Walking in the Full Benefits of the Cross

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2: 8-9 KJV

Our goal as Christians should be to walk in all of the benefits Jesus purchased by His sacrifice on the cross. He deserves to see what He paid such a heavy price for be received to the full benefit of His people. Has He received the reward of His sacrifice in your life?

Jesus paid with his very life for us to have complete salvation in body, soul and spirit, for this life and for eternity. This includes complete deliverance from the curse of the fall, and all of its consequences including our deliverance from disease, infirmities, weakness, pain, depression, sorrow, sadness and loss. These are all a part of the curse of the fall. We must seek more than just being healed, we must seek to be made whole.

Galatians 3:10 says “For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law to perform them.”

Many people do not experience the full benefit of what Jesus did because they are still clinging to parts of the law, thinking they must somehow earn their benefits by works. According to the above verse, if we are living under the law for anything, we are under the law in all things. Living under the law is called legalism and it prevents us from receiving from God.

We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. We don’t need to gain God’s approval because when we are born again we already have his approval. When He is the Lord of our lives, we serve Him as our Lord and Master because we love Him. It pleases Him when we desire to walk in the full reward of His sacrifice. If we think we need to somehow earn our salvation or the benefits of the cross by good works, it cheapens the work that Christ did on the cross and is an insult to Him. There is nothing we could ever do to earn our salvation. It has been gifted to us by God and is received by Faith.

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” KJV

Galatians 3:13-14 “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us – for it is written, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree – in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”

The faith that these verses are speaking about is faith in Jesus, and His cross, that He did all that is required, and we must not seek to add or take away from what He has done. Legalism is actually an evil spirit called “a religious spirit” that seeks to have us base our relationship to God on religious performance rather than the finished work of the cross of Jesus. Salvation is by faith in Him, not anything we can do except to believe in Him and the power of His blood.

When we come before Jesus thinking He will not want to hear from us because of a wrong thought or deed, well that is wrong thinking from the enemy because the enemy does not want us to receive any of the benefits of our salvation. Jesus died so that sin would no longer be a barrier to us coming to Him. He has forgiven us for all of our sin past, present and future. It pleases Him when we see ourselves the way He sees us – as the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.

2 Corinthians 5:21 says “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” KJV

We can come boldly before God in right standing with Him because of our faith in what He did for us. It’s not about what we can do for Him. He is Jehovah Jireh, our provider. Let’s prepare our hearts by meditating on these scriptures so we can walk in the fullness of our salvation!