Scripture References: Philippians 3:17-18
Who are these enemies of the cross that Paul is telling us about, and what is this “cross of Christ” that he is referring too? These enemies of the cross are the people that has been deceived away from the truth of what the cross of Christ represents. This “cross of Christ” is not referring to the cross that Christ died on, but rather it refers to the cross that he tells us to take up and follow him, as Matthew 10:38 states that says, “And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.” Have you proven to yourself what this cross is that Jesus tells us to take up in order to follow him?
You should know that the word cross has something to do with suffering, but the greatest majority of confessing Christians today don’t seem to have a clue as to what the cross is that they must take up in order to follow Christ. No confessing Christian that I know of denies that Christ died a horrible death on the cross that paid the penalty for sin, but when it comes to the cross that Jesus tells us to take up and follow him they somehow think that cross refers to the very cross that he died on.
Why would a person that believes that Christ died on a cross and paid the penalty for their sins be the cross that Paul refers to in the above scripture of Philippians 3:18? Yes there are many people that does not believe the Bible account of Christ dying on a cross and paid the penalty for their sins, but this is not the cross that Jesus is talking about that we must take up and follow him. Listen to what Jesus has to say about this cross that we must take up and follow him, as stated in Matthew 10:38 that says, “And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.” Notice that Jesus refers to this cross as “our cross” that we ourselves must take up and follow him, and not the cross that Jesus took up to be crucified on. It was a common thing for the person who was to be crucified to carry his own cross that he was going to be crucified on. Jesus carried his own cross that he was to be crucified on until he could no longer carry it and another person took up his cross and carried it to the place where he would be crucified. The cross that Jesus tells us to take up is what Paul is referring to in Philippians 3:18 above that many will be an enemy of. How can you take up this cross and follow Jesus if you don’t know what this cross is or what it represents?
The cross that we must take up in order to follow Jesus is not a literal wooden cross like the cross was that Jesus died on, but rather this cross represents a truth that most confessing Christians will not accept and believe today. What is the truth that today’s millions of confessing Christians will not believe? This truth is exactly what Gods word teaches on the subject of sin. What does Gods word have to say about sin as far as the followers of Christ is concerned? Allow me to quote a few scriptures that deals with this so you can know if you are believing or disbelieving what Gods word has to say about it. Paul tells us these words stated in I Corinthians 15:34 that says, “Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.” Paul is not only telling the converts at Corinth not to sin, but rather this is a statement that was sent to the church as a whole. Is not Paul clearly revealing that those Corinthians believers needed to wake to righteousness and sin not? Were these Corinthians committing sin, even as they confessed to be members of Christ’s body, which is the one true church? Are you aware of the fact that if you confess to be a follower or a disciple of Christ that this admonition is directed to you as well? Have you been deceived into believing that a true follower of Christ does not have to cease from a life of sin in order to follow Christ? If you believe this, then listen to what the apostle Peter tells us as stated in I Peter 2:21-22 that says, “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.” Now how is it possible for you to follow Christ who did no sin, if there is sin in your life even as you confess to be a follower of him? Are you one of the many millions of confessing born again Christians today that still lives in sin, even as you confess to be born of God? If you are, then listen to what John tells us about this in what he states in I John 3:9 that says, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” Now what Gods word is telling us about this is the truth of the matter, but if don’t accept this, then your rejection of this truth proves you are an enemy of the cross of Christ that Paul tells us about in the scripture of Philippians 3:18 stated about at the beginning of this article. The cross that we must take up in order to follow Christ represents a spiritual truth, which is revealing to us that we must put our old sinful man to death before we can follow Christ who did no sin. How is it possible for you or anybody else to follow Christ, who did no sin, unless we realize that we also must cease from sin before we can follow in his steps that did no sin? The spiritual steps of Christ does not lead us in sin, but rather it leads us away from sin.
For us to follow Christ who did no sin, then does it not stand to reason that we cannot follow him with sin in our life? A life of sin and a life without sin is very much two different lives altogether. Now you may think this is impossible for us to follow Christ without sin in our life, but what you are failing to understand is that this is the cross that we must take up in order to follow him. This cross we must take up reveals that as Christ was put to death on a cross, we too must be put to death on a cross as he was, but our cross is not a literal cross as his was. Christ’s death on the cross is an example for us meaning that we too must be spiritually crucified by the putting to death our old sinful nature that we were born with when we were physically born into this world from the womb of our earthly mother. This crucifying of our sinful nature is accomplished as we walk in the light of the truths of Gods revealed word. The apostle John reveals this truth in what he stated in I John 1:6-7 that says, “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 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.” Believing and obeying Gods word cleanses us from all sin of both the flesh and spirit and this is what we must do as Paul tells us in II Corinthians 7:1 that says, “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 is telling us that we must cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of both our flesh and spirit and thereby perfect holiness in the fear of God. This operation is accomplished by the Spirit as we obey his leading into the many truths of Gods word. Doing this is how we are spiritually born again, as Jesus tells us as stated in John 3:5 that says, “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” To be “born of water” means to be born or washed from sin by the water of Gods word, but the Spirit must reveal the truths to us from Gods word and it’s our belief and obedience to these truths that places us in Christ where we become an entirely new creature in Christ. Paul also reveals this in what he said in Ephesians 5:25-26 that says, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.” If a person fails to accept what has been stated in this article, it’s simply because he is an enemy of the cross of Christ that represents this great truth. Christianity as a whole has been deceived away from the truth about what Gods word teaches about sin, and when they come in contact with this truth they will despise it, because it proves them to be in error as they continue to live in sin and rebellion against God. But let me warn you what the wise preacher tells us in Proverbs 15:10 that says, “Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth reproof shall die.” And if you hear this truth more than once let me also let you know what the wise preacher tells us about this in what he said in Proverbs 29:1 that says, “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” And one more warning that Jesus himself said in John 16:7-8 that says, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” it’s the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, that inspires his ministers to preach Gods word that reproves the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. To fail to let Gods word reprove you is a very dangerous thing to do, as the two verses of scripture in Proverbs about states. “He that has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.” AMEN