Join Don Crawford as he navigates the core tenets of Christian faith—Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. Through this discussion, listeners are reminded of the enduring power of faith, the reality of sin and redemption, and the ultimate victory over death. This episode not only reflects on past acts of grace but also calls believers to rejoice in the hope and salvation brought by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The Crawford Stand. Many believers in obedience to Scripture put on the whole armor of God each day, which includes the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s Word, and the shield of faith. And we need that shield, because increasingly today people are offended by our faith in the death of a Savior, shedding His blood on a cross. The president of Crawford Media Group, Don Crawford, talks about that this week here on the Crawford Stand.
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That, says the scriptures, the cross, the cross is an offense. It’s an offense. The meaning, the thought, the application of the cross is indeed an offense to the natural man. That is, the man or woman who has no belief in Christianity. This natural person, this man or woman, is offended by the notion of the cross. In fact, this anti-Christian person is offended by anything about the cross, including the blood of Jesus Christ. Maybe especially that. But for Christians, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, was the act of the Son of God who laid down his life for mankind, for you and for me. for our sins, for our redemption. And without that, says the Scriptures, without the shedding of blood, His blood, there is no remission for sin. None at all. But as well, the concept of sin generally and the need of humankind to accept that propitiation for sin is offensive, even mythological. Some critics, atheistic, even go so far as to call the crucifixion and the shedding of blood barbaric. They go back to the Old Testament, to the very book of Genesis, where there was a sacrifice of an animal, the shedding of that animal’s blood as atonement, as remission for sin, declaring that to be barbaric as well. But again, for Christians, hopefully for you and definitely for me, Without the shedding of blood, the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, there is no remission for sin. None at all. Sin and blood and, of course, crucifixion. All of that, says the natural man, and all that it means is ridiculous. It’s mythology. And it stokes the passions of those anti-Christians in this day and age, perhaps as never before. There is a hatred for Christianity today that really is unbelievable. But sin, the coming short of the glory of God, is indeed a reality. In fact, it is everywhere, in deed and in heart. Evil is a reality, and there really is no cure for it, except one. And that is the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, clearly manifested to us at Calvary, at Golgotha, on the cross. Again, I say, thank God for the cross and Christ. Jesus of Nazareth was tried before Pilate, and the verdict was, I find no fault in him, no fault. But the mob, the mob, cried out as loud as they could to Pilate, crucify him, crucify him. And Pilate, politician that he was, honored the tradition of the time to release a prisoner to them, and Pilate chose, at their urging, Barabbas over Jesus. So much for justice. So much for justice. It was in many ways non-existent then like it is today. So, to Calvary our Lord went, and weakened as he was, Simon of Cyrene was conscripted by the Romans to carry the cross of Christ, and the Golgothan drama began. Nails, nails were driven into his hands and feet. Can you believe that? Can you imagine that? And there he hung. Jesus the Christ, suffering, parched with a terrible thirst, the crown of thorns on his head causing his blood to drip and his spirit to yearn for the end. He felt all alone, even abandoned by his Father, God the Father, as he took upon himself the sins of the world for you and for me and for all. And in that lonely, suffering state, he cried out, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why? Why? But then, mercifully, it was over, and his parting words were, It is finished. Wow. It sure was one of the greatest acts in all of human history. The ultimate act of redemption was accomplished once and for all, for all mankind, for you and for me. There were those at the time who saw the event and witnessed the horrible act of Roman crucifixion and watched the innocent Jesus of Nazareth suffer. They witnessed his body taken down from that cross and the man Joseph wrapping it in fine linen and laying the precious body of Jesus Christ in that very own and special tomb. And that was Friday. But then came Sunday. Sunday, on the third day, the Son of the Living God, with the power of God, rose from the dead and accomplished the greatest event in human history, the resurrection. Thank God for that. Up from the grave he arose, with a mighty triumph o’er his foes. He arose the victor from the dark domain, and he lives forever. with his saints to reign. Ah, my friend, blessed are we by the millions and millions and millions who have never seen, who were never there, but who believe nonetheless. Blessed, says the Scriptures, blessed are we who believe by faith. And we are indeed, for Gentile and Jew, anyone for that matter, all humankind can have the incredible benefits of the crucifixion and the resurrection, a life of reconciliation here and life eternal there. Death is destroyed. Isn’t that a great thought? For there now is no more death because he lives. We who believe will live eternally with him so that the life we now live is redeemed and cleansed and forgiven by his blood. And we will be raised with him, like him, in our very own resurrection morning to know him and to live eternally with him. Praise God. And I thank God for that. I hope and pray you do too. Do you know and do you believe in this resurrected Christ? So every day I thank God for that third day. Life here and now is one of joy, unspeakable rejoicing and praise and worship and thanksgiving because of this great offense, the cross of Jesus Christ, the crucifixion and the resurrection, the real Easter story. So, my fellow Christians, on Easter Sunday and every other day, may we praise God for Jesus of Nazareth, and may we thank God, thank God for his unspeakable gift, our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Would you take just a moment and send Mr. Crawford your Easter greeting? His email address is stand at Crawford Media Group dot net. When you write, be sure to tell Mr. Crawford on what station you hear the stand. Send your Easter greeting right now to Mr. Crawford at stand at Crawford Media Group dot net. He would love to hear from you. And when you want to review what you hear, go to our website, Crawford Media Group dot net. The Crawford Stand is a public affairs presentation of Crawford Media Group and this station, serving God and country. I’m Bill McCormick.
