What the cross tells us
- Sin has consequence.
God told Adam there would certainly be consequence of sin.
17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.’ (Genesis 2:17)
Romans 6:23a says 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Hebrews 9:22 22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
… and Jesus had to bleed, suffer and die on the cross to pay for our sins to save us.
The devil, the liar, wants you to think that sin has no consequence.
4 ‘You will not certainly die,’ the snake said to the woman (Genesis 3:4).
- Jesus paid for our sins.
4 Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
(Isaiah 53:4 – 6)
No one else but Jesus paid for your sins and there is no other name but Jesus to save you on the earth.
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.’ (Acts 2:12)
Guideline to Salvation: Believe and confess.
9 if you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, ‘Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.’ (Romans 10:9 – 11)
- God loves us.
10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (1 John 4:10)
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).
13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (John 15:13).
The devil wants you to doubt the love of God.
5 ‘For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ (Genesis 3:5)
Trust God, He loves you, and there is surely a future hope for you.
17 Do not let your heart envy sinners,
but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord.
18 There is surely a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.
(Proverbs 23:17 – 18)
- God’s Power & Wisdom
18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18).
25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. (1 Corinthians 1:25)
THE FOOLISHNESS OF GOD IS WISER THAN HUMAN WISDOM, AND THE WEAKNESS OF GOD IS STRONGER THAN HUMAN STRENGTH
You will be better off by serving God first.
- Obedience & Trust
7 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9 and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him (Hebrews 5:7 – 9)
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:8)
23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly (1 Peter 2:23).
Second Adam (Jesus)’s obedience contrasts with First Adam’s disobedience. Therefore, let us fix our eyes on Jesus.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
(Hebrews 12:1–3)
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
(Romans 12:1 – 2)
- God wants us to die to sins and live for the righteousness.
24 ‘He himself bore our sins’ in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; ‘by his wounds you have been healed.’ (1 Peter 2:24)
Apostle Paul confessed as below:
20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
