Extract from:
The Way of the Cross
By J. Gregory Mantle
l The great sin of man has always been in
this direction, a preference of his own will to the will of God; a preference
of his own inclinations for God's obligations.
l When we think we have discovered a
short and easy road to success, and have forsaken the Fountain of living waters
to hew out to ourselves cisterns, we shall always find
that our hewing has been labor lost, and that our cisterns are broken and will
hold no water.
l Few will deny that this mixedness in
Christian life and work is a great bane, and seriously interferes with the
effectiveness of both. This must be so, because it is a subversion of God's order,
and, as we have previously intimated, the creature will not be permitted with
impunity to interfere with the laws established by the Creator.
l The two great pillars upon which true
Scriptural Christianity rests are the greatness of our fall and the greatness
of our redemption. "Until," says William Law, "you are renewed
in the spirit of your mind, your virtues are only
taught practices and grafted upon a corrupt bottom. Everything that you do will
be a mixture of good and bad; your humility will help you to pride; your
charity to others will give nourishment to your own self-love, and as your
prayers increase so will the opinion of your own sanctity. Because till the
heart is purified to the bottom, and has felt the axe at the root of its evil
(which cannot be done by outward instruction), everything that proceeds from it
partakes of its impurity and corruption."
l A Bechuana Christian exclaimed in the
enthusiasm of his newly-found faith: "The Cross of Christ condemns me to
become a saint!" His words contain an all-important truth, for they at
once reveal the real purpose of the Saviour's death and the true object of the
Christian's life. That object is not chiefly the forgiveness of sins, not a
title to heaven, not deliverance from the wrath to come, but a saintly walk.
God has called us to be saints. Happiness, pardon, and heaven are subordinate. Holiness
is the element in which salvation and heaven are to be found. Yes, the Cross
condemns me to become a saint.
l Christ's death implies union as well as
substitution. His death and resurrection-life condemn me to be a saint, and it
is unspeakably mean of me to claim to be one with Him in the freedom from sin's
punishment, which His Cross secures, and not one with Him in His relation to
the hateful sin itself.
l "Every man blameth the devil for
his sins; but the great devil, the house-devil of every man, the house-devil
that eateth and lieth in every man's bosom, is that idol that killeth all,
himself. Oh! blessed are they who can deny themselves,
and put Christ in the room of themselves! O sweet word: 'I live no more, but
Christ liveth in me!' " -- Samuel Rutherford
l Utter abandonment to God is, then, the
only way of blessing.
l The way of the Cross means, then, the
overthrow of egoism, for before the divine life can rise in man, self must die.
It is the very ground and root of sin.
l We must learn to make God what He is in
Himself -- the end of all things; and so to do this that at any time we can
turn round upon ourselves and say of our life, at any moment and in any of its
outgoings, "God is my end!" Everything that does not revolve round
Him as its center is doomed to destruction, and will be found to be wood, hay,
and stubble in the day when every man's work shall be made manifest -- when the
fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
l "What is it to be inwardly
crucified? It is to have no desire, no purpose, no aim
but such as comes by Divine inspiration, or is attended with the Divine
approbation. To be inwardly crucified, is to cease to love Mammon in order that
we may love God, to have no eye for the world's possessions, no ear for the
world's applause, no tongues for the world's envious or useless conversation,
no terror for the world's opposition. To be inwardly crucified is to be, among
the things of this world, 'a pilgrim and a stranger,' separate from what is
evil, sympathizing with what is good, but never with idolatrous attachment;
seeing God in all things and all things in God. To be inwardly crucified is, in
the language of Tauler, 'to cease entirely from the life of self, to abandon equally
what we see and what we possess, our power, our knowledge, and our affections;
that so the soul in regard to any action originating in itself is without life,
without action, and without power, and receives its life, its action, and its
power from God alone.' " -- Professor Upham
l "On that Cross He was crucified
for me," and "On that Cross I am crucified with Him." The one
aspect brings us deliverance from sin's condemnation, the other from sin's
power.
l The death of Christ was not only an
atonement for sin, but a triumph over sin. By faith we see our sins not only on
His head for our pardon, but under His feet for our deliverance. Multitudes who
glory in the outward Cross know nothing of the blessed inward effect of
crucifixion with Christ. They see not that by that wondrous Cross they are
delivered from the power of self and sin, the world, the flesh, and the devil.
This many of God's children do not know, "that their old man was crucified
with Him, that the body of sin might be done away, so that they should no
longer be in bondage to sin" (Rom. vi. 6).
l There must be conformity between Christ
and the members of His mystical body. How incongruous it is for a holy Christ
to be leading a company of unholy Christians; or a cross-bearing Christ, a band
of self-indulgent Christians, whose hearts are often towards
l In physical crucifixion there were
three stages. The criminal was first arraigned, found guilty, sentenced to
death, and in many cases visited with marks of hatred and contempt. Then he was
nailed to the cross, and finally he died. These three stages illustrate the
experience of this inward crucifixion. First the old nature must be arraigned
and sentenced, for it is not likely that death to the old Adam nature will be
appropriated, until we have clearly seen it to be deserving of death. Then this
enemy, which is both God's and ours, must be given over into the hands of the Holy
Spirit. He will not undertake this work without our consent and co-operation.
"If ye through the spirit do make to die the deeds of the body, ye shall
live" (Rom. viii. 13). The law of death in our sinful members is only
another form of the law of life in Christ. It is the same Spirit who both killeth
and quickeneth. Though it is said most expressly that "we have crucified
the flesh," it is not said that the moral effects of this crucifixion are
by any act of ours. That is the sole work of the Divine Spirit. It is His
breath which withers the fruits of evil springing out of our sinful nature; it
is his condemning word that blights the tree of evil in us unto its root. He
will watch the enemy within us, ready to inflict upon it the last stroke that
shall finally dispatch it. We must not doubt that He will finish the work He
has begun in us. Crucifixion is not death; but it is unto death, and death will
finally be its result. If we do our part and spare not our affections and
lusts; if by identifying faith we reckon the sinning Adam as crucified, and
watch, and pray, and wait in fervent expectation, we shall see the end. And we
shall see it in this life, for there is no work of sanctification beyond the
grave; and surely there is no necessary connection between the death of the
body of sin and the death of the physical body. The Holy Ghost will cry over
our crucified flesh, with all its affections and lusts, stilled and
extinguished for ever. It is finished.
l The way of the Cross is certainly the
way of death with Christ.
l Hence it follows that our shrinking
from the way of the Cross, and our fainting on that way, even when we have
begun to tread it, arises from ignorance of the blessedness to which this pathway
leads. The most joyous moment in the life of the bride ought to be the moment
when she loses her own name and self-dependence at the marriage-altar, taking
her husband's name instead of her own, and merges her life in his; and the most
blissful moment in our life ought to be that in which we, by taking up our
cross, renounce our right to self-ownership, and begin to reckon ourselves dead
to self, to sin, and to the world, through the Cross of Jesus Christ.
l The principal thing for us to know, is
that "our old man" has been crucified with Christ, that he is one of
the victims of the Cross. A few expositions of the terms employed in these
verses may be of value here. Dr. David Brown, in his admirable handbook on this
Epistle, says " 'our old man' means 'our old selves,' all that we were in
our old unregenerate state before union with Christ. By 'the body of sin' the
whole principle of sin in our fallen nature is meant -- its most intellectual
and spiritual, equally with its lower and more corporeal, features."
l By our 'old man' the apostle means our natural
self, with all its principles and motives, its outgoings, actions, corruptions,
and belongings; not as God made, but as sin and Satan and self have marred it.
The old Adam never changes; no medicine can heal the disease, no ointment can
mollify the corruption; it can only be got rid of by death.
l Dean Alford defines our "old
man" as our former self-personality before our new birth -- opposed to the
"new man" or "new creature."
l This, then, is the victim, whether it
be called "the body of sin," or "the flesh," or "the
carnal mind," or "the sin that dwelleth in me," or "the old
man"; it may have many names, it has but one cure, and that is death. It
is unmitigated enmity to God, "The carnal mind is enmity against God"
(Rom. viii. 7). It is hateful to God, He can take no pleasure in any part of
that nature which is under the curse, however pleasing and attractive it may be
to man: "They that are of the flesh cannot please God" (verse 8). It
is unimprovable, incorrigible, incurable. Cultured, educated, and encouraged,
or discouraged and threatened, its nature remains unchangeable. "It is not
subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (verse 7). There
remains, then, no remedy but that which God has provided -- condemnation,
crucifixion, death with Christ.
l Have we consented to the nailing of
this victim to the Cross? If we have, deliverance is certain, for the flesh
received its death-stroke on
l The Galatian Epistle has been called
the Crucifixion Epistle. In chapter ii. 20, Paul says that his old self was
crucified with Christ; in chapter v. 24, he says that his "flesh with its
passions and lusts" has been nailed to the Cross; and now in chapter vi.
14, he says that the world is crucified to him, and he is crucified to the
world.
l It is any form of life or government --
political, educational, social, or religious – which does not place God
pre-eminently first.
l The world is not altogether matter, nor
yet altogether spirit. It is not man only, nor Satan only, nor is it exactly
sin. It is an infection, an inspiration, an atmosphere, a life, a coloring
matter, a pageantry, a fashion, a taste, a witchery. None of these names suit
it, and all of them suit it. Its power over the human creation is terrific, its
presence ubiquitous, its deceitfulness incredible. We are living in it, breathing
it, acting under its influence, being cheated by its appearances, and unwarily
admitting its principles.
l Abundant fruitfulness, the life which
is life indeed, fellowship with Christ in service, and fellowship with Christ
in glory, are all attained by our identification in Christ's death. The key to
the wonderful life which is outlined here is: "EXCEPT IT DIE." Death
is the gate of life; self-oblation is the law of self-preservation, and
self-preservation is the law of self-destruction.
l Christ's sacrifice utterly condemned me
in my natural state. It was as if he said: "O Righteous Father, I offer up
and renounce this man's impure soul, that it may die; and that My life may live
and grow in him." Have I yet learned to hate, renounce, deny, and deliver
over to death, in the unity of my Lord's sacrifice, my condemned selfhood?
Until I have, I shall never know the meaning of the words "If any man
serve Me, let Him follow Me," for we only follow Him by sharing in the
spirit of His self-sacrifice.
l Let us get these three truths firmly
fixed in our mind. First, the death of self with Christ is the one only way to
life in God. This is the one condition of the promised blessing, and he that is
not willing to die to things sinful, yea, and to things lawful, if they come
between the spirit and God, cannot enter that world of light and joy and peace,
provided on this side of heaven's gates, where thoughts and wishes, words and
works, delivered from the perverting power of self-revolve round Jesus Christ,
as the planets revolve around the central sun. Secondly, the only cure for self
is condemnation unto death with Christ. It is unreformable in its character,
and immutable in its workings. It can no more change from evil to good than darkness
can work itself into light, and therefore death to self is the one only way to
life in God. Thirdly, the only conqueror of self is Christ. It is the law of
the Spirit of life in. Christ Jesus, that sets us free from the law of sin and
of death (Rom. viii. 2). The ruling monarch will never dethrone himself, but if
we welcome the Christ of God into the temple where self has been enshrined, the
hideous idol will fall before His word as Dagon fell before the ark.
l A word of warning is perhaps necessary,
lest, actuated by some selfish aim, our self-sacrifice only becomes deeper
self-seeking. It is not a bartering of a bad self for a better self, but a
foregoing and utter renunciation of self for ever. "Whosoever will lose
his life for My sake," said Jesus, "shall find it."
l Our self-sacrifice is utterly valueless
unless it bears this stamp upon it, "For My sake."
l In all true sacrifice there is more of
joy than sorrow. The whole life of God is just the outflowing of His love, and
the sacrifice of Christ is simply the full revelation of that wondrous love. It
is no pain, surely, to a lover to give himself and all he has to his beloved.
l The seventh chapter of Romans is
largely the complaint of one married to the law, seeking by struggle and effort
to obey his behests. The eighth chapter is the language of the soul's triumph when
"married to another, even to Him who was raised from the dead." In
union with Him there is no more condemnation, v. 1; no more enslavement, v. 2;
no more unrest, v. 6; no more death, v. 10; no more loneliness, V. 10; no more
inability, V. 11; no more fear, vv. 14, 15; no more doubt, V. 16; no more
poverty, v. 17; no more anxiety, v. 28; no more defeat, v. 37; no more
separation, v. 38.
l By this marriage of the soul to Jesus
we become partakers of the Divine nature (2 Peter i. 4). "We are members
of His body; being of His flesh, and of His bones" (Eph. v. 30).
l Marriage to Jesus means also perpetual
fruitfulness. We are "married to Him who was raised from the dead, that we
might bring forth fruit unto God."
l "Fruit unto death," as verse
5 tells us, is the outcome of living in the flesh; just as "fruit unto God
" is the outcome of union with Jesus. "Fruit" is the spontaneous
natural manifestation of the life within. The great question is, Are we in
right relations to Jesus? Is our union with Him so complete, that every pore
and artery of our being is open to receive the perpetual inflow of His life? If
so, we need have no anxiety about fruit. If we take care of what we are, what
we do will take care of itself.
l Marriage to Jesus will be followed by
likeness. Just as in true wedded life, the husband and wife become assimilated
to each other in affinities, choices, mental peculiarities, and even in physiognomy,
so, by being "a partaker of Christ," we become of necessity
Christ-like.
l In this marriage the wealth of the
Husband is of course placed at the disposal of the wife.
l It follows that the protection of the
husband is the marriage portion of the wife.
l How is it possible so to live that
those around us will always see "Not I, but Christ." We believe the
answer is largely found in what
l This "putting on" process is
frequently referred to in both the Old and New Testaments (see Isa. lix. 16,
17; lxi. 10; Ps. cxxxii. 16; Zech. iii. 1-5; Luke xv. 22; Rom. xiii. 14; Eph.
iv. 22-24; Col. iii. 8-14: Rev. xix. 8). It is evident from a reference to
these passages, that death-fellowship with Christ is equivalent to putting off
the old man, and life-fellowship with Him equivalent to putting on the new man.
l We cannot put on the new over the old,
as some have strangely taught.
l We cannot be too frequently reminded
that it is only by "putting on" Christ that we "put off" self.
l The threefold repetition of the word
"cannot" in Luke xiv is suggestive. Unless we live this cross-bearing
life we cannot be His disciples (verses 26, 27 33). It is not that we
"shall not" but "cannot" be. In other words, this is an
unalterable law of discipleship. The only possible way by which we can do the
will of God, and live out the ideal Christian life, is by the absolute
surrender of ourselves to our Divine Lord. Without this absolute surrender,
which, as we have said, is spread out over the whole of our life, we may come
after Christ outwardly, we may be called by His name, but we "cannot"
be His disciples any more than a bird can fly without wings.