The Reality of The Cross

 By: Ric Neres

The reality of the cross is something as Christians we need to really think about. In this article, we will go over the reason for the cross and the seriousness of our condition.

When man sinned in the garden, he rebelled against His Father, His King and Lord. The Lord had commanded the man not to eat of the tree or he would die (Genesis 2:16,17).  Sin is a power that is opposed to everything that is good and holy. Its introduction  have brought ruin to the creation.

Man had now joined the rank of rebellion with the enemy of God, the Devil. Now man was under a sentence of death, eternal death and since God is just, He must punish transgression and evil. Thus, we end up with the biggest problem in the Bible, how can God be just and justify the wicked?

This dilemma is presented in Proverb 17:15, "He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous, Both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD."   

Righteous Judge

God cannot forgive wicked humanity and throw our heinous and evil crimes under a rug. Imagine a criminal that kill many people going to a judge and the judge say you know what, I am so loving that I am going to let you go free. That judge would be condemned as unjust, and the Bible in Genesis 18:25 show Abraham asking the question, will not the Judge of the whole earth do what is right?. God must do what is right, in the name of love He must punish the guilty sinners and put an end to rebellion in the universe.

Divine sacrifice

Here comes the cross. In order for God to justify fallen man, sinners like me and you, He decided to take the punishment upon Himself.  

Here comes an important point that people who deny the Divinity of Christ will have problem with. The Bible teaches that there's only one who can save, God alone.

"Declare and set forth your case; Indeed, let them consult together Who has announced this from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me. "Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other." Isaiah 45:21-22. 

So in order for Jesus to save us, He has to be equal with God, He has to be God. If Christ is not God, then it is a creature that has rescued humanity, that would be blasphemy. God alone is able to save and only One equal with God is able to bear all the sins of humanity and atone for us.

So God the Son came in the flesh, Immanuel (God with us) Matthew 1:23 to live a righteous life and die in our place. To do the things we could not do. It is only because He is God that He can exchange place with the sinner, it is the concept of the next of kin redeemer spoken in the Bible. So Christ on the cross suffers the wrath of God against all sins, He was forsaken by God The Father so we can be reconciled with Him. He as the Holy One of God, the One who is One with the Father from eternity is the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world.

Freedom for the Guilty

God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood--to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished. He did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus (Romans 3:25,26)

Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. (Isaiah 53:10)

So because God is Holy and just like we mentioned in the beginning, He must punish every sin, but Christ stepped into our place to save us from the wrath of God against sin and He was crushed by the Lord and we were allowed to go free if we will put all our faith in Jesus and His atoning sacrifice.

Dilemma Solved

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)  .   

Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!

Romans 5:7-9

No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." John 10:18

Jesus as God the Son volunteered to take our place, the righteous for the wicked, the just for the unjust and by His atoning sacrifice we are accepted in the beloved. Friends nothing that will do will make us righteous with God, it is only in trusting in Christ we will find hope.

Sin is crime against God

The reality is all sins are crimes against God; when we sin we are declaring war against God. We are now His enemies and God declared a death sentence on all His enemies. But the Bible teaches in John chapter 3 that God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son. The death of Christ on the cross is the assurance of pardon, the assurance that our sins have been paid and His resurrection is the certainty that God will accept and bring eternal life, to anyone who put their trust in Him. 

Friends the cross of Christ is to show us sin is nothing to play with. Sin's sure result is eternal death. Let us accept the mercy and loving kindness of the Lord; Let us flee to the Lord Jesus; Let us put our faith in Him, the One who is able to carry all our sin is also able to keep us from fallen into them and clean us of them; and we shall gain victory over all sins in our lives.

https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/God,-As-Savior