Hope: Find It Here
The C in CROSS is for Christ. |
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| Christ, the Son of God, died on the cross. The Bible says, “But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us”! (Romans 5:8) There are three things we need to remember about Christ: The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is God, He was without sin, and He died on the cross. | ||
| “Why did Jesus die on the cross?” That question is answered in the next letter… |
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The R in CROSS is for Reason. |
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| The reason Christ died is because of sin. The Bible says, “For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous [that was Jesus] for the unrighteous [that was us], that He might bring you to God” (1 Peter 3:18). The Bible, our conscience, and the Law of God (Ten Commandments) reveal that we have fallen short of God’s standard of perfection. From the beginning until today, all people are guilty before God because of their sin. | ||
| “What is the outcome?” That question is answered in the next letter… |
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The O in CROSS is for Outcome. |
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The outcome of sin is death.The Bible says, “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
Wages are what we earn. The earnings of sin spoil everything we do. The outcome or wages of our sin results in death. Physical death separates us from life here and spiritual death separates us from God in the hereafter. This is bad news, but the next letter contains good news. |
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| “What is the good news?” That question is answered in the next letter… |
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The S in CROSS is for Substitute.. |
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Jesus was our substitute on the cross.The Bible says, “He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Jesus took our sin upon Himself and suffered what we deserved. Jesus’ sacrifice displays God’s loving mercy and righteous justice as no other action could. He offers forgiveness of our sin as a free gift. |
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| “This gift however, must be received.” That brings us to the last S in CROSS… |
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The last S in CROSS is for Salvation. |
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Because Jesus is our substitute, He is the only one who can offer salvation. Salvation includes forgiveness of sin and the gift of eternal life.But how is this possible?
To have forgiveness and eternal life you must repent, believe, and receive. It’s like three branches joined together, making one living plant. To repent, the Bible says, “Repent and turn back, that your sins may be wiped out” (Acts 3:19). Repentance is turning away from sin to God. It’s changing your view of sin, yourself, and God. To believe and receive, the Bible says, “To all who did receive Him, He gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12). Believing and receiving means trusting Christ alone for salvation. |
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Would you like to trust Christ alone for eternal life? If so, then pray this prayer or a similar prayer from your heart to express that trust:
“Dear God I know I am a sinner. I believe Christ died on the cross for my sin and then arose and is alive today. Please forgive me of my sin. I now confess You as my Lord and Savior and trust You alone for my salvation. Thank You for the free gift of eternal life. Amen.” Congratulations! You have just made the most important decision of your life. We would be thrilled to hear about your decision. Call the church office at 480-892-4711 or stop by and talk to someone at any of our regularly scheduled services. |