Which side of the cross are you on?

I have just finished writing my sermon for Easter Sunday. It is about the two sides of the cross. On one side we still see Jesus on the cross and that we can live our lives as if His death wasn't enough to free us from our sin. We end up living under legalism and religious activity. We can live as if God doesn't accept us because we so often mess up and fail to live according to His 'law'. So we do things as penance so that God might have us back! We read more of the bible, we pray for a longer period, we go to more meetings and we try and help out more at church. Basically we live as slaves to a false gospel that says that by our own efforts we can become acceptable to God. Yeah, Jesus died for us, but was it really enough? If it was then why do we resort to religious acts and legalistic actions? As if by them we can get anywhere? This is the wrong side of the cross. This is not living in freedom of the cross and what was accomplished on it by Jesus' perfect sacrifice.

The right side of the cross is the empty side. Not only is Jesus not on the cross still, but He is no longer in the grave! He is ALIVE!!! Do you know what this means? It means that His sacrifice was totally accepted by His Father in heaven. His blood was enough to totally free us from the power of sin and death. When He breathed His last breath the temple curtain that separated men from the Most Holy place was torn from top to bottom. This gave all of us access into God's very presence. He tore it! He did it so that we didn't have to. Because we couldn't do it.

Living on the right side of the cross means freedom. It means living as His children, where His full attention is on us. It means being a co-heir with Christ. It means that we have been made perfect forever as we have been set aside and dedicated to our Glorious Dad in heaven for eternity. It is impossible for us to do any more to make us more acceptable to God. It has all been done for us! Glory, glory, glory!!!

Which side of the cross do you want to live your life? I have chosen my side. Will you join me? Have an amazing Easter this year and remember that we actually celebrate it daily. All blessings on you. Neil