The true meaning of the cross is not always understood. Many Christians speak about the cross and preach the cross, kuyilapho bephila njengezitha zesiphambano. What is the significance of the cross according to the Bible and what does the cross mean in the lives of Christians?
AmaKristu amaningi anobudlelwane noJesu kanye noBaba ngendlela yawo
There are many Christians that believe in Jesus Christ and repented and are born again, but don’t want to have anything to do with the moral part of the law. They don’t want to keep all kinds of rules and consider them legalistic. Futhi umthetho uyingxenye yenkolo futhi awuyona ingxenye yobudlelwane noJesu Kristu.
Abafuni ukutshelwa ukuthi benzeni, but they want to be free. They want to live in freedom and have a relationship with Jesus Christ and the Father their way.
Ezimweni eziningi, the relationship looks more like a LAT relationship (Living Apart Together) than a marriage. Ngoba izikhathi eziningi, Christians only spend time with God when they have a need or problems in their lives.
When they’ve a need or problems, they need God to show up and supply their needs and fix their problems. Nokho, the rest of the time, baphila ngokwentando yabo, ukwenza lokho abafuna ukukwenza.
Nakanjani, going back to the fact that many Christians say that the moral part of the law is not relevant anymore, how come, that they say they are redeemed from the law, okwamanje, they still live as carnal people to whom the law was intended. Kusho ukuthini lokhu?
The old carnal man keeps falling back into sin
The law of Moses was meant for the old carnal man, who lived in a sinful flesh from a fallen state and belonged to God’s chosen people by birth and the circumcision in the flesh. The sacrificial laws were meant for the old carnal man.
The sacrificial laws dealt with the (umuntu ngamunye) izono nokungalungi kwe Indoda endala yenyama, but not with the sinful nature of the old carnal man.
Igazi lezilwane lalingenawo amandla anele okubhekana nesono somuntu omdala. That’s because animals are not equal to man. Inyama yezilwane ihlukile kunenyama yomuntu (1 AbaseKorinte 15:39).
The blood of animals could only deal with the sinful deeds that derived from the sinful flesh.
Ngakho-ke, the blood of animals could only make a temporary atonement for the sins of man. Yingakho imihlatshelo kwakufanele yenziwe njalo.
Despite the sacrifices and the blood of perfect animals, man remained the same.
The old man was still trapped in the sinful nature of the flesh and could not be delivered from it.
Zikhathi zonke, kwakufanele bavume izono zabo, phenduka futhi wenze ukubuyisana ngezono zabo. Izono zabo zathethelelwa futhi zathethelelwa ngemihlatshelo nangegazi lezilwane baze babuyela emikhubeni yabo yakudala baphinde bona.. Lokhu bekuyinqubo eqhubekayo.
Igazi lezilwane laligeleza njalo, but the sinful nature of the flesh remained present in the generation of fallen man.
UJesu wabhekana nemvelo enesono yomuntu owile
This process continued until Jesus came and dealt with the sinful nature of fallen man that produces sin and leads to death.
Ngakho-ke njengoba abantwana bahlanganyela igazi nenyama, Yena ngokwakhe ngokufanayo wathatha ingxenye efanayo; ukuthi ngokufa angambhubhisa owanamandla okufa, leyo, usathane; futhi abakhulule labo ababeboshelwe ebugqilini ukuphila kwabo konke ngokwesaba ukufa (amaHebheru 2:14-15)
UJesu akagcinanga ngokuthatha izono phezu Kwakhe. He carried the sins and iniquities phakathi Inyama Yakhe futhi yaba Ibambela lomuntu owile. UJesu wathwala isijeziso sezono, okungukufa, futhi wangena ngokomthetho eHayidese (isihogo).
Nokho, the death was not strong enough to keep Jesus in Hades. Ngemva kwezinsuku ezintathu, Jesus rose from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit with the keys of hell and death. Jesus conquered the power of death and had taken the dominion legally back from the devil.
Jesus released the righteous prisoners of death and gave the ability to everyone to be delivered from the power of death and hell futhi babuyisane noNkulunkulu. (Oh. Mathewu 27:50-54; UJohane 1:11-13; AmaRoma 5:10; 2 AbaseKorinte 5:18-20; Kwabase-Efesu 4:10; AbaseKolose 1:21-23).
UJesu weza wakhuluma kubo, ethi, Wonke amandla anikwe Mina ezulwini nasemhlabeni. Ngakho hambani, futhi nifundise izizwe zonke, nibabhapathize egameni likaYise, neyeNdodana, kanye loMoya oNgcwele: nibafundise ukugcina konke enginiyale ngakho: futhi, lo, Nginawe njalo, even unto the end of the earth
Mathewu 28:18-20
The new creation is delivered from the sinful flesh through regeneration
Only by faith in Jesus Christ and becoming born again, umuntu angahlengwa enyameni enesono. Ngokusebenzisa ubhapathizo in Christ and the baptism with the Holy Spirit, the flesh of the old man dies and the spirit raises from the dead and the new man receives the Holy Spirit.
The new creation has left the old behind and receives a new life in the spirit. Egunyeni likaJesu Kristu nangamandla kaMoya oNgcwele, the new man has the ability to become a son of God (kokubili abesilisa nabesifazane) and walk as a son of God in obedience to God in righteousness.
The new man shall put away the carnal works of the old man, and do the will of the Spirit, whereby the new man shall come forth in the natural. (Funda futhi: Ungaphila impilo yokuvuka ungafi?)
The Holy Spirit has the same will as Jesus and the Father and confronts and reproves a person of sin. Bese kuba kumuntu ukuthi amlalele futhi asuse izono.
Ngoba umuntu akaseyena owesizukulwane somuntu owile futhi akaseyena usathane njengobaba.
The person belongs to the generation of the new man (indalo entsha) that is created in Jesus Christ. The new creation is born of God and has God as Father.
The new creations are the sons of God and together they are the church; Isidumbu sikaJesu Kristu.
I inhloso yebandla is to raise the saints in the Word of God and equip them. Ukuze, they know the will of God and become equal to Jesus Christ and walk as Jesus walked in obedience to the Father’s will, preaching and bringing the Kingdom of God to the people.
Persevere in sin through ignorance and a lack of knowledge
Nokho, the problem is that in many churches instead of sons of God, izazi zenkolo, izikhulumi ezikhuthazayo noma abazikhangisayo, abaseyindalo endala futhi benesimo sokumesaba uNkulunkulu, basemva kwepulpiti bafundise amakholwa.
Bazifundisa ngomqondo wenyama nobuhlakani babo bobuntu, ulwazi, namafilosofi esikhundleni somqondo kaKristu neqiniso leZwi likaNkulunkulu.
In order to get an audience and attract people and be exalted, Bashumayela lokho abantu abafuna ukukuzwa.
Through their sermons that revolve around the carnal man (inyama), they ensure that the people become depended on them and that they stand above the believers.
By preaching carnal words and vain philosophies that derive from their carnal mind, instead of preaching the truth of God’s Word that derives from the mind of Christ, they keep the believers ignorant about the truth.
Ngamanga abo, babagcina ebugqilini, futhi yilokho kanye udeveli akufunayo.
Ngokusebenzisa ukuntula ulwazi lweZwi likaNkulunkulu, Christians keep living in bondage of their flesh. Baqhubeka belandela inyama futhi baphikelele esonweni futhi abakwazi ukuyeka ukona.
Ngakolunye uhlangothi, bayatshelwa, ukuthi akusekho sono. Ngakho-ke, they can’t walk in sin. Futhi ngakolunye uhlangothi, they are told that they always remain a sinner. Therefore they will persevere in sin until the day that they’ll die. Ngoba kuphela ngokufa kwemvelo, bayokhululwa enyameni yabo enesono.
False doctrines are preached to keep Christians in bondage
But that is a big lie that derived from the carnal mind of people, ababeseyindalo yakudala. This false doctrine is based upon human philosophies and personal experiences. If this doctrine would be true, pho kungani uJesu eze kulomhlaba? Kungani kwadingeka ukuba uJesu abe yiMbambela wethu ukuze abhekane phakade nenkinga yesono?? Futhi kwenzekani ngosuku IPhentekoste?
The people that came up with this false doctrine were unspiritual. Babengafuni ukubeka phansi ukuphila kwabo kwenyama. Manje, they adjusted the gospel and truth of God to their own carnal experiences, okutholakele, izinkanuko, kanye nezifiso.
Futhi ngenxa yeqiniso, ukuthi baqokwa yibandla ngoba benediploma noma iPh.D. and therefore obtained a certain status, the church adopted and applied this doctrine. To this day, this lie is still preached.
Christians are sidetracked
Ngenxa yale mfundiso engamanga, many Christians are sidetracked and many souls have been lost. While they could have been saved by preaching the right sermons according to the Bible (iZwi) noMoya oNgcwele.
Ngenxa yalamanga, many Christians have the idea that when they phenduka futhi uzelwe kabusha (according to their theology), abahlanjululwanga kuphela ezonweni zabo zakudala, but also from their sins in which they persevere after they become born again. Because they can’t be redeemed from sin, but will always stay a sinner.
If the Bible says that Jesus came to redeem man and has redeemed man through His work at the cross, but the preacher or theologian says that man always remains a sinner, okhuluma iqiniso?
What has Jesus done at the cross according to these theologians or preachers? Yayiyini inhloso yokufika Kwakhe kanye nencazelo yomhlatshelo Wakhe?
Ngenxa yeqiniso, that many Christians are not truly born again and have no personal relationship with Jesus Christ; iZwi, kodwa esikhundleni salokho kholwani, trust and lean on the words of preachers and theologians. They believe the words of people above the words of God.
Ngoba njengokungalaleli komuntu okukodwa kwakhiwa izoni, Ngakho-ke ukulalela omunye kuzokwenziwa ulungile
AmaRoma 5:19
Izono esikhundleni senyama zibethelwe esiphambanweni
Esikhundleni sokubethela inyama yabo, lapho kuhlala khona isimo sesono futhi lokho kuveza isono, babethela izono zabo esiphambanweni. Ababhekani nenkinga yesono, okuzele uJesu kulomhlaba. Kunalokho, they keep living in the lies, ezisakazwa udeveli ngamafilosofi abantu benyama.
Kodwa iqiniso liwukuthi, ukuthi uma nje inyama yomuntu omdala ingafi, the person shall walk after the flesh and persevere in sin and shall keep doing the things that oppose the will of God.
Inqobo nje uma abantu bephikelela esonweni, abahlengwanga esonweni, but are still a Inceku yesono.
In some churches or at seminars there is even a wooden cross on the stage with pieces of paper, nails, and a hammer.
Izivakashi zingabhala phansi izono noma izinkinga zazo kuleli phepha futhi zilibethele esiphambanweni. Kodwa lesi yisenzo senyama somzwelo (inyama) futhi akuhlangene noMoya.
Because when they go home, they continue their lives and fall back into the same sin. Njengabantu bakaNkulunkulu eTestamenteni Elidala.
That’s why many Christian, abathi bazelwe ngokusha, futhi abafuni ukuba nento yokwenza nomthetho, live the same way as the carnal people of God for whom the law was intended, okungukuthi: ikhehla lenyama, who is trapped in the sinful flesh.
Esikhundleni sokubhekana nenkinga yesono, okungukuthi imbangela yesono: inyama enesono, they try to deal with their sins out of their flesh by using all kinds of natural means and methods
UJesu wafa ngenxa yesono sendoda endala
Jesus didn’t die for your sins so that you can keep walking in sins. But Jesus died because of your sins that derive from the sinful nature of the flesh of the old man.
Jesus died for the old man, Isoni. Ukuze, kuye, ikhehla (inyama) uyafa nomuntu omusha (umoya) uvukile kwabafileyo.
Jesus not only dealt with the sins and iniquities of fallen man at the cross. But Jesus also dealt with the sinful nature of fallen man, elikhona enyameni. Yingakho ke, lapho umuntu, oyindalo endala (Isoni), uzalwa ngokusha, akasesona isoni.
Uphinde wasokwa nosoka owenziwe ngaphandle kwezandla, ekuhlubuleni umzimba wezono zenyama ngokusoka kukaKristu: Wangcwatshwa naYe embhapathizweni, lapho futhi navuswa kanye naye ngokukholwa kokusebenza kukaNkulunkulu, owamvusa kwabafileyo (AbaseKolose 2:11-12)
The person has become a new creation: ukulunga kukaNkulunkulu kuKristu. Umuntu, Ngubani osephenduke indalo entsha, kasayikuqinisela esonweni. Ngoba labo, abangabakaKristu babethele esiphambanweni inyama kanye nokuhuheka nezinkanuko. Ngakho-ke, kabayikuqinisela esonweni kodwa bazakwenza imisebenzi yokulunga.
Lokho umthetho negazi lezilwane okwakungenakukwenza, UJesu wayengakwenza! uJesu, iZwi eliphilayo, came in the flesh and became the Substitute of the disobedient, ikhehla elidlubulundayo, isiphetho sabo singukufa okuphakade echibini lomlilo.
AbangabakaKristu babethele esiphambanweni inyama kanye nokuhuheka nezinkanuko
KwabaseGalathiya 4:24
The true meaning and result of the cross in the lives of believers
Esiphambanweni, UJesu wabhekana nemvelo yesono, elikhona enyameni. Ukuze, wonke umuntu, okholwa Kuye futhi aphinde azalwe, uyohlengwa emvelweni yesono yenyama, okuveza isono nokufa.
The believer shall no longer produce sin from the sinful flesh, but righteousness from the Spirit (Oh. AmaRoma 6-8; KwabaseGalathiya 5:16-26).
Ingabe ufuna ukususa izono empilweni yakho? Khona-ke okumele ukwenze nje: hambani ngenxa yesono. Iya kumsuka wenkinga yesono, okuyinyama. Inqobo nje uma inyama yakho ingafi, umoya wakho awunakuvuswa.
‘Yibani usawoti womhlaba’
