The Vow of the Cross
E.A. Johnston passionately calls believers to embrace the crucified life, dying to self to experience the transformative power of Christ's resurrection and advance God's kingdom.
In "The Vow of the Cross," E.A. Johnston challenges believers to fully surrender their lives to Christ by embracing the crucified life. He emphasizes that true Christian power and transformation come through dying to self and living via the cross. Johnston calls for a radical commitment that prioritizes Christ above all, urging listeners to reject easy Christianity and actively engage in spiritual warfare. This devotional sermon inspires believers to experience the resurrection power of Jesus by taking up their cross daily.
Full Transcript
Did you know, friends, that the limitless God can be limited? There is a limit to what God can do with men who love their lives and reputations, but there is no limit to what God can do with the one who cares not if he lives or dies so long as others are brought to Christ. God will withhold his deepest work from those who are into self-preservation. Are we expandable for Christ and the gospel if God's kingdom expands through our efforts and we go unnoticed by the Christian world? Are we satisfied with anonymity and obscurity or do we need to be celebrated and recognized for our achievements? Did not Jesus say, except a corn or wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone, but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit? Like I said, there is no limit to what God can do with the one who cares not if he lives or dies so long as others are saved.
Self-preservation is the death of Christianity. Oddly, if you want life, then you must die to self, the Christ life for the self life. That the Christian life is lived via the cross is a theme which runs throughout my New Testament.
Philippians 3.10 declares that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his death and that friends, is his death unto the cross. The crucified life is the call to discipleship. The cross in the life of the believer is the pathway to power with God.
To get this power, all has to go the way the cross. This is the vow of via the cross. How many will embrace it? How many are willing to lose themselves completely in Christ? How many are willing to die to live and take the vow of via the cross for to experience the power of his resurrection? Self has to go the way the cross.
Every hope, every desire, every inch of me has to be nailed there and died there. This is the only way I will know him through the fellowship of his sufferings. For I must be made willing to be so emptied of myself, dead to the world and the opinion of men that I made conformable unto his death.
And as I live via the cross, Christ is magnified in me as he manifests himself to me in the power of his resurrection, coursing through me in the lives of others in transformation power as they see Christ in me. Viva the cross, via the cross. Jesus be Jesus in me.
Christ held nothing back at Calvary. Why do we cling to our goods and reputation? To your Bible's man and to your knees. No armchair Christians are welcome here.
It's all or nothing, nothing at all. Christ must be all in all. Grab your Bibles and take the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit and chase the devil back into his hole.
Away with marshmallow Christians who melt when the battle gets hot. Away with easy chair Christianity that is a spectator sport and not in the game. It's time we stopped talking about what we're gonna do for God and go out and do it.
The preeminent Christ must be preeminent and prominent in our life. He must have first call, first place, and first priority. Viva the cross, via the cross.
Jesus be Jesus in me. Let us pray.
Sermon Outline
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I. The Limitations of Self-Preservation
- God cannot fully work through those who cling to life and reputation
- True Christian life requires dying to self
- Self-preservation leads to spiritual death
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II. The Call to the Crucified Life
- Knowing Christ through the fellowship of His sufferings
- Being made conformable to His death
- The cross is the pathway to power with God
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III. Embracing the Vow of the Cross
- Complete surrender of hopes, desires, and self
- Living via the cross to manifest Christ’s resurrection power
- Rejecting easy Christianity and embracing spiritual warfare
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IV. The Preeminence of Christ
- Christ must have first place in life
- Faith and the Word as spiritual weapons
- Active obedience over passive spectatorship
Key Quotes
“There is no limit to what God can do with the one who cares not if he lives or dies so long as others are saved.” — E.A. Johnston
“Self-preservation is the death of Christianity.” — E.A. Johnston
“Every hope, every desire, every inch of me has to be nailed there and died there.” — E.A. Johnston
Application Points
- Surrender your personal ambitions and reputation to fully follow Christ.
- Embrace daily dying to self as the pathway to experiencing God’s power.
- Engage actively in spiritual battles using faith and the Word of God.