Articles
Not Only Saved, But Changed by the Cross
Why did Jesus die on the cross? To save our souls? Indeed, but that’s only part of it!
1. His death means the end of self-centered living and the beginning of Christ-centered life: “. . . and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised” (2 Corinthians 5:15).
2. We have been purchased by His blood, and are therefore not our own. Now we use our bodies for God’s glory, not for immorality (1 Corinthians 6:18-20).
3. His death sets us an example of humility and obedience. “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who . . . did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself . . . . And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:5-8).
4. His death leads us to love others as we have been loved. “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us . . .” (Ephesians 5:1- 2).
5. His death leads us to love sacrificially. “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers” (1 John 3:16).
6. Since we now belong to Him, we put sin behind us and eagerly serve others (Titus 2:14).
7. His death means we forgive as we have been forgiven (Ephesians 4:32).
8. His refusal to retaliate and His endurance in the face of opposition lead us to do the same (1 Peter 2:21-23; Hebrews 12:1-3).
And that’s not all—but these passages should be enough to show that God means for the death of His Son to open up for us a whole new way of thinking and living.
And what a life it is!
