The Cross

The gospel is good news because we were in a bad place without Christ. Romans 3:23 says “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Our sin separates us from a perfect, holy God.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23

The gift of God was His Son, dying our death, bearing our cross, and paying our penalty. Our sin is a serious thing. It sent the perfect Son of God to the cross.

Isaiah 53:5 reminds us “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His striped we are healed.”

Jesus endured the pain that should have been ours. Every act of pride, jealousy, and envy, every word of deceit, gossip, or bitterness, every attitude of ungratefulness, selfishness, and hatred nailed Jesus to the cross. Are we broken over the seriousness of our sin?

While it is important to understand the magnitude of our sin, we must let it lead us to understanding the magnitude of God’s grace.

“Where sin abounds, grace did much more abound.” Romans 5:12

Ephesians 2:4-5 reminds us we are saved by the grace of God. “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).”

Because of His love and by His great mercy, He did not leave us without hope, dead in our sins. Because of Christ’s death on the cross, in our place, He made a way for us to experience life. A life that could never be possible without Him. A life that could never be earned by good behavior, bought by acts of service, or deserved because of our own goodness. This gift of God demonstrated on the cross is a gift because it was given on behalf of the grace of God and not on our own merit.

As we remember the cross, we must let our humble awareness of our sin lead us to praise our Savior for His amazing sacrifice and God’s abundant grace and live differently because of it.

Questions for further reflection:

What are some sins in my life I’ve deemed acceptable that nailed Jesus to the cross?

How am I tempted to earn my own salvation or doubt that Jesus’s sacrifice was enough?

What verses will I recall to direct my gaze and praise to God’s grace?

Jesus, thank you for dying in my place. Thank you for bearing my sin, my suffering, my death so I might have life, forgiveness of sin, and fellowship with God. Teach me to see the seriousness of my sin, so I can know your grace to greater depths. Let my life speak to the glory of Your grace as I humbly & daily recall this salvation is not a work of my own.