HOW WE ARE TO BE CRUCIFIED
TEXT: Galatians 5:11
Introduction: “Crucify”—”To put to death by nailing or
fastening the hands and feet to a cross.” “Cross” (Thayer)—”an
upright stake, esp. a pointed one; the well-known instrument of most cruel and
ignominious punishment, borrowed by the Greeks and Romans from the Phoenicians.”
When we hear these words, the first thing we probably think of is the literal
cross on which Jesus was crucified. However, the New Testament writers often use
both words in a figurative sense. Read TEXT.
Here Paul is referring to the meaning of the cross which involves the sacrifice
of Christ for our sins and its importance in the preaching of the gospel. Thus,
we may speak of the cross symbolically as the burden that we must bear in following
the Savior. We may also talk about being crucified as a metaphor of being put
to death spiritually or of putting to death those things which are evil.
In Gal., Paul uses this kind of language three times to explain to us TITLE.
I. Crucifying self: Galatians 2:20
A. Jesus had something to say about our attitude toward self: Matt. 16:24-26
B. We need to be careful of how we think of ourselves: Rom. 12:3, Gal. 6:3
C. Rather than always exalting self, we must learn to put others first: Phil.
2:1-8
II. Crucifying the flesh, Galatians 5:24
A. Flesh—lit., meat, muscle tissue, the physical body: Lk. 24:39, Jn. 1:14,
Acts 2:29-31
B. Fig., the earthly nature of man apart from divine influence: Rom. 8:5-10
C. Thus, we must be careful not to give in to the desires of the flesh: Gal. 5:16-21,
1 Pet. 2:11-12
III. Crucifying the world, Galatians 6:14
A. World—the planet on which we live, or the people of the earth: Mk.
16:15, Jn. 3:16
B. But often, the evil and ungodliness of the world: Rom. 12:1-2
C. While we live IN the world, we must determine not to be OF the world: Tit.
2:11-12, Jas. 4:4, 1 Jn. 2:15-17
Conclusion: We see then that this idea of spiritual crucifixion involves putting
to death or abstaining from those things which pertain to exalting self, following
the flesh, and loving the world.
However, it does have a starting point: Rom. 6:3-6.
Have you been crucified with Christ?
By Wayne Walker
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