We turn to Galatians. Galatians chapter six. Our text is going to consist of verses 14 and 15. God forbid that I should glory save in the cross for our Lord Jesus Christ by whom the world is crucified and to me and I unto the world and what follows. We're going to begin to read in chapter Five, with verse 22. This is to characterize, of course, those who have faith and are living in accordance with that true faith, out of Christ Jesus. They show the fruits of the Spirit, but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, against such there is no law. They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lust. Notice that word, crucified. It's found in our text as well. Crucified the flesh. If we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, that is of the praise of men. Provoking one another, that is elevating ourselves. Envying one another. Brother, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such and one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when, might add in reality, he, we are nothing, he deceiveth himself, will that every man prove or test his own work. Then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone and not in another, for every man shall bear his own burden, that is, be held accountable for how he himself has lived. Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption. He that soweth in the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. Let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap if we think not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. You see how large a letter I have written unto you with my known hand. As many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised, should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law, but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. That is in the mark of the flesh, of course, the circumcision. Now our text. But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace beyond them and mercy in upon the Israel of God. From henceforth let no man trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. And of course he was, for the sake of the gospel, stoned and whipped and he had the scars of his stand for the truth and the name of Christ. Brethren, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. God forbid that I should glory, save, or accept in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, the cross I glory and in the cross alone that the Apostle should make reference to the cross at the conclusion of his letter to the Galatians when you consider the theme of of the book of Galatians, justification by faith alone, meaning based upon the work of Christ on the cross alone. It's only fitting, of course, that as it concludes his letter, he should once again make reference to that cross. And of course we're speaking here of justification as the work of Christ and crucified. And it's only proper then that he now glories and magnifies that cross once again in his epistle. But let's understand something here. That the great interest of the apostle in writing to the Galatians was not only in magnifying and underscoring the truth of justification by faith alone, not only that doctrine and that truth. He was also interested in underscoring the value and importance of the truth of sanctification. which is, of course, having to do with the life of the Christian and the walk of the Christian. He was interested in the life that flows out of the cross, spiritual life. That's apparent already in the opening words of his letter to the Galatians, So that already in verse four of chapter one, we read concerning this Christ Jesus who gave himself for our sins, to what end? That he might deliver us from this present evil world according to the will of God our Father. And when he speaks of deliverance from this present evil world, he's not talking about death and being delivered from this present evil world, he means delivered from the rule and the bondage, if you will, of this present evil world with its influence governing one's life. That's the emphasis, you see, of the last two chapters of the book of Galatians 5 and 6. The opening verses of chapter 5 are the transition from the truth of justification to the calling to sanctification, if you will, the life of Christ in the life of a man, the life of Christ's spirit, which is his life showing itself, you see, in our lives. And in the end, that was the very ultimate goal and purpose of Christ's coming into the world, not simply our justification, but the shedding of His blood for our justification to give Him the right to make of us new creatures. That's what you find in our text, don't you? That's where we're heading this evening, our calling to be new creatures, which Christ obtained the right to by the shedding of His blood and dying on the cross, that there might be the life of Christ and the life of a man. And you understand when it comes to faith, then true faith must exalt the cross. But true faith does that in two ways. True faith exalts the cross and what it confesses concerning the value of that cross for oneself, but also in connection with the power of that cross, what it has done in me as well, and then the fruits of that faith showing itself in the life of a man. And that life, you understand, of a transformed new creature brings glory to the cross. My confession brings glory to Christ, saved by him alone, but your life also is to bring glory to that cross and the power of that cross, how we live and how we walk. Do we walk the talk? Are we similar to the man who wrote this epistle, who was transformed by the Spirit of Christ, arresting him on the road to Damascus, based upon the blood of Christ shed for him, of course, and the Apostle Paul, when it came to doctrine, knew his stuff, didn't he? You better believe the Apostle Paul knew his stuff. You know what it said about Protestant people when it comes to doctrine? They know their stuff. But that's not the ultimate question, is it? Do and I know our stuff, our doctrine? The question is, do those pottery people live according to that doctrine? Do they adorn the doctrine? Do they show, indeed, that they have been graced and they marvel at that grace and they're thankful for that grace? And now they live out of the power that flows from the cross of the one crucified who has saved us, transformed us, renewed us into new creatures by that grace. And self-examination. Does it show in your life? Are you resolved that it shows in your life? If you're not, don't partake, lest, as the form says, one eats judgment unto oneself. With that in mind, we turn to this passage under glorying in that one cross. First of all, that in which we glory, and then second, resulting in a twofold crucifixion. That's, of course, what you read here, In the conclusion of verse 14, the world crucified to me and I into the world is twofold crucifixion. And then glorying in its glorious fruit, which is, of course, being a new creature, not in being circumcised or not, but in being a new creature. So glorying in that one cross, that in which we glory, resulting in a twofold crucifixion and glorying in its glorious fruit. Beloved, the Apostle Paul was a glorying man. God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of Christ Jesus. When it came to the cross of Christ Jesus, he was a glorying man. That's an interesting word, translated glory. It has to do with rejoicing. It has to do with exulting in something. and it could well have been translated boasting, that he was one who boasted in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Greeks used the word in connection with athletic competition, and one would be involved in a tremendous contest, perhaps of running a long race, and ran well and came to the end of the race and saw the finish line and crossed the finish line and then would rejoice and exalt that one had successfully run the race and crossed the line and perhaps ran well as well. But also, especially in connection with warfare, battle, two young men on the fields of Marathon to withstand the Persian army that, of course, was putting the whole of the city-states of the Greek nation at jeopardy. And at the end of the day, having stood side-by-side, hand-to-hand conflict, seeing the Persians finally run tail and realizing they are retreating And we have the victory. And you and I, brother, are still alive. We see the corpses all around us, even of those who were our brothers in arms. And we are still alive. And what do they do? They rejoice. They exalt. We have survived. And we as a nation, that is, with the city-states, are going to have the victory, that kind of idea, you see, and this glorying. But I like the word boast. Because in the end, the Apostle Paul was one who boasted. Didn't say he bragged, that's another matter. To brag is to speak about self and my abilities and my achievements and my accomplishments and let me tell you what I garnered in this or that endeavor. Or maybe even one of my children or something which reflects well upon me, don't you see, bragging. the superiority that I or my have over with respect to others. That's not the Apostle Paul. There's nothing self-centered. In fact, he's getting away from being self-centered here, isn't he? His boast has to do with another. Let me tell you about this other one and what he did for the likes of me. And my boast is that I am identified with him in this world, who is the prince of the kings of the earth. When the apostle boasted about being identified with this Christ Jesus, he was not then saying, and because I am identified with Christ Jesus, that makes me superior to the rest of you folks who don't know him and who have not been saved. To be identified with Christ Jesus, beloved, and to speak of that in the world is to be a confession of humility. For what have we, as believers, as Christians, as Reformed, received that has not been given to us, contrary to what we deserve? Ask the Apostle Paul, why me, Lord, why me? But it is me, and in that I glory, and concerning that, Great wonder I boast. And I like that word boast even more than glorying because glorying you can do in private. Go home, turn on a CD, listen to some wonderful anthem and you glory with it and think about what Christ has done for me. Contrary to all I deserve and one is thankful in one's glorying. But boasting has the connotation of making it public. You don't boast in private, who are you boasting to? When you boast, you have someone whom you want to hear what you have to say. And that was the Apostle Paul, wasn't it? There was one concerning whom he could not keep quiet, and he would not be quiet either. He looked for every opportunity to speak about this other, what he has done, for me and the Apostle Paul was a man given to talking and talking a lot but not about himself and his recent accomplishments and achievements. He was a man given to talking a lot about this other and what this other had done for him and to him and in him and he wanted you to hear about it whenever the opportunity presented itself. Didn't he? You couldn't shut the man up if you tried. And some did try, didn't they? And they did not succeed. You see, the Apostle Paul, as far as he was concerned, was involved in a prison ministry. Isn't that what this whole world is? Every last mother's son who has not been redeemed and saved is a criminal under the sentence of death. All the inhabitants of this world, beloved, are on death's row, aren't they, waiting the execution and what follows the execution. And that's what we were in our ancestry as well, weren't we? But the gospel came and God used men like the Apostle Paul who couldn't keep quiet about the Lord and Savior and what another had done and the gift that God had given. That there might be for the likes of us hope in the midst of this prison, if you will, waiting for execution. There is hope for the worst. us as you turn to God in his great name and plead for mercy and forgiveness and are willing to follow him just ask who that may be Christ Jesus it is he and that's of course that name that's of every other name that whichever knee may bow and to that bowing of course and to causing men to bow at that knee, the Apostle Paul brought the gospel. And what's striking, as our text makes plain to us, at the center of this good news was a cross. He speaks here, of course, God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Striking. One might think he would say, God forbid that I should glory save in the resurrection of this Jesus of Nazareth. That's much more hopeful, isn't it? Speaks of victory. And you speak here of a cross. You and I have somewhat lost the horror of a cross. We see it more, I think, we hear so much about the cross, we almost take it for granted. See in a church steeple, there's a church that confesses the Christian faith around a chancel wall, sometimes even dangling from somebody's ears or a necklace around the neck for ornamental purposes. Well, let me tell you, beloved, when the Apostle Paul preached in the first century, They did not think of crosses in the instance of ornamental purposes. They were well acquainted with crosses, but they were along the side of the road. And they were acquainted with what was on the cross. And notice I say what was on the cross. I don't even say who was on the cross, because usually by the time they passed that cross by, who had been on the cross was what was on the cross, and it was just a corpse that was rotting away with birds pecking out at the flesh. In other words, to speak here of this one you call a savior, dying on a cross, and he's Lord and Savior, victory in him. Have you lost your mind, man? He couldn't even save himself. And now you just preach him as though he's going to save us. How can that be? And that was the door. And Paul rushed through that door. I'll tell you how the cross of this one is victory. Because this cross I'm speaking of is unlike any other cross. There were two other crosses with whom he was crucified, two thieves, and they would have rotted away except the Jews insisted take them off the cross as well because we don't want them on our Sabbath day. So pious, you know, having just crucified one man innocently, but they were gonna be so pious as not to let the bodies rot on the cross on their Sabbath day. Nonetheless, the cross of this one is different. Why is the cross of this one different? The cross of this one is different because of who he was and is. And he was the Son of God and he is the Son of God. And then it could go on to the resurrection that he was crucified. with God's purpose in mind and why he had to be crucified. And they might say, you know, to the Apostle Paul, so you glory in one even though he was crucified. And the Apostle Paul would say, oh no, I don't glory in one even though he was crucified. I glory in this one because he was crucified. if he was not crucified and if he did not allow himself to be crucified and even will to be crucified I would have no message, no good news to bring to you but because this one gave himself to the crucifixion and willed to be crucified I have good news to bring to you because this one, being the eternal son of God, was able to accomplish salvation and the serving of a sentence in our stead. Let me tell you about this Lord Jesus, who he is and what he did for me as well. There is hope for the worst of us and the worst of you if you cast yourself upon the mercy of God in his blessed name. Christ crucified, you see. And in that way, victory because of who he was on that cross. And then what he, like no other, was able to accomplish before the face of God in our stead. Now, you will notice that he says that I glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus alone, that I should forbid that I should glory save except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the one cross in which I glory. And I glory it alone because of his identity, but he also points that, he also makes that plain because he is doing this in the context of withstanding an error, of course. And he's withstanding the error of those who came to be known as the Judaizers. And the Judaizers were those of Jewish extraction, related by blood to the Apostle Paul, who joined the Christian church, made a confession, were baptized, and said many orthodox things. That they believe that Jesus of Nazareth, whom Paul preached, was the Messiah. And that he was even born of a virgin. That he was the son of God. They acknowledge that. And that the cross of Christ was necessary. Dying on the cross was necessary for the atonement, for an atonement to be made. But, and that's the problem. Having confessed many orthodox things, they wanted to say, It's not by the blood of Christ alone. It's by the blood of Christ. It's necessary. Without that blood, there couldn't be salvation. He had to be the Son of God as well. We understand that. But there is something more that must be added to that cross. His blood is necessary. It's primary. It's first and basic. But you also have to add your blood, the blood of circumcision, you see, the cutting of the of the flesh because that's according to the law of God we find it in the Old Testament given to us by Moses. So if you're going to really be redeemed and fully redeemed and cleansed you have to have the shedding of one's own blood as well in the rite of circumcision because without that cutting of the circumcision, you're not clean, you're still unclean and defiled. And by the way, there's certain food you must refrain from as well. And some holidays, holy days that we mark that you should keep as well. And then, and then if you're circumcised and so on, and have shed your blood in addition to, and have kept yourself from this unclean meat as you find it defined in the books of Moses, then we can have fellowship together, we can partake of the Lord's Supper together, and we are one in the faith. Otherwise, you are not really fully a Christian yet. And so there's the addition to the cross of Christ. Basic for atonement, but in addition to what Christ has done, the addition of this other keeping of the laws and following. Because without those, you're still defiled. And if you're defiled, don't you see, We can't answer to our relatives, and that's involved as well. That's why just prior to 14, you read, they constrain you to be circumcised in 12, lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. You see, they were Jews who became Christians, and their relatives said, you've betrayed the Jewish faith. supposedly Moses' faith that wasn't no longer the true faith that had been modified and changed. You've betrayed the nation and we disown you. We cut you off. Don't come to our houses for the holidays. You're a Christian now and you eat with those defiled Gentiles who are uncircumcised and they even eat this unclean meat and we can't have you in our homes around us because you'll defile us and we will become unclean. So they don't themselves actually keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may glory in your flesh. That is to tell their relatives, look, I know we became Christians and we go to the Christian church, but everyone there, all the men are circumcised and they and the women all agree they don't eat this unclean meat. So they're not defiled. So we're not defiled. So now can we come back and be received into the family? and maybe the inheritance and have a good relationship, they weren't ready for the sake of the gospel beloved to count the cost of reproach and scorn and being disowned even by their own flesh and blood for the sake of their confession in Christ and Christ alone. And so Paul, in contrast to that, says, I glory in the cross of Christ alone and its atoning value and what God accomplished through that cross for me. His shed blood, the basis of my righteousness before him and not my righteousness somehow added to his righteousness before I can actually be counted righteous by God. I believe you heard things along that line this morning, didn't you? Well, this underscores what was said this morning as the truth of the gospel, that they were trying to justify, you see, they're modifying the gospel of Christ Jesus and Christ alone in the interest of their own gain, that they could be received back into their families and not be disowned and have to count the fullness of the cost of being a Christian. But not so Paul, this is the gospel And this is what I will preach even if it costs me my countrymen and my family and all the rest. And so he glories in the cross of Christ. And why should he glory in the cross of Christ? Well, of course, because it magnifies grace, that it's all of grace, and it glorifies God as the God of grace who deals with us contrary to what we deserve, but there is this, also he glories in the cross, of course, because that cross is where the full sentence for sin is paid. He glories in the cross because of its atoning value. This is the blood, a man's blood shed in circumcision can't have any of that kind of atoning. But the blood of the Son of God, that is His death, His dying, He serves the fullness of the sentence in my stead and on my behalf. And so I glory in that. It's where the Lamb of God, you see, has been sacrificed. And once that Lamb has been sacrificed, no more other lambs have to be sacrificed or you insult the blood of the Son of God. And no other sacrifices, not only, but no other shedding of a man's blood either. The sentence has been served and the payment has been made Full, as you read, of course, in John 10, verse 14. I am the good shepherd and know my sheep and am known of mine. The Father knoweth me, even so I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. And once he's laid down his life for the sheep, it's the end of the sacrifices and it's the end of the Jewish way and of the Mosaic ceremonial law. He's fulfilled it all. And so he glories in that as the full payment, the serving of his sentence in his stead. And he glories in it, beloved, because where else is the love of God for his own so fully displayed? That Jehovah God, for the likes of us, would give his only begotten, the holy and the pure whom he so loved. Give him in our stead, on our behalf, and treat him as we deserve to be treated, as criminals who had broken the law in who knows what facets and in every regard and instead of laying his heavy hand of wrath on us and as it were disowning us I know I know you not though you call me father he pours it upon his son and lets us go free that we might be called his sons and his children you know the Apostle Paul to the end of his days Never ceased marveling in that and glorying in that, as you read in Galatians chapter two, verse 20. I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live. I've been put to death and nevertheless I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. That is the spirit of Christ, you see, the life of Christ is in me. And the life which I now live, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me. If you can believe that, Paul says, he loved me, and he gave himself for me. He not only preached this gospel to others, you see, but when he preached to others, he was reminded of what the Lord God had done for him, who had been a persecutor of the Church of Christ, and put many to death, was the cause of many being put to death, and defamed the name of Jesus. And yet, for all that, This God of salvation, this God of Israel, gave his son in my stead. He loved me and gave himself for me. And when you see the cross in that light, of course, it gives it a luster and a light. And when it's preached from that perspective in a personal way of boasting of what he hath done for me, then the Lord uses it often to melt the heart of others as well and to bring them unto himself as many as have been ordained to eternal life. So the Apostle Paul, beloved, this glorying man who boasted in the cross, and this Jesus who is the Son of God, and really in the end, God himself doing this for me. I will bear testimony and no man will silence me concerning him and his gospel and his good news. But there's more to this cross, of course, than what Christ hath done for us in serving the sentence of death in our stead. But it's also a cross that gives us this life and sets us free. And how that freedom shows itself is how Paul describes it. He says, by whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world. Those two things. The power of the cross is that One begins to look at the world in a different light than one did. And if you look at the world in a different light than one once did, and you tell the world that I look at you in a different light than I once did, the world will respond by saying, and now we look at you also in a different light than we once did. That's what he's saying here, those two phrases. says, by whom the world is crucified, and to me. That is, with respect to me, the world is crucified. And then you bear testimony of that to the world, and the world says, well, guess what, buddy? You're crucified to us now, too. What that means is one begins to look at the world as a felon, as a criminal, not only, but as someone who's hung on that cross and who is wasting away and has become not only dead, but something that has an odor to it and has become revolting, if you will, and instead of being attractive to me and waking my desire so that I want more of it, I say, I don't care for this anymore. I'm done with this. It's like one crucified, rotting away. That's what he's saying with respect to the world. Before I was transformed inwardly and renewed. I had my appetites for the world, for the things of the flesh and of the mind. And I think with Paul, it probably was more of the mind than of the flesh. He was a Pharisee, he tells us that, of course, in the book of the Philippians, and he was zealous above all the rest. But there was something about that world before he was converted and renewed that appealed to him. And what appealed to him, beloved, had to do with his status. The recognition of others, what others think of me, especially my Jewish nation. Don't think this young man was not ambitious. Saul of Tarsus was ambitious and he was energetic and he was gonna have a place in the nation and it was going to be a big name. He excelled most, he said, if not all. And the same zeal he showed as an apostle would have shown up as a Pharisee as he tried to stamp out the Christian faith. And then the whole of the nation would applaud him. You're the greatest Saul of Tarsus. You saved us from these miserable Christians. That's what appealed to him. That's the world. We're not talking about creation, of course, here. The beauty of creation, which you can enjoy. But the evil world, the present age, its mentality, you know, having to do with lust of the eye and the pride of life. And then Christ Jesus on the basis of his cross and having paid the price for this young man sends his spirit and transforms his heart and the scales fall from his eyes and suddenly he says that which was once appealing to me and attractive to me and I live for, I suddenly find revolting and and having the appeal. And now I'm going to boast, all right, but not about myself. I'm going to boast and speak about another, and that he may have the glory and the praise. It's true of the Apostle Paul when thinks of Moses and what he had to turn against when the Lord at last turned his heart at whatever point in his life it was, because, of course, we read that he was raised as an Egyptian, And he had all it out there, didn't he? All the status. And if you were a prince, anything your appetites desired, not only with respect to food, but the sexual as well. And to live for that and satiate oneself in all of those things. Delicious, attractive, I want more of it. And then the Lord transformed his heart, and the instruction of a mother came home to bear, and he determined to cast his lot, not with those Egyptians withal, it had to offer him the world, but to suffer rather with the people of God, and to seek the inheritance that had been promised to Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, his forebearers and his ancestry. You see? Now the world, you see, became crucified to him. Hanging there, not as something that's attractive and alluring and I want more of, but having something that finally becomes repelling and there's a stink to this that I want no more of at all. You know anything of that? That, you see, is the evidence of the work of the Spirit. But that's the power that flows from the cross, if you will, on the basis of the cross. So that Christ having been crucified for us, in the end transformed, and we as renewed begin to view the world as crucified. And what it's interested in with its vanities and what it has to offer, we say, is not what we're going to live for. We're not interested in that, especially if it's contrary to the word of God and to the law of God. And so, our calling, according to the text, to view the world in that fashion and to live in that fashion as well using the Apostle Paul on the one hand and Moses on the other hand as our examples as turning and living for someone else and having appetizing desires for that which is spiritual and the gifts of the of the spirit and the fruits of the spirit love joy peace and so on and meekness and temperance and Also, of course, the service of others as well. And so one says to the world now, I no longer see you in a light that is attractive, but we see you as full of vanity and we can't have fellowship with you as you walk in those ways. In fact, we condemn those things as well as contrary to the holiness of God and that these are a perishing way. And as you bear witness to the world by word and by conduct and say we know part of your living in the homosexual lifestyle may have to say that in a university or a college, it's not love, it doesn't have God's approval, that's contrary to the will of God, homosexual lifestyle, the woke business all the rest. And God sends judgments for that kind of lifestyle and being simply consumed by that. And they say, if that's how you view us and that's what you have to say to us, repent or perish. You know how we look at you? You stink to us too. You rot. We just as soon silence you and remove you from We have no use for you. You're disturbing our peace, that is the peace that we have because we suppress the disapproval of God and the testimony of a word that pricks our conscience and we don't want you reminding us of these things anymore. So either you will shut up or we will shut you up. Do you understand that? As far as you are concerned, you are the disturbers of the peace. You are the criminals, you miserable Christians who stand against abortion and the homosexual lifestyle and the woke business and all. the rest, we have no use for you. And then beloved, to stand firm with respect to what the apostolic word requires and what the apostolic word says, this has God's approval and this has his disapproval and this is in accordance with God's word and this is contrary to the word of God and to his holy law and his holiness itself. the stand, the reproach, the scorn. And in time, it will come down to the assaults as they went after the apostle Paul finally, didn't they? Not simply with words of reproach and scorn, but with stones and with whips, and finally executed at the end of his life for his stand, his uncompromising stand for the gospel, the truth of the gospel, and for true godliness as defined by God's holy law. And the question is, are we willing ourselves to count that cost? How can one, beloved, against that whole current, that whole spirit that works in the law, in the society of ungodliness and the threats, how are we gonna stand in the temptations themselves? Beloved, the cross. Don't lose sight of the cross, the one crucified. and what this one did for me, the reproach and the scorn he was willing to endure for me, and the laying down his life for me, and he having done that for me, how shall I return, and somehow you might say repay him, but return my gratitude, I'll give myself in thankfulness and never deny his name and what he requires of me, in the way of obedience to his father and now my father as well. Keep your eye on the cross and Christ's payment for our sin and saving us to the very end. And so beloved, being willing to boast, to publicly confess him, come what may. And in the end, we glory, you see, in the glorious fruit of this cross, because the cross bears fruit. The cross is almost, you know, the tree of life again. It's a piece of wood, isn't it? And it's stuck into the ground, a dead piece of wood. How can that bear fruit? Because of the blood of the one who was on that cross that fell upon the ground. is a figure and expand as if the blood of Christ beloved rejuvenates the wood of that cross and that cross becomes a tree, a tree of life with the fruit and the fruit of course is the life of Christ himself represented you know by the sacrament to eat Christ and drink the wine representing his blood and his spirit produced by The cross, what's produced by that cross, beloved? A new creature. And what's the mark of a new creature? That's the question. It's striking, you know. Paul says, circumcision availeth nothing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. What's the evidence, beloved, of a new creature? That one has received the life of Christ in very fact, and is resolved to live out of that faith in that Christ Jesus. Well, that's where the form for the Lord's Supper comes so handily in play because there are three evidences according to the form. That one is a worthy partaker. That's the word, worthy partaker. What do you mean, worthy partaker? Doesn't mean we earn or deserve that Lord's Supper and the testimony of the supper, but worthy means a proper partaker with a connotation. A proper partaker who has the approval of God. And you must have the approval of God if you're going to be welcomed to the table by God himself. And he says, you may sit down. and I, as it were, will serve you the benefits of the death of my dear son and your Lord and Savior. What marks one who is a proper partaker and has God's approval? Three parts. Consider yourself and your sins and acknowledge that guilt and those sins. Secondly, believing the faithful promise of God concerning the sacrifice of Christ, forgiven only on the basis of the sacrifice of Christ. And then a third necessary element, isn't there? It doesn't just say, acknowledge your sins, I'm a great sinner, and confess your faith in Christ Jesus, I believe in the Lord Jesus, he's the one only mediator, and stop there because that's not enough. There are those who have made that confession. Ask elders who have worked in discipline. Oh, I'm a great sinner, a terrible sinner. I acknowledge that. But I'm a believer, a believer in the Lord Jesus. Can't take that from me. And the elders don't say, oh, yes, we do. No, they may very well be, sir. You know you're a great sinner. We're thankful you acknowledge that and that you are a believer. but are you resolved to leave your sin that we are charging you with? Have you acknowledged that sin? You won't acknowledge that, will you? Oh, I'm not guilty of that, or if I'm guilty of it, I still have an excuse for continuing in it. Then brother, you're barred. The Lord does not welcome you to his table. You lack the third element that is the evidence not simply of being a believer, but living out of one's faith and according to one's faith, you see. And that's the power of the cross to give us all three the knowledge of my sins, of what I am worthy, what I deserve. But Christ my Lord took it upon himself in my stead. God be thanked. And I plead with him to lift the burden of my guilt on the basis of what he has accomplished. And I am resolved, as the Catechism says, to show true thankfulness, to walk uprightly before him and lay aside unfeignedly enmity, hatred, and envy, and walk henceforth in love and peace with my neighbor. That third element. So one has crucified, you see, one's own nature and one's own inclinations to sin by prayer for the power of the Spirit, and is resolved to live in a godly way and to say no to those sins. Welcome to the table, my son, my daughter, and now, beloved, as we may sit by the table and you do, you may boast. You make your confession and your glory in your Lord and the privilege that is ours and yours. to sit with your elder brother and to partake of what he provides to you. Contrary to all we deserve, but because he has so loved you. Amen. For thy word we give thee thanks for the wonder of thy grace, the gift of thy son, his death, his resurrection, and the outpouring of his Holy Spirit. and the sacrament also that speaks of what he has accomplished for us, but also speaks of what thou didst work in us, even by his flesh and blood and by his spirit. So, Father, may we come, having examined ourselves with a true confession, true forgiveness, true grief, and laying upon the fruits of the cross. In Jesus' name, amen.