The Only Road to True Revival – One Message
The message of the cross is the spark that will set the church on fire. There is no message to compare to it. It is perfect and without flaws, so it cannot fail.
The message of the cross is the road to genuine revival. Not the temporary, emotionally-based revivals we see in the Western churches today. It is a revival based solely on the faithfulness and power of what the Father has done; therefore, it cannot fail.
The Road to the Unity of the Real Church
The message of the cross will be the vehicle that finally unifies the church for the final push. We are weak because we rely on ourselves. We have been weakened even further because we have been divided. We have been divided because we have wrongly focused on various sub-topics of practice and esoteric doctrine that we thought were important. These things do not bring life, nor do they bring unity. They bring division.
Please be clear: we are not seeking to become a part of the worldwide ecumenical movement. That movement does not hold fast to the faith. It aims to compromise the gospel’s truth for the sake of unity.
A More Sure Salvation
However, those who live by the gospel believe only His offering that saves us. This is because of who He is – the creator and sustainer of all that is, who came down from heaven to take on our sins.
Being fully God and fully man, He made a reconciliation between Himself and us. There is no other faith or message like this. This is why He is opposed and hated by the world, even in the face of realizing that there was none like Him.
Because of these things, He has made for us a more sure foundation. Through faith in His perfect and completely sufficient offering, He has qualified all those who believe to inherit His life (Colossians 1:12, Romans 5:12, 15-17).
The Message of the Cross Prevails
The message of the cross can deliver us from every difficulty. It enables us to please God in every respect, in every undertaking. It enables us to fulfill all that God requires, all that we are called and ordained to accomplish. This is because our faith is based solely upon what the Father has done and not at all on our capacity. This is the “perfect love that casts out fear” (1 John 4:8a, NASB1995) and perfects us daily in Him.
We will never be perfected in ourselves in this life, but we can become partakers of that which is perfect and so walk in that perfect life. Therefore, we can draw near to Him with full assurance of faith, having our “hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience” (Hebrews 10:22).
This is the source of our confidence. It provides such assurance because it is not based on man’s efforts but solely on what He has offered on our behalf. Thus, it qualifies us to enter “within the veil” (Hebrews 10:20).
He Cannot be Stopped or Overcome by Anything.
It transcends man’s capacities and, therefore, can overcome all opposition. It does not matter whether that opposition is from our own weaknesses or man’s resistance due to his love for this world. The devil cannot stop it because everything that is accomplished is accomplished through Christ, and He has already destroyed the devil’s power.
Our work will not fall short because we have finally realized that our capacity to fulfill His will daily is settled in the cross. This is why Jesus said on the cross, “It is finished” (John 19:30).
In other words, only when we rely solely upon what He has done is it possible for us to fulfill His will. This is how Paul can (accurately) describe his life: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).
A Little Leaven, Leavens the Whole Lump
On the other hand, what the Church does not seem to understand these days is that when we mix our faith in the cross with an offering of our own for righteousness, we get nothing from God. In this way, we disqualify ourselves.
Man’s efforts must not leaven his offering. Such leavening will spoil the whole lump. Christ will be of no benefit to us, and our works will not be His but only our own. We cannot please God in any way by such folly, for He tells us, “Apart from Me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5b).
It will Usher in the Final Push of the Church.
Only when these things are finally understood universally by the whole remnant of God’s people will the Church fulfill its destiny. This will be a spiritually unstoppable church, and thus, it will complete all things.
It is a most exquisitely simple message. Nothing is complicated about placing our hope only in what Christ has done for us. It is plain and simple. As the great Hymn says, it is based on ” Christ alone.”
It is a Message of Certainty
Again, the certainty results from the total focus upon Him who offered Himself on our behalf. The Father’s wrath was fully satisfied. We only need to accept and rely upon (“rest” in) this message and remain in Him in this way.
This entails an understanding that our repentance is a “repentance from dead works” (Hebrews 6:1). This means that our repentance is repentance from any (residual) belief in ourselves (even our efforts) nor in any other person or thing.
This, then, qualifies us daily to inherit the kingdom of God constantly from Him based only on the offering the Father made on our behalf. He made that offering to satisfy His own standards and requirements.
Shall We Seek to Save Ourselves?
Should we dare reject the utter sufficiency of His offering by attempting to supplement it with our own? Who would dare to do such a thing but a fool? But indeed, we are all fools, for we have all done this. But as we present these natural inclinations to Him who loves us, He will grant us repentance from this folly. In this way, He will reveal His mighty power in us again, and then our “light will spring forth as the dawn,” and we will “ride on the heights of the earth” (Isaiah 58:8-14). This is because we enter an abiding (Sabbath rest) in His gift of perfect righteousness.
It will be Recognized as the Core of the New Testament.
This is the message that Jesus preached. This was the message preached by the New Testament Apostles and writers, such as Peter, John, James, and Paul. It underlies every other statement made in the New Testament. I assure you that any message that undermines this perfect and flawless message is false teaching. The Apostles clearly understood and consistently taught this. We still need to remember it.
It unlocks the door to the revelation of Christ and to have His words “abiding in us.” This is not just Bible memory. This is the Holy Spirit making His words alive in us. It is the “faith that comes by hearing, hearing the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17).
It Fulfills Every Believer’s Need.
There is no need for all our recovery programs, psychologists, endless books, and entertaining sermons. As we study His word and we learn to receive life directly from God by the Holy Spirit, we are being transformed and “set free” (John 8:32). This is the real meaning of the phrase “the word of faith” (Romans 10:8), that some have so corrupted.
It is a Psychological Revolution for Every Believer.
Here is an important truth. Only the gospel message of the cross can penetrate the soul’s core and sanctify it. (Hebrews 4:12). Therefore, it, alone, has the power to separate the individual from human motivations. Therefore, this power is supernatural and infinitely greater than man’s natural power over himself or others. The implications for psychological change and authentic liberation from pathology are enormous.
This sanctification is our separation from what Paul called the “old self.” This old self is the location in which all human psychological pathology and addictions reside. If you accurately understand the New Testament, it becomes evident that the writers are all teaching that Christ’s life becomes available to man through Christ’s death.
Think of the implications. Unless this is possible, the New Testament message makes no sense. But think of the implications of Christ’s life being actually manifest in us. Imagine for a moment if Christ Himself came to inhabit your body. Would the Spirit that resided in Him not profoundly and dramatically change your life? This is, indeed, an awesome thing to experience.
A Truly Revolutionary Way of Life
However, I say to you that this is not only possible; it has always been the very definition of New Testament Christianity. Is this a common reality in our churches today? We all know that it is not. This is why I am using the term “revolutionary.” This is only for a few phenomenally motivated and disciplined believers. The truth, however, is that anyone who doggedly believes in Christ’s death as the sole qualifier for this inheritance will most surely enter into this life continuously.
The New Testament is replete with statements that verify this standard of salvation that was normal and expected among those following Christ. It is the direct result of clear teaching on the cross and the wholehearted application of this kind of “resting” in Him that characterized the message.
Through this process, one is “freed from all things that we could not be freed from through the law…” (Acts 13:39).
Effective Ministry in Anyone
Therefore, being washed daily clean from this old self by the Holy Spirit eliminates the old life from undermining God’s work. It liberates us for life in ministry, every one of us, from the least to the greatest. It makes us all equal in capacity to fulfill the will of God perfectly. It makes us perfectly capable of fulfilling the will of God’s Spirit in every moment. We need only to learn how to “enter this rest” (Hebrews 4:1-13) by believing (only) in Him; thereby, we are enabled.
It results in a life revolution. It brings about supernatural ministry effectiveness for anyone who correctly but relentlessly believes. It makes every believer capable of becoming an unstoppable conquering warrior for Christ and His kingdom. It circumvents all our program decisions based on our belief in our natural abilities because it is a more perfect way—the way of the cross. As Paul wrote, “Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer” (2 Corinithians 5:16).
A Call to Arms
Take up sword and shield. Put on the true armor, an invincible defense. He alone is our sufficient defense. Any hope placed elsewhere negates our access to His most perfect defense.
Let us join together and overcome the darkness of these evil days. May we enter His gates with great joy and overflowing thanksgiving. Whom shall we fear? He makes our own lives as nothing to us in light of who He is.
