The cross - keep it in focus

We are talking this week about keeping the cross in focus....keeping it "front and center" in our lives. I believe that as Christians, we sometimes can become complacent about the cross. We may even take for granted what it means in our lives.

 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 25 For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (I Peter 2:24-25)

We don't often think about the fact that through Christ's death on that cross, we are delivered from the penalty of sin.
Did you know that all of our problems in this life stem from sin, or from the fallen world that we live in? It may be our own sin, or it could be others who sin against us, and then it could even be our sinful reaction to those people....
Peter said, "He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree." The commentaries tell us that by using the word "tree" or "wood," rather than "cross," Peter was remembering his training in the synagogue, and the verse in Deuteronomy where the penalty for a condemned criminal is that the body be hanged on a tree. Christ was our substitute and took the condemnation that we deserve. God is holy and just; sin means a penalty must be paid. Only Jesus was sinless, and was capable of bearing the sins of our human race.

The fact that God sent Christ to bear our sins means that God doesn't shrug off sin. Unfortunately, we live in a world today of loose justice, if any justice at all. We are all familiar with cases when people commit horrible crimes, and then only receive a "slap on the wrist." A man or woman may murder someone; they may molest them sexually and damage them severely; they can then plead insanity and go free or spend a short time in a mental health facility. Or they can use what we've heard of as "temporary insanity," when one's emotions take over and rule out our common sense, or our judgment of right and wrong....but we needn't think that God's justice is like that. We can't shrug off sin as if it's no big deal to our holy Father. He isn't going to overlook it! The Bible is quite clear in saying that all sin must be judged, and either we must bear the penalty, or Christ will.

Jesus bore our sins on the cross, but we must take Him up on His offer. And if we turn to Him, we will be delivered from the penalty of sin. This is one thing that Peter knew would comfort and inspire those who (in the verses on either side of our passage) were being treated unjustly.
But that isn't all!
Christ's death on the cross no only delivers us from the penalty of sin, but also from the power of sin. Peter is talking about an ongoing process; something that happens daily in our lives.
Some translations read, "you were continually straying like sheep" in verse 25. Before we accepted the gift of salvation from Jesus Christ, we were continually (all the time, habitually, constantly, routinely......gotta love how a thesaurus helps get your head around a concept, right?) straying from the right path. We wanted to go our own way. We didn't even know we were lost. We were in danger, in harm's way, but we were oblivious.

Isn't it nice that we are compared to sheep, in the Word? Many times in the Bible, we are talked about as "sheep" .....  awwww, they're so fluffy and cute, and the little lambs frolic about so endearingly, and just look at those little faces! .....It's a good thing, right?
Nope.
People in Bible times were more familiar with sheep than we are. It's not a great compliment. Seriously. They are some of the dumbest animals around. They must always be under the care of a shepherd, or they will graze right up to the edge of a ravine and topple over the precipice. They don't look around and guard their babies from predators. If they are out in harsh weather, they don't know enough to seek shelter - they'll just huddle together in a bunch. They aren't even smart enough to find their way home....and they're not smart enough to realize they are not smart. That's why they never learn from their mistakes, and they just keep wandering off and getting into trouble!
Oy vey.
Why? Well, like humans, they don't appreciate the intelligence or caring commitment of their shepherd. He knows of better pastures up higher on the slopes, but all they think about is how pretty and green this patch of grass is, right here. So, like humans, who ignore their Shepherd, the sheep turn aside for momentary gratification....they miss the bountiful provision they would have received, if they had followed the shepherd to higher ground. And the only way they can find their way home is if the shepherd goes out and brings them in. Like the sheep, none of us can boast in our own smarts in coming to Christ. He came looking for us. He wanted us to be freed from the power of sin.

That is why when Christ died, we identified with Him in His death. When He rose, we were raised to "newness of life," as Paul calls it. A new life began.
But wait, you say, I don't feel very dead to sin. In fact, I don't even feel weak toward sin....the very same sins and lusts that controlled me before are still rearing up and luring me with the same forcefulness as before.
Well, I will try to clarify this..... the moment that we trusted in Christ as our Savior, we were identified with Him so that all the benefits of His death became ours:

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:6-11)

Death here is not "stopping life," or "ceasing to exist," but instead means "separation." When we die physically, our souls are separated from our bodies. In this way, when we accept God's gift of salvation, we are separated from the sins that had a stranglehold on us. We now have the ability and the assistance of the Spirit, so that we can choose to obey God, rather than the lusts of the flesh.

If we've ever jacked up a car in the driveway to effect a repair, or taken it to a mechanic and seen it raised of the ground on the hydraulic lift; or if we have inadvertently switched on a kitchen mixer before lowering it into the bowl of ingredients, then we can understand the concept of a power source which is very powerful, but is ineffective through separation. (Grin) The mechanic can rev the car's motor, or we can press harder on the mixer handle, but the car isn't going anywhere, and our recipe is not getting mixed. That is very similar to our union with Jesus Christ, that sin is powerful and still revs inside of us, but we are separated from its power.
Here's a clue -- we have been talking about the work of Christ in separating us from the power of sin. There is also something we must do:

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life,appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature:sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. (Colossians 3:1-5)

Ahhh, this is indeed (pointing back to our image of the car not touching the pavement) where the rubber meets the road! Paul is saying that we must take some radical action to separate us from various sins that tempt us. It points to the decisive and often painful action of denying ourselves in obedience to God....it really must start at the level of our thoughts if we want to live in holiness before God.

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (II Corinthians 10:5)

Stopping looking at the television shows or the internet sites that tempt....distancing ourselves from people or from objects that influence us to sin....not going to locations that we know would not be pleasing to His Spirit....daily praying for release and freedom from sin in our devotional time, and searching for promises in the Word that will encourage our hearts.... all of these are things that can help us remove our tires from the pavement, as far as the power of sin is concerned.

It's our "job," so to speak, to go on living in this sinful world, but to live in righteousness; to be obedient to the commands of the Bible. If we are continually defeated by sin, then we need to enter into a deeper relationship with Christ, and keep His cross in focus -- it is He Who removes us from the power and the penalty of sin.

We'll conclude our study tomorrow.