895. We Know the Cross Happened - But What Does It Mean?

With millions of Christian believers listening to thousands of sermons on any given Sunday, one might leave the building wondering if the cross even happened ... based on the content of the Bible teaching. Even on Easter Sunday, how many people head home without a better knowledge of the truth of what Jesus fully accomplished for us through His finished work? We know Jesus died, but just exactly what does it mean for us today. How does God's forgiveness factor into all of this with the blood Jesus shed? We've got some good news. The cross did indeed happen, and it worked!



   
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890. Old Way: Forgive to Be Forgiven; New Way: Forgive Because You’re Forgiven

When Jesus was explaining to His Jewish disciples how they should pray at that time—before the cross—one of the things within the prayer was that they should ask the Father to forgive them based upon how they forgive others. Immediately after this, Jesus told them if they didn't (perfectly) forgive others, God would not forgive them. What a monstrous statement! Does it apply to believers in Christ? This was how it was before the cross. We're taking a look at the context of what Jesus was sharing with His listeners who were still stuck in a hopeless situation under the law when it came to attaining righteousness, forgiveness, and eternal life. If what Jesus stated at that time was true for all future believers after the cross, then His blood was shed needlessly.

On the subject of forgiveness, one of the biggest differences between the Old Covenant compared to the New ... is that forgiveness came through the finished work of Jesus and His blood, which was shed once. As Paul explained, we don't forgive others in order to receive forgiveness from God, but we now have the grace to forgive others because God has already forgiven us.



   
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