You need to understand something crucial: the cross of Christ isn’t just part of your faith—it must be the entire object of your faith. Everything else you believe about God flows from this single point.
Here’s what I mean. You can believe God exists. You can believe Jesus lived and taught amazing things. You can even believe the Bible is true. But none of that saves you or connects you to God’s power. The cross is where everything changes.
Why the Cross Must Be Your Focus
The cross is where Jesus shed His blood for your sins. This isn’t symbolic or metaphorical—it’s the actual transaction that made your salvation possible. When you make the cross the object of your faith, you’re saying, “I believe Jesus’ blood is the only thing that can save me.”
This matters because you’ll be tempted to make other things the object of your faith. You might start trusting in your good behavior. Or your church attendance. Or how much Bible knowledge you’ve accumulated. But none of those things have power to save you or transform you.
Paul said it plainly: “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). He didn’t say “Jesus and His good teachings.” He said Jesus crucified. The cross was everything.
What Happens When the Cross Is Your Object
When you make the cross your faith’s object, several things happen in your life. First, you stop trying to earn God’s approval through your own efforts. You realize the work is already finished.
Second, you gain access to God’s power. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead becomes available to you. But this power only flows through the cross. You can’t access it by being a good person or knowing Scripture. You access it by faith in what Jesus did at Calvary.
Third, you develop immunity to religious pride. When the cross is your focus, you can’t brag about yourself. You’re constantly reminded that you needed a Savior. You were dead in your sins, and only Jesus’ blood could bring you to life.
The Danger of Shifting Your Focus
Here’s where many believers get off track. They start with faith in the cross, but gradually their faith shifts to other things. Maybe they begin trusting in their spiritual disciplines. Or their theology becomes so important that defending their doctrine matters more than Jesus’ blood.
This is deadly because it cuts you off from God’s power. The Holy Spirit works through your faith in the cross. When your faith moves to something else, the power stops flowing. You might still look like a Christian on the outside, but you’re running on your own strength.
Paul warned the Galatians about this exact problem. They started with faith in Christ crucified, but then tried to add human effort to it. Paul asked them, “Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3).
How to Keep the Cross as Your Object
You have to be intentional about this. Every single day, you need to remind yourself that the cross is your only hope. Not your good day yesterday. Not your progress in overcoming sin. Just Jesus’ blood.
When you pray, start by acknowledging what the cross accomplished. When you’re struggling with sin, run back to the cross instead of trying harder on your own. When you’re reading Scripture, look for how each passage connects to Jesus’ sacrifice.
This isn’t about being morbid or constantly talking about death. It’s about recognizing where your power comes from. The cross isn’t the end of the story—it’s the doorway to resurrection life. But you have to keep going through that doorway by faith.
The Cross Gives You Access to Everything
Here’s the amazing truth: when the cross is the object of your faith, you gain access to every promise in the New Covenant. Healing, deliverance, transformation, intimacy with God—all of it flows from Calvary.
But you can’t mix faith in the cross with faith in yourself. It has to be pure faith in what Jesus did. That’s why Paul said, “God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Galatians 6:14).
Every morning when you wake up, your first thought should connect to the cross. Not in a religious, ritualistic way. But in a way that reminds you: “Everything I have today comes through Jesus’ blood. My access to God, my power to overcome sin, my hope for today—it all flows from the cross.”
This is how you move from knowing about God to actually experiencing His presence and power. The cross isn’t just a historical event you believe happened. It’s the present reality that connects you to everything God has for you right now.