The Five R's of the Cross

At the its meeting in September, the Presbytery voted not to approve the request of a congregation to have someone serve as their next pastor. In 23 years, I’ve never seen this happen, and I can imagine how devastating it was for the church and the candidate. It’s not a decision that was made lightly, and was motivated primarily by the fact that he was unable to answer the question, “What difference does Jesus’ death on the cross make for humanity?” Various people tried to help him out by asking the question different ways, but it didn’t work. Because this is such a critical element of our faith, the Presbytery could not approve him to serve as a pastor. With that experience fresh in my mind, here’s the answer I’d give.

We are a broken and sinful people. We live in a world that perverts the goodness that God wants for us all. In spite of our best intentions, none of us are able to live lives that are pleasing to God because of our own selfishness, greed, pride, and willfulness. Left to our own devices, we destroy our relationship with a God who loves us. We wreak havoc upon other people, upon creation, and upon ourselves. The final destination of our lives would be misery and death.

But God’s love for us shines out in this bleak situation like a beacon in a storm. He loves us too much to allow us to destroy ourselves. So he came to us as Jesus Christ to give us life, hope, joy, and peace that would otherwise be impossible for us. And he did it through his death upon the cross.

There are many different explanations for what Jesus’ death actually accomplished. None of them tell the whole story, but each gives us an idea of how Jesus changed everything on the cross. On the cross, Christ became five R’s. Here’s a very simple explanation, and a brief Scripture reference, of each:

1. REDEEMER: Jesus paid the debt that we incurred with our sin. To put it another way, he took on the punishment that we deserved (Romans 3:21-26, 1 Peter 1:18-21).
2. RECONCILER: Jesus restored our relationship with God, and our relationships with each other, that we had demolished (2 Corinthians 5:16-21).
3. RESCUER: Jesus confronted and conquered the forces of evil that had enslaved us (Galatians 1:3-5).
4. RELATE-OR: By dying on the cross, Jesus endured the worst aspects of human experience. He can relate to the struggles and hardships we endure, because he went through it himself (Hebrews 2:17-18).
5. ROLE MODEL: Jesus shows us how we should live in the face of evil, and how we should offer ourselves up in love for one another. And he gives us the ability o do so (1 John 3:16-18).

Which of these “R”s touches your heart the most? Which one gives you something new to think about? And what answer will you give if someone asks you why Jesus died on the cross?

Peter