For the sake of new converts will you please explain just HOW one “takes up their cross”
Do you believe that the cross is the object of our faith (as one mainstream tv evangelist heartily preaches) or that Christ alone & what he accomplished on the cross is our way to salvation?
Great question. Christ alone, and what he accomplished on the cross, is our only way to salvation. Only Jesus' cross was salvific (effecting salvation). But Luke 9:23 was given to us before Jesus died, so the cross also becomes a metaphor and a charge for us to deny ourselves, accept suffering as a normal element of the Christian life, and willingly undergo hardship to be faithful to God's purposes for our lives. So I'd say the cross is both/and: our salvation rests solely on Jesus' death on the cross, AND the cross is our call to deny ourselves and be obedient and surrendered to the suffering God allows to come our way.
For the sake of new converts will you please explain just HOW one “takes up their cross”
Do you believe that the cross is the object of our faith (as one mainstream tv evangelist heartily preaches) or that Christ alone & what he accomplished on the cross is our way to salvation?
Thank you!
Great question. Christ alone, and what he accomplished on the cross, is our only way to salvation. Only Jesus' cross was salvific (effecting salvation). But Luke 9:23 was given to us before Jesus died, so the cross also becomes a metaphor and a charge for us to deny ourselves, accept suffering as a normal element of the Christian life, and willingly undergo hardship to be faithful to God's purposes for our lives. So I'd say the cross is both/and: our salvation rests solely on Jesus' death on the cross, AND the cross is our call to deny ourselves and be obedient and surrendered to the suffering God allows to come our way.