The greatest obstacle to God's pursuit of His glory and to man's desire for joy is one and the same: sin. When sin entered the world through Adam's disobedience, it appeared that Satan had trumped God. The imago Dei (image of God) in man was marred. The light of God's glory on earth was darkened. Life and joy were traded for misery and death.

All of Scripture and all of history have been about God undoing sin and restoring the world. The cross stands at the center of His work; there, the glory and righteousness of God were vindicated, and the joy and life of sinners were redeemed.

The Vindication of God

Perhaps the most important paragraph in the New Testament is Romans 3:21-26.

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it-the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

A full exposition of this passage is beyond this study, but note that Paul, having established that all men are sinners, points to the cross as solving the mess sin created. God placarded His crucified Son before the world as an exhibition of His righteousness.

His wrath against sin was poured out on Jesus and satisfied (the meaning of that unusual word propitiation). On this basis, God can now be just in pronouncing the verdict "not guilty" over believers (v. 26).

His glory has been vindicated, His honor upheld, and His righteousness displayed. This is the meaning of the cross.

Forgiveness and Freedom

The cross not only vindicates God, it also restores joy to man. By dealing both with sin's guilt and its reign over ruined human beings, God is restoring men into His image. Because of the cross, we are forgiven; God took the record of our sins and nailed it to the cross!

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross (Col. 2:13-14).

The cross also sets us free from sin's slavery. Paul describes evil's defeat in Colossians 2:15: "He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him."

"[Our Savior Jesus Christ] gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works" (Titus 2:14).

The Cross for Daily Living

The outcome of this for daily living is astounding. Christ's death on the cross is both the ground of our boasting and the pattern for our living. Pride is demolished; servanthood is embodied in the cross.

Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world (Gal. 6:14).

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Phil. 2:5-8).

Staying Near the Cross

The cross is the triumph of God's glory, the price of our joy, the ground of our boasting, and the model for our living. No wonder it has become a central motif in Christianity throughout the centuries. We do well, therefore, to pray with hymn writer Fanny Crosby, "Jesus, keep me near the cross."

A passion for the cross does not happen automatically, however. As John Stott wisely said, "The cross is the blazing fire at which the flame of our love is kindled, but we have to get near enough to it for its sparks to fall on us."

How do you get near the cross? Following are some ideas to help guide your daily worship and thinking as you ask the Lord to ignite within you a passion for the cross.

• Study a cross-centered Scripture passage such as Isaiah 53, Romans 8:32-39, 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, or Philippians 2:5-11.
• Pull out a hymnal and sing two or three of your favorite songs about the cross, such as "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross," "There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood," or "Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed."
• Soak in the gospel accounts of Jesus' arrest, trials, and crucifixion as recorded in Matthew 26-27, Mark 14-15, Luke 22-23, and John 18-19.
• Watch the film The Passion of the Christ.
• Read from a book on the cross (e.g. The Cross-Centered Life by C. J. Mahaney, The Murder of Jesus by John MacArthur, The Passion of Jesus Christ by John Piper, The Cross of Christ by John Stott).