Cross Erected at St. Augustine, Florida
“For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.”
Colossians 1:19-20 NKJV
I am drawn to the book of Colossians for a number of reasons. In all likelihood, Paul wrote several letters while incarcerated for the work of the Gospel including Colossians. You don’t find yourself in jail, as Paul did, unless somehow the message you are preaching collides with the governing powers. Just this simple contextual truth lays to rest the compartmentalists view that the Gospel has nothing to do with cultural engagement. But beyond that Paul clearly states, as he sits in this jail cell, that there are no limits to the work of the Cross and all that it entails. Whatever repercussion of sin there might be, the power of the Cross and Christ’s atoning blood is reaching out to reconcile back to God and His purposes. Paul never says…
“Hey, you have it all wrong. This message I am preaching is just about personal piety and individual salvation. It’s about helping people achieve their best life now and self-actualizing all their potential. We obviously have some confusion here because I am no threat to the culture, the nation, and the governing authorities.”
Read Colossians 1 slowly and deliberately…
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”
Colossians 1:15-17 NKJV
Or how about…
“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
Colossians 3:17 NKJV
Paul was sitting in a jail cell because he understood (along with the early Church) that the ramifications of sin touched everything so the power of the Cross could do no less. Whatever sin has fractured and convoluted, the Cross seeks to redeem and restore. This is why there is no arena of life that the Gospel, His Word, and the precepts of Scripture can be sealed off from touching. It is a comprehensive Gospel…it touches and calls out to everyone and everything. It challenges powers and principalities along with thrones and dominions. It reminds rulers that there is a King of kings and a Lord of lords. It reminds the culture that whether it be visible or invisible, spiritual or natural, that Jesus’ work on the Cross lays claim to it. Paul was not ambiguous as to what the outcome of the Cross would be because in that same jail cell he would write…
“And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Philippians 2:8-11 NKJV
This was no passive Gospel. Paul was no passive preacher. Innocuous religion never lands anyone in jail. The only the kind of religion that gets you incarcerated is the kind that topples men’s idols.
Fast forward to today…Christianity in America is at a crossroads…
Contemporary Christianity has to decide if the Jesus they serve topples idols…or helps navigate their life with their idols. Will the Jesus we preach facilitate our idolatry or will He challenge it? Will Jesus be Lord of all or Lord of some? Does He lay claim to it all or just the parts which are convenient? Will He be a figure-head King with a Cross which wears nicely as jewelry around our necks or will He be a real King with a Cross which He beckons us to carry? That’s the crossroad Christianity is at in America. Just how far, how wide, how deep, how high, does this Cross impact go? Is there anything sealed off from it’s effects?
Nope…
The Cross, His blood, His life, the message, the Gospel, His Lordship…marches toward everything. His Lordship effects people, families, marriages, marketplaces, businesses, education, sports, entertainment, government, and the list is endless because “all things are created by Him and for Him.” Jesus invades every arena of life with the anticipation that His people will glorify Him in it and it would reflect His Lordship.
Pretty radical, huh?
That’s what Divine Power looks like…
And that is the crossroad we are standing…
Ornamental Christianity -or- Transformational Christianity?
Make sure you choose the right road…
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