Why is such great emphasis being placed on the cross of Jesus Christ? In his letter to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul declared: “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14).
For Paul, Jesus’ death on the cross meant that the world died to him and he has died to the world. Therefore, the cross becomes the great dividing line or barrier between the world and the Christian.
First of all, and of great importance is that forgiveness of sin is not possible without the shedding of blood. And the blood of Christ was shed on the cross.The Scripture states: “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22).
The death of Jesus Christ on the cross was the ultimate sacrifice to permanently forgive sins. And this is the reason why Christians believe that if Jesus had not shed his blood, we could never have been forgiven for past, present, and future sins.
The cross represents the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ for the guilt and sins of humanity. That is why it is the center of God’s plan of salvation.
By dying on the cross, Jesus paid the penalty for the sins of mankind by being “made sin for us that we might be made the righteous of God in Him.”
The cross demonstrates God’s supernatural and unfathomable love for the entire human race. The Bible says: “But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
“The love of God is completely supernatural and otherworldly.” Writes William MacDonald. “He demonstrated His marvelous love toward us by sending his Son to die for us while we were still sinners. If we ask why He did it, we must look for an answer in the sovereign will of God Himself. There was no good in us to call forth love” (Believer’s Bible Commentary pg. 1697).
The Lord Jesus took the place of sinners through His substitutionary atonement sacrifice on the cross in order to effectively pay the tremendous debt resulting from human guilt and transgression. No mortal man has ever been capable of paying the penalty for his own sin or that of his fellow-man’s sin in order to be forgiven. The redemption of a person’s life is tremendously costly and very precious.
The Scripture clearly states: “Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice, that he should live on forever and never see the pit” (Psalm 49:7-9).
Under the Old Covenant, it was totally impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. This means that the Levitical system of priests and sacrifices was completely inadequate to provide the needed cleansing that human sin required.
The Bible addresses this situation in saying: “For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Hebrews 9:13,14). This reveals that under the Old Covenant there was never a permanent solution for man’s sins.
The cross satisfied God’s holiness and righteousness, because it removed God’s judgment against ungodly sinners and instead imparts the righteousness of Christ to the believer; resulting in forgiveness and peace with God. In doing so, the believer is declared or treated as righteous by God.
No one should ever think or believe that the cross was a symbol of defeat or weakness. On the contrary, the cross means victory, joy, and happiness because it was God’s divine will and eternal purpose to settle the sin question once and for ever.
The Bible says: “There no longer remains a sacrifice for sins” (Hebrews 10:26). The death of Christ broke the power of sin permanently. Romans 6:9,10 says: “We know that Christ being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death He died He died to sin once for all, but the life He lives He lives to God.”