The cross at work in our hearts

We have seen that the cross is absolute central to the eternal purpose of God, as the Lamb was crucified before the world was created. The cross was an reality in the heart of God before the historic event of crucifixion. We may actually conclude that the principle of the cross has been at work in the heart of God from all eternity! What God accomplished at the historic event of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, must now be worked out in our personal lives and the principle of the cross must be at work in our hearts.

Through the atoning death of Jesus Christ our sins have been forgiven, and when we trusted him we were born again by the Holy Spirit. When Christ died on the cross, we died with him so that we no longer might be controlled by the sinful nature of the old life. Through the working of the cross in our hearts we are now delivered from the rule of the old sinful nature, and we can live by the Holy Spirit.

It is a fact that those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there (Galatians 5:24). You may say that you still sin, but God says you have been crucified on the cross. You may say that your bad temper persists, but God says you have been crucified. You may say that your lusts remain very potent, but again God replies that you have been crucified on the cross. Therefore you must stop looking at your experience, and just listen to what God says about you. Disregard your feeling of shortcomings and your experiences of failure. It was all nailed to the cross! All your shortcomings and failures were dealt with at the cross. God pronounces that the passions and desires of your old sinful life have been crucified! Simply respond to the word of God and apply the cross in your personal life. Don’t try to crucify the old sinful nature, only acknowledge that it has already been crucified.

The cross means an end to self. Each time you are tempted to react in line with the old sinful nature, you must remind yourself that you have been crucified with Christ. Actually you have to put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Tell yourself: Dead people don’t lust. Dead people don’t get hurt. Dead people don’t feel insulted. Dead people don’t take revenge.

We have to apply the cross to our daily life, refusing to give in to the earthly way of living. The apostle Paul puts it this way:

So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual sin, impurity, lust, and shameful desires. Don’t be greedy for the good things of this life, for that is idolatry. God’s terrible anger will come upon those who do such things. You used to do them when your life was still part of this world. But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old evil nature and all its wicked deeds. (Colossians 3:5)

We have been crucified with Christ. We died with him on the cross. Christ has set us free from the evil powers of this world (Colossians 2:20). Therefore we will not keep on following the rules of the world, such as, “Don’t handle, don’t eat, don’t touch.” Such rules are mere human teaching about things that are gone as soon as we use them. The legalistic rule may seem wise because they require strong devotion, humility, and severe bodily discipline. But they have no effect when it comes to conquering a person’s evil thoughts and desires (Colossians 2:21-23). Only the cross has the effect of conquering a person’s unclean thoughts and desires.

The cross deals with the self-life of a person. The cross is the principle of putting the other’s interests before your own. The cross is the principle of living for someone else, and no longer live to please oneself. The cross is the principle of self-sacrificing love. The cross is the practical outworking of love.

Exercise:

How is the cross at work in your heart? Does it have any practical consequences?

Continue to memorise these Bible verses:

Our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. (Romans 6:6-7)