SHEPHERDVILLE COLLEGE

FOUNDATIONS OF FAITH
Ptr. Evelyn S. Contante, EdD

MODULE 7: THE CROSS OF CHRIST

I. INTRODUCTION

"There is not a ray of hope for man outside of substitution." - D. L. Moody. Death was the
supreme work of the Lord Jesus here on earth. We come to live and death ends our work. Jesus came
to die. His purpose could be gained in no other way. Sin involves the death penalty. Someone must
bear it, either the sinner or a suitable substitute. There is no possibility of bribery here at heaven's court.
The atonement is the heart of Christianity. Atonement settles the sin question. It is said that C. H.
Spurgeon the "Prince of Preachers" chose a text and made a bee-line for Calvary. Sin and the blood
atonement is the central Biblical issue. The red line of blood passes right through the Bible from Genesis
to Revelation

II. COMPETENCY 7

A. OBJECTIVES
At the end of this module, you should be able to:
a. Discuss the Article of Faith No. 7: The Cross of Christ
b. Determine the benefits brought by the cross of Jesus

B. CONTENT

Article of Faith No. 7: The Jesus the Loving Shepherd Christian Fellowship believes:

In the redemptive work of Christ on the cross which provides healing of the physical
body in response to prayer of faith and is the privilege of all believers.

a. THE DOCTRINE OF HIS DEATH

1.Foretold by God. Isaiah 53 :8, "He was cut off out of the land of the living." Dan 9 :26, "After'
threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for 'Himself." ("Cut off" here is a prophecy
of death.) Zech 13:7, "Smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered."

2.His death was appointed by God. Isa 53:6, "The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all." Isa
53:10, "Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief: when thou shalt make His soul
an offering for sin. . ." Acts 2:23,"Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge
of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain."

3.The meaning of His death.

(1) Atonement.

Used 77 times, means a covering for sin. It is an Old Testament word that only occurs
once in the New Testament and that is in Rom. 5 :11.

(2) Propitiation.

This carries the thought of a mercy seat. I John 2:2, "And He is the propitiation for our
sins."

(3) Substitution.

This is the idea of one taking the place of another. The innocent takes the punishment for
the guilty. John 10:11, "The Good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep."
 (4) Redemption.

The sinner in bondage is brought back by God with a certain purchase price. I Ptr 1:18,19,
"Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold...But with the precious Blood
of Christ."

(5) Reconciliation.

God and man were enemies but have now been made friends. Rom.5:10, "For if, when
we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son. . ." Jesus' death on
Calvary reconciled God to man.

(6) Ransom.

The price paid for the release of a prisoner (the one kidnapped by sin). Matt.20:28, "The
Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for
many." See John 19:18.

4.The mode of His death. He died by crucifixion, Matt. 27 :35; Mark 15 :24; Luke 23 :33. It was
prefigured to be on a pole - lifted up; Num. 21:8; John 3:14. It was an ignominious death. Heb. 12:2, ".
. . endured the cross, despising the shame." It was an accursed death. Gal. 3:13, "Christ hath redeemed
us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that
hangeth on a tree. "

5. His death was voluntary. He volunteered to die for us. He was not forced to do it. John 10 :18, "No
man taketh it (My life) from Me, but I lay it down of Myself."

6. The reason for His death. Why did the Lord Jesus, the sinless One, have to die? We can understand
how a guilty person would have to die as a result of sin. Jesus took our sin and died to satisfy the justice
of a Holy God in heaven. Sin demanded a payment - the death penalty. Only Christ could pay it in full.
All the attributes of God must be in harmony to make salvation possible. God's loving nature could not
forgive sin until His legal nature was satisfied. In Calvary all the attributes of God found a perfect
solution.

7. The result of His death. Salvation to all mankind that accept Him as a substitute. I Tim. 4 :10, "...
who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe...

b. WHAT THE CROSS REALLY IS

1. It is the power of God unto salvation to all who will believe-I Cor. 1:23,24.

2. It is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe-Eph. 1 :19.

3. It is the wisdom of God--I Cor. 1 :23,24

C. BENEFITS OF THE CROSS:

1. At the cross, Jesus was taking your place.

In Mark 15:6–15, Jesus is sent to the cross instead of the murderer Barabbas. Jesus was
innocent and wrongly accused. Barabbas was guilty and belonged in prison. Yet Barabbas went free,
and Jesus was condemned. These circumstances give us a clear picture of the substitutionary nature
of Christ’s work on the cross. The innocent Jesus substituted himself for guilty sinners like us. The
apostle Paul said, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”
(Rom. 5:8).

2. At the cross, Jesus was taking your curse.

When the Roman soldiers were mocking Jesus, they placed a crown of thorns upon his head.
In the earliest chapters of the Bible, we learn that thorns were one result of the curse that had come
into the world because of sin (Gen. 3:17–18). Furthermore, while Jesus was on the cross, there was
darkness over the land from noon to 3:00 pm (Mark 15:33). Like thorns, darkness at noonday was a
sign of God’s curse due to sin (Deut. 28:29; Job 5:13–14; Isa. 59:9–10). Jesus bore the thorns and
darkness of our sin upon himself at the cross:

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written,
“Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.” (Gal. 3:13)

3. At the cross, Jesus was clothing you.

Mark records that when Jesus was crucified, “they… divided his garments among them, casting
lots for them, to decide what each should take” (Mark 15:24). This was in fulfillment of a prophecy found
in Psalm 22:18. These men wickedly took Jesus’ clothing for themselves. Ironically, they didn’t
recognize that through the cross, Jesus would be clothing his people! The prophet Isaiah wrote,

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the
garments of salvation; he has covered me with a robe of righteousness. (Isa. 61:10)

Through his death on the cross, Jesus covered the shame of our nakedness by giving us his
robe of righteousness.

4. At the cross, Jesus was tearing heaven open for you.

When Jesus died, “the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom” (Mark 15:38).
This was the curtain that guarded people from the holy of holies, where God’s presence was most
concentrated. Because of sin, mankind didn’t have the same access to God that the Levitical priests
had. Mark used the word “torn” one other time in his gospel when describing Jesus’ baptism:

And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and
the Spirit descending on him like a dove. (Mark 1:10)
Interestingly, Jesus would later associate his crucifixion with baptism (Mark 10:38). At the cross,
the veil was torn, giving us access to the heavenly sanctuary.
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the
new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we
have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.
(Heb. 10:19–22a)

D. HEALING AS ANOTHER BENEFIT OF THE CROSS OF CHRIST

Psalms 103:2-3 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine
iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

Notice the encouraging instruction David gives to himself. He reminds himself to “forget not all
His benefits.” He continues by naming two of the most powerful benefits the Lord freely gives unto His
children. Forgiveness of sins and healing for “ALL THY DISEASES.” Yes, God promises forgiveness
of sins and healing for “ALL” your sickness and disease. He fulfills and secures both promises to you
through one vehicle – the cross.

Healing has been purchased for us by the work of Jesus through His death, burial and
resurrection. The same blood that Jesus shed to save you, is the same blood that Jesus shed to heal
you. The cross gives you forgiveness of sins and healing for your body as a package deal. Therefore,
the recipient of salvation has become the recipient of healing. Notice this packaged deal in 1 Peter.

1 Peter 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to
sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

Peter, like David proclaims God’s benefits to His children to be forgiveness of sins and healing.
Noticed the tense concerning when healing takes place. 1 Peter 2:24 says by the stripes of Jesus you
“WERE” healed. Your healing is “past tense” as in something that has already taken place.
 When you turned to the cross for forgiveness (salvation), you also received healing. Your healing
is on the inside of you and resides in your born-again spirit i.e. your spirit man. If your body gets sick
or has a disease, you simply draw out the healing from the “well of salvation” in your spirit man to touch
and heal your body by faith. More on this in a second.

Because healing came to you via the cross, Jesus would no more refuse to heal you than He
would refuse to forgive you. Just as salvation is a gift from God, healing too, is God’s free gift to you
through Christ’s precious blood. Since it is a gift, healing is not something you earn through good works,
it is something you must freely receive through faith in the redemptive work of Jesus. Let me expound
on this point.

Remember, just like salvation, healing too has been purchased for us through the atonement of
Christ. Therefore, to receive healing in your body, you only need to do as one would do when they
receive salvation – you must simply believe.

God through the cross of His Son, has provided salvation. To be saved from sin, death and hell,
you must believe, and by believing, you receive forgiveness of sins and the Spirit of God comes into
your heart.

The same goes for healing. God through the cross of His Son has, provided healing for your
bodies. To receive the healing your body needs, you simply believe that God has already placed healing
in your born-again spirit by the cross, and that your healing will manifest in your body through faith. In
other words, your sick body will line up with the truth of God’s Word when you by faith declare “By His
Stripes I WAS Healed; Therefore, I Am Healed!”

The bible says God is not a man that He should lie (Num. 23:19), and that He is watching over
His Word to perform it (Jer. 1:12). This means Jesus stands behind His word. If He said it, you can
know for sure, it will come to pass. For those of you who are battling sickness and disease, get your
hopes up because the battle has been won at Christ’s cross. Your healing is already in you, so Believe
and Be Healed!

C. STUDENT ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS (SAQ)

Answer the following questions. Write your answers in the worksheet. (Note: Compile all your
worksheets in one document only. You will submit worksheets (SAQ & evaluation answers) altogether
during exam day to my email address with the file name: <your surname: Midterm WS>)

1. Give two Scriptures to show that God was willing to let Jesus die on earth. (5%)

2. What is the result of the death of Jesus Christ? (5%)

3. Couldn't God forgive sin without Jesus' dying? Why? (10%)

4. Create a graphic organizer showing the benefits that we can receive from the cross of Christ. (50%)

III. SUMMARY

The Cross was God’s plan to shower divine blessings on an undeserving race. From this, we
have received salvation, reconciliation, freedom and life.

IV. EVALUATION Answer the following: (Follow the same instruction from the SAQ part.)

1. Listen to the song “For the Cross” by Bethel Music. Write your insights from the song. (30%)
3. Memorize Article of Faith No. 7.

V. REFERENCES

Douglas, A. (1966). 100 Bible Lessons.

Holy Bible. New International Version (NIV).