It’s impossible to travel throughout the United States without seeing the form of the cross. It hangs in silver and gold around the necks of men and women. It is positioned outside of churches. It stands over thousands of graves in thousands of graveyards. It is emblazoned on the literature of countless organizations. Unquestionably it is the hallmark of our country’s history and heritage.

Yet should you ask those who wear it or attend churches that bear it, you’ll find ignorance regarding it’s significance. Even though some “enlightened” individual may remember that Christ Jesus was crucified on the cross, he will be hard pressed to tell you why. And if you’re fortunate to find a person who can tell you that Christ died on the cross to save us from sin and provide us eternal life, you likely will find that this same person is unable to explain how this was accomplished.

The sadness is that the cross has become nothing more than a “good luck” charm or meaningless symbol of “religion.” We subscribe to it or wear it in a mistaken belief that it will convey upon us some form of heavenly favor or good fortune, or, at worst, convince others that we are pious. This is most unfortunate.

The cross is the most significant symbol in existence today and will be throughout all eternity. It represents the most momentous event of history, which is directly connected to every living person – past, present or future. Indisputably it represents the most important person who has ever lived upon earth. Its very image should give rise to both joy and thanksgiving in those who see it, even though it is a symbol of torture and death.

The cross was a Roman institution. It was a device to bring painful death to those who opposed Rome or its laws during Rome’s existence over 2000 years ago. Individual criminals or insurrectionists were either tied or nailed upon the cross and after a period of time as their bones separated and their internal organs failed, they would experience a most painful death.

So why is the cross the most important symbol of history? It is because before time God chose it for the most important event in history. He chose it to be the method by which and the apparatus on which He was to die both spiritually and physically in the person of Jesus Christ. On the Cross of Calvary God the Son became separated from God the Father (spiritual death) and eventually gave up His spirit (physical death).

Why did God do this? How was it done on the cross? Answers to these questions are in order. Each is multi-faceted.

Why did God do this?

God’s Word affirms that (1) God is holy, that (2) man is unholy, that (3) there is a barrier between God and man, but that (4) God is gracious, and (5) He loves us; therefore, (6) He ordained a way for man to be reconciled to Him. That way centered on the Cross of Calvary.

First, God is holy, and He requires holiness. It is only by way of holiness that fellowship with God is possible.

Exalt the LORD our God and worship at His holy mountain, for the LORD our God is holy. (Psalms 99:9)

Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. . . . (Revelation 15:4)

Second, man is a sinner and therefore not holy. Although man was created and initially lived without sin, he eventually by means of his free will went against the instruction of God in the Garden of Eden, And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." (Genesis 2:15, 16) When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. (Genesis 3:6, 7) So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden . . . (Genesis 3:23), thus man sinned by being disobedient to God, and God could no more have fellowship with man.

Third, from that day forward there has been a barrier between man and God. Man with an act of will separated himself from God (Ephesians 4:18). What act of will? Man’s disobedience to God’s expressed will. Because of Adam’s act of disobedience, he introduced the “sin nature” to the human race. Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men . . .For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners (Romans 5:18, 19). Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. (Psalms 51:5)

The “sin nature” is integral to every person born of man and women, residing in the cell structure of the human body. It has been passed down genetically to every person of the human race through procreation, the only exception being Christ Jesus who was born as a result of the union of the Holy Spirit with a virgin. The result of the “sin nature” being resident in man is both spiritual death and total depravity. We inherit the “sin nature” through physical birth.

Our sin has placed us behind this God-man barrier, alienated from God. Because of Adam’s sin, the holiness and justice of God erected the barrier, and only God can eliminate it. Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned. (Romans 5:12) Our “sin nature” makes it impossible for us to achieve the perfect righteousness of God, which by His very nature of holiness is His requirement for fellowship with us.

Your “sin nature” is your source of personal sin (disobedience to God and His expressed will), i.e., it is the source of your temptation, but it is not the cause of your personal sin. As with Adam, the exercise of your will is the cause of your personal sin. Personal sins are mental, verbal or overt acts, all contrary to the character and standards of God. The fact is that we (all human beings with the exception of Christ) have sinned.

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. (Ephesians 2:1-3)

We sin because we are a slave to our “sin nature.” Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin [nature]. (John 8:34) Oh, we think we can live without sin. We think we can do well (good), and many of us laboriously try to do well. By such activity, i.e., doing “good deeds,” we believe we are achieving the approbation (approval) of God. Nothing could be farther from the truth. All our “good deed,” our personal “righteousness” is putrid to God. All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags . . . (Isaiah 64:6). But then this is exactly Satan’s plan for the unbelievers and believers. He wants the unbeliever to focus on his own good, on some form of ritual, religion or legalism. By doing so, he can keep the unbeliever from turning to God’s way of salvation. And even when a person takes God’s way and becomes a child of God, Satan tries desperately to suck the believer back into “religion,” some form of ritual or legalism. By so doing Satan introduces spiritual defeat into the life of the believer. This leads to increasing carnality (life not under the control of the Holy Spirit) and an ineffective witness (ambassadorship) to the world of unbelievers.

The bottom line is that our “good deeds,” our acts of “good will,” our “thoughts of kindness” – any and everything we personally may do or not do will get us no closer to God. As long as we do it our way, the barrier will remain erected between God and us. This is why “repentance” is necessary, which Biblically means only a “change of mind” or an “act of will of turning” from a person’s own way (ritual, religion, legalism, self-good) to God’s way. But I’m getting ahead of myself. The fact is there is a barrier between God and us, and we are powerless to vault over or penetrate through it. Unless God makes a way, we will die in our sins and suffer eternal damnation. For the wages of sin is death . . . (Romans 6:23). The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:13-15)

Fourth, God is a God of grace. Grace is the unmeritorious favor of God toward man. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 1:14). God’s grace is poured out on man; even though man does not deserve or can’t do anything to gain it. God’s grace is expressed in and by His mercy toward and upon us.

It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. (Romans 9:16)

he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy . . .

(Titus 3:5)

Fifth, God loves us. Why? I suppose we will never be able to comprehend this. But it is a fact. Witness God’s Word in the scriptures below.

The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. (Jeremiah 31:3)

For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

No, the Father Himself loves you because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God. (John 16:27)

But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions . . . . (Ephesians 2:4, 5)

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us . . . . (1 John 3:1)

Sixth, God established a plan by which we might be reconciled to God. It is because of God’s great and wondrous mercy and love that God made a way whereby even though we don’t deserve it, we may have our sins forgiven and we are guaranteed an eternal life of fellowship with Him. This redemptive plan was enacted by the Godhead in eternity past. Each person of the Godhead had His part in it. God the Father authored the plan, God the Son executed the plan and God the Holy Spirit revealed it. God knew before time existed that once man was created, he would sin and become doomed. God knew that every human being would be born spiritually dead, a slave to the “sin nature,” with no hope and destined for eternal condemnation. His plan would offer us a choice between eternal condemnation apart from God or eternal life in fellowship with Him. It would be a choice between slavery and freedom.

There are three stages in God’s plan, i.e., (1) salvation as provided by the work of Christ for the unbeliever, (2) empowerment by the Holy Spirit for the believer to live a spiritual life while upon earth and (3) fulfillment of God’s grace for the believer when he passes on to God either through physical death or the Rapture. This study will concentrate only upon stage one, which is God’s plan of salvation that is based upon the work of Christ on the Cross of Calvary. And this leads us the second question from paragraph seven.

How was it done on the cross?

From the beginning of time, God by His very nature and because He is just, required a payment for the sins of mankind. As sinners and inheritors of the “sin nature” from the act of the first man (Adam), we are slaves to sin. Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin [i.e., the “sin nature”]. (John 8:34) Here Jesus tells us we are slaves to sin, but then he goes on to say more. Now a slave [unbeliever] has no permanent place in the family, but a son [believer] belongs to it forever. (John 8:35) Slaves (unbelievers) have no place (are not permitted) in the master’s (God’s) house (eternal life). As long as we are a slave to sin, we cannot have eternal life. To be authorized for residence in the House of God, we must be “born again,” i.e., become a “child of God.”

Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. (John 1:12, 13)

The “new birth,” as was explained to the Pharisee Nicodemus as recorded in John 3:1-21, is only possible for those who have been freed from the slavery of sin. In accordance with God’s eternal plan this had to be accomplished for all mankind in order to provide to everyone the availability of eternal life through an act of individual will. The “new birth” comes by an act of the will in an instance of time, when one accepts by faith alone the payment for one’s sin (discussed below) by Christ alone on the Cross of Calvary.

Having been born into slavery, we are helpless to escape from it. A slave has no rights or privileges. He is helpless to free himself. The only way he can be freed is if someone who is already free liberates him, i.e., to redeem him. “Redeem” means “to buy or to purchase.” The only person who ever lived upon the face of this earth who was free from the “sin nature” and able to make such a payment was Jesus Christ. He was true humanity and true (undiminished) deity both in one person. It was on the Cross of Calvary that He paid the price of our redemption.

Who [Christ] gave Himself as a ransom for all men--the testimony given in its proper time.

(1 Timothy 2:6)

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree [Cross of Calvary]." (Galatians 3:13)

For even the Son of Man [Christ] did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45)

Who [Christ] gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness . . . . (Titus 2:14)

I repeat, only Christ Jesus and no one else could pay the price for the redemption of mankind. Now for the important question, and this gets to what actually transpired on the Cross of Calvary.

What was the price that Christ paid in order for us to be free from the slavery and penalty of our sins and to be assured of eternal life in fellowship with God? The price was the substitution (spiritual) death of Jesus Christ upon the Cross of Calvary. On the Cross of Calvary God laid on [imputed to] Him [Christ] the iniquity [sins] of us all. (Isaiah 53:6) But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us [as our substitute]. (Romans 5:8) The words “for us” in the Greek language is best translated “on behalf of us” or “as our substitute.” On the cross Christ was judged in our place and because of this, we are redeemed. This means that the penalty for sin has been removed from us once we accept by faith alone Christ alone, i.e., what He did for us upon the Cross of Calvary, for our personal redemption. This act of faith also grants us forgiveness for all our personal sins up to the time we placed our faith in Christ. Although we must receive forgiveness in accordance with 1 John 1:9 for all our sins subsequent to our act of faith in Christ and until we go to be with the Lord (by death or the Rapture), the penalty for all sins (past, present and future) has been once and for all satisfied on the Cross of Calvary. As for our eternal salvation is concerned, this was permanently settled on the Cross. Our sins subsequent to our act of faith in Christ, if not acknowledged before God and forgiven by Him (1 John 1:9), will only lead to us being disciplined by God the Father while on earth and our loss of rewards later when we stand before Christ.

because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes everyone he accepts as a son. (Hebrews 12:6) Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. (Hebrews 12:10)

If any man builds on this foundation [Christ] using gold, silver, costly stones [divine good], wood, hay or straw [human good], his work will be shown for what it is, because the [Judgment] Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss [of rewards]; he himself will be [eternally] saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. (1 Corinthians 3:12-15)

An examination of Hebrews 9:11-14 further offers distinct proof that Christ redeemed us by the shedding of His blood (symbolically representing His spiritual death on our behalf) upon the Cross of Calvary. This passage both compares (in symbolism) and contrasts (in reality) the sacrifice of Christ to the sacrifice of animals in the Old Testament dispensation. This is done in the context of Old Testament Levitical Law as was prescribed by God, in which was established the principle that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness [of sin]. (Hebrews 9:22)

Other scriptures throughout God’s Word express this principle and its analogy.

In Him [Christ] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace. (Ephesians 1:7)

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. (1 Peter 1:18, 19)

The Jewish people understood this principle of the shedding of blood, and more specifically, the analogy Peter made between Jesus Christ and the sacrificial lamb “without blemish or defect.” It had been taught to them by means of the sacrificial Levitical offerings given to them by God and practiced throughout the years. The lamb was innocent and did not deserve to die. But according to the Law it had to die. A reading of Leviticus 3:2 tells us that the person making the sacrifice placed his hands on the lamb, symbolically transferring his sins to the lamb. The lamb was then killed, i.e., the shedding of its blood. The death of the lamb was an object lesson to all the people of redemption. It foreshadowed and illustrated Christ’s future redemptive work upon the Cross of Calvary. The sacrifice of the lamb was a significant visual aid.

Just as the lamb bore sins “symbolically,” so the Lamb of God (Christ Jesus) “in reality” bore the sins of all mankind on the Cross of Calvary so that anyone who by faith alone in Christ alone could be saved. He paid the price “with His blood.” The purchase price was not His literal blood, for He did not bleed to death on the Cross, nor was it His physical death, since He “finished” the work of salvation before He died physically (John 19:30). The shedding of His blood was an analogy to His substitution spiritual death, i.e., the fact that Christ was separated from and forsaken by God the Father while bearing our sins on the Cross of Calvary (Psalms 22:1; Mark 15:34).

This is the crux of how God “paid for” our sins on the Cross of Calvary. No doctrine in Holy Writ can be more awesome or humbling to the believer. No other doctrine once understood can solicit from a child of God more gratitude. Of all doctrine, this one is most inspirational – and mystifying.

God’s Word clearly explains that upon the Cross of Calvary Jesus Christ actually took upon Himself all the sins (past, present and future) of every human being (past, present and future) into His own person and was made those sins, so that He alone as the perfect Lamb of God could pay the penalty required by those sins for all eternity by means of His spiritual death. As with the doctrine of the Trinity (God in three Persons), the human mind cannot fathom how Christ actually became our sin, yet it is absolutely true.

Therefore I will give Him a portion among the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong, because He poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:12)

So Christ was sacrificed once to take away [bear] the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

(Hebrews 9:28)

 

He Himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24)

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 5:21)

The fact that Christ upon the Cross of Calvary took our sins and became our sins is a mystery beyond our comprehension. Nothing illustrates the love God has for us better than this truth. By becoming our sin, Christ could then pay the penalty for our sin, which is “separation from God.” It was a one-time payment in full, and upon receiving that payment with a simple and definite act of faith we (1) become eternally free from our slavery to sin and (2) we are permanently born into the Kingdom of God.

Understanding this doctrine then allows us to understand the various verses of Scripture in the Gospels surrounding Christ while on the Cross of Calvary. The following truths are now apparent.

1. The actual taking of our sins and the payment for these sins transpired during the 6^th and the 9th hour upon the cross, the time of “darkness over the whole land.” (Luke 23:44)




2. The full payment for our sins was the spiritual death (separation) of Christ from God the Father. This is seen in Christ’s declaration “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” – which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:33, 34)




3. The payment (separation from God) was completed while on the cross and is seen in Christ’s remark while on the Cross of Calvary, “It is finished.” (John 19:30)




4. The physical death of Christ occurred only after His spiritual death (when He paid the price for the sins of the world) and furthermore, He alone allowed (permitted) it, i.e., no one killed Him. This is seen in the verses where He, by an act of His own will, gave up His spirit. This occurred upon His declaration “Father, into your hands I comment my spirit.” (Matthew 27:50; Luke 23:46; John 19:30)




5. The body of Christ, after the departure of His spirit, went to the grave to be resurrected on the third day after His physical death. His spirit was committed into the Father’s hand (Luke 23:46) for the purpose of visiting those in Paradise and transporting that portion of Hades into the presence of God (Luke23:43; Ephesians 4:8, 9).




6. On the third day after His death, the spirit of Christ entered His resurrected body for the purpose of occupying it for all eternity, to bring it into the presence of God the Father thereby establishing the validity of God’s plan of salvation and His promise to all who by faith alone receive Christ as Savior that they too one day will have a new and resurrected body for all eternity. (John 2:19; 6:40; 11:25; Acts 26:23; 2 Corinthians 4:14)

This then is the importance of the Cross of Calvary. You may wear it as an ornament. You may swear by it to others. You may look up to it as you approach your church. But if you fail to understand and accept by faith the purpose of it, it will only serve as a witness against you at the Final Day when you stand before Christ, at which time you will be judged not according to your sins but according to your works – which all will come short of God’s standard. God’s standard could only be satisfied by the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross of Calvary. If you have not accepted Christ alone by faith alone as your personal Savior, today is your day.