Some years ago, a 14-foot bronze crucifix was stolen from Calvary Cemetery in Little Rock, Arkansas.  It had stood at the entrance to that cemetery for more than 50 years.  The cross was put there in 1930 by a Catholic bishop and had been valued at the time at $10,000.  The thieves apparently cut if off at its base and hauled it off in a pickup.

Police speculate that they cut the bronze cross into small pieces and sold it for scrap.  They figured that the 900-pound cross probably brought about $450.  They obviously didn’t realize the value of that cross.

So many do not realize the value of the cross of Christ, that is, the cross upon which Jesus was crucified and the reasons that He did so.

The Cross of Christ reveals…

1.    The Justice of God.  Sin is an affront to God and to His will for our lives.  It is a transgression of His will (1 John 3:4) and even a failure to do what is right (James 4:17).  “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).  “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), therefore ALL deserve to die for their sins.

God is a just God, therefore He must punish sin.

Jesus, the sinless Son of God, “bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness; by whose stripes you were healed” (1 Peter 2:24).  Jesus took the punishment for our sins on our behalf.  His death on the cross satisfied the justice of God (see Romans 3:23-26).

2.    The Love of God.  “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).  “This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him.  This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice (“propitiation”) for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10 NIV).

Jesus, the Innocent One and the Offended One, died for us – the guilty offenders.  Why would He do that for us?  Because He loves us and wants to save us.

3.    The Way of Salvation.  Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).  "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18).

God will save those who place their faith and trust in Him (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).  He will continue to cleanse from sin those who continue to walk in the light of His Word (1 John 1:7-9).

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).  The message of the cross – the Gospel of Jesus Christ – still has the power to save ALL those who will trust and obey Christ (Romans 1:16).

Won’t YOU?

-- David A. Sargent

* from Lee Eclov, in the sermon, “The Agony of Victory,” PreachingToday.com.

David A. Sargent, Minister

Church of Christ at Creekwood 
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama  36695

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