In this scene we just saw, Johnny Cash had given up on life. He was ready to give up and turn to drugs and alcohol forever. He was a miserable failure and he just didn’t see any way out. He was looking for something that would break the cycle. How is it that many people find their answer in the same way that Cash did—through God? And what is it about the Christian gospel that is life changing for people, that gives people that second chance they are looking for, hope beyond hope, a second birth?

I suggest that the hope and power of the Christian faith centers around one part, in particular. It focuses on the cross.

What does the cross mean? If we stopped people on the street and asked the question we might hear, "It’s a symbol of Christianity, I guess." Or, "Jesus was a martyr and was nailed to a cross." Others might say it was a myth, or a history major might say it was an example of Roman justice.

The Apostle Paul taught a very different view of the cross when he wrote, "In human experience it is a rare thing for one man to give his life for another…though there have been a few who have had the courage to do it. Yet the proof of God’s amazing love is this: that it was while we were sinners that Christ died for us." (Romans 5:7,8)

Last week we talked about our human longing to be changed, to improve ourselves, to start over or to be more than we are now. But we also discovered that there is a problem to doing this all on our own—the reality of SIN. We see this in a sense of being overwhelmed sometimes by life. We see this in our inability to forgive others and even to forgive ourselves. Most of all we see it in a lack of conscience when we are not even bothered by our failures, shortcomings, mistakes or blatant sins. Today we are going to talk about how God provides a way out of this vicious cycle.

God successfully changes men and women by the message that centers in the cross. His approach recognizes our disease and presents the right medicine. He offers His wisdom as an alternative to our failures.

Billy Graham writes in his book, How to be Born Again, "In the suffering of Jesus we have the participation of God in the act of atonement. Sin pierced God’s heart. God felt every searing nail and spear. God felt the burning sun. God felt the scorn of His tormenters and the body blows. In the cross is the suffering love of God bearing the guilt of man’s sin. This love alone is able to melt the sinners’ heart and bring him to repentance for salvation. ‘He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for our behalf.’" (2 Cor. 5:21)

There is a mystery to be found in the cross of Christ that is beyond our human understanding. The depths of God’s love in sending His Son to pay such an awful price is beyond the measure of the mind of man. But we must accept it on faith or we will continually bear the burdens of guilt. We must accept the atonement that Christ took the punishment which was due to us.

Graham writes, "My friend and associate Cliff Barrows, told me this story about bearing punishment. He recalled the time when he took the punishment for his children when they had disobeyed. They had done something I had forbidden them to do. I told them if they did the same thing again I would have to discipline them. When I returned from work and found that they hadn’t minded me, the heart went out of me. I just couldn’t discipline them."

Any loving father can understand Cliff’s dilemma. Most of us have been in the same position. He continued with the story: "Bobby and Betty Ruth were very small. I called them into my room, took off my belt and my shirt, and with a bare back, knelt down at the bed. I made them both strap me with the belt ten times each. You should have heard the crying. From the, I mean! They didn’t want to do it. But I told them the penalty had to be paid and so through their sobs and tears they did what I told them."

Cliff admits he isn’t much of a hero. It hurt. I haven’t offered to do that again, either, because they got the point. We kissed each other when it was over and prayed.

In that infinite way that staggers our hearts and minds, we know that Christ paid the penalty for our sins past, present and future. That is why he died on the cross.

2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us, "God made Christ who knew no sin be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ." We who were properly condemned are now properly declared just if we have trust in Christ."

What other conclusions must we reach from the testimony of the cross?

I’m afraid that often the church is guilty of giving the impression that once we have accepted Jesus Christ we will never again have any problems. This isn’t true, but here is the difference: we have Someone to help us face our problems.

In our scripture today this promise of God-with-us is made very clear. In Psalm 34 there are three great statements about our problems:

"This poor man cried and the Lord heard him; and save him out of all his troubles." V.6

"The righteous cry and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles." V. 17

"Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord delivers him out of them all" v. 19

Now notice this: The Christian life is not a way "out" but a way "through" life. The "out of " in these verses refers to deliverance nor from but through difficulty.

Guilt is a very debilitating feeling. It can destroy our attitude, our personal relationships, and our outreach. Sometimes we feel guilty because we’ve done things that are wrong for which we must accept the responsibility and also accept God’s forgiveness. When we cling to our guilt we do not honor God and we handicap our own lives terribly.

Forgiveness is an opportunity that Christ extended to us on the cross. When we accept his forgiveness and are willing to forgive ourselves, then we find relief.

When you bake a cake, you put in flour, baking powder, soda, bitter chocolate, shortening, etc., none of which taste very god in themselves, but which work together to make a delicious cake. And so with our sins and our mistakes—although they are not good in themselves, if we commit them in honest, simple faith to the Lord, He will work them out His own way and in His own time make something of them for our good and His glory.

The depths of God’s love in sending His Son to pay such an awful price is beyond the measure of the mind of a man. We must accept it on faith or we will continually bear the burden of guilt. Salvation is by Christ alone, through faith alone, for the glory of god alone. Jesus never said, "Only understand." He said, "Only believe."

I am reminded this past week of Vacation bible school and my friend Steve Shoaff who lead one of the sessions. One night with the theme of science he was going to do a story of invisible ink but it wouldn’t work. It stayed invisible and never appeared. So Steve scrapped the idea and did his lesson another way. Well, Billy Graham tells the following story in his book How to be Born Again. He writes, "There is a well-known story of some fishermen in Scotland who had spent the day fishing. That evening they were having tea I a little inn. One of the fishermen, in a characteristic gesture to describe the size of the fish that got away, flung out his hands just as the little waitress was getting ready to set the cup of tea at his place. The hand and the teacup collided, dashing the tea against the whitewashed walls. Immediately an ugly brown stain began to spread over the wall. The man who did it was very embarrassed and apologized profusely, but one of the other guests jumped up and said, "never mind." Pulling a pen from his pocket, he began to sketch around the ugly brown stain. Soon there emerged a picture of a magnificent royal stag with his antlers spread. That artist was Landseer, England’s foremost painter of animals.

This story has always beautifully illustrated to me the fact that if we confess not only our sins but our mistakes to God, He can make out of them something for our good and for His glory. Romans 8:28 tells us that if they are committed to God He can make them work together for our good and his glory.

We started today’s message with the story of Johnny Cash. I’d like to end with his story as well. Sometime after the time in his life illustrated by the clip from the motion picture about his life Johnny wrote, "A few years ago I was hooked on drugs. I dreaded to wake up in the morning. There was no joy, peace, or happiness in my life. Then one day in my helplessness I turned by life completely over to God. Now I can’t wait to get up in the morning to study my Bible. Sometimes the words out of the Scriptures leap into my heart. This does not mean that all my problems have been solved, or that I have reached any state of perfection. However, my life has been turned around. I have been born again!"

Would you like to know that same joy, too? You can. Let’s begin by praying together right now. Would you pray with me?