Philippians 3:18 (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: I. WHAT IS THE CROSS? Not simply the instrument of torture, but the sufferings Christ endured and the blessings which result from them. In this enlarged acceptation consider the Cross as — 1. The foundation of our hope as fallen sinners. To the sinner viewing futurity apart from the atonement the prospect is appalling. 2. The source of our spiritual enjoyment, peace, joy, access to and fellowship with God. 3. The main the me of the gospel ministry. It furnishes the preacher with a rich and endless variety of topics, of which it is the harmonizing and illustrative principle. 4. The most legitimate object in which we may triumph, and of which we may make our boast. Some boast of their ancestors, wealth, honours, learning, etc. 5. The pledge of everlasting glory. II. WHO ARE ITS ENEMIES? 1. Those who deprive it of its saving virtue. 2. Those who decline its purchased privileges. 3. Those who preach another gospel of which it is not the centre. 4. Those who make their boast of any other object. 5. Those who reject it as the condition of their heavenly crown. (R. Cameron.) Parallel Verses KJV: (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: |
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