Experiencing the Cross

Introduction

Take Up Your Cross and Follow

A Quest for Deeper Understanding

Jesus knew that His followers had difficulty understanding—or bearing—His clear teaching about what He faced
after their final trip to Jerusalem. Death on a Roman cross was a hard thing to comprehend, let alone accept. Even so, He patiently taught them what that cross would mean—to Him, to them, and to the whole world.

He told them: “He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:38). He said “to them all”: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23).

And in plain words He declared: “Whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:27).

The cross is not just His; the cross is mine, and the cross is yours. It’s an unconditional and uncontestable requirement if we would follow Him as a disciple. Would it not be important, then, for us to clearly understand the cross’s role and meaning in our lives?

There is nothing more central to the entire Christian life than this theme. It’s an absolute essential in the experience of every believer, the very heartbeat of our faith. This is true for many reasons, and in this book I want to explore some of them.

As we journey together through these pages, I want to introduce you to how  the cross reveals incredible dimensions of the heart and mind of God. In fact, we cannot begin to appreciate God’s eternal purposes—or His eternal nature—without a thorough understanding of the cross of Christ.

Too many of God’s people are going through life missing most of what their Father in heaven intends for them to experience, and an inadequate grasp of the cross lies at the heart of this tragedy.


Staying with Scripture

I’m greatly honored that the Lord has granted me this opportunity to teach you, though in a sense I tremble when I consider the nature of these truths, truths that affect lives for eternity. The cross is one of the most difficult topics for me to handle, and I’m fully aware that to teach a truth wrongly or inadequately is no minor matter. It’s very serious to God and has serious consequences for His people. To grasp only a partial truth is to have only a partial encounter with God, and so much is needlessly missed.

So our time together in these pages will focus on the Scriptures and the fullness of what they tell us about the cross.

As a steward of God’s truth, I want to accurately divide His Word—to carefully confront each passage before God in the context of the entire Bible.

In one sense, our goal in this book is simple. We want to locate key Scriptures on this theme, carefully unfold them, and provide fuel for what I hope will be choice and productive moments for meditation and careful thought in the coming days—and for the rest of our lives.

As we apply what we encounter here—as we seek to let these truths penetrate and transform our daily lives—we will experience wonderful results from this investment of our time.

I fully recognize that the Holy Spirit alone is our teacher. He may use me as a tool, but no human teacher can open your heart and convince and convict you of the truth of God’s Word and how it bears on your life. Only His Spirit can do that. And as He does, you’re actually experiencing God; His Word is not simply principles or concepts to increase your head knowledge, but a vehicle for your relationship with the living God, a personal encounter that anchors His truth in the center of your being, equipping and encouraging you to live it from your heart.

So I want you to know God in all the Scriptures we explore together—and then apply what He shows you.


That You May Be Overwhelmed

My prayer is that this book’s message will be an open door to so much more—that you’ll discover truths in Scripture that will challenge and encourage you for the rest of your life. I strongly encourage you to obtain this book’s companion Study Guide to guide you in your quest, and to keep it open as you explore the pages to come.

In the months and years to come, may you always be captivated and compelled by the magnitude of what God has done in the cross.