Why the Cross Still Matters

The Reverend Billy Graham tells of a time early in his ministry when he arrived in a small town to preach a revival meeting. Wanting to mail a letter, he asked a young boy where the post office was. When the boy had told him, Dr. Graham thanked him and said, “If you’ll come to the church this evening, you can hear me give directions on how to get to heaven.”

“I don’t think I’ll be there,” the boy replied. “You don’t even know how to get to the post office.”

This year we have been talking about significance.

We live in a world full of directions to a better life, better self, better spirituality. But if the directions don’t run through the cross, they don’t actually lead anywhere.

There’s no substitute.

Not popularity. Not platform. Not applause.

Significance is: A life that has purpose. A life that carries meaning. A life that actually matters.

And if we are honest, most of us were trained to define significance a certain way.

Influence. Recognition. Success. Autonomy.

A better more simple way our world might define it is: Being your own master.

The world says a significant life is a life where you answer to no one and build something impressive.

But the cross says something completely different. It completely disrupts that definition.

Let’s read want the Bible says about the cross of calvary:

1 Corinthians 1:18–25 NLT

18 The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. 19 As the Scriptures say, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.” 20 So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. 21 Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. 22 It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. 23 So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense. 24 But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.

The cross does not look impressive.

It looks weak.

It looks humiliating.

It looks like failure.

And yet Paul says that is where the power of God is found.

So here is the question we have to wrestle with. What if significance is not found in self rule, but in surrender? What if significance does not begin with ambition, but with repentance?

What if the most significant moment in your life was not when you succeeded, but when you bowed your knee at an altar?

The cross still matters because it redefines significance.

Today I am going to talk about the three “R’s” - it’s three words that came to me while reading a chapter from a collection of writing by AW Tozer.

The first word today is:

Responsibility

You know what I think we are really good at? Explaining why we are the way we are.

Short tempered, someone ticked us off.

Distant with people, too much stress

Bad reaction, you don’t understand the full story.

We are so good at tracing every flaw back to something.

Our upbringing. Pressure or living Other people’s decisions.

And honestly, we aren’t wrong, things have happened to us. But do you know what hit me the other day about the Cross of Jesus? Jesus did not hang there because of my stress. He did not bleed because of my childhood. He did not suffer because culture is broken.

He hung there because of my sin. If we are honest, we must say, we’ve blown it more times than we can count. When you really see the cross, you stop pointing outward.

You stop blaming culture. You stop blaming your upbringing. You stop blaming other people.

AW Tozer wrote that when a truly penitent man realizes the enormity of his sin and rebellion against God, he senses a deep revulsion against himself and of his sin. Not destructive shame, but holy clarity.

That’s the difference.

The world says avoid shame at all costs. The cross says face truth at any cost.

Responsibility

And that word is offensive in a culture that avoids accountability. There is nothing significant about denying your sin. There is nothing powerful about explaining it away. There is nothing eternal about managing your image. There is something eternally significant about confessing it. Because when you confess, you stop defending yourself. And when you stop defending yourself, you finally let Jesus be your defense.

Realization

There comes a moment when you stop talking about the cross in theory and you realize what actually happened there.

Paul says,

1 Corinthians 1:22–23 CEV

22 Jews ask for miracles, and Greeks want something that sounds wise. 23 But we preach that Christ was nailed to a cross. Most Jews have problems with this, and most Gentiles think it is foolish.

That hasn’t changed much.

Some people still want a sign. Some people want something sophisticated. Something polished. Something that feels intelligent and safe. But we preach Christ crucified. Why?

Because something happened there that nothing else in history can match. Justice was satisfied there. The blows that should have fallen on you fell on Him. The humiliation that belonged to you was placed on Christ. The wrath that was aimed at your rebellion was absorbed by the Son of God. He stood in your place.

Substitution.

When Ollie was a few years old she broke one of our house rules. I honestly cannot remember what it was, but I remember the moment. I had told her clearly, if you do that again there will be a spanking. Well, guess what. She did the thing. So I took her to the room. I knelt down and explained to her why this mattered. Not because I was angry. Not because I needed control. But because obedience matters. I told her she deserved the consequence because she had disobeyed. And I can still see her little face. Those sad eyes looking up at me. “No panking, dada.” And I laughed because it was so innocent and so honest. But in that moment I felt something deeper. Because I realized something about myself. When I sin against God, that is exactly what I am saying. “No punishment, Father. Please.” And here is the difference between that room and the cross. As a dad, sometimes I can choose to let it go. Sometimes I can absorb the moment. Sometimes I can show mercy without satisfying anything beyond our little household. But God cannot pretend sin does not matter. So at the cross, He did not simply cancel the punishment.

He took it. The blows that should have fallen on me fell on Christ. The justice that I deserved was not dismissed. It was satisfied. That is substitution. And this realization changes the way we see our significance. Because at that cross, divine justice and divine mercy met without compromise.

The cross is the most significant event in human history. God did not lower His standard. He satisfied it. Realization happens when we understand that we need the cross. We deserved it but Christ took our place.

Relief

I want to ask you something. I remember a time in my life when I knew God had forgiven me for something, but I was still living like I owed the old master. Have you ever done that?

You know you’re forgiven. You know the cross is real. You believe Jesus paid for it. But you still live like the old habits own you. You still think the old patterns define you. You still answer to voices Jesus already silenced. You wake up forgiven, but you walk around condemned. It’s like someone who has been released from prison but keeps sleeping on the floor because that’s what they’re used to. The door is open. The sentence has been served. The record has been cleared. But the mindset never changed. At the cross, the cell door opened. Not cracked. Not partially unlocked. Opened.

Peace has been established because the blows have already fallen on Jesus Christ.

Relief is not pretending sin does not matter. Relief is knowing it has already been judged.

You are not saved because you improved. You are saved because Christ made you new.

That is salvation. Not self improvement. Not behavior management. Substitution.

But the cross does not just forgive you. It transfers you.

Paul teaches that we were slaves to sin. Sin was our master. And sin is a cruel master.

It demands and never satisfies. It promises and never delivers. It owns and never loves.

At the cross, ownership changed. You were not just rescued. You were reassigned. We live in a culture that says freedom means answering to no one. But the Bible says everyone serves someone. The question is not whether you have a master. The question is which one.

And now the issue of significance becomes very real. The world says significance means being your own master. The cross says significance means belonging to the right One.

When I was preparing this, I kept thinking about Israel leaving Egypt. Chains broken. Sea parted. Freedom secured. And yet in the wilderness they said, “Let us go back.” They missed the familiarity of slavery. Slavery is predictable. Freedom requires trust. And we do the same thing.

We want forgiveness, but not Lordship. We want relief, but not surrender. We want significance, but not a Master. You cannot live a significant life while still ruled by the old master. Sin enslaves and shrinks your soul. Under sin you were enslaved and dying. Under Christ you are surrendered and free. His yoke is easy. His burden is light. The cross may look foolish to the world. But it is the only place where real significance begins.

It is dying to self and rising in Him.

It is living under the authority of Jesus.