The Purposes of the Cross
By Michael Youssef, Ph.D.
No matter how foolish it may seem to nonbelievers, the Cross serves four key purposes.
First, Jesus died on the Cross to satisfy His own justice. God's Word says that "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). When we break God's Law, we must pay the penalty. Jesus, the only sinless one, paid that penalty on the Cross.
Second, Jesus died on the Cross to redeem His children. He delivered us from sin and death. Every one of us is born into enmity with God, but God has provided the way back to Him through the Cross.
Third, Jesus died on the Cross to justify believers. It was an act of gracious justice. God does not excuse our sin as a minor concern, but He forgives and restores us when we come to Him in repentance and humility through faith in Jesus Christ. God gives us salvation from sin and death as a gift—a very costly gift.
Fourth, Jesus died on the Cross to reconcile all of those who will believe in Him to His Father. Sin creates a wall between us and God; only Jesus can tear down that wall. When we are reconciled with God, it transforms us from being God's enemies to being His children.
Prayer: Thank You, Jesus, for all You accomplished on the Cross. Thank You for the reconciliation I now have with God because of the price You paid. I pray in Your name that is above all names—Jesus Christ. Amen.
"For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life" (Romans 5:10).
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