is that "you are
responsible for who you have become and you will give an account for every
word, thought and deed." The problem that infuriates you the most is the
same problem that God has assigned you to solve. Moreover, until you solve
the problem you are given, God will keep giving that same one to you over
and over again until you get it right.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel. The passion of Christ leads us
to the old rugged Cross, the Cross of Christ, the Cross you are commanded
to carry. It is at this Cross that we are saved! We are reconciled to God
and we become His children. The Cross is our assurance that our sins are
forgiven and that we are justified before God. Paul said, "God forbid that
I should glory save in the Cross." Why? Because it's the only way to
Heaven! Have you been to the Cross? Have you prayed the Sinners Prayer?
Have you been Born Again? Now more than ever is the time to answer, "YES"
to all of the above.
We are here to help you, if you have not prayed the sinners prayer yet, go
back to main page where you can follow the prayer there, and than email us
so we can pray and rejoice with you, and send you some information on your
new life with Christ. As always, without charge or obligation. God Bless You!
Rev. Joe Hildebrandt Sr.
Thanks to Pastor Hagee for inspiration!
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New Kid Ministries -
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