"And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering" (Genesis 4:4). ​

What do we mean by this statement: everything from God comes to us through The Cross? It means what it says, but it is a little difficult for us to take it all in. We must understand and believe that our salvation comes exclusively through The Cross of Christ. That means eternal life comes through The Cross, the baptism with The Spirit comes through The Cross, all blessings come through The Cross, the fruit of The Spirit comes through The Cross, the gifts of The Spirit come through The Cross, and communion with The Lord in every capacity comes through The Cross. All prosperity comes through The Cross. Every single thing that we receive from God, and I mean everything, is made possible by The Cross of Christ.

When we come to the dawn of time, in the very beginning of creation, we are given the illustration by The Holy Spirit in Genesis Chapter 4 of Cain and Abel.

The Lord had shown the first family that despite their terrible fall, they could still have communion with God and forgiveness of sins. That would be by virtue of the slain lamb, which would epitomize – symbolize if you will – the coming Redeemer, The Lord Jesus Christ. Again, everything comes through The Cross, of which the sacrificial system was a type.

Unfortunately, Cain would not obey what The Lord had demanded. And what did God demand? 

God demanded a blood sacrifice of an innocent victim, a lamb, which proclaimed the fact that Abel recognized his need of a Redeemer, and that one was coming who would redeem lost humanity. The offering of Abel was a type of Christ and the price that He would pay on The Cross of Calvary for man to be redeemed. As stated, this was a type of Christ and The Cross – the only offering which God would respect.

Williams said, "Abel's altar is beautiful to God's eye and repulsive to man's. Cain's offering is beautiful to man's eye and repulsive to God's. These 'altars' exist today; around the one that is Christ and His atoning work, few are gathered, around the other, many. God accepts the slain lamb and rejects the offered fruit; and the offering being rejected, so of necessity is the offerer."

This is very serious, so let us say it again: if the offering is accepted, which Abel's offering was accepted because it was a type of the sacrifice of Christ, then the one offering is also accepted. But Cain's offering was rejected, which means the one bringing the offering was also rejected. That is a sober thought, and we should take it to heart. 

Understand, the only thing that reached God was the sacrifice of an innocent victim, which symbolized the coming Redeemer, The Lord Jesus Christ. God did not propose anything else, only the sacrificial offering of the innocent victim, which was a slain lamb.

The scripture also says, "But unto Cain and to his offering he (God) had not respect..." (Genesis 4:5). Again, God had no respect for any proposed way of salvation other than Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 1:23; 2:2). 

Genesis 4:5-6 goes on to say:

​"And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell (that which filled Abel with with peace filled Cain with wrath; the carnal mind displays enmity against all this truth which so gladdens and satisfies the heart of the believer). And the LORD said unto Cain (God loves Cain just as He did Abel and wishes to bless him also), Why are you angry? (Abel's altar speaks of repentance, of faith, and of the precious blood of Christ, The Lamb of God without blemish; Cain's altar tells of pride, unbelief, and self righteousness, which always elicits anger) and why is your countenance fallen? (anger in one form or another accompanies self righteousness for that is what plagued Cain; God's righteousness can only come by The Cross, while self righteousness is by dependence on works)."

As it spoke of forgiveness of sins and communion with God, The Lord offered no solution whatsoever except the slain lamb, which was a type of the coming Lord Jesus Christ, Who would give Himself as a sacrifice on The Cross.

We must understand that everything comes from God to us by means of The Cross; it can come no other way. This means that our faith must be exclusively in Christ and The Cross and maintained exclusively in Christ and The Cross. If we think we receive from God by means of fasting, giving of money, or witnessing – as wonderful, helpful, and good as those things are – we will be sadly disappointed. Everything comes to the believer by and through The Cross.

​SIN CAN ONLY BE HANDLED AT THE CROSS

John said: 

My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. (This presents the fact that The Lord saves us from sin, not in sin. This passage tells us that as believers, we do not have to sin. Victory over sin is found exclusively in The Cross. [while the Bible does not teach sinless perfection, it does teach that sin is not to have dominion over us (Romans 6:14).]And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (Jesus is now seated at the right hand of The Father, signifying that His mission is complete and His very presence guarantees intercession [Hebrews 7:25-26; 9:24; 10:12]): And he is the propitiation (satisfaction) for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. (This pertains to the fact that the satisfaction is as wide as the sin. If men do not experience its benefit, the fault is not in its efficacy, but in man himself) (1 John 2:1-2). 

If we look at the problem as we should, most of the time the bottom line tells us that sin is the difficulty. There is only one cure for sin and that is The Cross of Christ – not two cures, or three, or ten – just one, and that is The Cross.

Unfortunately, the modern church has tried to change the situation by defining sin as a sickness or a state. Nevertheless, it is sin.

Also, virtually the entirety of the church world has opted for humanistic psychology, which is no help for sin whatsoever. Whenever men try to substitute something else for God's remedy, which is The Cross, man always loses his way.

Again there is only one cure for sin – only one – and that is The Cross of Christ. When Jesus died on The Cross, He died to address two particular things:

• The terrible sin debt that man owed to God. It was the case of the broken law. Every man was guilty, and when Jesus gave Himself on The Cross, it satisfied the demands of the broken law in totality. Understand that the broken law meant death, even hellfire – separation from God forever and forever. Jesus satisfied that terrible problem.
• To break the grip that sin had on the human race. Unredeemed man lives a life of nothing but sin. In fact, everything the unredeemed do, and I mean everything, is labeled by God as sin. Due to the fall, the problem remains with the child of God, but what Jesus did at The Cross enables the believer to have victory over sin in every capacity.
  

While the Bible does not teach sinless perfection, it does teach that sin is not to have dominion over us (Romans 6:14). Yes, the only answer for sin, and I mean the only answer, is The Cross of Christ. That is the reason the church should preach the blood, preach The Cross, and preach Jesus giving Himself in sacrifice, and it should do so constantly. 

A CHURCH WITHOUT THE CROSS IS A CHURCH WITHOUT CHRIST

Paul said, "For I determined not to know any thing among you (with purpose and design, Paul did not resort to the knowledge or philosophy of the world regarding the preaching of the Gospel), save Jesus Christ, and him crucified" (that and that alone is the message which will save the sinner, set the captive free, and give the believer perpetual victory) (1 Corinthians 2:2). 

Again, a church without The Cross is a church without Christ.

Sometime back I heard a very popular preacher interviewed by a newspaper reporter regarding his church. The reporter said, "I've listened to you preach a number of times, and I never hear you mention The Cross of Christ, why?"

The preacher said, "Oh yes, we believe in The Cross, but we don't preach it, and, no, we will not preach it, because it might offend somebody."

When I heard that, I thought of the words of Paul: "But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness" (1 Corinthians 1:23).

In essence, the great apostle is saying, "Yes, I know that the preaching of The Cross is an offense to many. It is a stumbling block to the Jews and to the Greeks – thinking that a man hanging on a wood gibbet is the hope of the world – it presents itself to them as foolishness but it happens to be true."

In other words, the great apostle said that he did not really care what people thought; he preached Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He did it because there was no other answer, no other panacea, no other solution, and no other way for man's dilemma. It is Jesus Christ and Him crucified or hell fire. That may be blunt, but it happens to be the truth. 

THE CROSS IS NEVER REJECTED ON THEOLOGICAL GROUNDS BUT ALWAYS ON MORAL GROUNDS

If The Cross was rejected on theological grounds that would mean it is too difficult to understand. But it is not rejected on those grounds, it is always rejected on moral grounds. What do we mean by that?

When we speak of moral grounds, we mean human pride, self will, and personal desires. To be sure, The Cross of Christ opposes all of man's efforts. Whenever we try to live for God by any means other than The Cross, we get the glory which God could never sanction. Whenever our faith is in Christ and The Cross, and victory is given to us, it is God who gets the glory not man.

So the problem is never theological, it is always moral. That is not very pleasant to hear, but it is the truth.

THE CROSS OF CHRIST IS THE FOUNDATIONAL TRUTH OF THE ENTIRETY OF THE BIBLE

Let us prove that from the Word of God.

The word of God tells us that it was The Cross of Christ that was formulated in the mind of God before the foundation of the world. Before there was ever a planet called Earth and before there was ever a universe, Almighty God knew, through foreknowledge, that He would develop all of these things, develop man, and that man would fall. So it was determined by the Godhead that man would be redeemed by God becoming man and thereby going to The Cross. 

He explained this to us in 1 Peter: Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold (presents the fact that the most precious commodities [silver and gold] could not redeem fallen man), from your vain conversation (vain lifestyle) received by tradition from your fathers (speaks of original sin that is passed on from father to child at conception); But with the precious blood of Christ (presents the payment, which proclaims the poured out life of Christ on behalf of sinners), as of a lamb without blemish and without spot (speaks of the lambs offered as substitutes in the old Jewish economy; the death of Christ was not an execution or assassination but rather a sacrifice; the offering of Himself presented a perfect sacrifice, for He was perfect in every respect [Exodus 12:5]): Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world (refers to the fact that God, in His omniscience, knew He would create man, man would fall, and man would be redeemed by Christ going to The Cross; this was all done before the universe was created; this means the Cross of Christ is the foundational doctrine of all doctrines, referring to the fact that all doctrine must be built upon that foundation, or else it is specious), but was manifest in these last times for you (refers to the invisible God, Who in the person of The Son, was made visible to human eyesight by a human body and human limitations) (1 Peter 1:18-20).

Upon investigation, one will find that all false doctrine has its beginning in a false understanding or a false interpretation of The Cross of Christ – that is where all false doctrine begins. So it is imperative that every believer understand The Cross of Christ as one should.

How can one misunderstand The Cross? The Cross of Christ is the foundation of the great Gospel message. Without The Cross, we have a church without Christ. One cannot separate Christ from The Cross, or The Cross from Christ. That does not mean that Christ is still on The Cross; He is not. He is seated today at the right hand of The Father, making intercession for all of us, which He does by His very presence.

The Cross of Christ is something that happened nearly two thousand years ago, but it has everlasting results – results that will never have to be changed or challenged. What Christ did at The Cross is everlasting – perfect, one might say – meaning that His sacrifice does not need improvement, and, in fact, cannot be improved upon. If we neglect The Cross, set aside The Cross, or misrepresent The Cross, then we have just changed Christianity – and I mean Bible Christianity – into something else.

HOW IS THE PREACHING OF THE CROSS THE POWER OF GOD?

"For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God" (1 Corinthians 1:18). 

Let us ask the question again, how is the preaching of The Cross the power of God? There was no power in the wooden beam on which Jesus died. Likewise, there is no power in death, but rather the very opposite. So where does the power come in?

The power is in The Holy Spirit. But here is the answer to the question: The Holy Spirit does everything by and through The Cross of Christ. In other words, what Jesus did at The Cross gives The Holy Spirit the legal means to do all that He does.

Before The Cross, The Holy Spirit could not come into the hearts and lives of believers to abide permanently. He could only come into the hearts and lives of prophets, etc., to help them carry out their mission and then He would leave. 

The reason for that was obvious: the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sins; the sins remained, which greatly hindered The Holy Spirit. But when Jesus died on The Cross, He took away every sin, and I mean every sin, at least for all who will believe (John 1:29).

Now, when a believing sinner comes to Christ and is born again, The Holy Spirit comes into that heart and life, and He comes to abide forever (John 14:16).

Likewise, before The Cross when believers died, they could not be taken to heaven, even though they were truly saved because the sin debt was unpaid. Consequently, they were taken down into paradise where they remained captives of Satan. While the evil one could not hurt them, still, their deliverance from that place depended totally on The Cross of Christ. The moment The Cross was a fact – the moment all sin was atoned for – Jesus went down into paradise and "led captivity captive" meaning that He made all of them in paradise His captives and took them with Him to glory. Since The Cross, when a believer dies, his soul and spirit instantly go to be with The Lord to abide there forever.

The Holy Spirit works exclusively by and through The Cross of Christ. The Cross is what gives The Holy Spirit the legal means to do all that He does (Romans 8:2). With The Cross now a fact, The Holy Spirit can work mightily on our behalf. However, something else is required before The Holy Spirit can do the things that only He can do. It is imperative that our faith be exclusively in Christ and what Christ did for us at The Cross and not in ourselves or something else.

This is where the rub comes in: men love to depend on other things. Their reason for doing this is obvious – it brings glory to them. It does not matter how much we cover up our efforts with scripture. If our faith to overcome sin is in fasting, in our prayer life, or in anything except The Cross of Christ, we will be sadly disappointed. It is The Cross alone that gives The Holy Spirit the latitude to function as only He can function – that is what gives us the victory.

Unfortunately, most of the church does not know this. Consequently, they have their faith in anything and everything except Christ and The Cross. While most of the things in which they participate are good and scriptural, still, they are not the things that God will honor. God honors Christ and what Christ did at The Cross, and He honors that alone.

WHY IS OUR FAITH TO BE IN CHRIST AND THE CROSS?

Our faith is to be in Christ and The Cross, and in Christ and The Cross exclusively. In my morning devotions every day I always and without fail say to The Lord, "My faith is in You and what You did for me at The Cross. It is not in myself, and it is not in another poor human being, it is only in You and the sacrifice of The Cross."

The majority of the church world today, virtually all of it, is trying to live for God in all the wrong ways. It may come as a little shock for you to read the following, but I must say it: the modern church simply does not know how to live for God. I realize that's a startling statement, but it happens to be the truth. Even those who truly love God – those who seek to please Him and do all they can to live as righteous as they can – even this group does not know how to live for God. They simply do not understand The Cross of Christ as it regards sanctification. Salvation yes, but sanctification, no.

Anything we do outside of faith in Christ and The Cross, it is the human being that gets the glory, which God can never abide. We may claim, and claim constantly, that our glory goes to The Lord, but if our faith is not in The Cross of Christ, then the glory for that which was done goes to the individual, which, again, God can never abide. We must understand that and take it to heart.

HOW DOES THE CROSS OF CHRIST PLAY INTO OUR SANCTIFICATION?

This is one of the most important questions that could ever be asked. Unfortunately, when it comes to sanctification, the modern church has no understanding whatsoever as to the part The Cross plays in our sanctification – how we live for God on a daily basis or how we grow in the grace and knowledge of The Lord. Salvation, yes. Sanctification, no.

The truth is, The Cross of Christ, meaning what Jesus there did, has everything to do with our sanctification – how we live for God. In fact, one cannot successfully live for The Lord if one does not understand the part that the great Cross of Christ plays in our sanctification.

As we have already stated, The Holy Spirit, Whom we have to have to live this life, works entirely within the framework of the finished work of Christ, namely The Cross. Paul said, "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:2). 

The only law in the world that is stronger and more powerful than the law of sin and death is the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Of course, The Spirit of Life is The Holy Spirit. We have got to have the help of The Spirit to live this life.

Paul told us the following: "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12).

There is no way in the world that we can hope to overcome these fallen angels and demon spirits within our own strength and ability. It simply cannot be done. But what is impossible for us is no problem at all for The Holy Spirit. Let us go again to The Cross. 

Paul said: Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us (pertains to the law of Moses, which was God's standards of righteousness that man could not reach), which was contrary to us (law is against us, simply because we are unable to keep its precepts, no matter how hard we try), and took it out of the way (refers to the penalty of the law being removed), nailing it to his cross (the law with its decrees was abolished in Christ's death, as if crucified with Him); And having spoiled principalities and powers (Satan and all of his henchmen were defeated at The Cross by Christ, atoning for all sins; sin was the legal right Satan had to hold man in captivity; with all sin atoned, he has no more legal right to hold anyone in bondage), he (Christ) made a shew of them openly (what Jesus did at The Cross was in the face of the whole universe), triumphing over them in it (the triumph is complete, and it was all done for us, meaning we can walk in power and perpetual victory by The Cross) (Colossians 2:14-15). ​

When the believer puts his faith exclusively in Christ and The Cross, this gives The Holy Spirit latitude to work, and let it be understood that it is The Cross alone that gives Him the legal means to do all that He does. This requires our faith be constantly in Christ and the Cross. That being done, victory will be ours.

CAN THE NON-SPIRIT FILLED BELIEVER WALK IN VICTORY?

The answer to this question is yes.

There are some things about this that we must understand, and with that knowledge will come the answer to quite a number of questions. At this very moment, there are multiple millions of believers who are Spirit filled, who love God, and who want to walk in righteousness, but they find themselves unable to do so. In other words, they are as Paul, doing the very thing that they hate, whatever that might be.

What is the answer to this? Why is this happening?

Whenever a person is born again, at that very moment The Holy Spirit comes into that heart and into that life to abide forever. However, that is not the baptism with The Holy Spirit. In fact, these are two different things – there is a vast difference between being born of The Spirit and being baptized with The Spirit. The former is for victory; the latter is for power for service. If a person understands the victory part of it, this means that the victory will be his.

This is a key distinction so let us do our best to explain: At conversion, The Holy Spirit comes into the heart and life of the believer, as He does with every  believer. If that believer will place his or her faith exclusively in Christ and The Cross and maintain it exclusively in Christ and The Cross, then that particular person will be able to walk in victory even though he is not yet baptized with The Holy Spirit.

Let us say it a little stronger: Millions of believers are being used of God and seeing things done for The Lord – great things. They sense the power of The Holy Spirit manifested within their hearts and lives on a continual basis. They speak in tongues almost every day of their lives. Yet they find themselves unable to walk in victory, and this they do not understand. They are baptized with The Holy Spirit, so should not that give them the power to live a victorious life? To be blunt, no it does not!

While the baptism with The Holy Spirit helps one in a thousand different ways, victory only comes as we place our faith in Christ and The Cross exclusively – and that can be done by the person who is saved, but not baptized with The Spirit; it happens constantly. This is what makes many Pentecostals lacking in understanding. They see their Baptist brothers (or whomever) walking in victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil even though he is not baptized with The Holy Spirit, yet find themselves unable to do so, and they do not understand why.

All victory comes by and through The Cross. The Holy Spirit is God, and He can do anything. He will never go against the great price that Christ has paid at Calvary's Cross. He works within those parameters, and He will work in no other way.

Have you noticed in the Bible that we are not told to praise The Holy Spirit? There is nothing wrong in doing so, but we are not told to do it, and there is a reason for that. It was not The Holy Spirit who hung on that Cross and paid the price for man's sins, it was The Lord Jesus Christ. So The Holy Spirit will not take the glory away from Christ in any capacity. The glory must always go to The Lord. While we worship God The Father, and we worship God The Son, The Holy Spirit directs all worship and praise to those Whom I have just mentioned and not Himself.

Again, victory comes through The Cross and only through The Cross. This means that our faith must ever be anchored in Christ and The Cross, which then gives The Holy Spirit latitude to work within our lives, whether we are a newborn believer or have lived for God for many, many years. 

CAN A BELIEVER WALK IN VICTORY OUTSIDE OF THE CROSS?

No! Paul answered this question by saying: 

​I am crucified with Christ (as the foundation of all victory; Paul here takes us back to Romans 6:3-5): nevertheless I live (have a new life); yet not I (not by my own strength and ability), but Christ liveth in me (by virtue of me dying with Him on The Cross, and being raised with Him in newness of life): and the life which I now live in the flesh  (my daily walk before God) I live by the faith of the Son of God (The Cross is ever the object of my faith), who loved me, and gave himself for me (which is the only way I could be saved). I do not frustrate the grace of God (if we make anything other than The Cross of Christ the object of our faith, we frustrate the grace of God, which means we stop its action, and The Holy Spirit will no longer help us, at least not to any degree): for if righteousness come by the law (any type of law), then Christ is dead in vain  (if I can successfully live for the Lord by any means other than faith in Christ and The Cross, then the death of Christ was a waste) (Galatians 2:20-21). 

Unfortunately, there are millions of Christians who are trying to live for God by means other than The Cross. In fact, the church as a whole seems to jump from one fad to another. On year it is this, and the next year it is that. Anything and everything except The Cross of Christ. The end result is always wreckage.

At this very moment, millions of Christians are struggling with terrible problems in their lives, and I am speaking of sin. They do not want it there. They struggle to be free, but to no avail. They try this, and they try the other, and nothing seems to work; they just get worse and worse. They do not dare tell anyone because if they do, they have just about forfeited their life and living for God.

Just a few days ago, I was told of a preacher who had been and was being greatly used by The Lord, but he had a problem in his life. It was a problem of immorality. He went to a preacher and confided in him, but the tragedy is, that the preacher did not keep the information to himself. He went to others, which just about destroyed this man's life and ministry. We are to tell The Lord and The Lord alone; that is the only way that victory can be ours. 

Consider David's words from long ago: "And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait (sin always puts an individual in a great strait): let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man (man shows no mercy, and religious man none at all)"​ (2 Samuel 24:14). 

Again, the believer cannot walk in victory outside of The Cross; it is impossible! That is the reason that Paul said, "For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2). Some opposers of the Cross claim that The Cross is only an elementary situation, and once a person is saved, and he goes beyond The Cross to other things. Again, I ask the question, go where? Almost invariably the answer is, they will go to The Holy Spirit.

When the believing sinner comes to Christ, The Holy Spirit invariably leads that believing sinner to The Cross. When the failing Christian comes to The Lord for help, The Holy Spirit will invariably lead that failing Christian to The Cross. 

Paul said, "For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect" (1 Corinthians 1:17).

The Holy Spirit works exclusively within the parameters of The Cross of Christ, and He will not work outside of those parameters. If we try to go outside of The Cross, we lose our way with God. It is just that simple – we lose our way with God. 

​SOME SAY IF WE PREACH THE CROSS WE PREACH DEATH

That's exactly right – they say we preach death. What do I mean by that?

When Christ died on The Cross and when we come to Him for salvation, in the mind of God, we literally die with Him, we are buried with Him, meaning the old man is buried; and we are raised with Him in newness of life (Romans 6:3-5). It is the death of the old man, and it has to come through The Cross. It can be done in no other way.

Yes, whenever they claim that we preach death when we preach The Cross, they are exactly right, but not in the way that they think. It is death to the old man – what we once were, what we used to be – but thank God, we no longer are. All of that has died, and died with Christ. It is death, but it is the greatest death that ever could be because we are then raised in newness of life.

Now, study the following very carefully: people who advocate this claim that they want resurrection life and want nothing to do with The Cross. All of us want resurrection life, now let me tell you how to have it. Paul said, "For if we have been planted together (with Christ) in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection" (Romans 6:5).

We can have resurrection life, and we are meant to have resurrection life. However, the only way it can be had is that we are first of all "planted together in the likeness of his death." That being done, meaning The Cross, we can then be in "the likeness of his resurrection." But that is the only way resurrection life can be had.

THE CROSS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS

Incidentally, the two words righteousness and holiness come from the same root Greek word, with both if them meaning "to be brought out of something," namely the world, and "to something," namely The Lord.​

The business of The Holy Spirit is to make us holy. He strongly works to get all sin out of our lives to bring about righteousness. What is righteousness? Actually, righteousness is simply that which is right. But it is God's definition of what is right not man's.

So, how do we become righteous?

First of all, most of the church world tries to obtain righteousness by means of works, but it cannot be done that way, not even in the slightest. God cannot honor such, even though the works may be very legitimate and scriptural in their own right. So how do we have this great attribute of God called righteousness?

It comes the way that salvation comes and sanctification, as well. The believer is to place his faith exclusively in Christ and The Cross and maintain it exclusively in Christ and The Cross. The very moment this takes place, God gives us His pure, perfect, spotless righteousness. That is the only way righteousness can be obtained. Doing all the good works in the world will not bring about righteousness. It is strictly by faith and faith alone. But it has to be the correct object of faith.

What do we mean by the correct object of faith? This is very important: everyone has faith, but it is not faith that God will recognize. God recognizes only one kind of faith, and that is faith in Christ and the price He paid at Calvary's Cross. That, and that alone constitutes the correct object of one's faith.

Unfortunately, the greater majority of the modern church has its faith in anything and everything except The Cross of Christ. That being the case, there is very little righteousness there. Once again, we quote Paul: "...if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain" (Galatians 2:21).

Are works important? Of course they are. In fact, when a person begins to believe right, his works will be far more beneficial than otherwise. But we must understand that works of any nature, no matter how holy they may seem to be, do not bring us to righteousness or holiness. 

​THE CROSS AND SPIRITUAL ADULTRY

What is spiritual adultery?

Paul gives us an example of this in the first four verses of Romans Chapter 7. He pictures a woman married to a man but she takes up with another man and marries him as well. Notice she has two husbands, and, in effect, is living in adultery. 

As believers, we are married to Christ. That took place when we were born again. Christ is to meet our every need, and He is the only one who can meet our every need. If we place our faith in anything else – it does not really matter what it is – it constitutes spiritual adultery. In other words, we are being unfaithful to Christ. Now look at that phrase very closely: unfaithful to Christ.

The way we are to be faithful to Him is to place our faith exclusively in Christ and The Cross – what we have been saying paragraph after paragraph, chapter after chapter. If we place our faith in anything other than Christ and The Cross, we are doing The Lord a terrible disservice and actually being unfaithful to Him. This grieves The Holy Spirit to no end, because He will not share Christ with something else.

The sad fact is, most believers have never heard of spiritual adultery, and all the time they are allowing this to have a place in their lives. I say that because most have their faith in something other than Christ and The Cross. When this is done, in the mind of God, we are committing spiritual adultery, which is a serious offense.

Sometime back, I was reading behind a great preacher who said, "Believers need to repent not only of the bad things they are doing, but also the good things." His words shook me. What did he mean?

Millions of Christians have their faith in anything and everything other than The Cross of Christ, and I am certain that the believer understands that when we speak of The Cross of Christ, we are not speaking of the wooden beam on which He died, but rather what He there accomplished.

That preacher was speaking of the good things that we do and how believers think that those good things will bring about righteousness, holiness, and favor with God, but they do not.

Listen again to the Word of God: "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God" (Hebrews 11:5).

What is it that pleased God? the scripture tells us: "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he (God) is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (Hebrews 11:6).

The only thing that pleases God is faith. Not works, but faith. But it must be faith in the correct object, and that object is The Lord Jesus Christ and The Cross on which He died, satisfying the demands of the the thrice holy God.

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

But wholly lean on Jesus Name.

On Christ the solid rock I stand;

All other ground is sinking sand,

All other ground is sinking sand.

What I Hate, That Do I Chapter 6

​Questions About The Cross