The Finished Work of the Cross

The cross is God’s righteous solution to the problem of sin, as well as His greatest display of love toward sinners. Law and grace, life and death, as well as time and eternity all intersect at the cross; displaying a divine wisdom that staggers the imagination and leads the humble heart to bow in thankful adoration. To understand the cross of Christ is to understand the heart of God toward a fallen world He wants to save.

Scripture reveals that the cross satisfied the righteous demands of a holy God: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23), and “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23a). God’s justice could not ignore sin. Yet at the cross, God publicly displayed Christ “as a propitiation in His blood through faith” so that He would be “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Rom. 3:25–26). The Greek term hilastērion speaks of satisfaction. The wrath that sin deserved was borne by Another. God’s justice was not set aside; it was fulfilled in the death of Christ.

At the same time, the cross manifests the immeasurable love of God, for “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). The death of Christ was substitutionary, for “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross” (1 Pet. 2:24), and “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21). The Innocent died for the guilty. Peter wrote, “Christ died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet. 3:18). This was an act of love, for we cannot save ourselves.

The cross also marks the decisive turning point in history. It stands at the center of God’s redemptive plan, foreknown before the foundation of the world (1 Pet. 1:18–20), yet accomplished “when the fullness of the time came” (Gal. 4:4). There Jesus took upon Himself the judgment due us, “offered one sacrifice for sins for all time” (Heb. 10:12), cried, “It is finished” (John 19:30), and secured eternal redemption (Heb. 9:12). Nothing can be added to the finished work of Christ. Salvation rests entirely upon what He accomplished.

Therefore, the issue for every sinner is not works or reform, but faith alone in Christ alone. The matter is simple: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31), for “Whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). The cross does not merely reveal God’s heart; it opens the way of reconciliation, for “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them” (2 Cor. 5:19). The cross is both the vindication of divine righteousness and the invitation of divine grace. If you have never trusted in Christ, believe in Him now for the free gift of eternal life, and receive the salvation He accomplished for you at the cross.

Steven R. Cook, D.Min., M.Div.

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