Warren Wiersbe’s book The Cross Of Jesus is a very easy read, but that doesn’t mean the subject matter is light. It is a sobering look at what Jesus Christ did for us on the Cross, and it’s something at which we should always take a repeated look. You can read my book review by clicking here. Below are some quotes I especially appreciated.
“The Cross was a divine assignment, not a human accident; it was a God-given obligation, not a human option.”
“The fundamental problem lost sinners face isn’t that they’re sick and need a remedy. The problem is that they’re ‘dead in trespasses and sins’ (Ephesians 2:1) and need to experience resurrection. Religion and reformation may cosmetize the corpse and make it more presentable, but religion and reformation can never give life to the corpse. Only God can do that. ‘But God, Who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ’ (Ephesians 2:4-5).”
“If our faith in Jesus Christ isolates us from those who need Him, there’s something wrong with our faith—and our love.”
“Respectable religion that rejects the blood of the Cross can’t understand the message of the Bible, and it is powerless to deal with sin and sinful human nature. ‘Comfortable religion’ that avoids bearing the Cross and following Jesus is but a religious facade that knows nothing of true discipleship.”
“The Romans and the Jews ‘by lawless hands’ (Acts 2:23) put Jesus Christ to death, and yet their very actions fulfilled the plan of God. Even the wrath of man praises God (Psalm 76:10), and when sinners are doing their worst, God is giving His best. They were ignorant of their own sin. The enormity of their sins never bothered them. They nailed the Son of God to a Cross and then went about their business celebrating Passover!”
“God still works providentially to create situations that give people opportunity to meet Christ, trust Him, and be saved. No one is ever saved by accident, for meeting Jesus Christ is a divine appointment.”
“Grace is simply the undeserved favor of God. You can’t earn it, buy it, or work for it. You can only receive grace as a gift. But that demands honesty and humility: honesty in admitting that you need to be saved, and humility in confessing that you can’t save yourself.”
“The salvation Jesus gave to this man was personal. Jesus spoke to this man personally and saved him personally. ‘Assuredly, I say to you.…’ (Luke 23:43). God loves us personally. Writing about Jesus Christ, Paul said ‘…Who loved me and gave Himself for me’ (Galatians 2:20). The Lord Jesus Christ died for us personally. God’s love is shown to us personally, and God saves us personally. God doesn’t deal with sinners as part of a crowd; He doesn’t save people en masse. God saves people individually, one by one.”
“Salvation is not a process. You don’t receive the forgiveness of sins on the installment plan. Salvation is an instantaneous spiritual experience by the power of God when you put your faith in Jesus Christ.”
“‘Christ died for our sins’ (1 Corinthians 15:3) is a statement so simple that a child can believe it and be saved, but so profound that a theologian can never fully understand it.”
“A Crossless life is a wasted life. No matter how much enjoyment we experience or accomplishment we achieve, without the Cross our lives have been fruitless and in vain.”
“The question today is not, ‘Do you thirst?’ because all mankind has a thirst for reality, a thirst for God, a thirst for forgiveness, whether they realize it or not. The real question is ‘How long will you continue to thirst?’ When you trust Jesus Christ as your Savior, you will never thirst again. If you reject Him, you will thirst forever.”
Miriam LeBlanc has compiled a lovely collection of stories in Easter Stories: Classic Tales for the Holy Season. The stories themselves are not always classics (in the sense of being well known), but the authors are certainly a Who’s Who list.
Craig T. Owens 