I do not want the crucifixion of Christ to be a distant impersonal event for which I have no responsibility. It must be real to me that Christ died for me and because of me. I believe that we as Christians must keep that uppermost in our minds. I want us to give ourselves to this reality that every day we take up our cross, which is the cross of Christ that He went through for us, and then begin to walk with Him on that basis.

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Show Notes:

As Christians we all understand that Christ died for our sins, and we can apply that universally to all mankind. Christ died for the whole world to bring salvation to everyone. Yet salvation only works for everyone when it works for each person individually. As an individual you have to realize that Christ did not just die for everyone; He died for you personally. And more than dying for your sins, He died because of your sins.

When Yeshua appeared to him, Paul realized that he personally was sinning directly against Christ. Paul was fully aware that Christ died because of his sin. That was Paul’s salvation experience, and that was the revelation Paul lived with every day after that experience. As with Paul, not only does our salvation begin at this revelation, but it must continue throughout our walk with God. What does it mean that you take up your cross daily and follow Him? It means that Christ wants His cross and His suffering for your sin to be extremely personal to you on a daily basis.

It all starts with the reality of the cross and without the reality of the cross, there is no relationship with God. And so, to begin our day in a relationship with Him, we must go to this point of beginning: “He died for me. He died because of me.” No matter how many years you walk with God, no matter how much you grow and mature in the things of God, you must always go back to this point and keep it alive for yourself every day.

Key Verses:

• Acts 2:36. “God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”
• Acts 4:10. “Jesus Christ … whom you crucified … by this name this man stands here before you in good health.”
• Romans 5:8. “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
• Ephesians 5:2. “Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God.”
• Romans 4:25. “He … was delivered over because of our transgressions.”
• Romans 8:32. “He … did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us.”
• Galatians 2:20. “I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
• 1 Peter 2:24. “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross.”
• Isaiah 53:4–6. “Our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried.”
• Luke 9:23–24. “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily.”

Quotes:

• “God delivered Christ to the cross as a sacrifice for me, and it was done out of necessity because of my sin. Christ had to die, or I had to die eternal death and damnation without His sacrifice.”
• “Paul’s life was being lived against Christ. He was persecuting Christ, not Christians. What he was doing was against Christ. And what Christ was coming to do was to be personally a Savior to him.”
• “He died for me. He died because of me. And I need to go once again to that place of the cross and make that the reality and the most important event in my life, not to mention in my day.”

Takeaways:

1. Accusing the Jews of crucifying Christ is at the root of anti-Semitism. Not only is it anti-Semitism on the deepest levels, but it separates us from the fundamental truth that the crucifixion of Christ was for our personal sins and because of our personal sins.
2. Let us not limit the purpose of the cross or generalize the concept of our salvation, and thereby take away from the extremely personal nature of the cross and what we must have as a very personal experience for salvation to be effective in our daily lives.
3. You cannot separate your cross from the cross of Christ. Christ Himself certainly suffered on that cross. But He was also bearing your sorrow, your grief, and your separation from God because of your sin and disobedience.