Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit. 1 Peter 3:18
Crosses sit atop churches, hang around necks and are tattooed on a lot of arms. But what Christians believe happened on a cross can sound mysterious.
The Bible reveals a hard but honest truth: our hearts are sinful, and God is perfectly good. That difference had to be acknowledged and addressed. In the ancient Jewish temple, a heavy curtain stood as a symbol of separation between sinful man and holy God. But when Jesus was crucified on a cross, something astonishing happened. The Bible says that the curtain was supernaturally torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51). The path to God was opened by God.
Jesus wasn’t merely a good man showing us the way. He was God come near—taking on our humanity, carrying our guilt, absorbing the cost of everything that kept us far away. Scripture says, “Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God” (1 Peter 3:18). As Jesus died, He cried, “It is finished” (John 19:30), Jesus meant the barrier between man and God was gone. Every reason you think you’re not good enough—gone. Every failure or fear that you wouldn’t be welcomed—gone.
The Bible says that those who turn from sin and self-effort to accept God’s forgiveness in Jesus are brought into God’s family (John 1:12). Not as visitors but as children. If you want to say yes to that invitation, you can begin right where you are. You can pray, “Jesus, you opened the way. Open my heart. Forgive me. Bring me home. Teach me to walk with you.” The way home stands open.
