We may know that the Cross and the resurrection of Jesus Christ provide the forgiveness of sins and the blessing of Christ dwelling in our hearts respectively (Titus 3:5-8) – but is that all it means? If this is all that it means then why would Paul say “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:24) Paul says this because he said that sin reigns in his mortal body (Romans 6:12). How can sin still reign when Christ died for me, and once I accepted Him, He forgave me of all sins?
When a child is born the child has all the potential in the world to do great things. Even though the parents are responsible for bringing the child into the world the child is still a child. The child has the potential to love or hate, to fight or seek peace, to complain or bless, to be selfish or selfless, and to be obedient or rebellious. The child is born with all this innate ability. The parent has to challenge the child to think the right things, to respect others, to apply themselves at school, to complain less, and to be selfless. At the end of the day, these are attributes that define the child as a loving human being (1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (who can get along with others, and grow up to be a great husband, wife, father, or mother. If the child is parented well, the child will be representative of the attributes that both parents display and would therefore be considered an adult.
When we are born again, the Holy Spirit is poured into us (Titus 3;4-8) so that Christ (who saved us because He paid for all sin) can continue to guide us to be just like Him (Galatians 2;20). It is not that we lack this potential because we have all the Holy Spirit in us (Ephesians 1:3-4). The issue is since we are still in the flesh we have to allow God to work with us from the inside out (Philippians 2:12-13). The more we become like our parents (Christ and the Holy Spirit) the less we are like we use to be (Romans 8:9-17). So, even though the cross saved us (this is if we believe that Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead and have it in our hearts to submit our will to His, Romans 10:9) we still need to be saved from ourselves (Luke 14:26-27).
Once the Cross is accepted with a sincere heart (Matthew 7:15-23) the real issue is how do we live in the power of the resurrection, because it is this power that leads us to “no longer live because it is Christ that lives in me” (Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 3:16-19). It is the power that is working itself out in fear and trembling (Philippians 2:13). As a result, the focus of our lives in Christ is to live in the power of the resurrection (Philippians 3:10). This can only be experienced if I walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:6-10). The Cross, once accepted, becomes all about walking by faith so that we experience the resurrection power from the inside out.
