Are you Ready For Eternity?
“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” John 17:3
Question 4.
Why is the cross important?
Our sin separates us from God. Other religions offer no solution to our sin-caused separation from God. However, the death of Jesus on the cross provides the solution … a solution that actually works. Other religions suggest that improving personal behavior is the path to salvation ... in hopes that if we are good enough, God will overlook our record [our history] of sins. We can improve our moral and ethical behavior. However, that does not change our record of sin. Imagine a person who has murdered many people for many years. What would happen in court if he asked the judge to pardon him because he has been killing fewer and fewer people each year? Such a defense would not work in a courtroom ... and it does not work with God. The penalty for our sins must be paid. God is a just God. His justice must be satisfied. Improving our behavior is not enough. Improving our behavior only makes our record of sin get worse more slowly. There are horizontal sins directed towards our fellowman and against ourselves. In addition, there are vertical sins directed toward God. It is very serious sin to spend a lifetime ignoring or rejecting God.
You may not have committed many big horizontal sins. But four sins a day for 15 years adds up to almost 22,000 sins. Six sins a day for 10 years adds up to the same number. And add to that number a lifetime of vertical sin toward God. We are far from perfect. God requires payment for our sins. We can pay for our sins with our own spiritual death ... by eternal separation from God. Or we can take God’s better way. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord,” Romans 6:23.
Why is the cross important? It is important because it is the place where Jesus paid for your sins. The gift of eternal life is free to you because Jesus paid for it by His death on the cross. However, that gift is not automatically yours. The Bible states that you must do one thing. You need to believe in Jesus.
