THE
POWER OF THE CROSS
BREAD
4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our
sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But
he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the
punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has
turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:4-6 (NIV)
22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in
Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and
are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ
Jesus. 25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through
faith in his blood. Romans 3:21-25 (NIV)
17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but
to preach the gospel--not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ
be emptied of its power. 18 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 1:17-18 (NIV)
19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in
him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things,
whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood,
shed on the cross. 21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in
your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But
now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present
you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation-- 23 if
you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held
out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been
proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a
servant. Colossians 1:19-23 (NIV)
13 When you were dead in your sins and in the
uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He
forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the written code, with its
regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away,
nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he
made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Colossians
2:13-15 (NIV)
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new
creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All
this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the
ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in
Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the
message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God
were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be
reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that
in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 (NIV)
27 And anyone who does not carry
his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
Luke 14:27 (NIV)
BUTTER
“The only ground on which God can forgive our sin and
reinstate us to His favor is through the Cross of Christ. There is no other way! Forgiveness, which is so easy for us to
accept, cost the agony at Calvary. We
should never take the forgiveness of sin, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and our
sanctification in simple faith, and then forget the enormous cost to God that
made all of this ours. Forgiveness is
the divine miracle of grace. The cost to
God was the Cross of Christ. To forgive
sin, while remaining a holy God, this price had to be paid. Never accept a view of the fatherhood of God
if it blots out the atonement. The
revealed truth of God is that without the atonement He cannot forgive – He
would contradict His nature if He did.
The only way we can be forgiven is by being brought back to God through
the atonement of the Cross. God’s forgiveness
is possible only in the supernatural realm……Once you realize all that it cost God to forgive you, you
will be held as in a vise, constrained by the love of God.” Oswald Chambers
“The ‘pure in
heart’ are those who have had their sins forgiven and are resting in the merits
of Christ’s efficacious blood shed on the cross on their behalf. They are those who, clothed in Christ’s
righteousness, rest secure in Him. It is
only they who are bestowed upon the peace that passes all understanding.” BHY
“No pain, no palm; no thorns, no
throne; no gall, no glory; no cross, no crown.” William
Penn
“Mercy
there was great, and grace was free – Pardon there was multiplied to me, There
the burdened soul found liberty, At Calvary.” William
R. Newell
“The
cross is rough, and it is deadly, but it is effective.” A. W.
Tozer
“If
you are looking for an example of humility, look at the cross.” Thomas
Aquinas
“Taking a stand for Christ is increasingly unpopular in our pagan
and pluralistic society. If you believe that God created the world, that
He is a God of both love and holiness, that Jesus died and rose again for our
sins and is the only way to heaven, and
that we have a responsibility to take that message to a needy world –
those beliefs will vilify you in many segments of our society. Our world
is determined to intimidate, marginalize, and silence Christians. But our
goal isn’t popularity; it’s to know Him and make Him known. We shouldn’t
be needlessly offensive, but we shouldn’t be afraid of the ‘offense of the
cross’. These are exciting days in which to bear a witness for our
Savior!” Robert J. Morgan
“God
gives the cross, and the cross gives us God.”
Madame
Guyon
HEART SAVOR
·
All our sins are
forgiven at the cross of Christ.
·
Jesus made peace
for us through His blood shed on the cross.
- · Jesus tells all His followers we must each carry our own crosses – just as our Master did. 23 Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23 (NIV)
