Jesus Christ / Cross

  • Paying for Our Sin

    1 Peter 3:18

    Christ not only died for us, He lived for us as well. Understanding this point helps to assure us of our salvation. We are, of course, called to please God through obeying His will. Nevertheless, we realize that the best ...Read More

  • Saved Through Christ Alone

    John 3:36

    Paul, the great Apostle of justification by faith alone, commends the “obedience of faith” (Rom. 1:5) not because faith is a meritorious work that earns salvation but because to trust in Jesus alone is to follow His command. In ...Read More

  • The Demands of Justice and Truth

    Genesis 2:15–17

    Without a robust doctrine of divine simplicity, we have a God at odds with Himself and One who cannot be trusted. The “gods” of other religions are not as just as they claim to be because they do not pour ...Read More

  • The Exaltation of Christ

    Ephesians 1:21

    Christ’s reign and protection of His people does not guarantee that we will not face hardship, trials, and suffering as long as this present sinful order exists, for He has promised that suffering will be the lot of His ...Read More

  • The Need for Atonement

    1 Corinthians 2:1–5

    In other religions, such as Islam and Judaism, God simply waves sin away, not requiring payment for transgressions in order to forgive. This idea betrays a view of a Creator who is not really all that holy, who ultimately is ...Read More

  • The Suffering of Christ

    Isaiah 53

    The Heidelberg Catechism says that Christ sustained the anger of God against the sin of His people “during his whole life on earth, but especially at the end” (Q&A 37). There is a sense in which all of the suffering Jesus endured on earth was part of His work of bearing sin, but Scripture is clear that the key work of atonement occurred on the cross. If we focus on Jesus’ life at the expense of His death, we will miss why He really came in the first place.Read More

  • Understanding the Cross

    How do you view the death of Jesus on the cross? What do you believe really happened at the cross? How does it affect you? Read More

  • Vicarious Substitution

    Matthew 3:13–17

    Nothing that Jesus did was an accident. He did not need to be baptized for the forgiveness of sins, but He did need to be baptized to keep God’s laws perfectly and to be perfectly identified with His people ...Read More

  • What Really Counts

    Galatians 6:15–16

    Martin Luther writes, “They are the Israel of God who with faithful Abraham believe the promises of God offered already in Christ, whether they are Jews or Gentiles.” God’s people Israel are not defined by ethnicity but by faith ...Read More

  • Where to Set Our Minds

    Colossians 3:1-2

    As we recall the great inheritance of the age to come, we will seek more and more to enjoy a greater foretaste of the blessings that will come in that day when sin will be no more. Knowing that sin ...Read More

  • Willing to Die

    Matthew 16:24–28

    We still wait for the visible, bodily presence of Christ, but that does not mean the kingdom is not present at all right now. Though its fullness has not yet been realized, the kingdom has come, and, indeed, it continues ...Read More