What The Cross Brings
Every Sunday when gather to worship God we partake of the
Lords Supper. Many times we reflect up on how Jesus died on the cross for our
sins. It from this concept that I started thinking more and more about what
Jesus death on the cross brings for you and me. So this morning and evening we
are going to examine 8 different blessing that we receive from Jesus dieing on
the cross.
Christ Death on the Cross Brings Redemption
The word Redemption means to buy back or to set free. During the
1st century when Christianity began the word redemption was
associated with slavery because slavery was a part of everyday life back then. If
any person was willing to pay the price, a slave could be redeemed and set free.
Since the time that Adam and Eve committed the first sin in the garden of Eden
the human race has always been a slave to since. Even God chosen race in the OT
know as the children of
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned
and fall short of the glory of God.
Also notice what John says about this
topic.
1 John 1:8 8 If we say that we have no sin,
we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
There should be no doubt everyone who has ever lived and will
ever live is a slave to sin. Of course this excludes Jesus. So we see a great
need for the human race to be redeemed from the slavery of sin. But before
redemption can occur a price must be paid. Therefore, the only way that Christ
could bring redemption for the human race was to pay the ultimate price by
allowing himself to be sacrificed on the cross so that we could be redeemed
from our sins. You see there was no other way that we could be redeemed. In
fact listen to what Peter says about this in:
1 Peter 1:17 And if you call on the
Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct
yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; 18 knowing that you were not
redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless
conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of
Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
Notice we are not redeemed by anything that can found on this
earth. Even if you took all of the most valuable possessions that we have they
could never ever redeem us. Peter also makes it clear that our man made
tradition certainly cannot redeem us. No it was only the precious blood of
Jesus that is valuable enough to pay for our redemption.
Did we deserve this redemption? Did we do something for God in
such away that he owed us favor?
Absolutely not! If a rich man of
the first century observed a slave that was honest, obedient, and a perfect
model of a slave, he might say, “That man deserves to be free! I’m going to
redeem him.” But this certainly is not the case when it comes to the human
race. Man was guilty of sin, and didn’t deserve to be free, therefore our redemption came through wonderful grace of God.
“In him
we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the
riches of his grace (Ephesians 1:7 Paul also wrote, “Being justified freely by
his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus? (Romans 3:24).
Under the law of Moses, there was a continual struggle to deal
with sin. God set up a priesthood, and the High Priest would offer a blood
sacrifice from animals to deal with the sins of the people year after year. This
was a very important system to the OT Jew, however true redemption from sin
could not come from these animal sacrifices. True forgiveness or true
redemption could only come through our high priest Jesus Christ.
But how does man gain access to this wonderful blessing of
redemption that comes from the cross?
Romans 6: 16 Do you not know that to whom you present
yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of
sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to
righteousness? 17 But God be
thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the
heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been set free from
sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
So in order to be redeemed from sins we
must obey the gospel. The Bible makes it real easy for us to choose what we
will be a slave to. If we continue to be a slave of sin then it will lead to
spiritual death and you will find yourself sharing a room with the devil and
his angels. However if you choose to be a slave of righteousness that is one
who will serve God and do their to obey his will then you will find yourself in
heaven itself sounded by the glorious light of God where you will spend
eternity in peace and love.
Christ Death on the Cross Brings Love
In John 3 Jesus encounters a Pharisee by the name of
Nicodemus. Jesus tells the man that he must be born again or he will not be
able to enter the
John 3: 14 “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 “that whoever believes in Him
should not perish but have eternal life.
16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting
life. 17 “For God did not
send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through
Him might be saved.
In verse 14 Jesus is talking about how he would die and how
salvation would come. At one point the children of
John
Let me give you a example of this kind of love.
Once there was a little girl that needed a kidney transplant
to save her life. A search was made, but a donor could not be found that was
compatible to her. It was finally discovered that only her little brother’s
kidney would save her life. When they asked him about giving one of his
kidneys, he thought for a moment and then said that he was willing. They were
rolled into the operating room side by side, and a few moments later the little
boy asked the Doctor, “How long is it now before I die?” He had agreed to give
the kidney thinking that it would cost him his life. This is a great example of
agape love.
Jesus expressed this same kind of agape love for the entire
human and he knew without a doubt that
it would cost him his life!
Again we might ask, “Did we deserve this kind of love?” No, instead
we really deserve eternal punishment for our sin.
Romans 5:7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps
for a good man someone would even dare to die.
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while
we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we
shall be saved from wrath through Him.
Love motivated Jesus to go to the greatest depth of suffering,
and to drink the bit‑ cup of death so that sinners like you and me might
be forgiven our sins. Therefore, every saved sinner can sing, “Love lifted me!
Love lifted me! When nothing else could help, Love lifted me.”
The Cross brings Hope
After
Jesus had talked to the rich young ruler who wasn’t willing to give up his
riches to follow Christ Jesus says this:
Mark 10:25”It is easier
for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the
Jesus
makes it clear that you and I do not have the abilty to save ourselves. We have
to rely up God for our salvation. It is only through Jesus death on the cross
that we can be saved. So from this we can clearly see that the cross has
brought hope into all of our lives that we can be saved and have heaven as our
home. Without Jesus death, burial and resurection we would be without hope.
1 Corinthians
This would be a sad existence indeed.
Could you imagine how different your life would be if all we had was this short
existence here on this earth. Could you image facing all the hardships of this
life alone. I know it would it make me absolutely miserable. To me this life
wouldn’t be worth living with God in my life.
But thank goodness Jesus died for us and
was raised from the dead so that we can rejoice in the hope he has given us. Notice
what Paul says in:
Romans 15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in
believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
As Christians we should abound that is to be exceedingly
joyful in the hope that we have in Christ Jesus.
1 Peter 1:13 3 Therefore
gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon
the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
1 Peter 1:20-21 20 He
indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in
these last times for you 21
who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory,
so that your faith and hope are in God.
Let us never forget the hope that cross brings to our lives.
The Cross Brings Forgiveness
Another important thing that the cross brings to us is
forgiveness of our sins. Notice what Paul says about Jesus in:
Colossians 1:14 in whom we have redemption through His blood,
the forgiveness of sins.
Even when Jesus was on the cross before he died he looked down
on all the people that were mocking him and said:
Luke
What a loving savior we have who would ask the father to
forgive these people who had done nothing but hate him. When Jesus died and his
blood was shed he made it possible for all to be forgiven that are willing to
accept God saving grace by obeying Gods commands
When Paul and other missionaries traveled over the country
preaching the gospel, they could remind sinners that Christ offered forgiveness.
Paul told his audience at
Acts
If want to receive the forgiveness of our sins that the cross
brings to us then we must obey the gospel call.
Romans
Hear
Romans
Believe
John
Repent
Luke 13:3 3 “I
tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.
Confess
Romans 10:9 9 that if you confess with your
mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the
dead, you will be saved.
Baptism
1 Peter
These are all the things that a person
must do to accept the saving grace of God. But the Bible gets even more
specific at when a person sins are forgiven.
Acts
Peter speaks very clearly here and says
that baptism is the name of Jesus Christ is when a person receives the
forgiveness of their sins.
Acts
This talking about Paul conversion to
Christianity. Paul at this point had believed in Jesus and called him Lord and
we know that he had repented because he had went 3 days with out eating or
drinking and he was praying to God continually. But what do we find out about
Paul? We find out that he was still in his sins. What did Ananais tell Paul he
must do to wash away his sins? He told him to arise and be baptized.
Now there is nothing magical about the
water it simply the place the God has said he will wash away our sins with the
blood of Jesus Christ. In fact I believe Paul puts it best in:
Colossians 2:11 In Him you were also
circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body
of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 buried with Him in baptism, in
which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God,
who raised Him from the dead. 13
And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He
has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,
Notice it is by our faith in God that we
can know that when we allow ourselves to be baptized we can truly belive that
we are being buried with Christ and that
are sins are being washed away. With the same faith in God we can know
that when we are raised up out of the water that we are being raised with
Christ and all of our sins have been forgiven. With out a doubt baptism is the
point that we receive the wonderful gift of forgiveness that the cross has to
offer.
This is just one aspect of forgiveness.
Because once you become a child of God you will still sin from time to time but you only have to
baptized one time. Once you are child of God you must simply repent and confess
your sin to God and it will be forgiven.
1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have
fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us
from all sin. 8 If we say
that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
What The Cross Brings Part 2
This morning we began a two part lesson titled “What the cross
brings.” We examined 4 differing things that
the cross brings and they were
redemption, love, hope and forgiveness. Tonight we will be looking a four more
that the cross brings.
The Cross Brings A Ransom
Paul declares this very thing to Timothy that Jesus brings a
ransom.
1 Timothy 2:5-6 5 For there is one God and
one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself a ransom for
all, to be testified in due time,
The word ransom means a price paid for the release or
redemption of a captive. During times of war, it was common for prisoners to be
captured, and if they were of great value, a ransom would be paid for their
release. That’s exactly what Jesus did for you and me by dieing on the cross.
He loved enough and thought that we were valuable enough to pay the ransom with
his life so that we might be set free from sin.
Jesus knew that he was going to do this for us because notice
what he says in:
Mark
Even though Christ paid the price for all, only a few will
allow themselves to be set free
Matthew
In 1829, Wilson and
Porter were convicted of robbing the
Most people will agree that
"For
the wages of sin is death. Romans 6:23
The idea of ransom also suggests taking the place of another
in death, and this was the ransom price Jesus paid at the cross. He didn't
deserve to die, we did! He died for our sins, not for his because he didn’t
have any. Those who allow Him to save us
are literally ransomed from spiritual death. He died so that we may live.
Once two young brothers were playing in an old bell tower and had
climbed several feet above a concrete floor. They were hanging on to a joist
that broke and as they began to fall, the older brother caught hold of another 2x4
and his little brother grabbed hold of his brother's legs. There they were
hanging suspended several feet above the concrete floor. The older brother
tried to raise himself up to safety, but with his little brother hanging on, he
was unable to do so. After many efforts, the little brother looked up and
asked, "Could you save yourself if I were not holding on to you?" The
older brother answered, "Yes! " The little boy turned loose and fell
to his death so that his older brother could live.
Jesus made the same choice for mankind. He gave himself in
death as a ransom so that all who accept Him might live. What a precious gift
from the cross!
The Cross Brings Reconciliation
This is another wonder blessing that further shows the importance
of the cross. The word reconciliation suggests moving from one state to
another. The prefix "re" means again or renew, and the word
"conciliate" means to gain friendship. Putting these together means
to renew or gain friendship again.
Before sin, God and man
were the closest of Friends, but this friendship was destroyed when Adam and
Eve disobeyed God (Genesis 3:6). However, because of God's great love for
mankind he provided a way in which mankind could be reconciled to him.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19 18 Now all things are of God,
who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the
ministry of reconciliation, 19
that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing
their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
This reconciliation took place while all were enemies to God.
Romans 5:10 For if when we were
enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more,
having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only that, but
we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now
received the reconciliation
The greatest friendship we can ever have is with God. Friends
on earth will often let us down, because many of them are fair weather friends.
When the going gets rough, they pull out. Like the Prodigal Son, he had friends
as long as his money was in supply, but when it was gone, so were his friends.
However God is not like this he will always be there for us even when we turn
our back on him.
Hebrews 13:5 "I will never leave you nor
forsake you."
The
writer of Hebrews also says this.
Hebrews 13:8 8 Jesus Christ is the same
yesterday, today, and forever.
If the cross had not brought reconciliation, we could never be
friends with God, because it was mankind that that chose to turn his back on God. Even though God provided the
means of reconciliation through His Son, all sinners must be reconciled to God.
Paul speaking to the Corinthians says:
2 Corinthians
The
cross brings fulfillment of scripture
If people willing to take serious look at the word of God I
think they would be truly amazed at all the prophecies that were made and
came to pass. I wish we had the time to
look at all prophecies in the OT concerning Jesus because he fulfilled everyone
them. Jesus knew that he must die on the cross for our sins and he knew that he
would be fulfilling the prophecies that were written about him. After Jesus was
resurrected from the dead he said.
Luke 24:44 "These are the words which I spoke
to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were
written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms
concerning Me."
Knowing the Jesus was fulfilling scripture by dieing on the
cross brings to us great assurance that the word of God is true and that the we
can have confidence that there is God and that we can be saved according to
what his word says. Lets take just a few minutes and quickly examine a few of
these prophecies about Christ.
Virgin Birth
Isaiah
Birthplace
Micah 5:2 2 "
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, (eph rawth) Though you are little among
the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to
be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From
everlasting." Mt. 2:1-6
The flight to
Hosea 11:1 "When
Matthew 2:13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord
appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and
His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod
will seek the young Child to destroy Him."
14 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by
night and departed for Egypt, 15
and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was
spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt I called My
Son."
The 30 pieces of Silver
Zechariah
26:14,15
Psalm
Psalm 69:21 tells how Jesus would be offered gall on the cross
Psalm
Psalm 34:20 states that
Jesus bones would not be broken just like on the cross.
But the prophecy that stands out the most
to me is the one found in Isaiah 53. Listen closely at the chapter describes
many of the details that Jesus went through in his short time he spent here on
the earth.
Isaiah 53:1 Who has believed our
report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 For He shall grow up before Him
as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or
comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should
desire Him. 3 He is despised
and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as
it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem
Him. 4 Surely He has borne
our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by
God, and afflicted. 5 But He was
wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are
healed. 6 All we like sheep
have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has
laid on Him the iniquity of us all. 7
He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led
as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He
opened not His mouth. 8 He
was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation?
For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My
people He was stricken. 9 And
they made His grave with the wicked -- But with the rich at His death, Because
He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the LORD to
bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering
for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And
the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. 11 He shall see the labor of His
soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall
justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide Him a
portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because
He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.
So without a doubt the cross brings the
fulfillment of scripture.
The Cross Brings Grace
The word grace is one of
the most beautiful words in the English language. We have been singing over the
years, "Amazing grace! how sweet the sound! That saved a wretch like me! I
once was lost, but now am found; Was blind, but now I see." What is
this amazing grace that we sing about? Why is it so amazing? It is amazing
because it takes us back to the cross where God's son was offered up so that we
could receive gift of grace. Immediately after Paul declared that all have
sinned, that both Jews and Gentiles are sinners, he wrote:
Romans 3: 24 being justified freely by His grace through
the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25
whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to
demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over
the sins that were previously committed,
Grace is a favor that
no person on earth deserves, and is a gift of love that was done while man was
in sin.
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us,
in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been
justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
You see without grace there would be no salvation.
Titus 2:11 For the grace of God
that brings salvation has appeared to all men,
Paul further verifies this truth:
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have
been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of
God,
Even though God has
asked sinners to obey Him to receive his grace, there is no way that you I can
purchase grace because it is presented as a gift. Therefore, to those that have
enough faith to obey His will, this unearned favor called grace, is given to us
freely.
Again, why is grace so important? Because, without it all
accountable people are 'in a wretched
condition. Paul declared to the Romans:
Romans
The answer to Paul's
question is Gods amazing grace! Life has many temptations
along the way and the
devil uses his power to trap us. No matter how far we find ourselves in sin no
matter how strong a grip the old devil has on God amazing grace can save us
from sin and the devil and lead us to into eternal home in heaven.
Titus 3:7 that having been
justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal
life.
Since Jesus went to the
cross for us so that we could have grace we know have the privilege to boldly
approach the throne of God.
Hebrews 4: 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot
sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we
are, yet without sin. 16
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy
and find grace to help in time of need.
Let it be remembered that even though the cross brings grace
and it is offered freely, the majority will refuse it! God will not extend His
grace to a heart unprepared to receive it. Only a penitent, confessing, and
obedient heart can accept this precious gift from God. Yes, the gift is offered
to sinners, but they must receive it with the proper heart. Millions will
choose the broad way that leads to destruction when grace is so freely offered
because they will not turn from their sinful ways to the will of God!
Conclusion:
I believe these 8 points we have looked at this morning and
this evening are very important to our spiritual and eternal existence and we
should thank God daily for him allowing his only begotten son to die on the
cross so that we can live. Let never forget to rejoice at what cross brings to
each and every one of us.