The Heart of the Message of the Cross – Offensive or Wake-Up Call?
The message of the cross is the wake-up call for people to honestly evaluate themselves to acknowledge their brokenness in their sins and repent.
The conviction that the cross brings does not give us the warm fuzzies or tickle our ears, but is sobering as it cuts to the heart.
The message of the cross shows the seriousness of sin and its consequences.
The cross and what it represents serves as a reality check that sheds light on two eternal destinies, with Jesus being the only way to life.
The message of the cross defies human logic causing offense, and is considered foolish to those who have hardened hearts blinded by sin.
The message of the cross does not boost our self-image, affirm us in sin, or encourage pride, but is humbling.
The cross openly proclaims that we are sinful and that our corrupt acts cost the precious life of the innocent Son of God, our Creator.
The cross compels us to admit that none of us are good enough and that without Christ’s stepping into humanity to intervene and suffer the penalty for us, there would be no hope for us.
The message of the cross implies a need to die to self and surrender to fully embrace Jesus in order to live life to the fullest – a message that makes no sense to some.
Christ is All
1 Christ is the Word of God. “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) “We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life.” (1 John 1:1-6)
2 Christ is the visible image of the Invisible God. (Colossians 1:15) Fully God. And when He entered into His own creation to complete the plan of redemption, He was fully man and fully divine. (Colossians 2:9) Son of God, Son of Man. (Romans 1:2-4) “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:56)
3 Christ is before everything (that is not God), and the beginning of everything. (Colossians 1:17) The First and The Last. The Alpha and Omega. The Beginning and the End. (Revelation 22:13)
4 Christ is the Creator of everything, seen and unseen. All is made through Him, by Him, and for Him. “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him”. (Colossians 1:16-17)
5 Christ is the firstborn of all creation (Colossians 1:15): This signifies a position of preeminence or leadership; it’s rank, not birth order. In the context of ancient biblical times, it was clearly understood that the firstborn in a family possessed special rights and inherited leadership. (Deuteronomy 21:17)
6 Christ holds everything together and sustains. (Colossians 1:16-17) He is the source of life and order in the universe. (John 1:4)
7 Christ is supreme in everything. He’s Sovereign. (Colossians 1:18-20)
8 Christ is the firstborn from the dead. (Colossians 1:18) He paved the way for the resurrection of all believers, implying a position of leadership and priority over those who will be raised later as He is the first to experience eternal life through resurrection. While Jesus had resurrected people like Lazarus (John 11:38-44), Jairus’s daughter (Matthew 9:18–26), and the son of the widow of Nain (Luke 7:11–16), the difference was that Jesus was the only human being to be resurrected in a glorified immortal body. (Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Corinthians 15:42-58)
9 Christ is the Head of the church or Head of the Body of Christ. (Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 5:23) He holds ultimate authority over the church, acting as its leader in giving direction, and is the body’s source of life; The church is dependent on Christ for its existence and guidance, and all believers should submit to His teachings and leadership.
10 By Christ alone, all things were reconciled to God and brought back into relationship with Him, having made peace through Jesus’ blood shed on the cross. (Colossians 1:20) In CHRIST ALONE, by GRACE ALONE, through FAITH ALONE. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
11 Christ Himself is Everything (Colossians 3:11; Ephesians 4:4-6), Christ + Anything Else = Nothing. Christ and His work stand alone. If we try to add anything else to the message of Jesus’ work on the cross, or alter it, it empties the power of the cross, making it null and void. Example: we nullify in Christ Alone, by Grace Alone, though Faith Alone by opting for a works-based religion. Example: To be ashamed to proclaim the message of the cross where we alter or modify the message to make it more palatable or less offensive, with the excuse that we want to win more souls. Example: We void Jesus’ work on the cross when we merge Christianity with philosophy, our traditions, or other religions that are not solely in line with Scripture. Example: Seeking to elevate ourselves, “For Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News—and not with clever speech, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power” (1 Cor 1:17)
12 Christ is the Only Way (Acts 4:12) Our Salvation. (John 3:36) “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) Jesus is the bridge back to Father, with sin being the chasm that separates us from God. (2 Corinthians 5:19) Jesus is the only spotless Lamb of God (1 Peter 1:19), the only sinless man to ever live (Heb. 7:26). The only One who qualified to satisfy our debt, and be a once-and-for-all sacrifice that would truly make us righteous before God to reconcile us back to the Father, (and not just temporarily cover up our sins like the sacrificial system under the old covenant). “For Christ also suffered for sins once for all time, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit” (1 Peter 3:18)
13 In Christ, all was nailed to the cross:
– Our sins were nailed to the cross being carried in Jesus’ body. “He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By His wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24)
-The death penalty is for the wages of sin we earned. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God [that is, His remarkable, overwhelming gift of grace to believers] is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23)
-The legal record of our debt owed. (Colossians 2:14) To paraphrase, God disarmed the spiritual rulers, principalities, and authorities by nailing the record of our debt to the cross as a public display of God’s triumph over evil. (Col 2:14-15) “None of the rulers of this age knew this wisdom, because if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory” (1 Cor 2:8)
-The law of commandments expressed in ordinances was abolished to remove division and hostility and unite all in Christ Jesus, to join both Jew and Gentile in His peace. (Ephesians 2:15) Jesus, as the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34), erasing all that divides, uniting all in Him (Ephesians 1:10). “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus”. (Galatians 3:28)
14 Christ did what we could not do. Matt 5:17 says, “I have not come to abolish [the Law or the Prophets] but to fulfill them.” Jesus fulfilled or completed the purpose of the law to be the perfect man, truly righteous. In doing so, He qualified to be the once-for-all-time sacrifice to redeem mankind and reconcile us back to God since Adam’s sin separated all mankind from God. (2 Corinthians 5:19) And His blood ushered in the New Covenant of grace through faith. (Mark 14:24) “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” (Gal 3:24) Christ also did what we could not do by breaking the power of sin and death (Hebrews 2:14), setting us free from being slaves to sin. (Romans 6:6-22)
15 Christ did what the law could not do. Romans 8:3 says, “For what the Law could not do [that is, overcome sin and remove its penalty, its power] being weakened by the flesh [man’s nature without the Holy Spirit], God did: He sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful man as an offering for sin. And He condemned sin in the flesh [subdued it and overcame it in the person of His own Son]”. The law is powerless to transform our fallen nature. It is Christ in us, the indwelling of His Holy Spirit, who works to transform our nature and renew our minds. (Romans 12:2) “But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.” (Romans 7:6)
16 Christ ended works-based religion (Romans 11:6) as He fulfilled the law. (Matthew 5:17) He wants us to look to Him only, leaning and relying on Him alone for our salvation. It’s no longer about being weighed down under a bunch of rules and regulations, hopelessly trying to earn our own way. (Galatians 2:16) Instead, we are given freedom in Christ (2 Corinthians 3:17), and all works that are produced as a result of His saving grace are the Fruits of the Spirit, via His Holy Spirit who enables and empowers us (Acts 1:8) to live a new life transformed. (Galatians 5:22) “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Gal 2:20)
17 Christ alone accomplished all in His work on the cross. Because of Him, we have Forgiveness, Justification (Romans 5:1), and Reconciliation to the Father (2 Corinthians 5:19). He rescued us from divine wrath and hell. (Romans 5:8-9) He is the Resurrection of the body and Eternal life. “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace”. (Ephesians 1:7)
18 Christ is All and is In All. (Colossians 3:11) “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (Ephesians 4:4-6)
19 Christ is the Author and Perfector of our faith. “Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2)
20 Christ led by example to the very end. “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. (John 13:15) “Indeed, let this attitude be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. 6 Though he was by nature God, he did not consider equality with God as a prize to be displayed, 7 but he emptied himself by taking the nature of a servant. When he was born in human likeness, and his appearance was like that of any other man.” (Philippians 2:5-7) “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His footsteps: “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.” When they heaped abuse on Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats, but entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.” (Hebrews 12:2)
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