Lesson 15
The Cross
Christianity, unlike other religions, is based primarily upon the death of its Founder.
Christ's sacrifice is a fundamental theme of the gospel. (I Cor. 15:1-4.) Paul declared,
"For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified"
(1 Cor. 2:2). He explained, "The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness;
but unto us which are saved it is the power of God" (1 Cor. 1:18). The story of salvation
flows forth from a wooden cross and an empty tomb.
The cross was the goal of Christ's earthly ministry. Jesus was born to die. In a certain
sense, He was "born crucified." The shadow of the cross extended across the years to the
manger of Bethlehem. "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (1 Tim. 1:15).
"He was manifested to take away our sins" (1 John 3:5). "Now once in the end of the world
hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself " (Heb. 9:26). At the
beginning of His ministry, He was revealed as "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin
of the world" (John 1:29). Our Saviour explained, "The Son of man came ... to give his
life a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45).
The death of Christ is unique. It stands alone, a solitary event in the history of men.
There has never been another death like His. His sacrifice can never be duplicated; His
sufferings can never be equaled. The uniqueness of His death consists in its purpose,
importance, and His infinite worth as the Son of God. Others have suffered crucifixion;
many have experienced agonizing torture. Countless innocent men, moreover, have been
executed unjustly. The death of Christ is unique, not because He died as a martyr or
experienced a humiliating death, but because He alone is the Lamb of God who died for the
sins of the world. His death was not merely martyrdom; it was a sacrifice.
I. Basis of Salvation
Christ's sacrificial death is the basis of salvation. Through the infinite value of His
sacrifice, Jesus paid sin's penalty. His death removed the barrier created by man's sin
in its relation to God's holiness. It provided a basis whereby God could bestow His
blessings of grace upon sinners without violating His own nature of holiness and justice.
Jesus is the only Saviour; there is no other way to God. If man is to be saved, he must be
saved on the basis of Christ's sacrifice. Apart from His death, there can be no salvation.
II. The Sinner's Substitute
Jesus died as the sinner's Substitute. He took the sinner's place and bore the penalty
of sin in His sufferings and death. He died on the cross so that believers would not die
the second death.
"The wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23). God's holy nature requires that the penalty for
every sin committed in the universe must be paid. The death of His Son upon the cross was
payment of sin's penalty for believers. Being without sin, Jesus did not need to die for
Himself. Through love, Jesus voluntarily sacrificed Himself and died as the believer's
Substitute. Believers who are united with Christ through conversion, therefore, are free
from condemnation (Rom. 8:1) and are exempt from the second death (Rev. 2:11; 20:6), in
which the wicked will pay sin's penalty. Christ's righteousness is imputed to believers
at conversion and is actually imparted to them as they permit Christ to exercise an
influence in their lives.
1. Why Sin Must Result in Death. The wages of sin must be death, the opposite
of life, because sin is anti-God and God is life. Sin violates God's moral laws, which are
expressions of His own moral attributes: holiness, love, and truth. God Himself is the
standard of right and wrong. Godliness is God-like-ness. To be godly is to be God-like
in character and conduct. God is holy, and He said, "Be ye holy; for I am holy"
(1 Pet. 1:16). God is love, and Jesus explained that love summarizes God's commandments
(Matt. 22:37-40). When believers have been transformed according to God's plan, they have
become reflections of the character of God and Jesus.
God's moral laws are not arbitrary. They did not result from arbitrary will nor divine
whim. God's laws express not only His will, but also His holy character. Sin is contrary
to the inward nature of God. God's holiness, righteousness, and justice require that
sin result in death. Sin is anti-God. God must either condemn sin or violate His own
character. Sin must result in destruction. The penalty for every sin must be paid.
(Rom. 6:23; Gen. 2:17; 3:19; Rom. 1:32; 5:12.)
2. Second Death will Pay Sin's Penalty. Sinners will pay the penalty for their sins
by being destroyed in the second death. (Rev. 20:15; 21:8.) The first death is not the final
payment of sin's penalty. If it were the final payment, Christians, whose sins have been
forgiven, would not die the first death. All men die the first death; only sinners, however,
will die the second death. Why did not God destroy the human race the moment Adam and Eve
sinned? Through mercy, grace, and longsuffering, God postponed the date when sin's penalty
would be executed. He has "stayed" the execution until the second death so that sinners
may have opportunity to repent.
The first death does not remove the sinner's guilt. Complete payment of sin's wages will
be effected by the sinner when he will be destroyed in the second death. Raised to life
in the final resurrection, sinners will still be under God's condemnation and wrath. The
fact of guilt will not have changed. They will be chargeable for sins committed in this
life. They will be judged according to sinful works they commit today. In the second death,
sin's penalty will be paid; sinners will be destroyed.
3. Why a Substitute Is Needed. Eternal death and eternal life are mutually
exclusive. If one pays for his own sins by being destroyed in the second death, he cannot
live eternally. The second death will be destruction, extinction of life. Since God's
holy nature requires that sin's penalty be paid, and since the sinner cannot pay that penalty
himself and still experience eternal life, it is evident that if one is to be saved, sin's
penalty must be paid by a substitute.
Through His plan of salvation, God provided a means whereby sin's penalty could be paid and
the forgiven sinner could live for eternity. Jesus, the sinless Son of God, voluntarily
became the sinner's Substitute. In His sacrificial death, He paid the wages of sin for
believers. He took their place. Jesus is the only person who could have served as man's
Substitute. He alone was without sin. If Jesus had not become man's Sacrifice, man would
have been without salvation.
4. God's Holy Nature Maintained. Christ's vicarious sacrifice makes it possible
for God to retain His holiness, righteousness, and justice while He forgives and justifies
the sinner who believes in Christ. In forgiving the sinner, God does not act contrary to
His holy character. Paul explained: "Being justified freely by his grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation for the
remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this
time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in
Jesus" (Rom. 3:24-26). Through His death, Jesus satisfied the demands of law and requirements
of God's holy government of the universe. God can continue to be holy while He justifies
sinners because the demands of His holiness were met at Calvary.
5. Only Two Alternatives. The wages of sin can be paid in either one of two ways.
The sinner may pay the penalty of his sin himself by being destroyed in the second death, or
he may accept the benefits of Christ's sacrificial death. In each way, the wages of sin
would be paid and the claims of God's holiness would be satisfied. If man paid the penalty
of his own sin in the second death, he would be making personal satisfaction for his sin.
If he became vitally united with the Lamb of God and accepted the benefits of His sacrifice,
he would be making vicarious satisfaction for his sin. The sinner, therefore, has only
two alternatives. He must accept Christ's sacrifice or be destroyed in the second death.
There is no other possible choice. Apart from Christ, sinners face destruction.
III. Condition of Salvation
Christ's sacrifice is infinitely sufficient for every sinner; it is effective, however,
only for those who accept it through faith. Provision of salvation has been made for all;
application of salvation is made only to those who accept it. The Lamb of God
potentially bore the guilt and paid sin's penalty for the entire human race.
The benefits of His sacrifice, however, actually become effective in the sinner's
life only when he becomes properly related to Christ through conversion.
Salvation is conditional. Originated in God's grace and based upon Christ's sacrifice,
salvation can become a reality in the sinner's life only if God's requirements are met.
Man's acceptance is the condition upon which salvation is bestowed. God has provided
salvation; man must accept that salvation. Man has the responsibility; God receives the
glory. At conversion, the sinner acknowledges Jesus as his Sacrifice, Substitute, and
Saviour. By trusting in Christ, the believer reaches forth and accepts God's gift of
salvation. He identifies himself as one for whom Jesus died. He thereby claims as his
own all the spiritual benefits effected by Christ's sacrifice. What God has promised, he
accepts as fact. He recognizes that he himself has been forgiven, justified, reconciled,
redeemed, made holy, given newness of life, and adopted. He acknowledges the truth that
he has entered into Christ and that Christ has entered into him. He knows he has a new legal
standing and a vital relationship with God through Christ. Conversion includes the three
elements: repentance, faith, and baptism. These are things man must do in order to accept
God's gift of salvation.
(Adapted from Systematic Theology, by Alva Huffer, published by Church of God General
Conference, Oregon, Illinois 61061, U.S.A.)
© Church of God General Conference. This lesson may be reproduced
without change for non-commercial purposes without prior permission.