The Impact Of The Cross

  During this Easter weekend, I watched a movie called "Do You Believe" directed by Jon Gunn. At the onset of the movie, an old street preacher carrying a cross approached the main character of the movie, a pastor, and pointing at the cross asked him, " Do you believe?"  The response from the latter was, "I am a pastor."  The old man dissatisfied with the response reiterated, "I asked you do you believe? And if you do, what impact has the cross had in your life?". That statement got me thinking. What impact has the cross had in my life?

Stephen Cole (1992) states, "The cross of Jesus Christ is central to the Christian faith.  The cross reveals to us the character of God: His love for lost sinners and His perfect justice .... If we want to grow in our love for God, which is the first and greatest commandment, then we must be growing to understand and appreciate the cross, which shows us His great love. If we want to grow in godliness, we must grow in understanding the significance of the cross, ...."  Lest we forget, Christ chose to be crucified on the cross for a great purpose- our redemption.  Out of His own accord, He laid down His life (John 10:18) and humbled Himself to death on a cross (Philippians 2:18); He endured the pain and the shame (Hebrews 12:2), so that you and I could be reconciled to God (Colossians 1:20).  Greater love has no man than this, to lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).  

The cross is purely the greatest demonstration of God's love for mankind.  God did not send an angel or one of the great prophets of old to pay the penalty of our sin.  No.  Instead, He sent His One and Only Begotten Son (John 3:16).   Secondly, it is a grand demonstration of God's unmerited favor- grace!  In our undeserving nature, Christ died for us.  He considered us worth of His sacrifice.  In our sinful state, He first loved us (1st John 4:19) and chose us for Himself (John 15:16).  Thirdly, the cross vividly illustrates God's incomprehensible mercy.  Justice demanded that we die but Christ selflessly bore the penalty of our sin (Romans 4:25).  This message of the cross is power to those who are being saved (1st Corinthians 1:18).

Through the cross, the charge of our legal indebtedness which stood against us and condemned us was taken away (Colossians 2:14; Galatians 3:13) and through Christ's blood we were reconciled to God (Colossians 1:20); the powers and authorities of the kingdom of darkness were disarmed and triumphed over (Colossians 2:15); we received healing for our physical and emotional wounds (1st Peter 2:24); we obtained abundance in place of spiritual and physical poverty (2nd Corinthians 8:9); and the hostilities that existed amongst mankind (Jews and Greeks; slaves and free men; men and women) were destroyed.  What a rich inheritance that we have obtained in Christ Jesus!


The tragedy of the the 21st century Christian is that though they believe in the cross, they have not allowed the message of the cross to fully transform their inner man and experience a change in their world view; their priorities; their daily Christian walk; their passion for the lost etc.  This is why it is fundamental that we all take a moment to reflect and answer the question, "What impact has the cross had in my life?"  Having received such great love, how can we remain the same, living a life of compromise and sin?  How can we remain silent with and passive to the truth that we have received?  How can we be content with mere religious rituals and ignore God's invitation to an intimate relationship with Him?  How can our hearts be pre-occuppied with the never-ending hustles of life that we neglect our relationship with God?  How can our hearts grow cold to the spiritual and physical needs of humanity such that we only love in word and not in deed?

Galatians 6:14 states, "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."  The context of this scripture is that the gentiles in the early church were being compelled to be circumcised so that their spiritual leaders could "boast about their flesh".  For this reason, Paul was assertive that the new believers only needed to boast in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.  The works of flesh (not necessarily sin, but may be purely works of righteousness e.g. in form of religious ceremonies, positions and titles held in Christian circles etc.) sometimes deter us from experiencing the transformative power of the risen Christ and blind us to God's higher purpose for believers.  Paul also points out the essence of the world being crucified to us (the world and all its lures: lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and pride of life) and our lives being crucified to the world (dyeing to sin and being made alive in righteousness).  The NIV commentary states, "Daily we are confronted by subtle cultural pressures and overt propaganda.  The only way to escape these destructive influences is to ask God to help crucify our interests in them."

Luke 9:23 states, ".... Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." The cross of Jesus Christ demands that we daily deny ourselves.  This means that we "starve" the flesh (of its gratifications) so that we can die to sin, as well as edify the Spirit with God's Word, prayer, fellowship and sharing the gospel with the lost.  Taking up His cross means losing your life for Christ's sake.  As Paul puts it in Galatians 2:20, "Not I, but Christ, lives in me."  The cross of Jesus is to be taken up daily and not occasionally.  Walking with Christ must become a lifestyle for believers, and not an act of convenience whenever circumstances demand.  A disciple of Christ must follow Him and Him only (Matthew 10:38).  A disciple's life is dependent on Christ and sensitive to the Spirit's promptings. 

Carrying the cross daily demands that we act and speak like Christ.  This is the sole reason why the disciples at Antioch were called Christians!  They were unmistakable since they clearly brought out the attributes of Christ in their daily lives.  Paul in Galatians 5:11 talked about the "offense of the cross". Living the life of the cross will be offensive to many; not only to sinners but also to the Pharisees and Sadducee's of our times.  As followers of Jesus Christ, we must be prepared for the "persecution for the cross of Christ" (Galatians 5:11).  However, such persecution cannot be compared to the glory that will be revealed in us (Romans 8:18).

The cross of the Lord Jesus ought to transform us!  It need not be merely part of the nice salvation story.  To those of us who have been believers for some years now, we are not exempt from this transformation, for the work of the cross and its power needs to transform us daily!  In conclusion, I ask again, "What impact is the cross of the Lord Jesus making in your life?"