…who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree… —1
Peter 2:24
{CHAMBERS} “The Cross of Christ is the revealed truth of
God’s judgment on sin. Never associate the idea of martyrdom with the Cross of
Christ. It was the supreme triumph, and it shook the very foundations of hell.
There is nothing in time or eternity more absolutely certain and irrefutable
than what Jesus Christ accomplished on the Cross— He made it possible for the
entire human race to be brought back into a right-standing relationship with
God. He made redemption the foundation of human life; that is, He made a way for
every person to have fellowship with God.[…] The purpose of the incarnation was
redemption. God came in the flesh to take sin away, not to accomplish something
for Himself. […] The heart of salvation is the Cross of Christ. The reason
salvation is so easy to obtain is that it cost God so much. The Cross was the
place where God and sinful man merged with a tremendous collision and where the
way to life was opened. But all the cost and pain of the collision was absorbed
by the heart of God.”
{ELGIN} (Matthew 16:24-26) “Then Jesus told his
disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his
cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever
loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he
gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return
for his soul?” My cross is not the same
as Jesus’ cross. My cross represents a daily
sacrifice of my flesh, my carnal nature. Not wanting to
cling to the old, but embracing the new. (2
Corinthians 5:17-19) My life should
shout that reconciliation with God is possible.
But if I am living with both feet planted firmly in the world and in
heaven, that won’t happen. Each day I
must resolve to follow Jesus, in everything.
What is it that I can possibly give in return for the eternal salvation
of my soul? (Romans 12:1-2) “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies
of God, to present your bodies as a
living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what
is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” I can give Him my heart.
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