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Introduction:
“I guess we all have our cross to bear.” Have you ever heard
that? When is that usually said? Most of the time it is when
someone is complaining about some hardship. It could be anywhere
from a car problem to a problem with a spouse to a problem at
work. This phrase actually comes from the Bible in several
passages. However, it is almost never used the way the Bible uses
it. Consider Luke
9:23. And he said to all,
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up
his cross daily and follow me” (ESV).
This statement is so much deeper than putting up with
trouble in life. It calls to mind the very crucifixion of Jesus
Himself. As He carried a cross up Golgotha’s hill, until He
could no longer physically carry it Himself. Then Simon of Cyrene
carried it, following Jesus up that hill. We are to be like Simon,
carrying a cross. However, instead of carrying the cross that
belongs to someone else, we are carrying our own. However, this
verse makes the statement slightly differently than all the other
passages that give the same message. This one says we are to take
up our own crosses daily. That is, we take up our cross one day at
a time. Frankly, I think the only way we will ever walk in a
manner worthy of Jesus is if we take this one day at a time point
seriously. So, exactly what does it mean to take up our cross
daily? Discussion: I.
Taking up our cross A.
Taking up our cross does not mean dealing with some
hardship. It is not just bearing a burden. To truly grasp what
taking up a cross means, look past modern usage and try to imagine
what it would have been like to walk down a street in Jerusalem
and see a crowd gathering and pressing your way. You can hear the
jeering and the howling. You hear Roman soldiers shouting threats
at the crowd to clear a path. Then you see someone bloodied and
beaten with a large cross pressing on his shoulder. The cross
bearing man is stooped over, ready to fall. In fact, he does
stumble. This is a picture of taking up a cross. B.
Now think about that for just a moment. What does that
picture mean for this man? Is it merely a burden to bear? Is it
merely a trouble to endure? No. 1.
Taking up a cross meant a proclamation of guilt. Granted,
Jesus was an exception. But people weren’t just crucified every
day. This was reserved for the worst of criminals. Taking up a
cross declares to the world that I am guilty in the worst ways. 2.
Taking up a cross meant lost of personal control. See John
21:18. 3.
Taking up a cross meant certain death. This man was not
carrying a mere burden. He was carrying the implement of his own
torturous death. C.
When we hear about taking up a cross, we should hear Romans
12:1, which says we should be living sacrifices. We should
hear Galatians
2:20, which says we have been crucified with Christ and we
are no longer in control of our own lives but Jesus is in control.
We should hear Romans
6:1-7, which says when we were baptized we died to sin and
crucified our old self with Christ. We should hear Ephesians
4:22-32, which says we have put off our old selves and are
being renewed in our mind. We should hear Colossians
3:3-10, which says we should put to death what is earthly
in us because we have died in Christ. D.
Do you see what taking up our cross really means? It
doesn’t mean carrying a burden or enduring a trial. It means
recognizing and admitting how guilty we are in our sins. Then it
means putting that part of ourselves to death. It means putting
away lying, lusting, cheating, stealing, clamoring, wrath,
resentment, bitterness, holding grudges, drinking, covetousness,
slander, malice, gossip, etc. It means dying to all those faults,
defects and sins that keep us separated from God. We sometimes act
like the little faults we have are no big deal; we’re only
human. But we are supposed to be taking up our cross, dead to
those old selves who give in to the earthly and fleshly passions,
not walking our own way but following God’s. It is not easy. It
is a burden. It is a sacrifice. In fact, at times, when we do not
pursue the passions of our body and mind, we may think we might
die. Part of us doesn’t want to give up these things but figure
out some exception for ourselves so we can pursue these passions
at least a little. But, we must crucify them. We must take up our
cross. II.
We must take up our cross daily. A.
Taking up our cross is, in some ways, a hard thing. But, we
need to notice the fact that Jesus said we should take up our
cross daily. We do not
take up our cross once and are done with it. We take it up each
day. Every morning, as we face a new day, we need to pick up that
cross. We renew our commitment to put our old selves to death.
Let’s face it, as Romans
6:16 says, we had become enslaved to sin. As Ephesians
2:3 says, we all became by nature children of wrath like
the rest of mankind. We are absolutely naïve if we think that
such an enslavement is defeated overnight. We are absolutely naïve
if we think we can make a momentary decision and suddenly never
struggle against our temptations and sins again. Therefore, we
have to take up our cross every day.
B.
There are three practical matters this brings to light. 1.
On a practical level, this means if we had a great day of
cross bearing yesterday, we don’t get to think the battle is
over. We face every day anew, without resting on the laurels of
yesterday. We have to take up our cross again today. We have to
put our earthly passions to death again today. We have to commit
to purity again today. If we think that we can let our guard down
today because we had a great day yesterday, we will fall. As Paul
said in I
Corinthians 10:12, “Let anyone who thinks that he stands
take heed lest he fall” (ESV). This is not a one-time event.
This is something we have to do every day. 2.
But there is another side to this. Taking up our cross is
not a one-time shot, wherein we must get it perfectly the first
time or it is over. We may not rest on yesterday’s victories,
but we do not have to quit because of yesterday’s failures
either. We are in a war. We will win many battles. Sadly, we will
lose some as well. We will be broken, embarrassed and ashamed. We
may find it hard to look into the eyes of our fellow saints and
soldiers in this battle. We cannot do anything about the failures
of our past. But God can. He sent Jesus to die for them. If we
foundered yesterday, we can pick up our cross again today because
today is all we have in which to take up our cross. John said if
we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive our sins
(I
John 1:9). Confess them, then pick your cross up again
today and do what you can right now. 3.
We do this one day at a time. We do not take up our cross
for a lifetime all at once. We do not take up our cross weekly,
monthly, annually. We do not take up our cross ten years at a
time. No, we take it up daily. We take it up one day at a time. We
don’t have to be overwhelmed wondering how we can keep this up
for the next decade, year, month or even week. We only have to
think about today. If we take up our cross today, we have done
what Jesus asked of us. III.
It will still be taking up a cross tomorrow, next week,
next month, next year… A.
If taking up a cross is a daily activity, that means today
I’m taking up a cross. Tomorrow, serving Christ will still be
taking up a cross. Next week, serving Christ will still be taking
up a cross. Next month, serving Christ will still be taking up a
cross. Next year, serving Christ will still be taking up a cross.
Ten years from now it will still be taking up a cross. There is no
day coming in this life, where I can lay down the cross and expect
to live a pure life. If I do not put to death my earthly passions
every day, they will take over. If I do not get up on that cross
and let Jesus run my life every day, Satan will conquer. B.
Brothers and sisters, we may take up our cross today. We
may put to death our earthly passions today. We may put on Christ
today. But Satan is not taking a nap. He’s in the corner doing
push-ups. He is waiting for a more opportune time (cf. Luke
4:13). He is still a roaring lion seeking whomever he may
devour (I
Peter 5:8). There is never a time when we will suddenly be
fixed and impervious to temptations. They wouldn’t be
temptations if we were impervious to them, would they? C.
Don’t get me wrong. If we take up our cross daily, put to
death our earthly passions daily, put on Christ daily, surrender
to His control daily, I fully expect living the Christian life to
get easier. But, we just need to come to grips with the fact that
if we ever let that guard down, we are merely giving Satan a
foothold and he will use it for all its worth. So, don’t think
Christianity will be like taking up a cross for ten years, but
then it will be so easy that we won’t have to take up the cross
anymore. Oh no. Every day will be taking up a cross. Remember,
however, we only have to do it one day at a time. D.
So, if you have been living this Christian life for 10, 20
or 30 years and you still find that Satan is able to tempt you and
it is like carrying a cross to overcome, don’t be surprised.
Don’t think you have failed. Just pick up your cross again
today. Put to death your earthly passions again today. Put Christ
on again today. Give Jesus the reigns again today. Fight the
battles and let God win the victories again today. You are not
failing; you are doing exactly what Jesus has asked you. IV.
The seeming paradox of the cross-bearing life A.
We have painted what seems like a very bleak existence as a
Christian. We have pointed out that taking up our cross means
declaring how guilty and enslaved to sin we have been. We have
pointed out that taking up a cross means putting to death our
wants and desires. We have said that taking up our cross means
giving someone else control of our lives. We have said that taking
up a cross means picking up the implement of our own death.
However, while taking up the cross does mean carrying the
implement that means death to our earthly passions and fleshly
lusts, it does not mean we are carrying the implement of our
death. Rather, we are carrying the implement of our life. B.
It is a seeming paradox. It seems that we are losing our
lives because we are giving up control of our lives. It seems we
are actually putting ourselves to death. But as Jesus goes on to
say in Luke
9:24, “Whoever would save his life will lose it, but
whoever loses his life for my sake will save it” (ESV). If we
fight to hold on to our lives, if we fight to keep our passions
and desires alive, we will lose our lives. It is only when we put
our passions, lusts, desires, plans, goals, lives to death that we
have real life. C.
Brothers and sisters, it is only when we enslave ourselves
to Christ and His righteousness that we can truly be set free to
pursue what is real life. That is Paul’s point in Romans
6:15-23. We can buck against the grain of Christ’s
cross. We can argue to cut the cross down. We can plead for making
the cross lighter, but all we are doing is insuring our own death.
True life, eternal life comes by picking up our cross daily, by
being crucified with Christ, by being a living sacrifice. D.
Allow me to assure you, your worst day of cross-bearing
will be better than your best day on which you lay down your
cross. Because the days you lay your cross down are the days you
shackle yourself anew to the ball and chain of sin and enslavement
to it. Conclusion: What are you taking up today? Are you taking up your cross? Or are you taking up resentment, bitterness, lust, immorality, drunkenness, vengeance, wrath, clamor, covetousness, gossip, malice, slander? Satan wants you to think if you hang on to those sins, if you pass on that gossip, if you stew in your resentment, if you take your vengeance, if you pursue your lust and immorality that you will have life, freedom and happiness. You will not. You will have guilt, shame, bitterness and death. The cross is the only way to real freedom and real life. Take it up today. You can worry about tomorrow when it gets here. How about taking up your cross today, right now?
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
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