Thoughts from Sabbath Sunday...Criticism in Light of the Gospel

I wasn't able to post last night because I was at a Sunday night sermon/discussion/dinner group wtih people from church. Just for the record... I absolutely love my Sunday School class here in Colorado. Last night felt like I was hanging out with an enormous part of my family. So comfortable, loving and thought provoking. I thank God for the people at church who are a part of my life.
Anyhow, I thought I would post this morning and then try again tonight, although I am going to an Al Mohler dinner later on. My thoughts for this morning actually come from the sermon that I heard on Sabbath Sunday. My pastor has been taking a break from his expositions in Luke and going through a series on being peacemakers. Much of his material comes from a book by Ken Sande called "The Peacemaking Church."
Anyways, the thought that struck me this yesterday was how the gospel relates to our taking criticism from others. You see, the cross of Christ is in fact extremely critical of us. Take a look at Romans 3 as it speaks of all manking in verses 11-12, "'None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.'" Did you hear that? The gospel has just blatantly said that we don't understand, we don't seek God, we don't do good and perhaps the most stinging of all is that we are worthless. There is such a mix up in today's Christian culture and it robs the gospel of it's force. God did not save us because we were worth it! I am emphatic on that point and I am willing to die on that hill in theological discussion. The heart of the gospel and the heart of God's love is rooted in the fact that we were not worth it. Or as Paul puts it we were worthless. He died for sinners. In order to get to God through Christ, you must let go of the fact that you have something to offer God or some worth to offer God. You have nothing and I have nothing. To know God, you must accept this criticism as true or else you will continue to live out of a self-righteous heart.
Now how does this criticism relate to the criticism of others? In the sermon yesterday, Bob pointed out that if we have accepted the criticism of the cross, we should be able to accept the criticism of others. This is because the cross' criticism of us is as pointed and as exact as it can possibly get. Nothing that anyone else can criticize us over could be any more truthful or painful or stinging than the criticism that the cross levies against us. It is when we humbly accept the criticism of the cross (the worst possible kind) that we can then accept the criticism of others in a humble and joyful manner.