The cross has a special message for all who will come by faith to the Christ of the cross. I Corinthians 1:18 tells us, “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.” What is the message of the cross? Here are three things the cross has to say:
- I am loved. God hates sin, but He doesn’t hate me.John 3:16-“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.” The cross shows us the extreme measures God would take in order to be in a relationship with us. The greater the sacrifice, the greater the love.Romans 5:6-9-“6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!”The more unworthy the object of the love, the greater the love. Jesus didn’t die for amazingly good and righteous people. He died for sinners. The cross says, “I love you so much that whether you ever love me back, it was still worth it for Jesus to die so that you could have the opportunity to be redeemed.”
- I don’t have anything to be afraid of.Our biggest enemies were taken out by Jesus when He died on the cross. The Devil and Death have been defeated. If the worst possible person to deal with is the devil and the worst possible experience we could encounter is death, and Jesus whipped them both, we are good to go!II Timothy 1:10 . . . “But it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”Hebrews 2:14 “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil…”When we allow the cross to become our point of victory, when we allow Jesus’ sacrifice to become our redemption, when we receive the impact of the cross into our hearts by faith, the Devil has no legal right to us. Apart from Christ, the Devil has legal access to us, spiritually speaking. We belong to him. He can lay a claim on us and chain us and possess us and keep us for himself. The link between Satan and us is sin, and if we don’t repent of sin and turn our lives over to Jesus, becoming new, then we remain in the grip of Satan. But once, oh but once, hallelujah, once we accept what Jesus did for us on the cross, His victory becomes our victory, and legally, we change hands.Although the Devil may try to harass us, he cannot take back what Calvary has purchased!
Colossians 2:13-15 13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Jesus not only disarmed the powers of darkness, but Scripture also tells us He disarmed the power of death or sting of death. Death has been defeated. Jesus has overcome. Up from the grave He arose. We will rise with Him. Death is no longer something to fear. It is no longer our enemy. It is our gateway into victory forever. That is the transforming power of God! If God can transform death into something wonderful, He can bring transformation into any situation in your life which takes the fear out of not only death but life as well.
1 Corinthians 15:54b-57 “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” 55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the LAW. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the VICTORY through our Lord Jesus Christ.
The law says I am doomed to experience eternal consequences because of sin, but I am no longer under that spiritual law (Romans 6:14) because I have been translated to the realm of grace through the victory of Jesus Christ.
Romans 8:1-2 1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
Jesus removes the fear factor from death!
