The Cross: You are Loved
The Cross of Christ is the fixed, immovable declaration of God’s love.
“God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His One and Only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10).
“For while we were still helpless, at the appointed moment, Christ died for the ungodly. For rarely will someone die for a just person—though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us!” (Romans 5:6-8).
How does God prove his love? The Cross.
How do we know God loves us? The Cross.
The Cross stands forever as the great demonstration of God’s love.
And if God gave his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ when you were at your worst, what circumstance could ever make Him stop loving you?
It’s so simple, so familiar, yet so profound.
The Cross: Redemption
Jesus’ death on the Cross achieved our redemption.
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace” (Ephesians 1:7).
“We are by nature slaves to sin and death” (John 8:34).
The proof of this is the fact that we keep on sinning (and people keep on dying). But Jesus set us free from this slavery (John 8:36). On the Cross Jesus paid the price, the ransom needed to redeem us (Mark 10:45).
In Jesus’ day around 30% of people were in physical slavery. Some people had to sell themselves into slavery to pay off their debts. And if you were a slave you could only gain your freedom if someone bought you and set you free. Someone had to “redeem” you by paying the ransom.
This is what our Lord Jesus Christ did for us. Not just in the physical realm (although it was a physical payment with his own physical body). But, more importantly in the spiritual realm. Our freedom cost Jesus dearly. It cost his perfect life and his precious blood (1 Peter 1:18-19). It cost the Cross.
So we who live by faith are free to live. We are free to serve the True and Living God (1 Thessalonians 1:9). In His service is true freedom. We belong to God (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). And we are free to serve one another in love (Galatians 5:13).
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).