Scripture References: Matthew 10:38
Have you ever considered exactly what “our cross” is that Jesus tells us to take up and to follow him? Our cross that we must take up is not his cross. His cross was a literal wooden cross that he was nailed to and died a physical death on. His death on that certain cross paid the penalty for our past sins that we have all committed against him. Past sins consists of all the many sins we have committed against God up to the time we may have asked to be forgiven of our sins. This position of asking God to forgive us of all our sins is called repentance from sin. When we (if you have) ask God to forgive us of our sins, those sins only pertain to all the sins of our past life before we seek to be forgiven. To ask God to forgive us of our past sins certainly does not include sins of the present and future, but this is exactly what is taught in the confessing Christian world today. When we truly ask God to forgive us our past sins, we must now submit to his righteousness and not to continue on in sin. Let the apostle Paul shed some light on this truth in what he tells us in Romans 3:25 that says, “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.” God demands that we submit to his righteousness for remission of our past sins, but this truth is not being taught in Christianity today. Ministers throughout all the denominations today teach that the blood of Christ covers their sin that they continue to commit, or that the death of Christ on the cross paid the penalty for not only for “sins of the past” but for all sins including the “sins of the present and future” but this is a lie of the devil, as Paul clearly proves in what he said above in Romans 3:25.
And you will find the apostle Peter saying the same thing in what he tells us in I Peter 4:1-2 that says, “Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.”
To live the “rest of our time” refers to how long we will live after God has forgiven us of all the sins we committed against him in our past life. I will use myself as an example of this. I was 28 years old when I came to God seeking for forgiveness of all the sins that I had committed against him in my past 28 years as I lived a sinful life. He forgave me of all those sins, but as I began to study Gods word, I found out that I was no longer to continue in a life of sin, but that I had to submit to his righteousness and cease from sin. Listen if you will to what Peter tells us in I Peter 4:1 that says these words saying, “Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin.” We must cease from sin as Peter tells us here, but we can only do this if Christ has truly come into our heart. When the Spirit of Christ comes into our heart, our heart will be spiritually and miraculously purified from all its evil and wickedness. The doctrines being taught in Christianity today on how to receive Christ is totally contrary to what Gods word reveals about this. Its taught throughout the many confessing Christian denominations that all one has to do to receive Christ is just to ask him into your heart or to repeat a sinners prayer and they are then told they got saved or were born again. Joel Osteen is a perfect example of this as he comes to the end of his television broadcast. He will say just before his broadcast closes that he wants to give anyone an opportunity to receive Jesus Christ as the Lord of their life. He will simply tell them just to repeat this prayer after him that goes something like this: “O God have mercy on me a sinner and save me for Christs sake.” He will then say, “If you repeated this prayer we believe you got born again.” This man is so far off the truth of the matter that he could not see the truth of it with the worlds strongest telescope. Christ is not received into the heart this way, but Gods word clearly tells us what we truly have to do in order for Christ by his Spirit to come into our heart. This is found in Revelation 3:20 that says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Jesus clearly says here that he stands at the door (our hearts door) and knocks. He then said that if any man hears his voice and opens the door, he will then come into him and will sup with him and he with me. His voice that we must hear is his word revealed in Gods holy word of the New Testament scriptures. These certain words are found written in Acts 2:38 and stated by the apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost after the Holy Ghost was given to those disciples. Acts 2:38 tells us these words saying, “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Now folks you can argue against this all you want, but if anybody fails to do exactly as Peter says here, then they will never receive Christ into their heart and their heart will remain to be deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, as Jeremiah 17:9 tells us saying, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
Only God knows the thoughts and intents of the heart and its his word that reveals this to us. In Hebrews 4:12 we are told these words saying, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” All manner of evil and wickedness is in the heart of man before the Spirit comes into that heart to cleanse all that filthiness from it. It was Peter that tells us this as stated in Acts 15:8-9 that says, “ And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.” So when a person truly receives the Spirit of Christ in their hearts that heart is purified from all the evil it contains, but this did not touch the sins and wickedness that the flesh and the spirit is yet infested with. We must now present our bodies unto God as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God, which is our own service to do, as stated in Romans 12:1 that says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Doing this is what our cross is that we must take up in order to follow Christ, who did no sin. Our cross is to crucifiy our fleshly lusts and desires so that the life of Christ can become our manifested life. The cross that Jesus bore was his own cross that was an example for us. He was crucified and died for our sins, and we also must be crucified and die, but our death is spiritual death to our old sinful nature so that we no longer serve sin, but now to become a servant of righteousness. Its belief and obedience to the many revealed truths of Gods word that will in a process of time cleanse all the filthiness of both our flesh and spirit that will perfect holiness in the fear of God. The apostle Paul tells us these words stated in II Corinthians 7:1 saying, “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” Notice that Paul tells us that we are to cleanse ourselves from all the filthiness of both our flesh and spirit. We do this as we walk in the light of the truth as the Spirit of Christ reveals it to us. Obedience to these truths is what our cross is, because doing this will crucify us spiritually and in time make a new creature in Christ of us. Christ had a cross to bear, which is an example for us. Listen to what the apostle Peter tells us in regards to this as stated in I Peter 4:1-2 that says, “Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin. That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.” Christ’s death on the cross paid the penalty for all our past sins only, and being forgiven of them we must now cease from sin and live the rest of our life, not to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. We must submit to Gods righteousness after being forgiven of all our past sins and not to continue to live after the flesh, which means to continue on in sin.
This truth is not taught in Christianity today, but rather they are told that the death of Christ paid the penalty for all their sins, not only sins of the past, but of the sins of the present and future as well as long as they live until they die. The apostle Paul also reveals that this is not the truth of the matter concerning this in what he said to his converts at Rome, as stated in Romans 8:12-13 that says, “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” Notice that Paul told them they were not debtors to the flesh to continue living after the flesh, but rather he told them if they continued to live after the flesh they would die. And in the next verse he told them that if they through the Spirit mortify the deeds of their body they would live. To mortify the deeds of the body means to walk in the light of the revealed truths of Gods word, which will in time cleanse them from all sin as John 1:7 tells us saying, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” Being cleansed from all the sin that John mentions here is the sins of both the body and spirit. The receiving of the Spirit of Christ in our heart only cleansed or purified our heart from all the sin that it contained before Christ came into our heart, but his coming into our heart did not cleanse the sin that was yet indwelled in both our body and spirit. Paul telling us in II Corinthians 7:1 to cleanse ourselves from all the filthiness of our flesh and spirit is done by walking in the truth of Gods word that John mentions as stated in I John 1:7. To walk in the light of these truths that will cleanse us from all sin is what our cross is that we must take up in order to follow Christ. This is our spiritual crucifixion, which is the example of Christ’s crucifixion on his cross. Christ’s body was crucified and was put to physical death paying the penalty for our past sins committed against God. Our bodies must be spiritually crucified by crucifying the lusts and desires of our flesh, and doing this is how we present our bodies unto God as a living sacrifice, as Paul tells us in Romans 12:1 that says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” When Christ was crucified and died on his cross at Calvary, multiplied millions of confessing Christians today and in times past has been deceived into believing that they were also crucified and died with him. This is not what Gods word teaches, but rather listen to what Paul says in regards to this in what he tells us in Romans 6:3 that says, “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?” This verse of scripture is not saying that we are baptized into Christ when we were baptized in water, but many preachers teach this. It is not “water baptism” that baptizes us into Christ, but rather it’s the spiritual baptism accomplished by the Spirit that baptizes us into Christ, as Paul reveals to us in what he said in I Corinthians 12:13 that says, “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.”
It’s the minister that does the baptizing of a believer in water; not in the body of Christ. A body of water is not the spiritual body of Christ, which is the church. This baptism by the Spirit spiritually baptizes the believer into Christ where they totally become a new creature in Christ. Being baptized in water does not make a new creature in Christ because this baptism in water along with repentance is for the remission of sins, as Acts 2:38 states saying, “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Obedience to these two commands of repentance and water baptism in Christ’s name will impart the promised gift of the Holy Ghost to the believer. Receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost is also the receiving of the Spirit of Christ. There is but one Spirit and so therefore the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Christ are one and the same. Let Peter prove this in what he tells us in Acts 3:19-20 that says, “ Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you.” Notice if you will that Peter first told us in Acts 2:38 we would receive the Holy Ghost, but here in Acts 3:19-20 he tells us that he (the Lord) shall send Jesus Christ unto us; thus proving the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Christ is the one Spirit of God. When the Spirit comes into the heart purifying it by faith (Acts 15:9) the Spirit will then begin to lead us into all truth of Gods word and it is these revealed truths that spiritually begins to conform us into the image and likeness of Christ. But today in the confessing Christian world its being taught that a believer becomes a born again son of God the moment they confess to have gotten saved or born again at an altar of prayer somewhere. There is nothing said about taking up your cross to follow Christ and nothing said about repentance, but Jesus plainly tells us to take up our cross and follow him, and Peter tells us to repent. The millions of converts in Christianity are told to take up their cross to follow Jesus and they are not told the truth about repentance is either. Just believing on the cross of Christ says and reveals nothing about what our cross is. But listen and read closely what Peter tells us in I Peter 4:1 that says, “Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin.” Can you not see that Peter tells us that as Christ suffered for us in the flesh we also must suffer in the flesh as well? Our suffering in the flesh is not suffering a physical death like Christ did, but rather our suffering is putting our carnal sinful nature to death by starving it to spiritual death by crucifying the affections and lusts of the flesh, as Paul tells us in Galatians 5:24 saying, “ And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” How many has suffered in the flesh and ceased from sin? What about you? “He that has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches” AMEN