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Only in the Cross of Christ will we receive power when we are powerless
Only in the Cross of Christ will we receive power when we are powerless. We will find strength when we are weak. We will experience hope when our situation is hopeless. Only in the Cross is there peace for our troubled hearts. (Michael Youssef)
Forget not the Cross
Forget not the time when Jesus came,
In the mission of God’s Holy Name.
He came to save sinners, you and I,
For us on the Cross he did die.
Forget not God’s love divine,
When for us he did the Gospel assign.
Because his Son Jesus for our sins paid the price,
By his crucifixion, the ultimate sacrifice.
Forget not the Cross of Christ sublime,
Only by it you can towards heaven climb.
Honour the Lord God by word and deed,
Surrender to him each worry and need.
Cherish the Resurrection
Cherish Jesus Christ’s glorious resurrection,
With thanksgiving, praise and affection.
Be glad that death he overcame,
So our life won’t be the same.
Jesus by his resurrection did defeat,
The devil at every throne and seat.
God’s great love is stronger than death,
That Christ for us gave up his spirit and breath.
Jesus Christ on the cross paid the price,
For all our sins, immorality and vice.
And before he died he said, “It is finished”,
He did as prophesied of him, undiminished.
Cherish Jesus Christ’s glorious resurrection,
And daily on it have your reflection.
Know that your life in Christ Jesus is new,
Let your praises to him to be not few.
And at the time of the Day of Judgement’s inspection,
Only those faithful will be reckoned with perfection.
Because in the Gospel and resurrection they’ve believed,
And unto the end they remain undeceived.
Be prayerful and desire the first resurrection,
To be in the Lamb’s Book of Life’s selection.
In which Christ will wipe your tears sad,
So that you remain in his presence ever glad.
Can a person not believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and still be saved?
If anyone believes that Jesus Christ exists that person’s faith is still incomplete, if he or she does not believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This will be a great hindrance to that person receiving salvation.
Those who say he was never crucified by citing any reason or religious authority, are not saved either. For the resurrection to happen there would need to be a death. Not any type of death but that by crucifixion. Again, there is no resurrection of Jesus Christ without the crucifixion. Jesus himself spoke of his death and resurrection as mentioned in the below verses:
- And Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. (Mark 8:31)
- saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” (Luke 9:22)
The crucifixion was foretold in Psalm 22, of which here are the specific verses:
16 For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet— 17 I can count all my bones—they stare and gloat over me;18 they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. (Psalm 22:16-18)
This prophecy about Jesus was fulfilled and mention in the Gospel of Matthew (Chapter 19:23-24)
23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, 24 so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says,“They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.”
The following verses show that one must confess and believe that God raised Jesus from the dead, to receive salvation:
5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. 6 But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. (Romans 10:5-10)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (1 Peter 1:3)
Conclusion:
14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15)
Jesus said “repent and believe in the Gospel”. One needs to repent of sin, because it’s the command of Jesus. Now, believing in the Gospel includes believing in the atoning death of Jesus Christ and also his glorious resurrection. Those who don’t believe in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus will not be saved, unless they repent of their unbelief and believe in the Gospel completely. And by this I mean they believe that God raised Jesus from the dead.
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Covenant by the Blood of Jesus
Stained glass showing Lamb of God with vexillum and chalice, from chapel that used to be part of a convent in El Cajon, California (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
As a Christian, one must always regard the New Covenant with great respect. For it was founded by the shedding of Jesus Christ in atonement for sins of the whole world. Lets first reflect on the following two scriptures:
- For the Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10)
- The one who commits sin is of the Devil, for the Devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the Devil’s works. (1 John 3:8)
Adam and Eve sinned against God and therefore lost God’s friendship and favor. Death entered by sin into the human race. The main work of the Devil (by his own choice against God’s will) on earth is to make man who was created in the image and likeness of God into the lowest spiritually dead person he can and then die and suffer in hell.
God knew that man by himself could not restore the lost oneness and fellowship with God. So he sent his only begotten Son Jesus to live a human existence to redeem mankind. That’s why Jesus called himself the Son of man. Because he was born of Mary the virgin who is also the descendant of David who descended from Adam. Jesus didn’t want to limit himself to only the Jews because the love of God is for the whole world too.
By identifying himself as the Son of Man he conveyed he is for everyone on earth. Now he came to destroy the Devil’s work of making man sinful and dead in spirit to God. He came to destroy the power of sin and death over man. He came to heal people and cast out demons. He came to restore man to God’s favor by his obedience, being obedient even to his death on the Cross for all.
Jesus gives true joy, hope and peace. Today you too can experience the salvation and hope of Jesus. You get this by believing in the New Covenant by the Blood of Jesus.
To take away the curse of death due to the sin of Adam and Eve, the Lord Jesus had to take that curse on himself and then himself become the curse and be cursed. The Bible explains this. When I was very young I used to wonder about a remarkable curse mentioned in the Bible. Here it is:
“If a man has committed a sin worthy of death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day (for he who is hanged is accursed of God), so that you do not defile your land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance. (Deuteronomy 21:22-23)
With this curse I would wonder, what is the purpose of cursing a person who is hanged on a tree when he is already dead by the hanging? I didn’t understand at all, until some years later I succeeded in reading the whole Bible word for word. I realized that this curse was destined to be used by God to take away every curse that could ever harm mankind. Here’s that amazing scripture verse that came alive to me:
Christ has redeemed us out of the curse of the law, having become a curse for us, (for it is written, Cursed [is] every one hanged upon a tree,) (Galatians 3:13)
When Jesus shed his blood on the cross, he was hanging on the cross made of a tree, hanging by the painful nails that were driven into his body. He then died on the cross taking away the curse of the law. By believing in this you are justified and purified.
For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed–a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” (Romans 1:17)
For he has made him, who knew no sin, to be sin for us; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Here’s what Jesus said about the New Covenant which he formed by the shedding of His Blood on the Cross:
In the same way also Jesus took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” (1 Corinthians 11:25)
And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. (Luke 22: 14-20)
Please realize the need to believe in the New Covenant. Lay down your burdens of sin and of life at the feet of Jesus. Believe in the complete work of Jesus which is to restore you unto God in this life and the next.
Here are a few select scriptures that you can reflect upon:
- Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah (Jeremiah 31:31)
- Thus says the Lord: “In a time of favor I have answered you; in a day of salvation I have helped you; I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages, (Isaiah 49:8)
- “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
- Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. (Matthew 5:17)
- Then Jesus said to them,“These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”(Luke 24:44)
- And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38)
- But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. (Hebrews 8:6)
- In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. (Hebrews 8:13)
- Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. (Hebrews 9:15)
- Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
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