In many cases Christians wear, a cross around their neck but are unwilling to bear a cross in their daily lives, because, quite frankly, it’s much easier to wear a cross than to bear a cross. My friends when we fully understand what the cross of Christ signifies, I believe, bearing our cross will become not only possible but a privilege and joy.
For you see at the cross of Christ, a most unique thing happened: God’s love for lost sinners and His perfect justice met. It’s at the cross where the wounds of sin are healed. It’s at the cross where emotional problems can receive healing. And it’s at the cross where real comfort for suffering can be obtained as we meditate on the suffering that Jesus went through on our behalf.
And while it’s true that God’s holiness demands payment for sin, His love offers pardon. And the only way God could reconcile us back to Himself was at the cross where Jesus took the penalty we deserved, on Himself.
May the following quotes help you to meditate on the cross of Calvary and the many faceted dimensions it represents.[1]
“As we face the cross, then, we can say to ourselves both, ‘I did it, my sins sent him there,’ and ‘He did it, his love took him there.’” – John Stott
“ It was Christ who willingly went to the cross, and it was our sins that took him there.” ― Franklin Graham
“All of heaven is interested in the cross of Christ, hell afraid of it, while men are the only ones to ignore its meaning.” ― Oswald Chambers
“If we want proof of God’s love for us, then we must look first at the Cross where God offered up His Son as a sacrifice for our sins. Calvary is the one objective, absolute, irrefutable proof of God’s love for us.” ― Jerry Bridges
“If the Cross of Christ is anything to the mind, it is surely everything – the most profound reality and the sublimest mystery.” – John Stott
“Taking up my ‘cross’ means a life voluntarily surrendered to God.” ― A. W. Pink
“The most obscene symbol in human history is the Cross; yet in its ugliness it remains the most eloquent testimony to human dignity.” ― R.C. Sproul
“Take away the cross of Christ, and the Bible is a dark book.” ― J.C. Ryle
“Even at the cross, God permitted what he hated – the unjust and agonizing death of his own precious Son – in order to accomplish something, he prized above his own Son’s cruel death; that is, salvation for a world of sinners. So, the world’s worst murder becomes the world’s only salvation.” – Joni Eareckson Tada
“God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, ‘I love you.’” – Billy Graham
“Salvation comes through a cross and a crucified Christ.” – Andrew Murray
“The Cross is the lightning rod of grace that short-circuited God’s wrath to Christ so that only the light of His love remains for believers.” – A. W. Tozer
“Only in the Cross of Christ will we receive power when we are powerless. We will find strength when we are weak. We will experience hope when our situation is hopeless. Only in the Cross is there peace for our troubled hearts.” – Michael Youssef
“God is looking for broken men who have judged themselves in the light of the cross of Christ. When He wants anything done, He takes up men who have come to the end of themselves, whose confidence is not in themselves, but in God.” – Harry Ironside
“If Jesus Christ was who He claimed to be, and He did die on a cross at a point of time in history, then, for all history past and all history future it is relevant because that is the very focal point for forgiveness and redemption.” – Josh McDowell
“Life is wasted if we do not grasp the glory of the cross, cherish it for the treasure that it is, and cleave to it as the highest price of every pleasure and the deepest comfort in every pain. What was once foolishness to us — a crucified God — must become our wisdom and our power and our only boast in this world.” — John Piper
“At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away,
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!” — Isaac Watts
“The cross shows the seriousness of our sin—but it also shows us the immeasurable love of God.” – Billy Graham
[1] All of these quotes are from the following websites:
John R.W. Stott Quotes (Author of The Cross of Christ) (goodreads.com)
28 Powerful Quotes About The Cross Of Jesus Christ | Think About Such Things
149 Quotes About The Cross | ChristianQuotes.info
51 Motivational Joni Eareckson Tada Quotes For Everyone – Inspirationalweb.org
The Cross of Christ: 33 Stellar Quotes – Jesus Smart
10 Quotes from Billy Graham about the Cross – The Billy Graham Library Blog